PRESENTERS
Lisa Miller, Ph.D.
CO-HOST
Professor of Psychology and Education at Columbia University, Teachers College and Founder of the Spirituality Mind Body Institute, the first Ivy League graduate program in spirituality and psychology. Dr. Miller is a foremost scientist on spirituality across the lifespan, with her work published in top research journals including JAMAPsychiatry, American Journal of Psychiatry, and the Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry. Her innovative research has focused on quantifiable effects of spirituality in health, resilience and thriving, and an overall sacred and joyful life. Her clinical and consultation work focuses on spiritual awareness and spiritual growth, for individuals, families, groups and organizations. Dr. Miller is the author of The Spiritual Child; The New Science of Parenting for Health and Lifelong Thriving and The Awakened Brain; The New Science of Spirituality and Our Quest for an Inspired Life. She is the Editor of The Oxford Handbook of Psychology and Spirituality and Co-Editor of the APA journal, Spirituality in Clinical Practice. She has been elected as Fellow by the American Psychological Association, as well as for the Virginia Sexton Mentoring Award of graduate students. A graduate of Yale, she received her doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania from Martin Seligman.
Dean Varun Soni
CO-HOST
Bio: Varun Soni is the Dean of Religious Life at the University of Southern California, where he also served as the inaugural vice provost of campus wellness and crisis intervention, and where he currently teaches courses in the Marshall School of Business, the Chan Division of Occupational Science and Occupation Therapy, and the Dornsife College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences. He is the first and only Hindu in American history to serve as the chief spiritual leader of a college or university. Prior to his role at the University of Southern California, he spent four years teaching courses in the Law and Society Program at the University of California, Santa Barbara.
Keynote Title: The Three Questions
In an age of anxiety and outrage, what does it mean to be spiritually healthy? How can we empower ourselves and each other to thrive and flourish and our lives and careers? What does it mean to find one’s North Star? In this talk, Dr. Varun Soni will explore the idea of spiritual health and offer some advice on how to cultivate it…
MG Tom Solhjem
KEYNOTE
Solhjem is a North Dakota native who enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1974. He has a BA from North Central University and a Master of Divinity degree from Bethel Theological Seminary; additionally, he is a graduate of the U.S. Army War College. In 1988, he began serving as a U.S. Army chaplain. His 49-year career in the Army, which included deployments in support of Operations Desert Shield/Storm, Uphold Democracy, Enduring Freedom, Iraqi Freedom and Inherent Resolve, culminated with his being appointed U.S. Army Chief of Chaplains. He retired from the Army on 1 August 2023. He and his high school sweetheart, Jill (Walberg) Solhjem, have been married since 1977; they have four children and numerous grandchildren.
Dr. Aliza Pressman
KEYNOTE
Bio: Dr. Aliza Pressman is a developmental psychologist with two decades of experience working with families and the health care providers who care for them. She is the author of the New York Times bestselling book THE 5 PRINCIPLES OF PARENTING: Your Essential Guide to Raising Good Humans, and the host of the award-winning podcast Raising Good Humans. Aliza is the co-founding director of The Mount Sinai Parenting Center and Associate Clinical Professor at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital. She holds degrees from Dartmouth College, Teacher’s College, and her PhD from Columbia University. Aliza is the mother of Penelope and Vivian and stepmother of Riley and Will.
Keynote Title: The Orchids in Your Classroom: What Sensitive Children Are Built For
Drawing on current developmental and temperament science, Dr. Aliza Pressman will explore the experiences of children who are especially sensitive to their biological and environmental surroundings, often described as “orchid children.” She will introduce the concept of differential susceptibility: the more sensitive the child’s nature, the more powerfully nurturing environments can shape development. Participants will leave with practical strategies for recognizing, supporting, and helping sensitive children thrive in the classroom.
Jen Halliday
KEYNOTE
Jen Halliday brings extensive experience in school leadership and currently serves as the Director of Strategy and Operations at the Collaborative for Spirituality in Education (CSE). Jen recently completed seven years at Friends Academy, a PreK–12 Quaker school on Long Island, where she served as Associate Head of School.
Jen began her professional career teaching high school social studies. From 2002 to 2005, she served as a teacher and curriculum coordinator at ACS Hillingdon International School in London. From 2005 to 2015, she worked at Hawken School in Ohio, where she held multiple leadership roles, including Director of Hawken Middle School and member of the Administrative Council. During her tenure, she contributed to teaching, admissions, student life, special projects, and administration. In addition, Jen taught graduate-level education courses at John Carroll University through the school’s Site-Based Program.
Prior to her time at Friends Academy, Jen served as Head of School at Magnificat, an independent Catholic all-girls high school serving 750 students. She has a keen interest in research related to spirituality in education and was part of the CSE research team between 2016–2019. Jen co-authored the chapter “Awakening Education: Nurturing Spirituality in K–12 School Culture” in The Oxford Handbook of Psychology and Spirituality and has served as a panel expert at multiple conferences, including one at Oxford University, on using culture as a teaching tool for character education and development.
Jen holds a Bachelor of Arts in History and Education and a Master of Arts in Education Administration from John Carroll University. She also completed a certificate in the Psychology of Leadership through Cornell University and is currently a doctoral candidate in Leading and Learning in Communities at Vanderbilt University.
Jen and her husband, Chris, have twin daughters, Molly and Maddie, who recently began university. She enjoys cooking, writing, reading, walking, yoga and meditation.
Paul Pryor Lorentz
KEYNOTE
Paul Pryor Lorentz has served on the Convent & Stuart Hall faculty in San Francisco, a Catholic independent K-12 and part of the network of Sacred Heart Schools since 2007. He is currently Chair of Community Life for the high school and the Chair of the Department of Religion, Theology & Spirituality for the K-12 community. As Director of Liturgy, Interiority, Faith, and Engagement, Paul oversees the creative development and production of spiritually expansive and inclusive community gatherings and curricula. He is the lead teacher of Theory of Knowledge, a core course for the International Baccalaureate Programme.
After meeting Dr. Lisa Miller during her visit to the school in 2017, Paul accepted an invitation to contribute as a Fellow for the Collaborative for Spirituality in Education starting in its first year. Paul has consistently contributed to the Awakened Schools Institute as a speaker and site visitor. In 2023, he became the Lead Instructor for online ASI and school site visits.
Paul holds a BA in Philosophy from Loyola Marymount University and an MA in Philosophy from Boston College.
THANK YOU TO OUR PARTNERS,
SPONSORS, HOSTS, AND AFFILIATES
Presenters
Lisa Miller, Ph.D.
KEYNOTE
Professor of Psychology and Education at Columbia University, Teachers College and Founder of the Spirituality Mind Body Institute, the first Ivy League graduate program in spirituality and psychology. Dr. Miller is a foremost scientist on spirituality across the lifespan, with her work published in top research journals including JAMAPsychiatry, American Journal of Psychiatry, and the Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry. Her innovative research has focused on quantifiable effects of spirituality in health, resilience and thriving, and an overall sacred and joyful life. Her clinical and consultation work focuses on spiritual awareness and spiritual growth, for individuals, families, groups and organizations. Dr. Miller is the author of The Spiritual Child; The New Science of Parenting for Health and Lifelong Thriving and The Awakened Brain; The New Science of Spirituality and Our Quest for an Inspired Life. She is the Editor of The Oxford Handbook of Psychology and Spirituality and Co-Editor of the APA journal, Spirituality in Clinical Practice. She has been elected as Fellow by the American Psychological Association, as well as for the Virginia Sexton Mentoring Award of graduate students. A graduate of Yale, she received her doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania from Martin Seligman.
Dean Varun Soni
KEYNOTE
Bio: Varun Soni is the Dean of Religious Life at the University of Southern California, where he also served as the inaugural vice provost of campus wellness and crisis intervention, and where he currently teaches courses in the Marshall School of Business, the Chan Division of Occupational Science and Occupation Therapy, and the Dornsife College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences. He is the first and only Hindu in American history to serve as the chief spiritual leader of a college or university. Prior to his role at the University of Southern California, he spent four years teaching courses in the Law and Society Program at the University of California, Santa Barbara.
Keynote Title: The Three Questions
In an age of anxiety and outrage, what does it mean to be spiritually healthy? How can we empower ourselves and each other to thrive and flourish and our lives and careers? What does it mean to find one’s North Star? In this talk, Dr. Varun Soni will explore the idea of spiritual health and offer some advice on how to cultivate it…
SMG Tom Solhjem
KEYNOTE
Solhjem is a North Dakota native who enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1974. He has a BA from North Central University and a Master of Divinity degree from Bethel Theological Seminary; additionally, he is a graduate of the U.S. Army War College. In 1988, he began serving as a U.S. Army chaplain. His 49-year career in the Army, which included deployments in support of Operations Desert Shield/Storm, Uphold Democracy, Enduring Freedom, Iraqi Freedom and Inherent Resolve, culminated with his being appointed U.S. Army Chief of Chaplains. He retired from the Army on 1 August 2023. He and his high school sweetheart, Jill (Walberg) Solhjem, have been married since 1977; they have four children and numerous grandchildren.
Dr. Aliza Pressman
KEYNOTE
Bio: Dr. Aliza Pressman is a developmental psychologist with two decades of experience working with families and the health care providers who care for them. She is the author of the New York Times bestselling book THE 5 PRINCIPLES OF PARENTING: Your Essential Guide to Raising Good Humans, and the host of the award-winning podcast Raising Good Humans. Aliza is the co-founding director of The Mount Sinai Parenting Center and Associate Clinical Professor at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital. She holds degrees from Dartmouth College, Teacher’s College, and her PhD from Columbia University. Aliza is the mother of Penelope and Vivian and stepmother of Riley and Will.
Keynote Title: The Orchids in Your Classroom: What Sensitive Children Are Built For
Drawing on current developmental and temperament science, Dr. Aliza Pressman will explore the experiences of children who are especially sensitive to their biological and environmental surroundings, often described as “orchid children.” She will introduce the concept of differential susceptibility: the more sensitive the child’s nature, the more powerfully nurturing environments can shape development. Participants will leave with practical strategies for recognizing, supporting, and helping sensitive children thrive in the classroom.
Jen Halliday
KEYNOTE
Jen Halliday brings extensive experience in school leadership and currently serves as the Director of Strategy and Operations at the Collaborative for Spirituality in Education (CSE). Jen recently completed seven years at Friends Academy, a PreK–12 Quaker school on Long Island, where she served as Associate Head of School.
Jen began her professional career teaching high school social studies. From 2002 to 2005, she served as a teacher and curriculum coordinator at ACS Hillingdon International School in London. From 2005 to 2015, she worked at Hawken School in Ohio, where she held multiple leadership roles, including Director of Hawken Middle School and member of the Administrative Council. During her tenure, she contributed to teaching, admissions, student life, special projects, and administration. In addition, Jen taught graduate-level education courses at John Carroll University through the school’s Site-Based Program.
Prior to her time at Friends Academy, Jen served as Head of School at Magnificat, an independent Catholic all-girls high school serving 750 students. She has a keen interest in research related to spirituality in education and was part of the CSE research team between 2016–2019. Jen co-authored the chapter “Awakening Education: Nurturing Spirituality in K–12 School Culture” in The Oxford Handbook of Psychology and Spirituality and has served as a panel expert at multiple conferences, including one at Oxford University, on using culture as a teaching tool for character education and development.
Jen holds a Bachelor of Arts in History and Education and a Master of Arts in Education Administration from John Carroll University. She also completed a certificate in the Psychology of Leadership through Cornell University and is currently a doctoral candidate in Leading and Learning in Communities at Vanderbilt University.
Jen and her husband, Chris, have twin daughters, Molly and Maddie, who recently began university. She enjoys cooking, writing, reading, walking, yoga and meditation.
Paul Pryor Lorentz
KEYNOTE
Paul Pryor Lorentz has served on the Convent & Stuart Hall faculty in San Francisco, a Catholic independent K-12 and part of the network of Sacred Heart Schools since 2007. He is currently Chair of Community Life for the high school and the Chair of the Department of Religion, Theology & Spirituality for the K-12 community. As Director of Liturgy, Interiority, Faith, and Engagement, Paul oversees the creative development and production of spiritually expansive and inclusive community gatherings and curricula. He is the lead teacher of Theory of Knowledge, a core course for the International Baccalaureate Programme.
After meeting Dr. Lisa Miller during her visit to the school in 2017, Paul accepted an invitation to contribute as a Fellow for the Collaborative for Spirituality in Education starting in its first year. Paul has consistently contributed to the Awakened Schools Institute as a speaker and site visitor. In 2023, he became the Lead Instructor for online ASI and school site visits.
Paul holds a BA in Philosophy from Loyola Marymount University and an MA in Philosophy from Boston College.
THANK YOU TO OUR PARTNERS,
SPONSORS, HOSTS, AND AFFILIATES
