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Session 2A

Tracks
Track 1
Friday, October 30, 2026
11:30 AM - 1:05 PM
Plaza Ballroom, Plaza Level

Overview

Plaza Ballroom


Speaker

Agenda Item Image
Dr Lori Desautels
Butler University's College of Education

The Biology of Hope: Exploring How Neuroplasticity and Nervous System Awareness Foster Healing, Resiliency, and Hope

11:30 AM - 1:05 PM

Abstract

Overview: Through the lens of Applied Educational Neuroscience© (AEN), this session explores how stress, adversity, and trauma shape the developing brain, body, and nervous system, impacting emotions, behaviors, relationships, learning, and health. We will also examine the science of neuroplasticity, co-regulation, and connection as pathways for healing, resilience, and transformation. Grounded in the belief that the brain and nervous system can change across the lifespan, this session offers practical, nervous-system-aligned strategies to cultivate safety, regulation, belonging, and hope within our schools, organizations, and communities.

Key Outcomes: Understand and apply the science of neuroplasticity into our practices, settings, and within all areas of our lives, promoting healing and resiliency from the inside out.

Biography

Dr. Lori Desautels began teaching undergraduate and graduate programs in the College of Education at Butler University in 2016. She was previously an Assistant Professor at Marian University in Indianapolis for eight years, where she started the Educational Neuroscience Symposium, which is now in its 15th year and has reached thousands of educators. Dr. Desautels focuses on teaching her students how to apply social and relational neurosciences to education. She does this by incorporating the tier one trauma accommodating Applied Educational Neuroscience framework, along with its learning principles and practices, into her Butler coursework. The Applied Educational Neuroscience Certification, developed by Lori in 2016, serves educators, counselors, clinicians, and administrators working with children and adolescents who have experienced adversity and trauma. This certification has reached thousands of educators globally. As a course partner at the Polyvagal Institute, Lori collaborates with Dr. Stephen Porges to teach courses integrating polyvagal theory into schools, organizations, and communities for educators and mental health professionals. Lori’s articles are published in Edutopia, Brain Bulletin, and Mind Body Spirit international magazine. She was also published in the Brain Research Journal for her work in the fifth-grade classrooms during a course release position with Washington Township Schools. Lori continues her work co-teaching in the K-12 schools integrating her applied research into classroom procedures and transition, preparing the nervous system for learning and felt safety. Her third book, Connections over Compliance: Rewiring our Perceptions of Discipline, was released in late 2020, and Intentional Neuroplasticity: Moving Our Nervous Systems and Educational System Toward Post-Traumatic Growth, her fourth book, was released in January 2023. Her new book/manual titled Body and Brain Brilliance: A Manual to cultivate awareness and Practices for our Nervous System was published in 2024. Lori’s work, presentation videos and latest research can also be found on her website www.revelationsineducation.com. Lori lives in Indianapolis, Indiana, with her husband, Michael, and two rescue pets. They have three adult children, Andrew, Sarah, and Regan, and a new grandchild, Miles Desautels Dorsey. Lori has met with well over 200 school districts across the country, in Canada, Costa Rica, Australia, Scotland, England and Dubai equating to more than 150,000 educators with much more work to be done!
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