About Your Speakers

Dr. Lori Desautels

Lori Desautels, PhD is a PVI Course Partner and has been an Assistant Professor at Butler University since 2016 where she teaches both undergraduate and graduate programs in the College of Education. Lori is a former special education teacher and school counselor. In 2016, Lori created a nine-hour graduate certification at Butler University in Applied Educational Neuroscience/Brain and Trauma. Lori Is the author of four books including her latest book, “Brain and Body Brilliance," published in September 2024. Lori co-authored the social and emotional competencies for the state of Indiana and created a 100-day educational Neuroscience toolkit for educators worldwide. Lori writes for Edutopia and co-teaches in schools where she shares the application of her educational neuroscience research in K-12 classrooms.

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Dr. Niki Elliott

Niki Elliott, PhD is a PVI Course Partner and clinical professor of neurodiversity and embodied equity at the University of San Diego School of Leadership and Education Sciences and is an author, speaker, and trainer in the fields of neurodiversity, mindfulness, holistic education, and healing-centered engagement. Niki previously served as the Director of the Center for Neurodiversity, Learning and Wellness at the University of La Verne’s La Fetra College of Education. An experienced educator, Niki has taught students of all ages, from elementary school through university level over the past 25 years. She presently teaches educational neurobiology, neurodiversity and mindfulness for graduate students earning a master’s degree in Special
Education. Niki is also the founder of the Mindful Leaders Project, a program designed to help teachers, school leaders, parents and other education professionals increase their own personal well-being and social-emotional regulation skills to support children’s academic success. Dr. Elliott also serves on the PVI Board of Directors.

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Crystal Williams

Crystal Williams is a 7th-grade Social Studies teacher at Belzer Middle School. She began at Belzer in the Alternative to Instruction classroom in 2015 as an Instructional Assistant (IA). While as an IA, she returned to school to obtain her Masters in Education.  She is now enrolled in the Applied Educational Neuroscience framework Certification program with Dr. Lori Desautels. Crystal believes in helping students and adults understand themselves to become the person they want to be. She aims to teach others how to integrate educational neuroscience into content areas.​

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Dr. Dustin Springer 

Dustin Springer, PhD believes that it is the duty of our schools to focus on the social and emotional well-being of all in order to achieve excellence beyond our expectations. Dustin is not afraid to speak out against systems that are detrimental to the growth and safety of those in our communities. Currently the principal at Gray Hawk Elementary in the Basehor-Linwood
School District outside of Kansas City, Dustin has served students across grade levels  for the past twenty years both in the classroom and in school leadership. Dustin worked closely with a team to open the first school-based health clinic in Johnson County and partnered with area nonprofits to remove barriers to success for families. It was during this time, that Dustin began a paradigm shift of his own and began to understand the importance of keeping the word “YES” in his heart in order
to better serve his community. Dustin became a Resilience Coach through ESSDACK and began to focus on understanding the impact of adversity on the brain and ways to build resilience within both children and adults. Dustin presently serves on the Board of Gordon Parks Elementary, a trauma-informed charter school in Kansas City, Missouri, and  works closely with pre-service teachers at Emporia State University on understanding the Applied Educational Neuroscience framework and how a basic understanding of the brain can lead to a greater understanding of the human condition.

Robert Beltz 

Robert Beltz has devoted over two decades to public education. In that time of service, he has served in his roles of classroom teacher, English Language Development (ELD) specialist, consultant, and county ESL leader. He has earned advanced certifications in Trauma Responsiveness, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, Applied Educational Neuroscience, and English as a Second Language. This unique intersectionality has allowed him to build his craft around relational safety in the schools while maintaining authentic connections with students and families long after leaving his
classroom. Robert is passionate about engaging in the complexities of social emotional learning, advocating for marginalized populations, creating systems of collective care for adults, and collaborating with experts who are also committed to bringing about radical systemic change.  Currently, Robert is researching the neuro physical changes that may occur in refugee
and immigrant students, as well as in other children who are displaced from their environments. At the center of this work is the nature of identity in the developing brain, and the adults’ role in validating and affirming this identity for each and every student in their care. As is true for all applied educational neuroscience, this work begins with the adults.​​