SEL Journal

Editor-in-Chief: Kimberly A. Schonert-Reichl is NoVo Foundation Endowed Chair in Social and Emotional Learning in the Department of Psychology at the University of Illinois at Chicago.  From 1991 to 2020, she was a professor in the department of educational and counseling psychology, and special education in the faculty of education at University of British Columbia (UBC).  In July 2020, Dr. Schonert-Reichl completed a five-year appointment as the director of the Human Early Learning Partnership in the School of Population and Public Health in the Faculty of Medicine at UBC.  Known as a world-renowned expert in the area of social and emotional learning (SEL), Kim’s research focuses on identification of the processes that foster positive human qualities such as empathy, compassion, altruism, and resiliency in children and adolescents.  She is the recipient of the 2021 Janusz Korczak Medal for Children’s Rights Advocacy, the 2019 Postsecondary Leader of the Year Award – Canadian Edtech Awards, the 2015 Joseph E. Zins Distinguished Scholar Award for Outstanding SEL Research, and the 2009 Confederation of University Faculty Associations BC’s Paz Buttedahl Career Achievement Award.  Kim’s research has been highlighted in major outlets including The New York Times, The Washington Post, Le Monde, The Wall Street Journal, Time Magazine, and many more.  Since 2006, Kim has been invited to participate in several dialogues with the Dalai Lama on the themes of cultivating compassion and educating the heart.  Kim received her MA in Educational Psychology from the University of Chicago, her PhD in Educational Psychology from the University of Chicago, her PhD in Educational Psychology from the University of Iowa and completed her postdoctoral work as a National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) Fellow in the Clinical Research Training Program in Adolescence at the University of Chicago and the Department of Psychiatry at Northwestern University Medical School.  Prior to her graduate work, Kim worked as a middle school teacher and then as a teacher at an alternative high school.

Senior Associate Editor: Catherine Bradshaw is a university professor and the senior associate dean at the University of Virginia School of Education and Human Development. Her primary research interests focus on the development of behavior and mental health problems and school-based prevention and intervention programming. She collaborates on several federally funded research projects examining bullying and school climate; development of aggressive and problem behaviors; educational and disciplinary disparities; and design, evaluation, and implementation of prevention programs in schools. She collaborates on several trials of school-based prevention programs, including Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) and social-emotional learning curricula. She is a former associate editor for the Journal of Research on Adolescence and the editor of Prevention Science. She is a author/editor of several books, including the Handbook of School Mental Health, Handbook on Bullying Prevention: A Lifecourse Perspective, and Preventing Bullying in Schools: A Social and Emotional Learning Approach to Prevention and Early Intervention. 

Sheldon Berman is AASA’s Lead Superintendent for Social-Emotional Learning after serving across 28 school years as a superintendent in four districts, where he implemented systemic SEL programs. Dr. Berman has authored numerous articles and books on SEL topics, including The Call to Courage: Standing Up and Speaking Out Against the Assaults on Democracy, Educators, and Students in America’s Schools, Implementing Social-Emotional Learning: Insights from Districts’ Successes and Setbacks, The Ethical Educator: Pointers and Pitfalls for School Administrators, Children’s Social Consciousness and the Development of Social Responsibility, and Promising Practices in Teaching Social Responsibility. He was a member of the Council of Distinguished Educators of the National Commission on Social, Emotional and Academic Development and was the primary author of the Commission’s SEL practice report. He is the recipient of lifetime achievement awards from AASA, CASEL, and Character.org. Dr. Berman also served as Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents President and received the Massachusetts Superintendent of the Year Award. He is chair of the board of directors of CAST, co-chair of the National Education Leadership Network of Special Olympics, and member of the Pacific Northwest Advisory Board of ADL. He holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Wisconsin in Madison, a master’s in education in guidance and counseling from the University of Maine in Orono, and both a master’s and doctorate in education from Harvard University Graduate School of Education.

John-Tyler Binfet is an associate professor in the Okanagan School of Education at the University of British Columbia (UBC). Dr. Binfet is the Director of Graduate Programs and the Director of UBC’s long-running canine therapy program titled Building Academic Retention through K9s (B.A.R.K.). As the founder and director of B.A.R.K., Dr. Binfet oversees on-campus interventions and community programming that see 60+ therapy dogs brought to campus to reduce student stress. Dr. Binfet’s insights into therapy dogs and the role they play in supporting student well-being are captured in his co-authored book titled “Canine-Assisted Interventions” (Binfet & Hartwig, 2020; Routledge Press). Responding to the need to reach remote audiences, Dr. Binfet’s new co-authored book “Virtual Human-Animal Interactions” (Tardif-Williams & Binfet, 2023; Routledge Press) illustrates how to create virtual opportunities to connect with animals. When not covered in dog hair from work in the B.A.R.K. lab, Dr. Binfet’s second research stream sees him exploring how children, adolescents and teachers understand and enact kindness within the school context. As a former teacher and school counsellor, Dr. Binfet has a keen interest in understanding how school communities can foster students’ prosociality. Along with Drs. Gadermann and Schonert-Reichl, Dr. Binfet developed the School Kindness Scale, the first measure of its kind to assess perceptions of school kindness. His new book “Cultivating Kindness: An Educator’s Guide” (Binfet, 2022; University of Toronto Press) showcases findings from surveys and interviews with over 3,000 children and adolescents around how kindness is conceptualized. An informal look into Dr. Binfet’s research can be found in his blog for Psychology Today titled “Canines, Kids, and Kindness.”

Eva Oberle is an Associate Professor with the Human Early Learning Partnership in the School of Population and Public Health. She is the current Principal Investigator of the Middle Years Development Instrument (MDI), a population-based survey at HELP that measures child and adolescent social-emotional and mental wellbeing, and experiences in schools and communities. Eva completed graduate studies at the University of Heidelberg and UBC and conducted postdoctoral research at the University of Illinois at Chicago and CASEL. Her research interests include examining factors that predict positive youth development and resilience. Understanding the role of social relationships with peers, teachers, and families in promoting mental health and wellbeing in schools and communities is a central aspect of her research.

Jorge Gaete Olivares is a Medical Doctor from Pontificia Universidad Católica of Chile. He is a Specialist in Adult Psychiatry from the University of Chile. He also has a Master of Science in Psychology with a major in Child-Adolescent Clinical Psychology (University of Chile) and a PhD in Psychiatric Epidemiology from the University of Bristol, UK. He did a Postdoctoral Research Fellowship at the Center for Global Mental Health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, and a Clinical Research Fellowship in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at King’s College London. Currently, he is Director of the Research Center for Students Mental Health (ISME), Universidad de los Andes, Chile. His research areas of interest are knowing the risk and protective factors for the development of mental health problems and drug use among children and adolescents. He is also interested in evaluating the effectiveness of preventive interventions in mental health, behavioral problems, school violence, substance misuse, and bullying in children and adolescents. He has more than 60 publications in scientific journals (Web of Science ResearcherID: C-7471-2014) and has directed several research projects funded by the Chilean National Research and Development Agency (ANID) and other national and international institutions. He is currently Tenured Professor of the Faculty of Education of the Universidad de los Andes, Principal Investigator at the Millennium Science Initiative Program, Millennium Nucleus To Improve the Mental Health of Adolescents and Youths (IMHAY). He was part of the Guideline Development Group, convened by the World Health Organization for the realization of the School Health Services Guideline. 

Sara Rimm-Kaufman is the Commonwealth Professor of Education at the University of Virginia. She conducts research on elementary and middle school classrooms with the goal of using evidence to improve the quality of schooling experiences for teachers and students. Over the past twenty years, she has led the UVA Social Development Lab, a dynamic team of researchers, students, post-doctoral trainees, and staff toward improved understanding of the systematic ways that classroom social and psychological experiences are productive (or not productive) environments for child and youth development. In all her work, she has a steadfast commitment to educational equity. Dr. Rimm-Kaufman and her team have conducted research on programs including Connect Science, Responsive Classroom, EL Education, Leading Together, RULER, Valor Collegiate & Compass and beyond. She and her team receive funds from National Science Foundation, Institute of Education Sciences (IES), and private foundations (e.g., Carnegie, Templeton) to do their work. She has authored more than 100 chapters, articles, blogs, and websites including SEL from the Start, an easy-to-read book for teachers. Rimm-Kaufman has served as a research advisor for organizations including World Bank Group, EL Education, and New Schools Venture Fund. She is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association (Division 15) and American Psychological Science. Since 2004, she has been directing and co-directing IES-funded training programs including the Virginia Education Science Training (VEST) doctoral training program and the VEST and EL-VEST post-doctoral training programs. She is a faculty member in Educational Psychology-Applied Developmental Science and invites prospective students to join their research teams. 

Nick Yoder, PhD, is the Associate Vice President for the Center on Whole Human Education and Research at Harmony Academy at National University. Dr. Yoder leads this center to use evidence to create usable and relevant products, professional learning and support to educators, out-of-school time professionals, and families. He leads innovative solutions for adults and students that support their relationship-driven social and emotional development, as well as lead research projects to understand the use and impact of those solutions. Prior to Harmony Academy, Dr. Yoder was the Director of Policy and Practice at the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL), a principal/senior technical assistant consultant at the American Institutes for Research, a pre-service instructor and field coach at the University of Michigan, and first grade teacher in Chicago Public Schools. He also serves on the board of CREATE and the SEL Provider’s Association, as well as serve on the Local School Council for his local school. He received his PhD in Education and Psychology, a masters and bachelors in Psychology at the University of Michigan, a masters in Instructional Leadership at the University of Illinois-Chicago, and his teaching certificate at Dominican University