Genein Letford is an award-winning educator, best-selling author and international speaker on the Intercultural Creativity® and NeuroSomatic Creativity®. As a TEDx speaker and top neurocreativity trainer, she has inspired many educators to be aware of their brain’s influences on their cultural lenses and creative abilities in order to produce innovative ideas for the classroom and workspace.  She is the founder and Chief Creative Officer of CAFFE Strategies, LLC which trains administrators, educators and employees to unleash their Intercultural Creativity® for themselves and in their classrooms.

Pulling from her fifteen years of working with creative geniuses, her unique curriculum utilizes neuroscience, metaphorical strategies, heightened observation techniques and the creative arts to reawaken intuitive thinking in her attendees. She recently published her first children’s book I AM CREATIVE! with her 4-year-old son, Shawn Letford to show how creative thinking develops. Her latest book, The Future Classroom Of Intercultural Creativity: Building Students Who Connect and Create Together has been labeled groundbreaking for education in the 21st century. Genein believes creative thinking paired with cultural competency are critical 21st Century skills and she is often called ‘America’s Creativity Coach’ for her work in reigniting Intercultural Creativity® and  in our youth and in our workforce.

Keynote:

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Intercultural Creativity®: Building Culturally Creative Classrooms of Tomorrow

Creativity is now the number one skill needed in the workforce, therefore, we need it in our classrooms. Genein’s dynamic keynote introduces the concept of Intercultural Creativity® which highlights how our students’ creativity is directly influenced by culturally relevant curriculum, people and environments. Backed by brain research, Genein empowers educators with neuro-strategies for increasing student engagement and learning experiences that will prepare students for societal changes, creative thinking and the future of work.


BREAKOUT:

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A Kaleidoscope View: Divergent Perspective Taking for Educators

Psychological safety is developed by students and teachers who take the perspective of others, a concept called ‘Mentalizing’ and ‘Theory of Mind’. Whether it is your colleagues or your students, understanding the perspectives of others will help you not only be better at your jobs but also be a better ally for justice in the classroom. This session, which is backed by brain science, shows that seeing ourselves, our students and the curriculum from multiple perspectives is critical for inclusion, creativity and innovation. Perspective taking is also required for building an inclusive culture of psychological safety.

Attendees will:

Reflect how student perspectives’ and their own perspective may differ
Implement various perspective strategies to strengthen their cultural competence ability