- 2025 -
Leadership & Happiness Symposium
Exclusive Leadership Event for Superintendents
Join us for an exclusive leadership event tailored just for YOU.
This event will help you elevate your leadership skills to inspire and sustain success across your district while addressing the challenges of leadership, as well as the toll of fatigue.
This Event Will Provide:
• Understanding of the neuroscience behind the most effective leadership skills
• Approaches to foster a culture of happiness in your schools
• Strategies to support your well-being and leadership journey
• Immediately impactful applications, resources, and best practices
Additional Highlights Include:
• Connecting and networking with Superintendent peers.
• Discussing innovative solutions for employee retention and recruitment
• Learning crucial skills to cultivate thriving schools, contented staff, and successful students
Why Happiness?
Happiness is an essential investment for leaders as a cornerstone of professional success and personal fulfillment.
Prioritizing happiness enhances resiliency, sharpens decision-making, and equips you to face the challenges of leadership with grace and effectiveness.
Happiness directly impacts productivity, creativity and loyalty–all of which contribute to a positive and dynamic workplace culture and builds a more connected community.
Uplevel your leadership style to inspire, enlighten, and sustain.
Jenna Trowbridge
Director, School & Community Advocacy,
Cook Center for Human Connection
Jenna is a dedicated mental health advocate with over a decade of experience in helping educators on a national scale. She has special interest and expertise working with schools noted for their rural, high-risk, and native populations. She is an experienced Director/Business Development Manager who excels in client relationships, business strategies, and exceeding expectations. With a proven track record, Jenna continues to be a trusted advisor to school districts on a national and state level to address the youth mental health crisis. Her advocacy for students resulted in a state-wide initiative with the state of North Dakota Department of Health and Human Services. Her passion for promoting mental well-being and her expertise in providing strategic guidance make Jenna a valuable asset in the crucial field of mental health advocacy.
Grace Brown
Sr. Manager of Curriculum & Program Development,
Cook Center for Human Connection
Grace Brown, a dedicated advocate for nationwide mental health, joined the Cook Center for Human Connection with extensive expertise in implementing strategies for student achievement. As an Implementation and professional development expert, she’s coached educators in over 800 classrooms across the US.
Grace seamlessly combines deep expertise with a talent for simplifying and making complex concepts compelling. Grace crafted the curriculum for “My Life Is Worth Living” mental health web series and offers innovation that countless educators and administrators have implemented. She holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Utah and a Graduate Certificate in Early Educational Leadership from Harvard.
Michelle Bartsch
Vice President of Education,
Cook Center for Human Connection
Michelle Bartsch, as Vice President of Education at Cook Center for Human Connection, has been a leading force in mental wellness and non-profit initiatives across communities, schools and organizations nationwide for over 15 years. Her visionary work in developing ParentGuidance.org — a no-cost mental health resource—has been crucial in providing essential support to thousands of schools and millions of families over the past 4 years. Michelle also played a key role in the creation and launch of My Life is Worth Living, the first animated web series focused on youth mental health and suicide prevention. Additionally, she pioneered the Leadership & Happiness Symposium, an initiative that equips essential executive school and community leaders with the tools to make systemic improvements to their communities’ mental health cultures.
A highly sought-after keynote speaker, Michelle focuses on youth mental health initiatives and critical mental health support for staff, families and communities. Her voice has driven change at both state and national levels, championing the importance of education, leadership and human connection. Michelle holds a master of Science in Education and Bachelor of Business Administration from Texas Wesleyan University.
Symposium Partners
Agenda
Thursday
November 7 - Leadership & Happiness Symposium
12:00 - 12:30 PM
12:30 - 1:30 PM
Lunch (provided by Cook Center for Human Connection)
1:30 - 2:00 PM
Symposium Overview: Jenna Trowbridge, Director of Advocacy, School and Community Impact
2:00 - 3:30 PM
The PANAS Quiz: Grace Brown, Sr. Manager of Impact & Curriculum, Cook Center for Human Connection
3:30 - 3:45 PM
Break
3:45 - 4:45 PM
Solving The Happiness Equation: Grace Brown
4:45 - 5:00 PM
Mission For Mental Wellness: Anne Brown, President/CEO, Cook Center for Human Connection
5:00 PM
6:00 PM
Friday
November 8 Leadership & Happiness
7:00 - 8:00 AM
Group Photo Op – Hike/Fun Run/Walk View the Tetons hosted by Dr. Gillian Chapman
9:00 - 9:30 AM
Continental Breakfast (provided by the Cook Center for Human Connection)
9:30 - 10:30 AM
Neuroscience’s 4 Secrets Revealed: Michelle Bartsch & Grace Brown
10:30 - 11:15 AM
- Gillian Chapman, Superintendent, Teton County School District, Jackson Hole, WY
- Carolyn Synan, Chief Student Services Officer, Park City School District, Park City, UT
- Anne Brown, President/CEO, Cook Center for Human Connection
- John Heim, Assistant Lecturer, University of Wyoming
11:15 - 11:30 AM
Closing Remarks: Gillian Chapman, Anne Brown, Paul Richins, and Jenna Trowbridge