Dr. Lisa Weed Phifer is a trauma-informed social emotional specialist, school psychologist and author. Additionally, she holds certification as an Evergreen Certified Child & Adolescent CBT Clinician (CBT-CA), Certified Youth Mental Health Specialist (CYMHS), Certified Autism Spectrum Disorder Clinical Specialist (ASDCS). Dr. Phifer is the author of the newly released, the CBT Toolbox for Young Adults. She is also the lead author of the CBT Toolbox for Children and Adolescents, Trauma-Informed Social Emotional Toolbox, and the Parenting Toolbox.

Dr. Phifer has expertise in developing the social emotional capacities of children and empowering service providers to reframe challenging issues with a trauma informed approach. Her work has also been published in the School Mental Health Journal and both editions of the book Supporting and Educating Traumatized Students (Rossen, 2020). She has created and facilitated virtual professional training programs to increase educator’s awareness off trauma on social, emotional and educational growth.

Dr. Phifer holds a Bachelor’s of Science in Neuroscience and Psychology from Allegheny College, a Masters in Educational Psychology from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania, and earned her Doctorate of Education from Indiana University of Pennsylvania.

Family comes first. She enjoys time with her husband, daughter and golden doodle Midas. She is also involved in her daughter's school, chairing the PTA committee. Her other interests include singing in the car, football Sundays, baking with her daughter, spending time on Lake Erie in the summer and traveling.

Follow Dr. Phifer on Twitter @drweedphif

Laura K. Sibbald, MA, CCC-SLP, ACDCS, CYMHS, is a nationally-certified speech-language pathologist who has extensive experience supporting the social-emotional and pragmatic language needs of students and families within the Washington, DC, metropolitan region. She works as an instructional specialist for students with autism in Prince George's County Public Schools, Maryland and has developed and implemented a variety of professional learning opportunities surrounding social-emotional competence at the state and national level.

Laura is a coauthor of the Trauma-Informed Social-Emotional Toolbox for Children & Adolescents: 116 Worksheets & Skill-Building Exercises to Support Safety, Connection & Empowerment (PESI, 2020) and the Parenting Toolbox: 125 Activities Therapies Use to Reduce Meltdowns, Increase Positive Behaviors & Manage Emotions (PESI, 2018). Both workbooks provide practical strategies that can easily transfer into clinical and educational professional practices. Most recently, Laura was a guest speaker and moderator at PESI's 2021 Autism Symposium, where she discussed Navigating Autism through a Trauma Informed Lens. Laura also had the privilege of interviewing Dr. Temple Grandin in the key note Different... Not Less. Laura was an expert panelist for the 2020 Parenting Autism Summit, sponsored by The Behavior Revolution, LLP., and is certified as an Autism Spectrum disorder Clinical Specialist (ASDCS), and a Certified Youth Mental Health Specialist (CYMHS). She is a member of the multicultural affairs committee of the Maryland Speech-Language and Hearing Association, focusing on the promotion of equity practices in diverse communicators. To further support growth and achievement of children with disabilities, Laura earned additional endorsements as a Relationship Development Intervention (RDI) Certified Educator and in Educational Leadership and supervision. She graduated from The George Washington University in 2011 with a Master's in speech-language pathology.