Speaking Topics and Workshops

``I wanted to commend you all on this live event. Of all the resiliency webinars we've been sent from various corners, this concrete set of instructions, solutions, and guidance broke through and made good sense. I was particularly struck when she said that our kids aren't going to remember what they learned during this time, but they'll remember who helped them through it.``

``This was one of the best presentations I have attended over the last five years of attending and presenting at AMLE! Awesome!``

The feedback from counselors was excellent! Here are just a few of the comments: ‘Outstanding presentation. You should have her back!’ ‘The presenter was great—very engaging and hands-on.’ ‘This was one of the best presentations that I’ve been to in a long time!’ ‘This training was so useful. I’d love to have many more like this in the future!’ Thank you!

Dear Phyllis,</p> <p>I hope your travel back to D.C was smooth and uneventful! It has been energizing to hear such incredibly positive feedback from the middle school teachers about your work with us yesterday. The throughline is how appreciative they are for your insightful and usable strategies to help students deepen their capacity for empathy and resiliency. It was an inspiring (and very practical) way for us to begin the second semester. What a gift to have read your book as a team this semester and then get to work with you in person--thank you for giving such great care and attention to middle school education!Thank you for your collaboration - it was such a pleasure working with you. In a meeting with Jess yesterday afternoon, we already started thinking about possibilities for you to connect with our parents and students. I hope we will continue our partnership, and please know your Nashville fan club at Harpeth Hall will be reading your new book when it comes out in August.Sincere thanks,

Thank you, Phyllis. I enjoyed your presentation greatly – and I know the parents and teachers did as well. With any presentation, I have myself pick one “take away” to mull over. The “a-ha” idea from your presentation was that many kids who are socially awkward need a variety of friends so they don’t overwhelm a “best friend.” Very insightful! Of course, you presented many, many more wonderful ideas, and I wanted to share how one took flight with me. I am rereading your book and buying copies for middle school teachers!

I attended tonight’s session and thought it was so helpful. I just wanted to say a big thank you for presenting your amazing book. After listening tonight, I think I may need to read it a second time to catch all of the great nuggets! You were the first big outside speaker since the start of the pandemic – and I hope you could see/hear from the 350+ people who attended that there is a craving for tools, language, etc. that will help us best support our kids. Your content hit the mark and then some! Thanks for being a great launching off point for continued conversations.

Hi Phyllis, Thank you again for such an informative evening! Everyone is buzzing about how much they enjoyed it! Thank you again.

Dear Phyllis,Thank you so much for speaking at the 2022 Mental Health Teach-In. Your many strategies with how to cope with stress/anxiety have been incredibly helpful to me and many other students entering the craziness that is second semester. Your engaging presentation left us all more knowledgeable and better prepared to handle life’s trials and tribulations. Overall, your workshop was very impactful and I’m excited to share what I learned with others. Again, thank you for your hard work and dedication to spreading awareness about the issue. We hope you are able to join us again next year! Sincerely,

Dear Phyllis, Please accept my sincerest thanks for the parent workshop you offered to the Jericho PTA on April 6, 2022. Based on the feedback I have received, you were sensational in sharing your knowledge and experiences with our parents. I’m so appreciative of your time and partnership for the important work we do with young adolescent learners. The most difficult thing about middle school is, there are few effective resources for parents to go to in order to understand this challenging time in their children’s lives. Your book, Middle School Matters, offers just such a how-to manual for educators and parents with practical advice and a supportive stance on how to help our children navigate this dynamic and exciting time. Best of luck to you in your work, I look forward to our continued partnership. Warmest regards,

The Zoom was amazing! I really enjoyed it and it offered so much support and information. I can’t wait to get the books Phyllis recommended and try some of the techniques you offered to make a child comfortable for such a hard transition of middle school. It definitely can be used for elementary as well.

Just wanted to let you know how helpful my husband and I found Ms. Fagell’s presentation last night. Her advice and ideas were helpful, succinct, useful and so spot on! It showed us the things we are doing well and ways we can improve on communications with our children, especially as they embark on these challenging years in middle school. We also greatly appreciated the suggested reading/book list and the values cards idea. This was our first time participating in one of these events and set the bar high! Thanks so much.

You did a tremendous job last week offering invaluable tips and insights!

Dear Ana and Phyllis, Thank you so much for last week's brilliant conversation on ``friends, frenemies, and friendlier friends.`` When we count our gratitudes this fall, you are both on our list! Survey data shows that 100% of parents rated the event as “Very Valuable,” and all responded that the information provided would help them parent their child or teen. Here's a lovely note that came in from one of our viewers: I thought that the Friends, Frenemies, and Friendlier Friends: Navigating School Social Dynamics event was terrific — it gave me a lot to think about with our 10- and 14-year-old kiddos. All the best, and Happy Thanksgiving! -Dan

Phyllis was fabulous! She is a great communicator. Really appreciate the insight she provided. Please pass along our thanks.

Thank you, Phyllis. Amazing presentation! It is incredible to get that many middle school parents to turn up for any event we schedule, virtual or otherwise. Truly unprecedented. The principals were to thrilled to have a presentation focused just on the issues confronting middle level children.

Phyllis, I don’t make it to all the Stressbusters events, but I wasn’t going to miss your appearance. I always marvel at how much you know and how easily you share it. Thanks for supporting us!

Thank you so much for joining our Lincoln Middle School summer book study on your book Middle School Matters! We have been learning so much reading your book and we learned even more during your visit!

Thank you SOOOO much for that wonderful presentation last night. It was overflowing with a variety of practical ready-set-go strategies that were applicable to countless situations. I couldn’t stop smiling and nodding throughout. It also spoke to the right now of this pandemic in such an honest and loving way. I’ve been sharing my a-ha moments with friends and family non-stop in these few short hours. With both feet on the floor and hands over my heart, I’m sending you warmth and gratitude. Thanks again.

Thank you for your presentation. Your framework, concrete strategies and breadth of experience with Middle School students are invaluable to our parents. I appreciate the opportunity to learn from you as well. I look forward to continued opportunities to work together.

Thank you again for an informative presentation. It was just what our parents needed and they continue to extend their gratitude.

I wanted to thank you for your incredible presentation. We’ve had so much great feedback from our community and I know your strategies and insights are helping people already!

Thanks so much for joining us today and for bringing your uplifting manner and accessible strategies with us! we love takeaways that we can use right away and you gave us so many of those. Many, thanks for taking time to speak with us and reassure us that we are all in this together and are not alone AND that we can take some steps to keep moving forward.

I can't thank you enough for today's session with Phyllis. I loved hearing her speak in the spring and she did not disappoint today. When she said I'm not going to talk about self-care, I was hooked. Another thing she said that really resonated with me was the term ``toxic positivity.`` I took copious notes and am already thinking about implementing a positivity jar with my students since it takes 6 positive comments to override a negative one.

“Special thanks, Phyllis, for sharing an outstanding evening of parent engagement with Stone Ridge and other AISGW community members. And thank you for sharing a faculty workshop on middle school and the pandemic’s impact on children -- great reflection questions: What memories of middle school do you bring to the table, and how do you think they impact your teaching?”

``Thank you for the fantastic webinar you facilitated for the Skyworks team yesterday! We’ve gotten great feedback from attendees. Your recommendations and advice are very relevant, useful and timely.``

``Wonderful session. So appropriate and enlightening. This kind of information is so helpful. Phyllis has great stories of ways she handles different situations.``

``Give them a bigger room. Bring up copies of her book so we can buy them right now.``

Phyllis Fagell is my new go-to source for sage advice in child development. She speaks from the heart but also from real experience.

I loved your presentation on how to build school-wide empathy through design thinking. You provided such wonderful ideas that I can take back to school and use immediately! Thank you for your out-of-the-box ideas in working with both traditional and non-traditional learners.

We had a board meeting this morning and once again, everyone was raving about your talk. Would you be interested in coming back? I wasn't kidding when I told you how well-received you were. Everyone truly values your insight and would love the opportunity for another discussion.

What an amazing parent session with @Pfagell this morning! Thank you for joining our @HavergalCollege community and sharing your wisdom and expertise with us. We’re all looking forward to your visit this Fall.

``Thank you so much for your talk yesterday morning. Your insight and knowledge on middle-school life is invaluable to my everyday teaching, and the feedback I received from audience members (both in person and through the livestream) has been nothing be positive!``

Phyllis Fagell is the kind of counselor every kid deserves. She loves her work and it clearly shows in her dedication to understanding her students' challenges and helping them manage their out-of-control emotions. I especially appreciate her effectiveness as a character educator and her understanding that relationship-building is the most important skill people need in their personal and professional lives.

Let me reiterate that you were so amazing on Saturday. You are a talented woman! Thank you for your time and for giving us so many great things to think about.

Phyllis said that if we don’t teach our children about love, the outside world will do it for us. That is so true.