Donna Housman, Ed.D., is a clinical psychologist with over 35 years of experience in child development and early childhood education. Knowing it is far easier to prevent than repair, she founded Housman Institute, and its lab school/early childhood development center, based on emotional foundations of learning and cognition. Her evidence-based emotional, cognitive, and social early learning approach, begin to ECSEL, fosters the building blocks of emotional intelligence starting from birth to promote self regulation and empathy for lifelong learning, mental health, and well-being. As children develop within the context of relationships the ECSEL relational approach trains educators to understand and manage their own emotions before they can model for and guide children in theirs. Housman is an active presenter and speaker both nationally and internationally, and her opinions and contributions have been published in numerous national and international publications, research journals, and platforms. Housman is the author of the ECSELent Adventures children's book series. The first in the series, "Gilly and the Garden," focused on helping young children to understand and deal with loss, as well as "Theo's Deliciously Different Dumplings," a story about helping children understand the importance of diversity, inclusivity, and equity will be released this fall.
