Mary Gordon, Founder, President, and CEO of Roots of Empathy, has been invited to deliver the keynote address at the Ready! Resilient! Utah Early Childhood Mental Health Conference, hosted by The Children’s Center Utah in the greater Salt Lake City area.

Now in its seventh year, this annual statewide conference brings together state leaders, mental health professionals, educators, healthcare providers, and community members to address key issues in infant and early childhood mental health and foster collaboration across sectors. Last year, the event welcomed approximately 500 in-person attendees and 175 virtual participants from across Utah.

Mary Gordon, Founder, President, and CEO of Roots of Empathy, has been invited to participate as a thought leader at the MenCare Changemaker Summit, co-organized by Equimundo: Center for Masculinities and Social Justice and WOW – Women of the World in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

This global summit brings together decision-makers from business, media, culture, civil society, and government who are driving change in how the world understands men, care, and masculinity. Spanning invite-only workshops and a high-level Thought Leader Forum, the summit convenes global experts to develop solutions to the most pressing challenges facing boys and men today — from fatherhood and men’s health to new visions of masculinity rooted in care, responsibility, and connection.

Mary Gordon, Founder, President, and CEO of Roots of Empathy, joined a fireside chat hosted by CanadaHelps, Canada’s largest online giving platform, exploring the connections between empathy, literacy, and inspiring generosity in the next generation.

Mary was joined in conversation by Camesha Cox, Founder and Executive Director of The Reading Partnership, and Duke Chang, CEO of CanadaHelps, whose new children’s book Violet’s Song, encourages children to become helpers in their communities — and reminds adults of the importance of modelling those values every day.

The conversation formed part of CanadaHelps’ ongoing dialogue with its charity partners about the power of purposeful work — and the shared belief that empathy and generosity, nurtured early, are among the most transformative gifts we can give a child.

Mary Gordon was invited to speak at Empathy Day, a one-day online event hosted by the Social Brain Lab (SBL) at the Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, led by Dr. Valeria Gazzola and Dr. Christian Keyers.

The Social Brain Lab’s research focuses on empathy and social dynamics across species, examining how the brain links observed behaviour to internal representations of emotions and actions — combining human brain imaging, animal circuit-level measurements, and cross-species comparisons to investigate the neural basis of empathy and social behaviour.

Empathy Day brought together leading thinkers from across disciplines to explore an important question: how do we understand empathy — from brain circuits to behaviour, philosophy, and AI? Mary spoke alongside researchers and practitioners, including Alex Mari (AI and human-machine relationships), Zanna Clay (empathy in primates), Dimana Atanassova (human empathy mechanisms), and Daryl Cameron (motivated empathic choices).

Mary Gordon, Founder, President, and CEO of Roots of Empathy, was invited to participate to speak at Character Matters: Values and Resilience in the Digital Age, a virtual research retreat hosted by Children and Screens: Institute of Digital Media and Child Development. This invitation-only gathering convenes over 100 scholars, educators, care providers, and leaders from youth- and family-serving organizations to explore how technology and digital media shape the moral, civic, and intellectual character of young people — and what systems and structures can best support healthy development in today’s digital world.

The four-day retreat spans themes of youth moral and civic development, intellectual growth, and translating research into real-world action. Mary’s decades of work building empathy from the early years brought a vital perspective to these conversations — a reminder that resilience and good character are not formed in isolation, but through human connection, emotional literacy, and the relationships that anchor children as they navigate an increasingly digital world. The retreat’s findings will inform a free, public four-part webinar series to be released in Fall 2026.

Mary Gordon, Founder, President, and CEO of Roots of Empathy, delivered the keynote address at the 2025 CNC Virtual Conference. Hosted by CMAS, this virtual gathering brought together Care for Newcomer Children (CNC) staff from across Canada. With this year’s theme—“Inspiring Care: Building Quality, Nurturing Connections”—the conference highlighted the essential role early childhood educators play in shaping children’s development and well-being.

In her keynote, she talked about the importance of emotional literacy, attachment, and inclusion in early learning, with insights drawn from the Seeds of Empathy program and decades of experience supporting young children and families.

CNN Chile and Sana Mente TV program interview. The only TV program in Chile that addresses mental health issues, sharing content to increase levels of well-being, through interviews, capsules and stories, always with the support of neuroscience, psychology and psychiatry.

Mary Gordon was interviewed for the 7th season premiere on the experience of Roots of Empathy and its impact on wellbeing. Also explaining how the lack of empathy was conducive to violence and how we could break this cycle by developing it in children. In its first 2 years on air, the show accumulated nearly 7 million viewers from both TV and online.

Mary Gordon, Founder, President, and CEO of Roots of Empathy, was a guest speaker at the Humility, Kindness & Love (HKL) Movement event on August 2. The HKL Movement is a global initiative dedicated to uniting humanity through shared virtues—humility for all, kindness for all, and love for all. The event will welcome over 7,000 attendees in person and reach hundreds of thousands more through its live online broadcast.

In her talk, Mary discussed how empathy is the foundation for living a life guided by humility, kindness, and love. Drawing from her work with Roots of Empathy, she shared how nurturing emotional literacy from an early age helps children grow into empathic individuals and create more inclusive, connected communities. Her message reinforced why empathy belongs at the core of education, leadership, and human connection.

On May 21, Mary Gordon, Founder, President & CEO of Roots of Empathy, spoke at a virtual workshop hosted by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. The workshop, Unraveling the Neurobiology of Empathy and Compassion: Implications for Treatments for Brain Disorders and Other Applications brought together experts to explore how empathy and compassion impact brain health and human well-being.

She took part in Session 4: Real-World Impacts of Empathy and Compassion, which explored:

• Strategies and practices that can cultivate empathy and compassion
• The impact of technology on the development of empathy and compassion
• The benefits of increased empathy and compassion for mental health, workforce satisfaction, healthcare delivery, and for society

The session was chaired by Dr. Dawn Lavell Harvard, and included presentations from Dr. Sonja Raaum (University of Utah), Dr. Tor Wager (Dartmouth College), and Kelli Marshall (Trent University).

Watch the recording here.

Mary Gordon attended the 7th International Spirit of Humanity Forum in Reykjavík, Iceland, entitled: “Inner Wisdom in Governance and Leadership – Acting with Courage and Compassion.” This invitation-only Forum was hosted by the City of Reykjavík and brought together leaders from various fields to explore how personal transformation and core human values such as love and compassion can lead to systemic change.

Since 2012, the Forum has supported leaders in exploring new ways of leading that are inclusive, compassionate and restorative for humanity and the Earth.

Held in a retreat format, the Forum offers a well-recognized safe and nurturing atmosphere to explore the inner resources needed to lead in challenging times. The three pillars of silence, listening, and dialogue continue to be the foundation of the time together.

Each day began with a high-level panel and intergenerational dialogue with leaders from around the world, followed by personal reflection, dialogue among participants, and the sharing of inspiring, transformative narratives.

Mary Gordon attended the 2025 Wellbeing Economy Forum in Reykjavík, Iceland, held at Harpa Concert Hall on May 8–9. The Forum, hosted by the Directorate of Health in Iceland and co-funded by the European Union, was part of the JA PreventNCD project and was held in collaboration with the Spirit of Humanity Forum.

Under the theme “Wellbeing Economy: Focusing on values for people and the planet,” the Forum brought together global leaders, policymakers, and changemakers to explore how societies can prioritize human and planetary wellbeing through health, equity, inclusivity, sustainability, social connection, and compassion.

The program featured high-level policy sessions, leadership workshops, fireside chats with wellbeing pioneers, marketplace presentations, and the Wellbeing Awards hosted by the President of Iceland.

The Wellbeing Economy Forum brings together leaders and changemakers committed to promoting the cultivation of a better world.

On April 8th, Founder/President/CEO Mary Gordon and Director of Program Integrity/Curriculum Julie Lundberg delivered a presentation “Connecting the Inner World of the Child to the Relational World of Teaching”‘ at Oxford’s World Literacy Summit in England, the largest global gathering of literacy specialists. With 500 attendees and 40,000 online views from 85+ countries, this event unites educators, researchers, policymakers, and learners to address the global literacy crisis.

In 2023, Mary introduced a powerful idea to the Summit: Emotional literacy is the first and most essential literacy for helping children thrive. This year, she  built on that message, emphasizing how teachers, by recognizing students’ emotions and vulnerabilities, create a safe, supportive environment where children feel understood and ready to learn.