Tuesday, November 17, 2026
Mountain America Expo Center
Join experts, leaders, and advocates to learn more about the importance of infant and early childhood mental health in Utah.
Keynote Speaker
Mary Gordon, Founder/President/CEO
Roots of Empathy
Mary Gordon is recognized internationally as an award-winning social entrepreneur, educator, best-selling author, child advocate and parenting expert who has created programs informed by the power of empathy.
In 1981, Ms. Gordon founded Canada’s first and largest Parenting and Family Literacy Centers, for which she received the Order of Canada. In 1996, she created the Roots of Empathy program, after which she named her international children's charity which now offers programs on three continents. In 2005, she created Seeds of Empathy for 3 to 5-year-old children in childcare which is offered in Canada, the U.S. and U.K.ams on three continents.
Mary Gordon and Roots of Empathy have been quoted in over 1,400 academic journals, and Ms. Gordon has been featured in the New York Times, the LA Times, the Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, The Globe and Mail, Toronto Star, National Post, Time Magazine, The Guardian, The Irish Times, The Financial Times, The Independent and the Huffington Post, Japan’s NHK, BBC, CBC, and in features on PBS, CNN, and NBC.