Community Education Series: Cecily’s Conference

Keynote Speaker, Amber Berry

Vice President of AI & Strategy
Middle States Association

From Mission to Mindful Tech: Raising Future‑Ready Kids in the Age of AI

This presentation addresses AI as a genuine inflection point that demands clear thinking and shared responsibility. Through live reflection, guided questions, and community discussion, you will help surface what must remain non-negotiable as technology evolves. Rather than focusing on tools, the conversation centers on powerful learning experiences and how thinking, authorship, and human judgment can be both protected and strengthened in an AI-shaped world.

Bio

Amber Berry is the inaugural Vice President of AI and Strategy for Middle States Association (MSA). She is the co-founder of RAIL: Responsible AI in Learning, a series of endorsements that provide schools with access to an AI implementation framework. The MSA team is working with more than 77 schools in 30 countries across six continents, impacting more than 70,000 students since its launch in 2024. Endorsement 1 is in AI Literacy, Safety & Ethics (Stay Safe, Stay Ahead), and endorsement 2 is the Essential Learning Experience with AI (Responsible AI, Powerful Learning).

By background, Amber worked in public and independent schools for 15 years, most recently at St. Luke’s School in Connecticut. She started in schools as a French teacher, then joined the leadership team as World Language Department Chair, the Director of Teaching Fellows, and Middle School principal. Amber has a special interest in school change with an emphasis on teacher growth and development.

Amber earned a BA from Princeton University in French and Italian with minors in African American Studies and The Program in Teacher Preparation. She went on to earn her MA in French linguistics and pedagogy from Middlebury College and her MEd in Private School Leadership from Columbia University Teachers College Klingenstein Program. She also earned a mini-MBA in AI for Business through Section School. She is a member of Excelle Collective for women in educational leadership.

After taking control of her health, Amber has become an advocate for lifestyle change by sharing her journey to reverse Type 2 Diabetes. She actively supports the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), where she and her husband serve on the Young Leadership Alliance. Amber also serves on the foundation board of Wissahickon Charter School in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Related to her work at MSA, she also offers AI 101 for Parents as a passion project to friends and community members. On weekends, Amber embraces her role as an NFL wife, cheering on the Philadelphia Eagles alongside her two sons.

Delaney Ruston, MD

Physician & Filmmaker

Raising Healthy Humans in a Tech-Saturated World: What Actually Works

Dr. Ruston shares tried-and-true strategies to help families support healthy youth development across social time, study time, family time, and sleep time in a digital world that has become even more attention-grabbing with the rise of AI. She addresses the most common obstacles parents face, including those whose children struggle with attention challenges or anxiety. With 30 years as a medical doctor, a background in communication science, and four films on screen time, Dr. Ruston understands the challenges parents face and ensures her talks leave them feeling capable and hopeful rather than overwhelmed.

Bio

Delaney Ruston is a filmmaker, Fulbright Scholar, and Stanford-trained physician whose award-winning four Screenagers documentaries have thus far brought over 14 million youth and adults together in more than 90 countries to address youth, technology, and mental health. Ruston is a widely sought-after expert on youth and screen time and has spoken at organizations such as Google, Facebook, The Aspen Institute, major national conferences, and leading medical centers. Her insights have been featured in outlets including Good Morning America, NPR, and The New York Times.

Prior to the Screenagers films, Ruston created internationally recognized mental health documentaries and collaborated with organizations such as the World Health Organization and NAMI. In addition, Dr. Ruston continues her passion as a physician, caring for teens and adults in community clinics.

Phyllis Fagell

Licensed Mental Health Therapist
Certified Professional School Counselor
Journalist & Author

Helping Kids Develop the Skills They Need (Online & Offline) to Manage Social, Emotional & Academic Ups & Downs

Ms. Fagell will share ways to help your child connect meaningfully with peers, teachers, and parents; maintain balance and perspective; and navigate friendships and academic challenges with confidence and resilience as they grow up in a complex, ever-changing digital world.

Bio

Phyllis L. Fagell is a licensed mental health therapist at The Chrysalis Group, Inc., and the consulting counselor at Landon School, both in Bethesda, Maryland. She’s the author of Middle School Matters, The 10 Key Skills Kids Need to Thrive in Middle School and Beyond – and How Parents Can Help (Hachette, 2019) and Middle School SuperPowers, Raising Resilient Tweens in Turbulent Times (Hachette, 2023). Phyllis contributes to many media outlets, including The Washington Post, CNN, and U.S. News & World Report, and her ideas have been featured in publications such as The New York Times, The Atlantic, The New Yorker, The Chicago Tribune, and NPR. She lives in Bethesda with her husband and three children.