Karen Stone McCown is the Chairman of the Board for Six Seconds and founder of The Synapse School. She is recognized as a pioneer of Emotional Intelligence she is featured in Daniel Goldman's bestselling book, Emotional Intelligence. She created the nation’s first emotional intelligence curriculum, Self-Science, a program she facilitated for nearly 3 decades. Karen is author of numerous articles and books in education. Ms. Stone-McCown founded the Nueva School Hillsborough, California in 1967. In planning the school she met with educators, political & business leaders and Nobel Laureates to consider the educational needs of our society. She saw that the central foundation of a school should be not simply giving students knowledge, but giving them the opportunity to develop wisdom.

The Stone Soup Leadership Institute's book series, Stone Soup for the World: Life-Changing Stories of Everyday Heroes is a treasure. It gives educators a powerful way to engage students through real-life stories with meaningful lessons that address the importance of SEL (social-emotional learning) values of caring for ourselves, others, and for the community. The Institute's noble work with students, teachers, and schools reminds me of how we created one of the nation’s first SEL curriculum and founded two schools with SEL as a central pillar. We worked alongside educators, political and business leaders, and a group of Nobel Laureates to reflect on the educational needs of our society. We decided that the central foundation of a school is beyond students’ knowledge. We must give them an opportunity to think, act, and lay the foundation for life-long learning. The Institute’s curriculum and online courses gives teachers the tools they need to bring SEL into their classrooms. I encourage everyone who cares about our children, their future, and ours to bring these tools into our schools.

Karen Stone McCown, Founder The Nueva Learning Center, The Synapse School