Amplify Conference 2026

Amplify is about turning up the volume on what matters most in schools today.

It’s where neuroscience meets practice. Where student voice joins international expertise. And where pastoral leaders, counsellors, and youth workers can gain fresh insights to strengthen wellbeing support across their communities.

We’re thrilled to welcome Dr. Lori Desautels the world’s leading voice in educational and relational neuroscience to New Zealand. Lori will share her insights across multiple sessions throughout the day, exploring how safety, connection, and co-regulation shape adolescent learning and behaviour. What sets Lori apart is her ability to make the science practical and immediately relevant, especially in secondary schools where disengagement, anxiety, and behaviour challenges are most pressing. Her strategies are designed for the real-world challenges faced by school leaders, pastoral teams, and counsellors every day.

Alongside Lori, Jase Williams will bring his deep expertise in trauma-informed practice and connection, curating a program that balances international insight with the lived realities of Aotearoa schools.

You’ll also hear directly from schools themselves, with spotlight sessions showcasing the incredible work happening across the country.

Amplify is delivered as a not-for-profit event, with proceeds reinvested to help more schools access professional learning and insights of this kind.

Curated by Jase Williams | Brought to you by Linewize

Our speakers include representatives from leading schools, as well as:

Dr. Lori Desautels - Internationally renowned expert in applied educational neuroscience

The practice of co‑regulating with children and youth begins when adults change their focus from the surface behaviours they see in class to the emotions and sensations driving that behaviour.

Jase Williams - Trauma-informed practitioner, educator, and TEDx speaker
If I brought up self-care right now, who says they’ve got amazing self-care 24/7? Probably nobody. So, our kids are modelling off us. They’re watching us. That’s the observable culture of care.

Andrew Sylvester - MC and education leader, Linewize
How do we really understand what’s happening to and for our young people? Connection is the starting point. Without it, we can’t expect honesty, and we can’t expect change.