Are your students or faculty struggling with wellbeing, connection, and belonging?
Dr. Sarah Bennison — a 30-year educator, school leader, and scholar — helps schools become more human, from the classroom to the institution.
As a keynote speaker and consultant, she works directly with schools to ignite lasting change.
Making schools more human — creating institutions that recognize the dignity and humanity of each individual — is the animating mission of Dr. Sarah Bennison's life and work.
Dr. Bennison is an educator, scholar, activist, and keynote speaker who engages with audiences throughout the United States. She is a faculty member at New York University, the founder of Trinity School's (NYC) groundbreaking K–12 Office of Public Service and founder of Mattering in Action, the nonprofit arm of her work.
Dr. Bennison's work spans the full ecosystem of a school: teaching and leading in K–12 and higher education for thirty years, designing service-learning programs and curriculum, leading institutional change, and translating thirty years of interdisciplinary research into practical frameworks for schools and universities. She works with educational institutions to create communities rooted in purpose, service, belonging, deep learning, and genuine wellbeing. Mattering-Centered Education™ is where that work converges: a framework born from three decades of practice, turning schools into places where students don't just learn about the world, but go out and change it..
Making Schools More Human.
Designing for the Dignity and Humanity of Every Individual.
Ready to Make Your School More Human?
Thirty years across the whole ecosystem of schools — designing for the dignity and humanity of every individual.
Get in Touch.
“Dr. Bennison’s keynote at the NASPA Strategies Conference was both energizing and deeply impactful. She has a remarkable ability to translate actionable strategies that resonate with professionals across roles and experience levels. Dr. Bennison’s delivery was engaging, authentic, and grounded in real-world application. Her keynote left attendees not only inspired but sparked meaningful reflection and momentum that carried our attendees into critical work for student success.”
— Whitney P. O’Regan, Ed.D. Senior Director of Prevention & Safety Initiatives, NASPA - Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education
"I just wanted to thank you for providing me with the information on “Mattering”. We designed a session around it for our leadership training session last week, and it was awesome. The students loved it, and I really feel like it made an impact on them. Our Dean of Students also talked about it in our opening school meeting yesterday, and it was such a powerful message to the community to help us kick off the year."
- Patrick B. Dennehy, Associate Dean of Students, Director of Residential Life, Choate Rosemary Hall
“I just wanted to say thank you for such an eloquent and informative address that you gave at Hotchkiss, yesterday. You captivated the audience, and we were all engaged. We were extremely impressed by what you had to say and your delivery. I think that there is so much that both parents and students can learn from the research that you have conducted, and what you have to say.”
- Hotchkiss School Parent
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Educators, Students & Scholars, Welcome. This is the nonprofit home of Mattering-Centered Education™ — where free resources, community, and cutting-edge research come together.
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