2026 Early Hearing Detection & Intervention Conference
March 15-17, 2026 • Jacksonville, FL
Plenary II: Wonder With Us: Finding Inspiration and Guidance in the Work of Mister Rogers, Presenters: Gregg Behr and Ryan Rydzewski, Authors of When You Wonder, You're Learning: Mister Rogers' Enduring Lessons for Raising Creative, Curious, Caring Kids
As ambassadors from his real-life neighborhood of Pittsburgh, authors Gregg Behr and Ryan Rydzewski know there’s more to Mister Rogers than his trademark cardigan sweaters. To them, Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood isn’t just a children’s program —it’s a proven blueprint for raising happier, healthier kids.
In their bestselling book and accompanying keynote talk, the authors of When You Wonder, You’re Learning reveal a never-before-seen side of America’s favorite neighbor: the ingenious scientist and legendary teacher who was decades ahead of his time.
In a moving presentation that has inspired audiences around the country, Gregg and Ryan use stories, songs, and more to bring today’s adults back to the Neighborhood. By exploring Fred’s fascinating methods for nurturing children’s growth, Gregg and Ryan empower educators, parents, and caring professionals everywhere to build Neighborhoods of their own: places that equip every child to become the best of whoever they are.
- Identify how Fred Rogers used the science of learning to help kids develop the "tools for learning"—the skills and mindsets now deemed essential for school, work, and life.
- Identify how educators and other caring adults are using Fred Rogers' work to nurture wonder, belonging, and joy
- Develop ideas for drawing on Fred Rogers' work in EHDI and beyond.
Presenter: Ryan Rydzewski
Ryan Rydzewski is an award-winning author and speaker. A graduate of the University of Pittsburgh, he taught elementary school in south Louisiana before earning an MFA in nonfiction writing from Chatham University. As a science and education reporter, his magazine stories focus on everything from schools to space travel to Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, and he regularly leads workshops for educators and parents. Born in Erie, Pennsylvania, Ryan lives in Pittsburgh with his wife, Jacqueline, and their two children.
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
• Receives Speaker for Teaching and speaking from When You Wonder, You're Learning.
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exist.
Gregg Behr, executive director of The Grable Foundation since 2006, is a father and children’s advocate. For more than 15 years, he has helped lead Remake Learning—a network of educators, technologists, designers, and makers he founded in 2007—to international renown. Among the foremost examples of learning ecosystems, Remake Learning has turned heads everywhere from The White House to the World Economic Forum for its efforts to ignite children's curiosity; encourage creativity; and foster justice, joy, and belonging in schools, libraries, museums, and other sites of learning. A graduate of the University of Notre Dame and Duke University, Gregg holds honorary degrees from Carlow University and Saint Vincent College. He's an advisor to The Brookings Institution and The Fred Rogers Institute, and has been honored by President Obama, the Disruptor Foundation, ISTE, and AASA as an innovator and thought leader.
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
No relevant financial relationship exist.
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exist.