What Boys Need As Males Conference:
A Global Conversation on Raising Boys into Men in the 21st Century

This free, virtual conference took place on January 23 - 26, 2026, with Live Presentations on January 24 - 25 and Pre-Recorded Sessions on January 23 and 26. The conference is ongoing in the sense that the videos can be watched at anytime. The conference has been sponsored by the Santa Fe Boys Fund and organized by the Gurian Foundation and Gurian Institute.

Click on the photo of each sponsor and speaker to access their information, including biographical information and content descriptions. The conference schedule and other information appears below the photographs.

On this website you can access the Playlist of the pre-recorded keynotes, interviews, and panel discussions, as well as the recordings of the keynotes, interviews, and discussions from the live conference.

CONFERENCE SPONSORS

This Conference is Sponsored by the Santa Fe Boys Fund, Founded by Paul Golding and Bonnie Ellinger, and the Gurian Foundation, founded by Michael Gurian and Gail Reid-Gurian

  • Paul Golding

    Paul Golding, Ph.D., is the president of the Santa Fe Boys Fund. Through publications and conferences, the fund and Dr. Golding seek to …

  • Bonnie Ellinger

    Bonnie Ellinger, Ph.D., Applied Linguistics. Dr. Ellinger lived in Israel for 35 years, the first five on a kibbutz. She taught English for more …

  • Gail Reid-Gurian

    The Gurian Foundation is co-sponsoring this Conference in honor of Gail Gurian, our Foundation’s co-director, a marriage and family therapist, mother of two daughters, …

  • Michael Gurian

    Michael Gurian will provide a short introductory session, Setting the Stage, with thanks to the Santa Fe Boys Fund, Dr. Paul Golding, and Dr. Bonnie …

EXPERTS AND SPEAKERS

  • John Gray

    What Boys Need as Males Dr. Gray will focus on male development from both a biological and sociological perspective.  In his rich and dynamic …

  • Warren Farrell

    The Boy Crisis and the Fatherhood Advantage Why are boys falling behind girls in every academic subject in all 53 of the largest …

  • Christina Hoff Sommers

    The War Against Boys Boys are languishing socially and academically. With each passing year, their plight only worsens. The social and economic costs of …

  • Daniel Amen

    Michael Gurian will interview Dr. Daniel Amen on important questions of male mental health. Dr. Daniel Amen’s mission is end mental illness by creating …

  • Michael Thompson

    Having Faith in Boys’ Development Michael Gurian will interview Dr. Michael Thompson.  From Dr. Thompson: In this interview, I will talk about the fears …

  • Leonard Sax

    Motivation: the Key to Boys’ Success From Dr. Sax: Over the past 24 years, I have visited more than 500 schools (you can review …

  • Rob Kodama

    What Boys Need from Coaches In this session, Rob Kodama and three young men he coached—each of whom is or has been a …

  • Lisa Britton

    Waking Women and the World Up to the Boy Crisis From Lisa: My talk will focus on the importance of waking up the whole …

  • Ola Akinwe

    Mentoring Boys, Empowering Generations This session explores the transformative power of targeted mentorship for boys, grounded in neuroscience and developmental psychology. Research reveals the …

  • Troy Kemp

    Strategies for Fathering, Mentoring, and Educating Boys That Work Troy Kemp has been fathering, educating, mentoring, and coaching boys for thirty years.  His …

  • Lauren Paiva

    What Our Youngest Boys Need This talk will focus on what our youngest boys need from us, boys in early childhood education, Head Start, …

  • David Geary

    Men’s Pathways to Success in the Modern World: An Evolutionary Perspective on Prestige and Status Striving Men have evolved to seek status and recognition in …

  • Marion Hill

    Authentic Fatherhood Man’s greatness consists in his ability to do and the proper application of his powers to things needed to be done. – …

  • Edward Casillas

    Authentic Fatherhood In this keynote, Edward Casillas from Parental Opportunities, Programs & Services (POPS) and Marion Hill (MANCAVE) will introduce working with fathers …

  • Jed Diamond

    The Evolution of Maleness: Helping Boys & Men Reconnect to Our Billion-Year-Old Heritage From Dr. Diamond: As a father of six grown children, seventeen …

  • Barry Shreiar

    Virtue Development Boys Need in School and Life Army and Navy Academy (ANA), is a boys boarding school on the Pacific Ocean in Carlsbad, …

  • Glynetta Fletcher

    He Is Not A Gladiator: Trauma-Informed Strategies for Helping Boys At Risk Grow Up with Resilience Dr. Fletcher will focus on trauma-informed classrooms with …

  • Sean Kullman

    Boys, A Rescue Plan: Moving Beyond The Politics of Masculinity to Healthy Male Development Director of the Global Initiative for Boys and Men, …

  • Daryl Howard

    Educating Boys of Color: What We Know Works Boys of color spend the majority of their K–12 education under cross-cultural and cross-gender instruction and …

  • Paul Cumbo

    Excavating Joy: An Elusive but Crucial Element for Today’s Emerging Men Author, teacher, and entrepreneur Paul Cumbo will share insights on the crucial …

  • Dr. Gregory Jantz

    In Memoriam Dr. Gregory Jantz was the Founding Director of The Center, a Place of Hope in Edmonds, Washington and a bestselling author …

  • Maggie Dent

    Mothering our Boys In this session, one of Australia’s favorite parenting authors, also a mother of four sons, Maggie Dent explores the power of …

  • Neil Bierbaum

    The Importance of Hope for Young Men Hope is a powerful emotional force that gives our lives meaning and is key to psychological functioning …

  • Kenny Mammarella-D’Cruz

    WHAT MEN NEED: What is a man? Do men have needs? Who needs to meet them? After sitting with thousands of men over three …

  • Robert Samery

    False Allegations of Impropriety — The Male Experience in a Shifting Cultural Landscape This talk confronts the devastating personal cost of false allegations in …

  • John Barry

    What Is Male-Centred Therapy? Empathy for Males Empathy is, arguably, the key factor in the success of therapy, and might be the key …

  • Hanliang Niu

    What Boys Need As Males in School from Asian Perspectives In what we believe is a first for a conference of this kind, we …

  • Renya Suzuki

    What Boys Need As Males in School from Asian Perspectives In what we believe is a first for a conference of this kind, we …

  • Nam Nguyen

    What Boys Need As Males in School from Asian Perspectives In what we believe is a first for a conference of this kind, …

  • Mingjun Wang

    What Boys Need As Males in School from Asian Perspectives In what we believe is a first for a conference of this kind, …

  • Mark Ryan

    What Boys Need As Males in School from Asian Male Perspectives In what we believe is a first for a conference of this kind, …

  • Dakota Hoyt

    Dakota Hoyt is the point person for many of your questions about this Conference. Please write her at info@gurianinstitute.com. Dakota is retired from 30 …

  • Tim Wright

    Building Boys with a Sense of Sacred Masculinity You’ve heard or read the news. Males are adrift. Men are lost. They seem purposeless. They’re …

To register, scroll down to SIGN UP NOW.
To register large groups, email info@gurianinstitute.com.

Important Logistical Information About the Conference

Pre-Recorded Sessions

These Keynotes, Interview, and Panel Will Be Available on this Conference Website on January 23 and 26, 2026

Recordings from experts who were not available on the two days of the Live Zoom conference, from overseas, and/or who joined Michael Gurian for interviews will be available on January 23 and January 26. We are honored that so many renowned social thinkers can join this conference in all of these various ways.

Dr. Leonard Sax, Motivating Boys: The Key to Success

Dr. Michael Thompson, interviewed by Michael Gurian, Believing in Our Boys

Maggie Dent (Australia), Mothering Our Boys

Kenny Mammarala-D’Cruz (England, Uganda), What Men Need

Robert Samery (Canada), What It Is To Be Male in A Shifting Cultural Landscape

Tim Wright, Sacred Masculinity, Sacred Manhood, and Faith

Barry Shreiar, What Works for Boys in a Boys’ School 

Panel Discussion, Asian High School Students. What Boys Need as Males in School from Asian Perspectives

Dr Gregory Jantz, The Anxiety Reset

Dr. John Barry (England), What Is Male-Centred Therapy

Paul Cumbo, Excavating Joy: A Crucial Element for Young Men

Lauren Paiva, Helping Our Youngest Boys Thrive

Neil Bierbaum, The Importance of Hope for Young Men

Ola Akinwe (Nigeria), Mentoring Our Boys into Manhood
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BONUS TALK ALREADY ON YOU TUBE:  In preparation for the Conference, please check out this speech that Dr. Allan Schore gave previously on the Neurobiology of Boys At Risk. Dr. Schore’s research and presentation provide very useful deep background for understanding what boys need as males. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VPvL9BI6mko

Conference Statement. Please copy/paste this statement into your social media to spread the word.

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What Boys Need As Males:  A Global Conversation on Raising Boys into Men in the 21st Century

This Virtual Conference will occur in the last week of January 2026. It will take a science-based approach to contemporary male development issues, including providing a brain-based vision of male maturation; deep understanding of present-day impediments to healthy male development; practical psychology that is already successful in working with males; sexgender differences in evolutionary biology that are foundational to supporting boys and men; and solutions for the male crisis in homes, schools, and communities. To register, visit www.helpingboysthrive.org.

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Target Audience: Anyone Concerned with Boys’ and Men’s Development, including citizens, parents, educators, administrators, counselors, social workers, early childhood specialists, coed and single sex educators, mentors, coaches, government agency professionals, and policy makers working with children and young adults.

By registering for this Zoom Event and its video recordings, you are agreeing to the following:

  • I will not record any of the sessions (screen shots, personal video or audio recordings, and/or similar capturing of content, people, or discussions).
  • I understand that the Santa Fe Boys Fund, Gurian Foundation, Gurian Institute and no person connected to this event is responsible for my connection to the internet.
  • I understand that my face or image may be used without compensation by the sponsors and organizers of the event, e.g., via a group screen shot used in the future on a website or social media.

Live Conference Schedule, January 24 - 25, 2026

Live Schedule for Our What Boys Need As Males Conference

All Sessions are Listed in U.S. Pacific Time.

Links to all Sessions and all Schedules will be sent to you via email. Please make sure you have provided your best email address (least likely to go to spam) when you register at the bottom of this page.

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Saturday, January 24, 2026 Live Sessions

8:30 – 8:55 The Male Brain and What Boys Need: Setting the Stage with Dr. Michael Gurian

9:00 – 9:55 Keynote, The Boy Crisis and the Fatherhood Advantage, with Dr. Warren Farrell 

10:00 – 10:55 Keynote, Beyond Mars and Venus, with Dr. John Gray

11:00 – 11:55  Keynote, He Is Not A Gladiator, with Dr. Glynetta Fletcher

12:00 – 12:55  Lunch Break

1:00 – 1:55  Keynote, Authentic Fatherhood, with Marion Hill and Edward Casillas

2:00 – 2:55 Keynote, The War Against Boys, with Dr. Christina Hoff Sommers

3:00 – 3:55 Keynote, Pathways of Success for Men, with Dr. David Geary

End of Day 1

Sunday, January 25, 2026 Sessions

8:30 – 8:55 More About the Male Brain with Dr. Daniel Amen, Interviewed by Michael Gurian, Pre-Recorded

9:00 – 9:55 Keynote, Saving Our Sons: Nurturing the Male Brain, with Dr. Michael Gurian

10:00 – 10:55 Keynote, Boys, A Rescue Plan: Solutions for Saving Our Sons, with Sean Kullman

11:00 – 11:55  Keynote, Educating Boys of Color: What We Know Works, with Dr. Daryl Howard

12:00 – 12:55  Lunch Break

1:00 – 1:55  Keynote, An Evolutionary Approach to Boys’ Success, with Dr. Jed Diamond

2:00 – 2:55 Keynote, Strategies for Fathering, Mentoring, and Educating Boys, with Troy Kemp

3:00 – 3:55 Keynote, Waking Women Up to the Boy Crisis, with Lisa Britton

End of Day 2

 


Logistics for the Recordings

You will be sent an email that includes links by which you can participate in the conference. Please make sure we have your best email address (i.e. one that will not go to your spam folder) for correspondence and access.  You won’t have to miss a single session!  

Schedule is subject to change.

Please send any questions to info@gurianinstitute.com

We are excited to provide you with this global conversation on What Boys Need As Males in the 21st Century.

WHAT THIS CONFERENCE IS ABOUT

The mental health crisis facing our boys and men, from inordinate suicide and overdose deaths, to increased depression, anxiety, brain disorders, and violence.

How the field of neuroscience is altering what we know about the psychology and education of children in early childhood, K-12, adolescence, college age, and in male adulthood.

The specific needs and issues of boys from birth to adulthood, including analysis of the gender spectrum, with focus on male social-emotional development, healthy masculinity, and male growth to manhood.

The education crisis facing our boys and what is working around the country, and indeed the world, to solve the crisis, including increasing the number of male teachers and the neuroscience-based Boys and Girls Learn Differently® program.

What is needed politically, publicly and legislatively to end the boy crisis whether on our national, state-and-province, and local levels, including community action, fatherhood programs, and mentoring programs that are already bearing fruit.

How the field of counseling psychology needs to shift as soon as possible to better assess and assist male development, especially to include the male brain perspective and respect for males’ innate assets.

The development of new logic models and the increase of already successful strategies for motivation, learning, and behavioral intervention, beginning at birth, and proceeding into emerging adulthood, for boys and men

The important roles of mothers, fathers, and “the village” in boys’ lives including what works best for parenting boys, how to heal the fatherhood and purpose-crises in boys’ development today, what constitutes an at risk male, and how to help him.

How solving boys’ and men’s issues, including the growing boy crisis, is crucial for helping women and girls, too, and how women and girls can get involved in essential practices on behalf of males without losing any political ground.

Sign Up Now!

Contact: info@gurianinstitute.com with any questions.

In the unlikely event that the What Boys Need Conference must be cancelled, no person or entity involved in organizing or speaking at the event will be liable for any audience costs.

If you would like to send a group, please contact Dakota at info@gurianinstitute.com.   Let her know the number of people you would like to register and provide their names and email addresses.  She will arrange a group registration with you.
Please reach out to info@gurianinstitute.com as needed.  Because this is a no cost event, there will be no tickets sent out, but please make sure to email to us, at info@gurianinstitute.com, your preferred email address (one that will allow us to email you without going to spam), so that you can receive the logistics email and schedule/links to the event.

Helping Boys Thrive | What Boys Need As Males Global, Virtual Conference