2025-2026 Speaker Series

SSALA offers our Member schools a range of annual speaker events to address critical questions and promote conversations about the issues we confront today and what we will engage with tomorrow.

April 28, 2026 at 7:00PM:

Navigating AI and the Rise of Chatbot Relationships

Virtual + Recorded

Featuring top experts on AI and youth, this webinar offers a rare opportunity to hear directly from leaders shaping research, policy, and practice at the highest levels.

Parents and caregivers are increasingly asking what it means when young people turn to AI not just for answers, but for connection.

In this webinar, a distinguished panel including Michael Littman, former AI division director at the National Science Foundation; Jacqueline Nesi, widely recognized expert on youth mental health and technology whose work has been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and CNN; Robbie Torney of Common Sense Media, the nation’s leading nonprofit for kids’ media and technology guidance; and Dr. Scott Kollins, Chief Medical Officer of Aura, a leading AI-powered digital safety platform for families. The panel will be moderated by Eileen Guo, senior reporter at MIT Technology Review.

Together, they will explore how chatbot relationships are shaping young people’s social development, mental health, and learning and how parents can respond with thoughtful guidance and appropriate boundaries. Attendees will have the opportunity to pre-submit questions and will leave with practical, research-backed strategies for supporting kids in an AI-driven world.

Member School registrants can submit their questions ahead of time. See your SSALA Representative for details.

Email for information to join our community: schoolspeakerallianceofla@gmail.com