Rush Sabiston
Frank, M.S., is a passionate SEL advocate whose work centers on equipping students with the powerful social-emotional practices and increased self-awareness that they instinctively want and need.

Her work at IFSEL is informed by more than two decades of counseling practice, teaching experience, and social work with youth and families. 

Rush taught SEL in grades 5-8 at Nueva School for eight years.  In the wake of the Columbine school shootings, she supervised the San Mateo County/YMCA School Safety Advocate Program on all seven San Mateo Union High School District campuses for four years.

She also served as Upper School Counselor at Marin Country Day.  And at Odyssey Family Counseling Center, she helped treat and educate mandated and at risk youth in an outpatient substance abuse program, ran anger
management groups, and ran a survivors of suicide group for children.

Rush has also coordinated and led groups for Kids’ Turn, an educational program that offers hope and optimism to children during divorce and separation.

As a lead SEL workshop designer, Rush has helped develop programs that interface between SEL and—

          ·     media literacy

          ·     body image and gender issues

          ·     nutrition

          ·     psychological research on forgiveness

Rush specializes in working with schools to create a Student Advisory curriculum, and in helping both students and teachers learn the Open Session, a core IFSEL curricular component for upper grade students.

She is a thoughtful leader of interactive information sessions about SEL for parents.  She is also particularly skilled at providing proactive support for students and parents new to SEL.

Rush holds a Masters of Science in professional counseling, and a B.A. in psychology from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.

She lives in Raleigh, North Carolina after 17 sunny years in Northern California, and exercises by trying to keep up with her two young sons.