Smarter Parenting Day. The world is changing – let's learn together!

Anu Välba

Television and radio editor, show host

Anu Välba has been active in the Estonian television and radio landscape for over 30 years – as a presenter, editor and producer. She has hosted and edited the much-loved programmes ‘Terevisioon’, ‘Paar’ and ‘Ringvaade’, and, since 2015, the talk show ‘Hommik Anuga’. Anu has been involved in numerous music, entertainment and special-occasion programmes, and has hosted major live broadcasts and high-profile events. Her work has been recognised with several television and media awards, including the EFTA award for Best Show Host and the title of ‘Alumnus of the Century’ from Tallinn University.
Alongside her work and other commitments, Anu is also the mother of a wonderful son.
 

Irene Käosaar

Headmaster of Narva Estonian Gymnasium

Throughout my professional life, I have followed a spiral of themes centred on education and integration. I graduated from the University of Tartu with a degree in Estonian as a Second Language and worked as an Estonian language teacher at a school where Russian was the language of instruction for eight years. My subsequent professional journey led me to become Head of the Language Transition Centre at the Integration Foundation in 1999, Head of the General Education Department at the Ministry of Education and Research in 2007, and subsequently Director of the Integration Foundation in 2017. At heart, I have always been a teacher, and so five years ago I fulfilled my dream and set about establishing a new state grammar school – Narva Estonian Gymnasium; today, I also lead two primary schools in Narva, and together we form the Narva Estonian Education Campus. I live by the principle that, within my own value system, I am always true to myself – as a mother, a sister, a friend, a colleague, a partner, a daughter, a leader… I am the mother of two grown-up sons and the grandmother of a lively little boy – these three are the centre and backbone of my world.

Triin Kahre

Psychologist, family therapist and trainer

Triin Kahre is a psychologist, family therapist and trainer with extensive experience as both a teacher and a school psychologist. For the past ten years, she has dedicated herself to working with families, focusing primarily on family relationships and how they function.
In addition to her practical work with families, Triin teaches family psychology and therapy to various professionals, students and trainee family therapists. She also supervises practising therapists, supporting them in their professional development.
Triin is in a long-term relationship and has three daughters, two of whom are already adults. In her spare time, she enjoys travelling, watching high-quality crime series and playing tennis.

 

Umberto Geerts

Social pedagogue, trainer, teacher

Umberto was born in the Netherlands and studied social work and social policy. As a trainer at Peaasi.ee, he runs mental health first aid training sessions for parents and young people, dialectical behaviour therapy groups for young people, and training courses for practitioners of the ‘Let’s Talk About Children’ method.
At Tartu Herbert Masing School, he works as a social pedagogue and teacher and is responsible for the parents’ school programme designed for parents of children with mental health issues. For the past ten years, he has worked as a parenting trainer, running the ‘Wonderful Years’ and ‘Caring Fathers’ programmes.
Umberto lives in Tallinn and is the father of three sons (aged 6, 10 and 14).
 

Karmen Maikalu

School psychologist, family therapist

Karmen Maikalu is a psychologist, family therapist, trainer and head of the Estonian Association of School Psychologists, with over 25 years’ professional experience. She frequently appears in the media and at various conferences to speak on topics relating to parenting and the mental health of children and young people and is a passionate advocate for these issues. In her presentations, Karmen combines research-based approaches, long-standing practical experience and the ability to address complex topics in a clear and relatable way. The President of the Republic of Estonia has recognised her work with the Order of the White Star, Fourth Class, and for several years running, journalists have voted her among the 100 most influential Estonians.

Tauri Tallermaa

Memory coach and trainer

Tauri Tallermaa is a qualified accountant, but he also has professional experience in both the finance and marketing sectors. In 2001, he joined the Speed Reading School team and, a year later, after meeting eight-time World Memory Champion Dominic O’Brien, he learnt memory techniques and began conducting memory training sessions. Memory-related topics are primarily linked to attention and concentration, which is why there has been an increasing focus on training these skills in today’s fast-paced world. In addition, he provides training on systematic thinking and revision, communication and sales, negotiation and assertiveness, public speaking, and learning and teaching. He has written two books in Estonian on the subject of memory – “The Story of the Brain” (“Ajalugu”) was published in 2019, and “Rock, Paper, Scissors” (Kivi-paber-käärid”) in 2024.

Õnne Uus

Lecturer in Educational Psychology, clinical psychologist, family therapist, member of the PeVa (Family and Parenting) research group at Tallinn University

Õnne Uus holds a master’s degree in psychology and a PhD in educational sciences and she works as a lecturer in educational psychology at the Institute of Educational Sciences. She has long worked as a clinical psychologist in collaboration with Tartu University Hospital (Centre for Genetics and Rare Diseases) and at Tallinn Children’s Hospital. She also works as a family psychotherapist, including with children with individual differences and disabilities and their parents.

Õnne Uus’s passion lies in the psychological development and maturation of the mind, as understood by psychology, and the necessary conditions that enable learning. Her focus is on executive functions and the crucial role that the learning environment plays in meaningful learning. Õnne researches and teaches how the family, the teacher, peers and the learner themselves can influence what goes on in the learner’s mind and how their memory works.

She knows that learning is amzing, a life-changing experience.

Õnne Uus’s strength lies in sharing evidence-based knowledge on how best to utilise the human brain’s cognitive abilities at every moment, so that what has been learnt can be applied in the future and the knowledge acquired can be continuously expanded upon.