Meet Our Founders

The IKR founders are also its executive directors and voting members of the board of directors, collaboratively leading the day-to-day workings and operations of International Kindness Reset (IKR).

Amy N Spangler, M.Ed., MN, USA

Notably known as a servant leader, Amy carefully listens to and engages others through authentic collaboration, shared leadership, and grit. For most of her career, Amy was PreK-8 public school principal with a reputation for her unwavering drive to always do what is best for children and ability to transform school communities by collaboratively working on missions to markedly improve the schools’ culture, paving the way for students to make significant academic gains. She also served school communities in roles such as a teacher, gifted & talented program director and professional developer, director of strategic planning, and adjunct professor. Her leadership talents enabled Amy to successfully lead a special initiative designed to transform public education in Oregon. As a senior director, she and her team developed/delivered learning for nearly 30,000 teachers and leaders within a privately held PreK-12 education corporation. A devoted volunteer, Amy works with seniors in a care facility and helps in a fourth-grade classroom each week; she has also led several nonprofit organizations in the past. Amy is the primary coauthor of “Connect with Kindness: Child-Generated, Teacher Friendly SEL Curricula” (2023 & 2025) and “Connect with Kindness at Home A Guidebook for Parents and Families” (2025). Very recently she has presented at multiple international conferences and has taught as a guest professor at the University of Turin in Italy each spring since 2023. She has authored several articles/chapters for distinguished magazines/books including peer-reviewed journals. Together with Tatyana Tsyrlina-Spady, Amy is the Cofounder and Co-Executive Director of International Kindness Reset.  

 

 

Amy N Spangler, M.Ed, MN, USA

Amy’s key to transformational success as a principal in school communities is her unwavering drive to always do what is best for children by collaboratively strategizing how to markedly improve staff and student culture, which paves the way for her schools to make significant academic gains as measured by state assessments. Notably known as a servant leader Amy carefully listens to and engages others through authentic collaboration, shared leadership, and grit. Amy has served as a teacher; gifted & talented program manager and professional developer; strategic planning director, principal mentor; adjunct professor; and worked on special assignments leading comprehensive public education transformation projects. As a senior leader, she, and her team developed/delivered learning to 30,000 teachers, managers, and executive leaders within a privately held early childhood education corporation. An ardent volunteer, Amy has led nonprofit organizations as a member of the board of directors, serving both as vice president, and president in four organizations.

Very recently, in 2023, Amy presented at 3 international conferences and taught together with Tatyana Tsyrlina-Spady as a guest professor at the University of Turin in Italy. She serves on a non-profit board raising funds for homeless Veterans and is a volunteer advocate for children with special needs. She has authored several articles/chapters for distinguished books and publications. She is the primary coauthor of Connect with Kindness: Child-Generated, Teacher Friendly Supplementary SEL Curricula (2023), which is currently being used world-wide. Amy is the Co-Founder and Co-Executive Director of International Kindness Reset. Amy measures her success through the children whose lives she has valiantly served.

Tatyana V Tsyrlina-Spady, PhD, WA, USA

As a visiting professor at the Summer Institute on Child Advocacy in Action at UBC (Canada, 2019), Tatyana has made significant contributions to the global academic community and child advocacy. In 2023, together with Amy N Spangler she taught a course on fostering kindness in preschool and primary school students at the University of Turin (Italy). Boasting a portfolio of over 20 books and numerous papers, her expertise lies in the theory and history of education, as well as educational psychology. Her recent work involves a critical comparative analysis of history teaching in modern Russia, innovative approaches to fostering kindness and compassion in children and young adults, and the role of culture in strengthening the resilience of young people in Ukraine today. Tatyana has actively participated in international multimedia projects for children worldwide, particularly during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, with a strong focus on kindness. She served as the director and international coordinator of these projects and a coauthor of “Connect with Kindness: Child-Generated Teacher-Friendly Supplementary SEL Curricula” (2023). Tatyana has presented at over 60 international conferences worldwide, authored chapters for edited volumes, published papers in peer-reviewed journals, and contributed articles to online journals, all showcasing her unwavering commitment to education and global well-being. Currently, Tatyana serves as the Co-Founder and Co-Executive Director of International Kindness Reset and holds the position of Director at the Kindness City-School: International Contest. Her leadership and dedication continue to make a positive impact on the fields of education, child advocacy, and global kindness initiatives.