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With over twenty years of experience, Maggie’s expertise in educational consulting has brought her around the world. A native of Chicago’s North Shore, Maggie has lived and worked in North, Central and South America, Europe, Asia, and Sub-Saharan Africa. She is fluently bilingual in English and Spanish (the language she speaks at home) and conversationally proficient in French (the language she acquired while earning her BA at McGill University in Montreal, Quebec).

Named an Ambassadorial Scholar, Maggie completed her MA in Media, Peace, and Conflict Studies with the United Nations University for Peace where she designed a masters thesis that brought media literacy curriculum into public school classrooms as a non-violent intervention strategy for young people. After graduate school, Maggie worked as an international youth scholarship director, an anti-bias and bullying prevention facilitator, a middle and high school teacher, and a yoga/mindfulness instructor.

Deeply concerned with the growing number of overwhelmed, over-scheduled and overly distracted learners, Maggie earned executive functioning certification from the Rush Neurobehavioral Center and founded North Shore Executive Functioning with the intention of bringing the tools of yoga (self-compassion, mindful awareness & emotional regulation) to those struggling with the executive functions of cognitive flexibility, inhibitory control, task initiation, time management, organization, prioritization, and sustained attention.

Maggie’s commitment to providing accessible, compassionate psychoeducation is based on her conviction that meaningful change stems from connection and empowerment (“When we know better, we do better.”) Focused primarily on supporting clients experiencing high levels of stress & anxiety, Maggie has developed a number of specialized trainings on executive functioning development, mindfulness-based intervention therapies, and advocacy for neurodiverse learners.

As an ADHD-certified practitioner and executive functioning coach, Maggie is regularly invited to lead professional seminars and workshops with educators, mental health practitioners, school district administrators, and parent groups. Ms. Schwalbach is also a trained World of Difference facilitator and provides anti-bias & anti-bullying workshops to schools throughout the country.

Speaking engagements:

• Northwestern University
  NDSEC Regional Conference
• Chicago Gifted Community Center
• Evanston Township High School
• Northwest Suburban Special Education Organization
• Professionals in Learning Disabilities and Special Education
• Community Action Together for Children’s Health (CATCH)
• North Shore ADHD Moms Group
• The Cove School
• Schwartz Educational Services
• North Shore Crisis Intervention Network
• Glencoe School District 35
• New Trier Township Equity Summit
• Northbrook/Glenview School District 30
• Winnetka School District 36
• MCC Academy
• Chicago Public Schools (contracted by both CPS charter schools and CPS neighborhood schools)

… and dozens of parent training webinars and PTA gatherings.