The EFs 2 The Rescue Team

EFs 2 The Rescue is an educational initiative that was co-created by Mara Berzins, Nicola Daykin, Laurie Faith, and Carol Anne Bush to make classrooms more supportive of EF development. It all started in Toronto in 2015, when Daykin, Berzins, and Faith began talking to their elementary school students about executive functions as a part of their everyday pedagogy. Not long after, Berzins and Daykin coined the name, EFs 2 the Rescue and created the first family of EF2R characters, Laurie Faith began researching EF supportive pedagogy, and teachers all over the world began adopting the materials and the approach. After Dawson and Guare visited Toronto to study this approach, it was featured in their 2018 book, Executive Functioning Skills in Children and Adolescents (Guilford Press). Not long after, educator and EF coach Carol-Anne Bush joined the team, and another book was published by Guilford Press about how to promote Executive Function Skills in the Classroom (Faith, Bush, Dawson, Diamond, 2022). In 2026, the EF2R team will partner with Cambridge University Press and Adele Diamond to publish their most comprehensive EFs 2 the Rescue book yet - incorporating classroom materials, information to share with parents, and up to date research about how to best support cognitive development for early years learners.

 
 

Nicola Daykin

Co-Founder, Educator

With a career dedicated to supporting students with learning exceptionalities since 2005, Nicola Daykin brings a wealth of expertise to her current role as a Student Success Teacher in classrooms in Toronto, Canada. She holds a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) from Trent University and a Bachelor of Education, along with Additional Qualifications in Special Education, from the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE). Nicola is committed to fostering student success through a deep understanding of individual learning profiles, rooted in an understanding of executive functions. She has presented to a variety of educators and parents in the community.

 
 
 
 

Mara Berzins

Co-Founder, Educator

Mara Berzins is an early years educator and learning support strategist in Toronto, Canada. She is passionate about how executive functions develop in the brain and how they can be supported through strategies from a young age. Mara continues to research the benefits of mindfulness practices in the classroom. She has her Masters of Arts in Child Study and Education from OISE at the University of Toronto and Additional Qualifications in Special Education and Mathematics from York University. Previously, she was an Associate Faculty at Trinity College School and before that, an undergraduate of McGill University. 

 
 

Carol-Anne Bush

COACH, Educator, LEADER, Researcher, AUTHOR

Carol’s work is grounded in K-12 education experience spanning three continents and over three decades. After a long teaching career she served in various leadership roles, including assistant headships in the US and UK. Carol’s expertise includes student, teacher, and parent mentorship; stakeholder communication; curriculum design; and whole-school strategy and steering. Carol is a certified ADHD educator and founder of an executive function coaching practice in San Francisco, California, where she works with adults and children. She also collaborates closely with other coaches to learn about the impact of EFs on performance and develop supportive and compensatory approaches.

 
 
 
 

Laurie Faith

Strategist, Educator, Researcher, AuTHOR

Dr. Laurie Faith is an Assistant Professor at the University of Toronto in the Department of Applied Psychology and Human Development. At U of T, she collaborates with educators at an internationally renowned laboratory school called the Jackman Institute for Child Study, and teaches courses in special education, adaptive instruction, and executive functions. In 2025, she was awarded the OISE Faculty Award for Excellence in Initial Teacher Education. Laurie’s academic research focuses on teacher practice, student self-regulated learning, and executive functions. It is grounded in 17 years of practical classroom experience and 10 years of collaboration with school boards. She is a frequent presenter at community events, including at schools, school boards, and conferences.