Lara Bozabalian, Milk Teeth Collective

Critical Thinking Workshops

” One of the finest examples of wordsmithing I’ve ever laid ears on.”
~ Shayne Koyczan, author of bestsellers ‘Stickboy’ and ‘To This Day’


As a seasoned educator, poet, and creative facilitator, I bring over two decades of experience—from high school classrooms to university lecture halls, and from national poetry festivals to spoken word platforms. My workshops offer customized, experiential learning in areas including:

Co-Intelligence & Growth Mindsets

  • Tools for collective problem solving, reflective practice, and transformational dialogue

  • Strategies to reframe failure as feedback, fostering resilience and curiosity across teams

Youth Empowerment & Voice

  • Spoken word and journaling based frameworks rooted in my founding work with Toronto Poetry Slam and Be Heard, one of Canada’s largest and longest running youth spoken word festivals

  • Tailored masterclasses for young people and educators—connecting creativity, identity, and civic engagement

Cultural Responsiveness & Inclusive Pedagogies

  • Workshops grounded in critical literacy, Habits of Mind, and trauma aware teaching

  • Designed for diverse cohorts—gifted youth, special needs learners, marginalized identity groups, and rehabilitative education programs

Identity, Place & Memory in Learning

  • Innovative visual poetry and storytelling modules using my forthcoming collection Teaching—foregrounding highschool hallways as living archives of identity, grief, resistance, and transformation

  • Contextualized for secondary and post-secondary spaces, including teacher education cohorts (e.g. Niagara University Teacher Education Conference, April 2025)

Postsecondary & Adult Education

  • Guest lectures at Queen’s University and York University on growth mindset, place-based pedagogy, mother/artist identity, and language memory intersections

  • Engaging interdisciplinary audiences across English, Geography, Gender, and Education departments


Who this is for:

  • Corporations seeking to cultivate adaptive, creative, and purpose driven teams aligned with modern mindsets

  • Educational institutions at all levels and particularly post-secondary levels aiming to invigorate curriculum with cultural responsiveness, youth-centered engagement, and reflective teaching

  • Arts & community organizations looking to support young voices and foster inclusive dialogue through spoken word, journaling, and creative inquiry


What participants will experience:

  • Collective intelligence: Co-designed activities blending poetry, critical reflection, and collaborative thinking to co-create solutions

  • Creative voice: Practical pathways for expression through spoken word, journaling, and visual poetic methods

  • Inclusive insights: Tools to deepen empathy, cultural awareness, equitable participation, and voiceful learning cultures

  • Transformative takeaways: Field tested strategies for integrating creative and critical practices into classrooms, team meetings, and organizational life


Recent Engagement Highlights:

  • Conference keynote: York University 2022 International Conference on Mothering—exploring mother/artist identity post-pandemic

  • Niagara University, April 2025—leading teacher/candidate workshops on Teaching and visual storytelling in education


If your organization is eager to build courageous, imaginative, and empathetic learning environments—whether with youth, educators, or teams—let’s collaborate to craft a workshop or series that meets your unique goals and context.

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