Sunday, February 1, 2026 | 5:00pm PT

Harnessing the Power of Good Anxiety with Wendy Suzuki, PhD

Registration Now Open

Attendance is Complimentary. Registration is Required.

Good anxiety isn’t the enemy. Good anxiety is actually your built-in superpower for focus, creativity, and connection when you learn how to harness it. In this Spark Salon, renowned neuroscientist, author, and NYU Dean Dr. Wendy Suzuki invites us to rethink our entire relationship with stress by revealing the remarkable science behind this often misunderstood emotion. Rather than something to avoid, control, or suppress, anxiety becomes a source of energy and insight when we understand the deeper purpose of our brain’s stress responses.

Drawing from her book Good Anxiety: Harnessing the Power of the Most Misunderstood Emotion, Dr. Suzuki shows us how to turn everyday stress into fuel for a stronger, more resilient, beautifully adaptive brain. By learning simple, science-backed strategies to support our brain’s natural responses, we can shift from feeling overwhelmed to feeling equipped. Ultimately, she demonstrates that anxiety isn’t something we simply have to endure. Rather, it’s something we can learn from, shape, and use to live a fuller, more grounded, and more empowered life.

In-person attendees will receive a complimentary book.

4:00 p.m.: Doors open, reception

5:00 p.m.: Program begins promptly

6:00 p.m.: Book signing and reception

Bios

Dr. Wendy Suzuki is a world-renowned neuroscientist, a celebrated international authority on neuroplasticity, and a dynamic speaker frequently in demand for her energetic and motivational keynotes. She is breaking boundaries as the first Asian American Dean of the College of Arts and Science at New York University and a Professor of Neural Science and Psychology. She is a passionate thought leader, spreading the understanding of how we can use the principles of brain plasticity to maximize our brain’s performance and transform our lives for the better. She regularly serves as a sought-after expert for publications including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, and The Washington Post. Her TED talk has more than 65 million views, and she is the author of two books, Good Anxiety and Healthy Brain, Happy Life. She recently released a course on MasterClass titled “Brain Health.”

Dr. Suzuki’s Good Anxiety: Harnessing the Power of the Most Misunderstood Emotion is a guidebook for how to harness the power of anxiety into unexpected gifts. Dr. Suzuki draws on cutting-edge research and her own intimate struggles with anxiety, encouraging readers to not see anxiety as a curse but as a unique gift that they can leverage to help solve life’s problems. By including concrete practical strategies that anyone can do themself, Good Anxiety is accessible and inspiring, training readers on how to use anxiety to eliminate social anxiety, sleeplessness, fear of performance or public speaking, and much more. 

Dr. Suzuki’s previous book, Healthy Brain, Happy Life: A Personal Program to Activate Your Brain and Do Everything Better, explores the biological connection between exercise, mindfulness, and action. She tells her story of nearing 40 at the pinnacle of her career before waking up to a startling reality: Despite her professional success, she was overweight, lonely, and tired. Healthy Brain, Happy Life shares how exercising not only helped her get fit but also improved her memory and helped her become sharper and more energized. In this fascinating book, Dr. Suzuki accessibly teaches readers how they can make their body feel alive while activating their brain. 

Passionate about teaching, Dr. Suzuki is currently a Professor of Neural Science and Psychology in the Center for Neural Science at New York University. She received her undergraduate degree in physiology and human anatomy at the University of California, Berkeley, before earning her PhD in neuroscience from the University of California, San Diego. Dr. Suzuki also teaches a form of exercise called intenSati and is the CEO of BrainBody, a platform that educates participants on the brain-enhancing effects of exercise. 

With an innovative speaking style, Dr. Suzuki has traveled all over the world virtually and physically to help audiences easily understand the neuroscience behind how to drastically improve their lives. Her infamous TED talk on the brain-changing benefits of exercise has received more than 31 million views on Facebook and was the second most viewed TED talk of 2018. In her keynotes and presentations, Dr. Suzuki energizes audiences with her dynamic speaking and physical exercises. She implores crowds to get off their feet, engage both their mind and body, and transform their ways of thinking and living. 

Barrett is the author of these popular books, available for purchase at your favorite book retailer.


Good Anxiety: Harnessing the Power of the Most Misunderstood Emotion

Now available at:

Healthy Brain, Happy Life: A Personal Program to to Activate Your Brain and Do Everything Better

Now available at: