Niels Rygaard

The Fairstart Foundation

Biographical Abstracts

Danish-American child psychologist and researcher Niels Rygaard is the CEO and co-founder of the nonprofit Fairstart Foundation. Fairstart designs staff education programs that focus on how to train caregivers and parents of high-risk infants and children in attachment-based care. Approximately 820 partner staff in NGOs and government agencies in 36 countries have participated, and have trained the caregivers of 70.000 children.

Rygaard’s books and papers focus on global psychology, implemented through low-cost large-scale interventions, aiming to empower local professional care systems. He is the chief editor of the 2024 edition of Children Around the World: the Future of Our Earth, published by the Psychology Coalition of the United Nations (PCUN). He is an active member of the Danish and American Psychologist Associations, the European Federation of Psychologist Associations, the work group for migrant children at PCUN advising the United Nations, and the World Association of Infant Mental Health.

Christina Groark, professor emerita at University of  Pittsburgh, described his impact: “Niels has connected all of us across continents, an exemplary illustration of how a psychologist contributes to a better world. His worldwide impact is phenomenal.” In 2020 he received the APA International Award for humanitarian work for underserved populations, and in 2023 the International Council of Psychologists Human Rights Award.

Areas of Expertise

• Research in upscalings of mental health interventions
• Intercultural professional mental health networks
• Applications of attachment theory and research
• Definitions of stress, trauma, resilience, and post-traumatic growth