Meet Anita

I’m Anita Kuhnley and I’m so happy to have you here. I have my PhD in Counselor Education and Supervision and am certified as a highly reliable coder of the Adult Attachment Interview. I’ve authored or co-authored nine books, including my most notable publication "The Mister Rogers Effect."

I was teaching a class and talking with students about what it was like to see a video clip where Mr. Rogers saved public television. In this clip, Mister Rogers had told Senator Pastore that he believed we could make the world safe for our children by teaching them how to manage anger in ways that do not hurt them or anyone else. When I probed my students for responses to this, one student shared, "The children I work with don't have a Mr. Rogers so they turn to violence." Something kept bringing me back to her words, and I knew I had to go on a research journey to discover how Mister Rogers had such an impact on children, and how we can BE the Mister Rogers in our own neighborhoods. Even though he is gone we can still keep what he stood for alive, and pay it forward.

My hope is that my work inspires you to be the Mr. Rogers wherever you are.