Art became Nurturings Executive Director in 2022 after serving as Knowledge Coordinator for 10 years. As Knowledge Coordinator, she led literature scans, searches and reviews of research supporting API’s Eight Principles of Parenting, program development, fundraising and strategy. She concurrently led the active API NYC parent group for 10 years, organizing meetings and events and moderating an online group of 2,000 parents (pre-social media) and has held other roles at Nurturings. In the ten years before joining Nurturings, Art worked in marketing and finance for a range of global and startup companies. Art has completed coursework and training in human services, prevention science and research and has read thousands of research papers and compendiums as part of her work with Nurturings. She holds a BSBA in Finance and Accounting and lives in NYC with her husband and two children.

Rita Brhel is the API Blog Editor. She was formerly the Publications Team Lead for many years and served as Managing Editor of The Attached Family and APtly Said as well as various editorial projects.

She and her husband have 3 kids and live near Hastings, Nebraska, USA, where Rita works as a WIC Breastfeeding Peer Counselor. Rita is also a member of the Nebraska Breastfeeding Coalition's Leadership Team and Community Breastfeeding Initiative Taskforce, and a member of Breastfeeding USA's Editorial Review Board. Rita volunteers as an API Resource Leader and a peer counselor for Sidelines High Risk Pregnancy Support Network.

Naomi has a B.S. in Business Management and brings 20+ years of professional technology experience to API. Naomi’s motto in life is "Be passionate." She feels that volunteering for API and serving as an  API Leader, is the best way to feed both her passions -- Attachment Parenting and Technology. Naomi is happily married with 4 adult step-children that she loves as her own and 2 young daughters who are her life at home. Her hobbies include reading, writing, and exploring nature with her family.

Rachel Hinds is API’s Wordpress Assistant, working with the team to keep fresh, relevant content flowing through the blog for families. Rachel has been working with young children and their parents for over fifteen years and is currently a Child Development graduate student at Sacramento State University and Postpartum Doula in the San Francisco Bay Area. Her area of research interest is in how the intentional design of certain spaces can protect the nervous systems of little ones. When not immersed in matters of human development, Rachel can be found mostly hiking, gardening, and rearranging her tiny house interior for maximum minimalist living.

Lori Dunlap worked for almost twenty years in the corporate world, first as a management consultant to Fortune 500 companies, and then at a large research university as a career development program director and adjunct faculty member.  In 2010 she decided to make a radical life change and left her job to begin homeschooling her two sons.  In addition, she has been researching and writing about education and parenting issues, and working with homeschooling families as an education and career advisor. 

Maryam Jadali is an attorney, specializing in business law. She graduated law school magna cum laude. She also has a B.S. in Business Management from Stony Brook University, where she graduated with honors as well. Maryam has experience working as an attorney for small law firms, big international law firms, well-known international corporations, as well as volunteer lawyers associations. Maryam has a 2 year old daughter, Mina, whom she loves spending time with. Maryam enjoys the company of her family and friends, traveling to new and familiar places, reading and learning, and a good cup of coffee/tea. Maryam has a passion for children's rights and their right to be treated with respect, compassion and love. Maryam leads API's initiative to bring Attachment Parenting to those involved in the legal system and families in need.

Veena Kumaraswamy is a Freelance web developer,bookkeeper and a preschool teacher with a diverse experience of over 12 years.

She has a Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science and Engineering from an University in India. 

She believes in the principles of Attachment Parenting and tries to get the word out for new parents and the benefits of it for the entire family.In her spare time, she loves to spend time with her family, cook, play tennis and cross country ski.

Donniqua Rolle, going by Donni, is a second year Master of Public Health (MPH) candidate at ETSU. Her MPH concentration is in Community and Behavioral Health, and she is passionate about creating change in the maternal and infant health of underserved populations. After completing her MPH degree, she hopes to go on to complete a doctorate degree in maternal and child health. Donni is also an international student from The Bahamas and enjoys watching Netflix with her dog, Mia.  

Victoria LeBlanc supports the Attached at the Heart Parenting Educators. She comes to API with over 10 years experience working in the mental health field. She is a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC), holding a Master's degree in Health and Human Development with a concentration in Marriage and Family Therapy from Montana State University. She is a Certified Attached at the Heart Parent Educator and works part time as an online Psychology Adjunct Professor. Victoria has experience utilizing attachment theory, family systems theory, and interpersonal theory in her work with clients. Her specialties include at-risk youth, trauma, family therapy, and dual diagnosis. 

Rachel is a brand-building expert, having spent 20 years in Consumer Insights leadership positions, employing creative market research techniques to propel the growth of many well-known brands such as T.J.Maxx, HomeGoods, Safeway and Ocean Spray.  She is now transitioning to working exclusively with companies whose missions for a kinder world match her own. Rachel holds an MBA and a Master of Arts in Teaching degree.  She is also a certified integrative health coach with several certifications in nutrition and wellness.  An attachment parent and local AP leader in training, Rachel lives outside of Boston, MA with her two teenage children and her little Boston University mascot, Rosie the Boston Terrier.

Tina McRorie is the leader of Monterey Bay Parenting and an Accredited Attached at the Heart Parenting Educator. Before becoming involved with API, she earned degrees in psychology from the University of California at Santa Cruz and New College of California and worked as a social worker in the foster care system.

When not volunteering for API or working on launching her parenting education career, Tina enjoys reading, dancing, singing, hosting playdates, which, now that her two boys are teens, are called “hanging out,” eating the delicious food her husband Jeff makes, and napping. Tina’s family lives in Soquel, California, USA with three wonderful cats and their Corgi mix, Moxie.

Alma L. Ramos-Gilbert has a BS in Communication with a double major in Spanish. She's also a Social Worker, graduate of Columbia University School of Social Work. Alma is a native Spanish speaker and originally from Puerto Rico. She recently moved from NYC to Omaha, NE, where she hopes to become involved with the local chapter in Lincoln. Having worked in the communications field since 1997, Alma enjoys helping others and using media outlets to express different points of views. Alma became interested in Attachment Parenting prior to the birth of her 3 year-old son in 2006. Alongside her husband, she has enjoyed actively practicing attachment parenting. The hardest thing about her son growing up according to Alma, is not being able to wear him any longer!

Lisa is available to guide the preparation process for those interested in becoming AP support group leaders. Lisa works with parents and professionals from the beginning of their process, learns more about their understanding of Attachment Parenting, level of empathy, and leadership abilities, and assists them as they complete the process of becoming local support group leaders.

Lisa Ricciuti worked with API for 15 years as the Leader Applicant Liaison and is an accredited leader. Lisa has guided hundreds of applicants through API’s accreditation program helping more than 130 parents become support group leaders. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Communication as well as a Master’s of Education with a focus on School Counseling. She believes that the process of peer-to-peer support is important for the well-being of a family which is vital to the health of the larger community. Lisa is inspired by all of the applicants who are willing to share their parenting struggles and successes and is grateful to have the opportunity to share resources and teachings based on API’s Principles of Parenting and non-violent communication techniques. Please contact Lisa if you are interested in her AP support group leader guidance.

Christy is part of the API team and provides assistance in various areas: Office Manager, Volunteer Liaison and Professional Liaison Assistant. She has experience and certification in working with children that have intellectual differences and their families, and with children in foster/adoptive care.

Bhavna Singh is a legal professional, with LL.M. in Intellectual Property Law. She also has experience in Antitrust Law, Information Technology Law and completed her Cybersecurity and Privacy Law Certificate Program from Mitchell Hamline School of Law, Minneapolis. Bhavna has experience working as a legal counsel, legal consultant for Fortune 500 companies as well as an attorney with a law firm. Bhavna is an avid supporter of breastfeeding, babywearing and Attachment Parenting. Bhavna enjoys spending time in nature, clicking photographs, traveling to new places, reading books with her toddler and learning about spirituality. 

Katie is a South Carolina graphic designer, photographer, web developer, and artist. With more than 15 years in design and 11 years in website development, she is an expert in online marketing and a nerd when it comes to typography. Katie received her B.A. in English (Writing & Publication Studies) from Clemson University and an M.A. in Media Arts from the University of South Carolina. Her happiest days are spent helping brands tell their story and creating something that’s all their own. She's excited to join the API team and create a website that will allow the organization to continue supporting families around the world.

Jennifer, mom of twin three year old boys, holds a BS in Business Administration and has a background in advertising and sales, with experience working at two universities. Jennifer is currently working on her API Leader accreditation and works part-time from home as a virtual assistant. She is passionate about attachment parenting and hopes to be able to help parents, especially parents of multiples and/or children with special needs, learn more about attachment parenting. Jennifer enjoys spending time with her husband and twins, who always keep her laughing and learning.

Dynell, a Movement Specialist, Certified Educational Kinesiologist and Family Educator, is

passionate about how movement affects the brain. She empowers families to successfully get

through difficult moments of stress, anxiety, exhaustion, burn out, lack of attachment, guilt, and

communication, with the use of simple effective movement tools and family education.

With experience in Web Development, an extensive background in music, and a Bachelor's in Business Administration, Jessie is eager to accomplish more with API! Up until 2018, Jessie worked in customer service, and though it has given her many life-long skills, she has felt like something was missing. She decided to learn HTML, CSS, and Javascript, and after a while, volunteered her time for non-profit organizations to hone these skills. Since volunteering as a Web Designer and Developer, she has felt fulfilled and believes this is the right path for her. Jessie is thrilled to be a part of this organization, and hopes to volunteer with API for many years to come.

Elise Armoiry is a Lactation Consultant living in France. She qualified as a Pharmacist in 2005 and after the birth of her twins in 2010, she started to take interest in attachment parenting and family communication. She became a babywearing instructor in 2014 and qualified as an international board certified lactation consultant (IBCLC) in 2019. Elise believes in providing evidence-based information so that parents can make their own choices. She is a mum of three children and loves supporting families as they discover the roller coaster of parenthood. Elise's website : https://www.mybabymoonibclc.com/en/qui-suis-je

Janet Jendron is Attachment Parenting International's Board President. She served for eleven years on the La Leche League International Board of Directors and twice on the Friends of La Leche League Board League (formerly the LLL Alumnae Association). As a Board member of Education Equals Hope, she travels to Ecuador, supporting the education of children in desperate and difficult places. She has served on numerous other state and national non-profit Boards, including church-related and wish-granting organizations. 

She has written articles, contributed to books and spoken at conferences throughout the United States on a wide variety of issues. Retired from the Assistive Technology Program at the USC School of Medicine, she consults with agencies and organizations about the accessibility of electronic information technology.

Janet is married to Bill Borellis. Together, they have seven adult children, six daughters and sons-in-law, and nine grandchildren. Janet grew up in a military family that moved frequently within the United States and other countries. She has lived in South Carolina for the past fifty years.  

Barbara Nicholson holds a master's degree in education, specializing in learning disabilities. She taught school in the Texas school system before moving to Nashville, TN in 1980, where she became a Leader with La Leche League International, an educational and support organization for breastfeeding mothers. She led meetings and parenting workshops for over 25 years. She is trained as a facilitator in the Nurturing Parenting Program and has spoken internationally about the relationship of societal violence and parenting practices. She is also a certified educator in Infant Massage (CEIM), through Infant Massage USA. Ms. Nicholson co-founded Attachment Parenting International in 1994 and served as the President of the Board for 15 years. She is the co-author with Lysa Parker of the book, Attached at the Heart, 8 Proven Parenting Principles for Raising Connected and Compassionate Children (HCI publishing, 2013) and a parenting curriculum of the same title based on the book. She and Ms. Parker are conducting trainings for the parent education program around the U.S. and internationally. She is a recipient of Vanderibilt's  MIHOW (Maternal Infant Health Outreach Worker) Mentoring award and La Leche League International's Alumnae Award. She is the mother of four adult sons and lives with her husband in Nashville, TN.

Lysa Parker (Lisa) received both her bachelor’s in education and her master’s degree in Human Environmental Sciences specializing in human development and family studies. She earned her designation of Certified Family Life Educator (CFLE) from the National Council on Family Relations in 2004 and was the 2014 president for the Southeast Council on Family Relations. Lysa is also a Certified Educator of Infant Massage (CEIM).

As cofounder of Attachment Parenting International (API) in 1994, a nonprofit parent education and support organization, Lysa served as the executive director. Prior to her involvement with API, she was a special education teacher for twenty years, helping children with multiple handicaps and learning difficulties. During that time, she also volunteered for several years as a La Leche League Leader, a breastfeeding and support organization. She is the coauthor of the award winning book Attached at the Heart,with Barbara Nicholson. In 2012 Lysa and Barbara developed a curriculum based on the book and they currently teach parenting educator trainings internationally. 

Lysa is the recipient of the La Leche League International Alumni Award with Barbara as well as the Jack Davis Professional Achievement Award from the College of Human Environmental Sciences at the University of Alabama. Currently Lysa is a writer, speaker and parenting education trainer.  She is the mother of two adult sons, an adult stepdaughter and grandmother of five grandchildren. She lives with her husband in the Huntsville, Alabama area.     

Valerie Bryant is CEO of TUFF Mama Time, inspiring women to nourish themselves while nurturing their children. Devoted to family-focused furtherance, she was an adjunct instructor, teaching business communications to incarcerated women and equipping them to re-bond with their children upon release. Her service on a national education board targeted low academic performance in minority children, encouraging change through increased parental involvement. Valerie was a Department of Defense government contractor working instructional design issues. She developed resiliency-based e-learning programs, relieving beleaguered military families. Valerie is a former La Leche League Leader and has served as a natural childbirth educator since 1992.  

Valerie earned a Bachelor of Science in math and her military officer commission from the University of Michigan. She earned a Master of Science from Troy University. Following active duty, she was a military spouse and full-time mom to her nine children - biological and adopted. Valerie sustained her family through untold military relocations and family hardships, earning the titles “TUFF Mama” and “Family Team Builder.” She originated family-sustaining strategies, eventually authoring three parenting books, co-authoring one with her children. She operates an online moms’ support forum, is a listed national speaker for Mothers of Preschoolers, and is on registry with several national speaker bureaus.

Born in Atlantic City, New Jersey, Valerie presently lives in San Antonio, Texas. She continues enjoying life as a mom, raising a few still at home, while also romping with her precious grandchildren.

With a Masters Degree in Community Health Education, a husband who is a physician of Family Medicine, Margaret began her community volunteer work in her home of Bristol Tennessee teaching childbirth and parenting classes. Currently she serves on Bristol Tennessee City Council (16 Years), and actively promotes building assets with families, children and youth. Her community accomplishments include being part of establishing several new programs and organizations serving the Bristol area. Bristol has the honor of being identified as one of America's Promise's 100 Best Communities for Children and Youth. 

Margaret is proud of and grateful for her three loving and caring children to whom she is very attached and she is excited about her new role as grandparent of twins.

George W. Holden, Ph.D. is a professor Emeritus in the Psychology Department at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas. He served as chair of the department from 2015 to 2020. Holden’s research interests are in the area of social development, with a focus on parent-child relationships. His work, into the determinants of parental social cognition and behavior, discipline and positive parenting, and the causes and consequences of family violence, has been supported by grants from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Justice, Department of Health and Human Services, the Guggenheim Foundation, the Hogg Foundation for Mental Health, the Timberlawn Research Foundation, and the U.S. State Department.

He is the author of numerous scientific articles and chapters, as well as the author or editor of five books, including Parenting: A dynamic perspective, currently in its 3^rd edition. He has been or is on the editorial boards of Child Development, Developmental Psychology, Journal of Emotional Abuse, Journal of Family Psychology, and Parenting: Science and Practice. Holden is a fellow of the American Psychological Society (APS) and a member of four other societies, including the Society for Research in Human Development (SRHD), where he served as president. Currently, he is President and a founding board member of the U.S. Alliance to End the Hitting of Children (www.endhitting.org). In addition, he is the past president of the board of Family Compass, an organization devoted to preventing child maltreatment in the Dallas community.

Dr. Holden received the Outstanding Mentor Award from the Society for Research in Human Development, the Lightner Sams Foundation Child Advocate Prism Award from Mental Health America of Greater Dallas, the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Center on the Human Rights of Children, Loyola University, Chicago, and the Distinguished Career Award from the International Society for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect. He is married to Anne Cameron. They are parents of three adult children and the proud grandparents of two delightful children. His Twitter handle is @DrNoSpank.

Darcia Narvaez, Professor Emerita of Psychology, University of Notre Dame, researches moral development and human flourishing from an interdisciplinary perspective, integrating anthropology, neuroscience, clinical, developmental and educational sciences. Her earlier careers include professional musician, business owner, classroom music teacher, classroom Spanish teacher and seminarian, among other things. She grew up as a bilingual/bicultural Puerto Rican but calls the earth her home. Dr. Narvaez’s current research explores how early life experience influences wellbeing and moral character in children and adults.

She is a fellow of the American Psychological Association and the American Educational Research Association and former editor of the Journal of Moral Education. She has numerous publications, including more than 20 books such as Indigenous Sustainable Wisdom: First Nation Know-how for Global Flourishing; Basic Needs, Wellbeing and Morality: Fulfilling Human Potential and Embodied Morality: Protectionism, Engagement and Imagination. A recent book, Neurobiology and the Development of Human Morality: Evolution, Culture and Wisdom won the 2015 William James Book Award from the American Psychological Association and the 2017 Expanded Reason Award. She blogs for Psychology Today (“Moral Landscapes”), hosts the webpage EvolvedNest.org and is president of KindredWorld.org.

Kathy Parkes is the owner and CEO of Breastfeeding Perspectives, a registered nurse, an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC), a Fellow of the International Lactation Consultant Association, has a Masters degree in Nursing Education, and a Bachelor degree in Psychology. She has been an IBCLC since 1992 and has worked with new parents and babies in a wide variety of breastfeeding situations in the hospital, public health, home health, and private practice. This wide variety of experience gives her skilled clinical knowledge to share with others and to help expectant and new parents overcome difficulties and meet their breastfeeding goals.  Kathy’s practice is the longest currently operating breastfeeding practice in the San Antonio area.

Additionally, Kathy has certifications as a Health Coach, specializing in prenatal, postpartum and breastfeeding as well as a Compassion Fatigue Educator, specializing in perinatal and infant loss.  Breastfeeding assistance has been provided to families of all types and sizes, in a wide variety of life situations such as adoption, surrogacy, LBGTQI families, teen parents, long-term nursing, multiples, incarcerated mothers, prematurity, chronically ill mothers and infants, and many other challenges.

A published author and active speaker on global platforms, Kathy finds passion in meeting families where they are and assisting them to meet their own goals in feeding and nurturing their babies.

As a leading provider of up-to-date, research-based lactation information, Breastfeeding Perspectives takes pride in offering the best teaching, presentations, peer training, business lactation consultations, in-person and online consults for breastfeeding preparation and problems. We are dedicated to serving the needs of our customers each and every day.  We can handle all type of breastfeeding situations and specialize in damaged nipples, tight oral tissues (tongue, lip, and buccal ties), milk supply issues, and slow-gaining infants.

Martha is the mother of eight children, a registered nurse, a former childbirth educator, a La Leche League Leader, and a lactation consultant. She is the co-author of many parenting books and is a popular lecturer and media guest, drawing on her 18 years of breastfeeding experience with their 8 children (including Stephen with Down syndrome and Lauren, their adopted daughter). Martha is the wife of renowned pediatrician William Sears, MD.

Martha speaks frequently at national and international parenting conferences and is noted for her advice on how to handle the most common problems facing today's mothers with their changing lifestyles. She is able to connect with both full-time mothers and mothers who work full-time because she herself has experienced both. Martha takes great pride in referring to herself as a "professional mother," and one of her favorite quips when someone voices a concern about her having eight children in an already populated world is: "The world needs my children."

Martha and Dr. Bill have in the past been guests on many television shows including 20/20, Good Morning America, CBS This Morning, CNN, The Today Show, Dateline, The Dr. Phil Show, and The Doctors. Martha and Dr. Bill are best known for their Sears Parenting Library published by Little, Brown and Company: The Healthy Pregnancy Book, The Birth Book, The Baby Book, The Attachment Parenting Book, The Discipline Book, The Breastfeeding Book, The Fussy Baby Book, The Family Nutrition Book, The Premature Baby Book, The Baby Sleep Book, The A.D.D. Book, and The Healthiest Kid In The Neighborhood. She has also authored, for Harvard Common Press, 25 Things Every New Mother Should Know.

Samantha Gray is the Board treasurer. Prior to coming to the Board, she served as Nurturings and Attachment Parenting International's executive director for 14 years. She works as the executive director of a community theatre, Theatre Bristol, and as the coordinator of Bristol's Promise Parenting Education Program and Parenting Sweet. She writes a weekly column for the Bristol Herald Courier on parenting and teaches weekly Attached at the Heart Parenting Program Online classes.

A pastoral counselor and psychotherapist with more than 25 years of experience, Rod Kochtitzky (Kuh tit skee) specializes in counseling couples on marriage and relationship issues.

Rod serves couples seeking healing, growth, change, renewal, and enhancement of their relationships through his private counseling practice and through a series of workshops scheduled throughout the year.

Rod has been involved with API as either a board member or Advisory Board member since 1993. Please see Rod's Web site for more information.

A pastoral counselor and psychotherapist with more than 25 years of experience, Rod Kochtitzky (Kuh tit skee) specializes in counseling couples on marriage and relationship issues.

Rod serves couples seeking healing, growth, change, renewal, and enhancement of their relationships through his private counseling practice and through a series of workshops scheduled throughout the year.

Rod has been involved with API as either a board member or Advisory Board member since 1993. Please see Rod's Web site for more information.

Stephen J. Bavolek, PhD, is a recognized leader in the fields of child abuse and neglect treatment and prevention and parenting education. Dr. Bavolek's professional background includes working with emotionally disturbed children and adolescents in schools and residential settings and with abused children and abusive parents in treatment programs.

Dr. Bavolek has conducted extensive research in the prevention and treatment of child abuse and neglect. He has conducted over 1,000 workshops, has appeared on more than 50 radio and television talk show programs, and has published numerous books, articles, programs, and newsletters.

He is the principal author of the Nurturing Parenting Programs©, designed to prevent and treat child abuse and neglect, and the Adult-Adolescent Parenting Inventory (AAPI), an inventory designed to assess high risk parenting attitudes. Dr. Bavolek is President of Family Development Resources, Inc., and Executive Director of Family Nurturing Centers International.

Richard Bowlby, the son of Dr. John Bowlby who first developed attachment theory, worked as a scientific photographer in various medical research institutions where he produced visual aids for communicating research findings.

He retired in 1999 to promote a wider understanding of attachment theory to healthcare practitioners and interested lay people. His present concern is the psychological impact on babies and toddlers being cared for by unfamiliar people in day care who do not develop long-term secondary attachment bonds to one caregiver.

He also gives lectures to a wide range of health care professionals using video material and personal insights to promote a much broader understanding of his father's work on attachment theory. He focuses on wider audiences using video material to help communicate the emotional significance of "Attachment Theory," a potentially dry academic subject with very personally challenging significance.

He supports a range of organizations that address various attachment issues and is seeking ways to help the general public benefit from a better understanding of childhood attachment relationships. His eventual goal is to find ways of "crossing the species barrier" between academics and the general public, to liberate the professional knowledge of attachment theory into the population at large. He is developing a broader knowledge of associated subjects, especially the emerging research about the role of fathers and the long-term significance of their early relationships with their children.

Dr. Fox received degrees from Harvard/Radcliffe College and UCLA. For 35 years, she was a practicing psychotherapist at the Western Psychological Center, in Encino, California, specializing in parent-child relationships and developmental issues. For 10 years, she was the senior mental health consultant for Operation Head Start in Los Angeles, and she is a frequent lecturer on child development issues.

She is the author of Being There: The Benefits of a Stay-at-Home Parent (Barron's, 1996) and Growing Up: Attachment Parenting from Kindergarten to College (Sun Publishers, 2003) and The Prospective Spouse Checklist: Evaluating Your Potential Partner. Dr. Fox has posted two articles online dealing with custody and visitation issues involving infants and young children.

She lives in Sherman Oaks, California, and was a stay-at-home parent for ten years. She and her husband are the proud parents of two sons, one daughter, and seven grandchildren.

Lu Hanessian is author of the acclaimed memoir Let the Baby Drive: Navigating the Road of New Motherhood (St. Martin's Press, 2004), veteran TV journalist and former NBC anchor of Real Life, Discovery Health Channel host of Make Room for Baby, weekly newspaper parenting columnist, national speaker, and workshop facilitator.

She is the founder of WYSH® (Wear Your Spirit for Humanity) - a unique brand of "socially-conscious" apparel and accessories for children and parents that promote attachment and connection - and is pioneering an educational approach and curriculum for gifted children with special needs called "ENGAGE." She and her husband are the grateful parents of two boys, ages 6 and 9.

Jan Hunt, B.A. Psychology, M.Sc. Counseling Psychology, is the Director of the Natural Child Project, an attachment parenting/unschooling counselor, and a member of the Board of Directors of the CSPCC (Canadian Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children). She is also a member of the advisory boards of Holistic Moms Network, Child-Friendly Initiative, and Attachment Parenting International.

Jan is the author of The Natural Child: Parenting From the Heart and the bilingual children's picture book A Gift for Baby, and co-edited The Unschooling Unmanual with her always-unschooled son, Jason. Many of her articles are available online at The Natural Child.

Jan envisions "a world in which all children are treated with dignity, respect, understanding, and compassion." She lives in central Oregon, and is available for telephone and email counseling worldwide.

Dr. Mary Elizabeth Curtner-Smith received her PhD from the University of North Carolina-Greensboro in Child Development and Family Relations with a doctoral minor in Psychology. She is an Associate Professor in the Department of Human Development and Family Studies where she serves as co-coordinator of the Developmental Science concentration in the Psychology PhD program.

Her primary research focuses on how parent-child relationships influence children's development, especially children's peer aggression and social competence.

A second but related area of research interest is in parents' disciplinary practices. Dr. Curtner-Smith teaches graduate courses in Parent-Child Interactions and Children of Divorce and is certified as a Family Life Educator by the National Council on Family Relations.

William Sears, one of America's most renowned pediatricians, is the father of 8 children, ages 15 to 40 years, author of over 40 books on childcare, and Associate Clinical Professor of Pediatrics at the University of California, Irvine School of Medicine. A pediatrician for over 35 years, he currently lives and practices pediatrics along with his three sons Dr. Bob and Dr. Jim, and Dr. Pete in San Clemente, California.

Dr. Sears received his pediatric training at Harvard Medical School's Children's Hospital in Boston and The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, the largest children's hospital in the world, where he served as Associate Ward Chief of the newborn nursery and Associate Professor of Pediatrics. In addition to writing many books and scientific articles, Dr. Sears is a medical and parenting consultant to Baby Talk and Parenting Magazines. Dr. Sears is a fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Royal College of Pediatricians.

"Dr. Bill" (as his little patients call him) and Martha have been guests on over 100 television shows including 20/20, Donahue, Good Morning America, The Oprah Winfrey Show, CBS This Morning, CNN, The Today Show, Dateline, and, most recently, The Dr. Phil Show, where they are regular guests. Dr. Bill is the on-line pediatrician for Parenting.com. William and Martha are best known for their Sears Parenting Library published by Little Brown: The Pregnancy Book, The Birth Book, The Baby Book, The Discipline Book, The Breastfeeding Book, The Fussy Baby Book, The A.D.D. Book, The Family Nutrition Book, The Premature Baby Book, The Baby Sleep Book, and The Healthiest Kid In The Neighborhood.

 In the middle of his residency training, pediatrician Jay Gordon took an unusual step. Deciding that he needed greater knowledge about nutrition, vitamins, and alternative medicine in order to practice medicine the way he wanted to, Dr. Gordon took a Senior Fellowship in Pediatric Nutrition at Sloan-Kettering Institute in New York City. After his residency at Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles, Dr. Gordon joined the teaching attending faculty at UCLA Medical Center and Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.

Intensely interested in infant nutrition and breastfeeding, Dr. Gordon is the first male physician to sit for and pass the International Board of Lactation Certification Exam and has served on the Professional Advisory Board of La Leche League for twenty-four years.

In addition to treating patients, he participates in the training of medical students and residents, lectures all over the world, writes books, and writes a monthly column for “Fit Pregnancy” magazine. He has contributed to “New York Parent,” “Parenting” magazine and has been quoted in the L.A. Times, New York Times, and The London Times.

Dr. Gordon’s first book, the well-received Good Food Today, Great Kids Tomorrow, offers a life-changing plan for families who want to make dramatic changes in health and fitness through nutrition. Brighter Baby, examines the positive effect that attachment parenting, combined with infant massage, has on children’s health and intelligence. Other releases include: Good Night! The Parents’ Guide to the Family Bed and Hug Your Baby, a gentle guide through the first year, which were released summer, 2002. He also published, Listening To Your Baby: A New Approach to Parenting Your Newborn, which still gets great reviews from parents. His most recent book is The ADD and ADHD Cure, the Natural Way to Treat Hyperactivity and Refocus Your Child.

When the American Academy of Pediatrics’ Committee on Television and the Media named Dr. Gordon “the most influential doctor in America,” they were referring, tongue-in-cheek, to Dr. Gordon’s role, as the medical script consultant, in eliminating lollipops from the office of “Doctor Weston,” lead character on the sitcom “Empty Nest.”

After two years of consulting on television scripts, sets, and ideas, Dr. Gordon was named CBS TV’s Medical Consultant for Children’s programming. He also worked for five years on ABC Television as the on-air medical correspondent for the “Home Show,” and continues to consult regularly for television and movies. He’s appeared on Fox 11 News, ABC’s 20/20 and most recently on Larry King Live.

Dr. Gordon contributed and wrote the Forward to “Smart Medicine for a Healthy Child” and “The Encyclopedia of Vitamins and Supplements” (both published in 1999), is pediatric consultant for “Fit Pregnancy” magazine and a frequent contributor to “Parents,” “Parenting,” and other media outlets.

Busy as he is, Dr. Gordon finds that his most challenging job is “being a good husband and the best possible parent to my daughter.”

Professor James J. McKenna is recognized as the world’s leading authority on mother-infant co-sleeping, in relationship to breastfeeding and SIDS. In recognition of his work in 2009 he was admitted as a Fellow into the select body of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the world's most prestigious scientific society. That same year and in recognition of his extensive work with television, radio, and print media he received from the American Anthropological Association the “2008 Anthropology In The Media Award” one of the top three awards presented to anthropologists by the association in recognition of his distinguished work in educating the public to the importance of anthropological concepts. 

He received his undergraduate degree in anthropology from the University of California, Berkeley in 1970, his Master's Degree from San Diego State University in 1972, and his Ph.D. in biological anthropology from the University of Oregon, Eugene, in 1975.

After teaching anthropology at the University of California, Berkeley as a Visiting Assistant Professor for two years, he accepted a tenure track position (in anthropology) at Pomona College in Claremont, California, where he was awarded an Endowed Chair, and remained for twenty years. Recruited by the University of Notre Dame in 1997, since then, as was true at Pomona College, he has won every teaching prize he has been eligible for, including most recently the College of Arts and Letters highest teaching award, the Sheedy Award, 2008. 

Initially Professor McKenna specialized in studying the social behavior of monkeys and apes but the birth of his son in 1978 he began to apply the principles of human behavioral evolution to the understanding of human infancy. At the University of California, Irvine School of Medicine, Department of Neurology his research team pioneered the first studies of the physiology and behavior of mothers and infant sleeping together and apart, using physiological and behavioral recording devices.

Professor McKenna has published over 139 refereed scientific articles in diverse medical and anthropological journals on co-sleeping, breastfeeding, evolutionary medicine and SIDS, and both here and abroad he gives over 20 lectures especially to pediatric groups and parents. Here in the United States he remains one of the primary spokesperson to the media on issues pertaining to sleeping arrangements, nighttime breast feeding and SIDS prevention. 

He has also published two monographs on SIDS and infant sleep, and co-edited two books:  Evolutionary Medicine (published by Oxford in 1999) and Evolutionary Medicine And Health: New Perspectives, also with Oxford University Press. His first trade book for parents was published in 2008 entitled: Sleeping With Your Baby: A Parents Guide To Co-sleeping, and was recently translated and available in Spanish and Dutch.

Marian Tompson, one of the Founders of La Leche League International, was its President for 24 years. Wife of the late Clement Tompson, she is the mother of seven children, grandmother of 17 and great grandmother of fourteen.

Marian was the first editor of the LLL Newsletter, now Breastfeeding Today. She started the library of breastfeeding research that became the Center for Breastfeeding Information.  She initiated breastfeeding seminars for physicians, which were held annually by LLLI from 1973 through 2008 and were eventually accredited for continuing education credits by all the major medical organizations.

In 2001 Marian founded AnotherLook, a not for profit organization dedicated to gathering information, raising critical questions and stimulating needed research about breastfeeding in the context of HIV/AIDS. With their mission achieved and the needed research done, AnotherLook closed its doors in 2011. HIV+ mothers who previously were told not to breastfeed are now encouraged to exclusively breastfeed for the first six months and to continue breastfeeding as additional foods are added.

Marian serves on the International Advisory Council for WABA (the World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action and the LLLI Board of Directors and continues to speak at Conferences around the world.   Marian was the first Living Treasure named by Mothering Magazine and in  1999 received the Ethical Humanist Award from the New York Society for Ethical Culture.

Her memoir, Passionate Journey: My Unexpected Life, was published by Hale Publishing in 2011.                  

January 12th 1923 - April 14 2010

Alice Miller received her PhD in philosophy, psychology and sociology, as well as a researcher on childhood, is the author of 13 books, translated into thirty languages.

Alice Miller received her PhD at the University of Basle and worked as a psychotherapist in Zurich for 20 years. In 1980, she decided to dedicate herself completely to her research on childhood and its tragic influence on the adult's life. Ever since, she is trying to share her knowledge of the decisive persistence of endured child abuse on the entire life and ways of healing.

Bruce D. Perry, M.D., Ph.D., is an internationally-recognized authority on children in crisis. Dr. Perry is the Provincial Medical Director in Children’s Mental Health for the Alberta Mental Health Board. In addition, he is the Senior Fellow of the ChildTrauma Academy (www.ChildTrauma.org), a Houston-based organization dedicated to research and education on child maltreatment. Dr. Perry has been consulted on many high-profile incidents involving traumatized children, including the Columbine, Colorado school shootings, the Oklahoma City bombing, and the Branch Davidian siege.

Michael Trout graduated from Alma College (B.A., cum laude, honors in Philosophy) and Central Michigan University (M.A., Psychology), and did his specialized training in infant psychiatry at the Child Development Project, University of Michigan Department of Psychiatry, under Prof. Selma Fraiberg.

In the mental health field since 1968 and in private practice since 1979, Mr. Trout has, since 1986 directed The Infant-Parent Institute, which engages in research, clinical practice and clinical training related to problems of attachment.

He was the founding president of the International Association for Infant Mental Health; was on the charter Editorial Board of the Infant Mental Health Journal; served as regional vice-president for the United States for the World Association for Infant Mental Health; served on the board of directors (and as editor of the newsletter) for APPPAH — the Association for Pre- & Perinatal Psychology and Health, and currently serves on the Advisory Board of Attachment Parenting International. In 1984 he won the Selma Fraiberg Award for “ . . . significant contributions to the needs of infants and their families.”

In 2010, he was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award, for his decades of work with foster and adopted children and their families, at the ATTACh conference in San Francisco.

In addition to publishing a number of book chapters and journal articles, Mr. Trout has produced 14 clinical training videos that are used by universities and clinics around the world, including the six-hour video training series, The Awakening and Growth of the Human: Studies in Infant Mental Health. He has also written and produced four videos focusing on the unique perspective of babies on divorce, adoption, loss and domestic violence.

He is the co-author (with foster/adoptive mother Lori Thomas) of The Jonathon Letters; the author of Baby Verses: The Narrative Poetry of Infants and Toddlers; the producer of two meditation CD's, including See Me As a Person: Meditations for Sustaining Relationship-Based Care, and The Hope-Filled Parent: Meditations for Parents of Children Who Have Been Harmed; and co-author (with Mary Koloroutis) of the 2012 textbook for healthcare providers, See Me As a Person.

The most important part of Mr. Trout’s work continues to be in his quiet private practice where he sees individuals and families of all ages every week.

Minda Lazarov was a nutritionist whose professional career spanned a variety of positions with government and private nonprofit organizations serving low income families.

She served in several positions with the Supplemental Food Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), including coordinator of the Tennessee Pediatric Nutrition Surveillance and Breastfeeding Promotion Programs and chair of a national committee to address the low rates of breastfeeding among women enrolled in WIC. Ms. Lazarov helped launch the U.S. Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI) for the US Committee for UNICEF and Wellstart International. She also served as Director of the Maternal Infant Health Outreach Worker (MIHOW) Program for the Vanderbilt Center for Health Services form 1999 to 2006.

Please read API's tribute to Minda's life and work for families.

Linda Folden Palmer, DC, has served with API in a number of functions since 2001. She has 1 grown child and is the author of Baby Matters.

Katherine Wilson-Thompson, IBCLC, RLC, is a Lactation Consultant in private practice in Bristol, Tennessee, USA.

Lysa Parker (Lisa) received both her bachelor’s in education and her master’s degree in Human Environmental Sciences specializing in human development and family studies. She earned her designation of Certified Family Life Educator (CFLE) from the National Council on Family Relations in 2004 and was the 2014 president for the Southeast Council on Family Relations. Lysa is also a Certified Educator of Infant Massage (CEIM). 

As cofounder of Attachment Parenting International (API), a nonprofit parent education & support organization, she served as the executive director for thirteen years. Prior to her involvement with API, she was a special education teacher helping children with multiple handicaps and learning difficulties for twenty years.

Lysa has dedicated her life to improving the way children are treated and is a recognized authority on parenting. She is the coauthor of a new book titled Attached at the Heart: Eight Proven Parenting Principles for Raising Connected and Compassionate Children (HCI, 2013) and the co-developer of a new curriculum based on her book. The first edition of Attached at the Heart won the 2009 Book of the Year Gold award from Foreword Magazine. She is a frequent guest on national, international, and local radio and TV programs. In 2014 Lysa was a presenter at a local TEDx event. Currently Lysa is a writer, speaker and parenting consultant in private practice at www.parentslifeline.com.  She is the mother of two grown sons, a stepdaughter and is the grandmother of four grandchildren and lives with her husband in the Huntsville, Alabama area.           

Lysa Parker (Lisa) received both her bachelor’s in education and her master’s degree in Human Environmental Sciences specializing in human development and family studies. She earned her designation of Certified Family Life Educator (CFLE) from the National Council on Family Relations in 2004 and was the 2014 president for the Southeast Council on Family Relations. Lysa is also a Certified Educator of Infant Massage (CEIM). 

As cofounder of Attachment Parenting International (API), a nonprofit parent education & support organization, she served as the executive director for thirteen years. Prior to her involvement with API, she was a special education teacher helping children with multiple handicaps and learning difficulties for twenty years.

Lysa has dedicated her life to improving the way children are treated and is a recognized authority on parenting. She is the coauthor of a new book titled Attached at the Heart: Eight Proven Parenting Principles for Raising Connected and Compassionate Children (HCI, 2013) and the co-developer of a new curriculum based on her book. The first edition of Attached at the Heart won the 2009 Book of the Year Gold award from Foreword Magazine. She is a frequent guest on national, international, and local radio and TV programs. In 2014 Lysa was a presenter at a local TEDx event. Currently Lysa is a writer, speaker and parenting consultant in private practice at www.parentslifeline.com.  She is the mother of two grown sons, a stepdaughter and is the grandmother of four grandchildren and lives with her husband in the Huntsville, Alabama area.            

Maria Giangiulio Blois, MD, lives in Texas with her husband, Erik, and their four children: Giovannina (8), Alanson (6), Lukas (2) and baby Julia (new!). She graduated from Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. She is the author of Babywearing: The Benefits and Beauty of This Ancient Tradition. Wearing her own babies has provided her with the passion and curiosity to pursue this subject. Dr. Blois lectures across the country about responsive parenting and babywearing to parents as well as medical professionals. She can often times be found wearing her own baby as she speaks. Dr. Blois also volunteers as a La Leche League Leader, providing information and support for women who choose to breastfeed. Learn more at www.drmariablois.com.

Raffi Cavoukian, founder of Child Honouring, is a renaissance man known to millions simply as Raffi: a renowned Canadian troubadour, record producer, systems thinker, author, entrepreneur, and ecology advocate, once called "the most popular children's singer in the English-speaking world" (Washington Post).

President of Troubadour Music, among the most successful independent record labels, Raffi was a pioneer in music for children and families: his CDs, tapes, videos, and DVDs have sold over 14 million copies in Canada and the US, and his books, more than 3 million copies. A generation saw him in concert and grew up singing "Down by the Bay" and Raffi's signature song "Baby Beluga." "Beluga grads" often tell him that they're now raising their own kids with his songs.

In his three-decade career, Raffi has refused all commercial endorsement offers, and his triple-bottom-line company has never directly advertised or marketed to children. Raffi has now become a "global troubadour," lecturing and networking to help create a viable future: a restorative, child-friendly world for ourselves and for those to come. His original philosophy, Child Honouring, is gaining support among eminent thinkers as a holistic organizing principle for a culture of peace. His Covenant for Honouring Children is widely circulated among child development, education, ecological economics, and environmental health circles.

Raffi has published Child Honouring: How to Turn This World Around, Resisto Dancing: Songs of Compassionate Revolution, and Raffi Renaissance. With these works, Raffi Cavoukian comes to the world stage as a catalyst for change at a defining point in human history - with an idea whose time has come.

Renowned for her pure, powerful songwriting and clear voice, Beth Nielsen Chapman has become one of the most distinctive portrayers of resilience and human vulnerability with an astoundingly diverse and extensive array of songwriting credits.

She has penned hits and written tunes for some very prominent artists whose styles span country, pop, folk, blues, and jazz, such as Bonnie Raitt, Emmylou Harris, Neil Diamond, Trisha Yearwood, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Bette Midler, Andy Bey, and Ute Lempter, including the Grammy-nominated, ground-breaking smash for Faith Hill's "This Kiss," (Chapman/Roboff/Lerner).

Chapman's songs have also been featured on numerous television shows and movies. Throughout her career, Beth has been in demand as a teacher of workshops on creativity, songwriting, grief, and healing through art. The combination of her life experience and her guided tours through the unconscious provide a unique, inspiring approach to the creative process.

Barbara Clinton is the former director of the Center for Health Services at Vanderbilt University. As director, Clinton supported community health efforts and linked disadvantaged groups to the university's resources. Clinton was founding director of the Center's award-winning Maternal Infant Health Outreach Worker program, which mobilizes women in Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia, Mississippi, Arkansas, Louisiana, and West Virginia to implement local child development programs. This program was recently honored by the World Health Organization.

Clinton served as an adjunct assistant professor in the Vanderbilt University Schools of Medicine and Nursing. She has served as an advisor to former Vice President Al Gore, as well as to the Tennessee Commission on Aging, the National Center for Children in Poverty at Columbia University, the Appalachian Rural Science Initiative of the National Science Foundation, and several private foundations.

Her work has been recognized with the Families Count Award of the Annie E Casey Foundation and the Oscar van Leer award. She was recently honored with the Mary Jane Werthan Award of Vanderbilt University for her "inspiring and visionary impact on the lives of women at Vanderbilt and beyond."

Bill Corbett is the author of the "Love, Limits, and Lessons" program and President of Cooperative Kids. He provides parent education courses and training for parents and professionals and certifies instructors around the globe to teach the material.

Bill is a professional speaker and writer whose syndicated column on discipline appears in parenting publications in many states across the country. He has three grown children and two grandchildren and lives with his wife Elizabeth in Enfield, Connecticut.

Grammy Award winner Don Henry's songs have been recorded by legends like Ray Charles, Patti Page, and Conway Twitty, by country crooners like Gene Watson, John Conlee, and B.J. Thomas, and by young hit makers of today like Blake Shelton, Lonestar, and Kathy Mattea.

The wit and wisdom of Don's songs are widely renowned, whether it's campfire favorites, the hilarious "B.F.D." and biker lullaby "Harley," the wonderfully poignant tribute to Martin Luther King Jr., "Beautiful Fool," and, of course, the Grammy Award-winning country classic "Where've You Been."

In addition to a Grammy, Kathy Mattea's version of "Where've You Been" won Don (and co-writer Jon Vezner) "Song of the Year" honors from the Academy of Country Music, the Country Music Association, and the Nashville Songwriters Association International. "Where've You Been" was the first song to be awarded all four honors in the same year!

Don has recorded three albums so far: "Wild in the Backyard" (1991), "Live at The Bluebird" (2001), and "Flowers & Rockets" (2001).

Molly Henry is a Certified Positive Discipline Associate and a Planned Parenthood-trained Sexuality Educator.

She is the Parent and Community Education Coordinator, Office Manager, and Human Growth and Development Guide at Abintra Montessori School in Nashville, Tennessee. Molly and her husband, Don, have two children who have thrived in an attachment-oriented home.

Dr. Kendall-Tackett is a health psychologist and International Board Certified Lactation Consultant, and the Owner and Editor-in-Chief of Praeclarus Press, a small press specializing in women's health. Dr. Kendall-Tackett is Editor-in-Chief of Clinical Lactation, Fellow of the American Psychological Association in Health and Trauma Psychology, President of the APA Division of Trauma Psychology, and Editor-in-Chief-elect of Psychological Trauma. She is a Clinical Associate Professor of Pediatrics at the Texas Tech University School of Medicine in Amarillo, Texas and Research Associate at the Crimes against Children Research Center at the University of New Hampshire. 

Dr. Kendall-Tackett specializes in women's-health research including breastfeeding, depression, trauma, and health psychology. Her research interests include the psychoneuroimmunology of maternal depression and the lifetime health effects of trauma. Dr. Kendall-Tackett has won several awards for her work including the 2013 Outstanding Research Poster Award from the U.S. Lactation Consultant Association, the 2011 Community Faculty Award from the Department of Pediatrics, Texas Tech University School of Medicine, and the 2011 John Kennell and Marshall Klaus Award for Excellence in Research from DONA International (with co-recipient, Tom Hale). She has authored more than 390 articles or chapters and is the author or editor of 24 books on maternal depression, family violence and breastfeeding. Her most recent books include: Psychology of Trauma 101 (2014), The Science of Mother-Infant Sleep (2013), Depression in New Mothers, 2nd Edition (2010), The Psychoneuroimmunology of Chronic Disease (2010), Trauma & Physical Health (2009), and How to Write for a General Audience (2007). She is also co-author (with Nancy Mohrbacher) of Breastfeeding Made Simple, 2nd Edition (2010).  A full listing of her books is available at UppityScienceChick.com, BreastfeedingMadeSimple.com, KathleenKendall-Tackett.com, and PraeclarusPress.com.

Dr. Gregory Popcak (POP-chak) is the Founder and  Executive Director of the Pastoral Solutions Institute, an organization dedicated to helping Catholics find faith-filled solutions to tough marriage, family, and personal problems.  The author of almost 20 popular books & programs integrating solid Catholic theology and counseling psychology (including; Just Married:  The Catholic Guide for Surviving & Thriving in the First 5 years of Marriage,  For Better...FOREVER!,  Holy Sex!, Parenting with Grace, Beyond the Birds and the Bees), Dr. Popcak is an expert on the practical applications of Pope John Paul the Great's Theology of the Body. 

Through the Pastoral Solutions Institute, he directs a group pastoral tele-counseling practice that provides over 8000 hours/years of ongoing pastoral psychotherapy services to Catholic couples, individuals, and families around the world.    Since 2001, he and his wife and co-author, Lisa Popcak, have hosted several nationally-syndicated, call-in radio advice programs including Heart, Mind and Strength (Ave Maria Radio), Fully Alive! (Sirius/XM-The Catholic Channel), and most recently, More2Life (Ave Maria Radio--Airing  M-F, Noon-1pm Eastern).  They have also hosted two television series for EWTN (For Better...FOREVER! & God Help Me!).   In addition to hosting Faith on the Couch, a popular faith and psychology blog on Patheos.com,  Dr. Popcak's articles appear regularly in periodicals such as Catholic Digest, Family Foundations, Tender Tidings, Columbia, and others, and his work has been featured on FoxNews, NPR's Here and Now, the Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, Ladies Home Journal, and The National Enquirer.   Dr. Greg Popcak and Lisa Popcak are sought after public speakers and trainers and have been honored to address audiences across North America, as well as Australia, and Hong Kong.

In addition to his ministry work, Dr. Popcak serves on the adjunct faculty of both the undergraduate psychology and graduate theology departments at Franciscan University of Steubenville where he teaches Spirituality and the Helping Professions and Pastoral and Spiritual Direction respectively.  He also serves on the doctoral faculty of the Harold Abel School of Behavioral Health in the  department of clinical social work at Capella University where he teaches Epistemology of Clinical Practice

Peggy O’Mara was the Editor and Publisher of Mothering Magazine from 1980 to 2011. In 1995 she founded mothering.com and was its editor-in-chief until 2012. Peggy’s books include Natural Family Living, Having a Baby Naturally, and A Quiet Place. She has presented at Omega Institute, Esalen, Bioneers and La Leche League, International.

She is the recipient of the La Leche League, International 2001 Alumnae Association award, the International Peace Prayer Day 2002 Woman of Peace award, the National Vaccine Information Center 2009 Courage in Journalism award, the Holistic Moms Network 2013 Lifetime Achievement Award, and five Maggie Awards for public service journalism from the Western Publishing Association.

Peggy is on the advisory boards of Attachment Parenting International, Best for Babes, Holistic Moms Network, Infant Massage USA, Intact America, and Oak Meadow. She is the mother of four adult children and grandmother of two. Peggy has lived in Santa Fe, NM for 29 years.

Dr. Dorothy Marcic is a playwright, professor at Columbia University, and a former professor at Vanderbilt University's Owen Graduate School of Management. She was a Fulbright Scholar at the University of Economics-Prague, teaching MBA students and practicing managers.

She served as advisor to the US Ambassador of the Czech Republic and was a delegate to both the United Nations Economic and Social Develop Summit in Copenhagen and the UN Commission on the Status of Women, as well as consulting with Ford Motor company, Hewlett-Packard, US Department of State, Bell Labs/AT&T, USAA Insurance and many others.

She is the author of 15 books, including the best-selling Understanding Management, Managing with the Wisdom of Love,Love Lift Me Higher, and RESPECT: Women and Popular Music, which was based on her qualitative content-analysis research of how women are depicted in the lyrics of Top-40 music. Using this research data, Dr. Marcic wrote two hit musicals: RESPECT, which has played 2600 performances in 32 cities to one million audience members/ticket buyers; and SISTAS, which was nominated as Best New Musical on Off-Broadway and has played Off-Broadway for two years.

On a Mother (of a) Quest for 15 years as a journalist, activist and nonprofit visionary, Lisa Reagan explores the space between our unsustainable industrial story and the emerging story of what is possible for Cultural Creative families – who are leading the way forward.

Lisa is a co-founder of the nonprofit, Families for Conscious Living and the executive editor of, Kindred. Her vision of serving Cultural Creative families is currently carried forward through nonprofit collaborations and over 300 international Pathways Connect Gathering Groups sponsored by the award-winning, conscious living magazine, Pathways to Family Wellness.

Lisa shares her personal stories of shifting in features, such as Spiritual Composting, in Kindred. In her presentations at conferences and workshops, she inspires parents to look toward Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey, for guidance on transforming themselves as a path to transforming our unsustainable culture.

Her Kindred Fireside Chats and interviews with conscious living leaders, like Deepak Chopra, MD; Paul Ray, PhD; Marilyn Schlitz, PhD; Thom Hartmann; Joseph Chilton Pearce and others, continue to forge the new story of holistic family wellness at a time when the United States ranks dead last for infant, child and maternal wellness among its 40 industrial nation peers.  You can watch her video interviews on Kindred’s Vimeo and You Tube Channels. Listen to her interviews and teleconferences with Dr. Lauren Feder, president of the Holistic Pediatric Alliance, here.

Lisa is featured in the upcoming film documentary, The Love Bomb. Her forthcoming books share her 15 year adventure exploring the conscious living movement.

Chris Wink, like a lot of students, didn't know where his life was headed, but had a variety of interests and loved to learn. Realizing, however, that learning wasn't a career to sustain life, he started feeling the undeniable pressure to make money. Unfortunately, Chris didn't receive much encouragement to follow what he calls the 'bliss path'. Chris was faced with this challenge to either choose a career that would make him money, also making him unhappy, or to go down the bliss path. With very little, he started the Blue Man Group with his two other friends. This life wasn't about the awards, the fame, or the achievements, but the day-to-day process of preparing for a show and doing what he loves to do with his friends, walking down his 'bliss path.'

Linda’s degree in elementary/special education gave her skills in teaching and also in writing detailed lesson plans. She put those skills to use as a new mom. She designed the items she wanted in her nursery and then wrote and published her pattern books. Linda is a natural problem solver and wanted to make life easier for parents and babies.



As her children were leaving for college, she learned about infant massage. She began teaching parents to massage their babies in 1999. She taught 3 classes a week for over 2 years until she became a trainer with the International Association of Infant Massage – Sweden. As a trainer she has conducted hundreds of workshops and trained over 1000 educators across the United States as well as in Korea in the United Kingdom. She has written numerous articles, presented workshops at National Conferences such as the Early Head Start, Birth to Three Conference, the National Training Institute for Zero to Three and Prevent Child Abuse America.



In March of 2005, with the creation of Infant Massage USA, she became the Executive Director.