April 21, 2008 - Attachment Parenting International is pleased to announce its new Executive Director, Samantha Gray. From KPMG to the Peace Corps, from business owner to AP mother of three, Samantha has a lot of experience to offer the organization.
"For me, serving the attachment parenting community and working with Attachment Parenting International is a lovely convergence of my work in parenting issues, nonprofit management, and development.
I am excited to join the staff and volunteers of API because of the opportunity to meaningfully serve families in a creative, progressive, caring work environment. It is easy for me to advocate for API because I believe in the mission and the approach, from the grassroots presence to information sharing and advocacy."
Samantha, who was involved in the Raleigh, NC, support group when she and her family lived there and has been a La Leche League Leader for six years, joins API at a pivotal time. Having just announced its Parent Education Program and released a new web site full of interactive features, API is ready to take the message of Attachment Parenting to the world with Samantha at the helm.
"I want to help create the vision the founders have, and I want to help further the direction the organization has taken on the last couple of months."
Samantha homeschools her children, 10-year-old Camille, 5 1⁄2-year-old Luke, and 21-month-old Zaiah and, in addition to running her own business for the past ten years, is also a trained parent educator for the Nurturing Program, Guiding Good Choices, and Supporting School Success curriculums. A bilingual professional with a background in international development, and specific focus on maternal child health, Samantha's experience in grants and business development will help take API to the next level in support, advocacy, and education.
As Samantha comes on board, API bids a very fond farewell to Managing Director and acting Executive Director, Pam Stone, who has taken leave to prepare for the arrival of twin boys later this year. This change will also further allow co-founders Barbara Nicholson and Lysa Parker to focus on their new book.
We want to acknowledge the tremendous job Pam Stone has done for API over the last few years as our managing director. She has worked tirelessly to keep the day to day operations of a very widespread organization running smoothly, and we wouldn't be here today without her leadership. We thank her from our hearts and know that Samantha will be another tremendous asset as we move forward with our parent education program and other exciting developments!
-Barbara Nicholson
Lysa Parker shares Barbara's enthusiasm for API's future.
"We feel extremely fortunate to have someone of her caliber to take the leadership of API. We absolutely believe that she can bring an energy and focus to API that will make the organization unstoppable!"
-Lysa Parker
Attachment Parenting is based in the practice of nurturing parenting methods that create strong emotional bonds, also known as secure attachment, between the infant and parent(s). This style of parenting encourages responsiveness to children's emotional needs, enabling children to develop trust that their needs will be met. As a result, this strong attachment helps children develop the capacity for secure, empathic, peaceful, and enduring relationships that follow them into adulthood.
Attachment Parenting International (API) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit member organization founded in 1994 to network with parents, professionals and like-minded organizations around the world. APIÕs mission is to educate and support all parents in raising secure, joyful and empathetic children in order to strengthen families and create a more compassionate world. In addition to providing assistance in forming Attachment Parenting support groups, API functions as a clearinghouse providing educational materials, research information, consultative, referral and speaker services to promote Attachment Parenting concepts. Attachment Parenting International promotes parenting methods that create strong, healthy emotional bonds between children and their parents. Through education, support, advocacy and research, Attachment Parenting International seeks to strengthen families.