Parenting for the Future

Senior lecturer at Harvard's Graduate School of Education and the Harvard Kennedy School of government. Faculty director of Harvard's Making Caring Common Project Education/Degree: Ed.D., Harvard University "When we talk about caring for other people, we are also talking about caring for the common good, and we're talking about caring across difference. Relatively speaking, it's not hard for people to care for someone else. Almost everybody cares for somebody else. the higher bar for a lot of people is caring for people who are different from them in race or class, or culture, or political orientation, or religious orientation"

Jonathan Rubenstein is father to one daughter and the founder and CEO of Joe Coffee, New York City's original specialty coffee company and a pioneer of the Third Wave Coffee Movement.    The award-winning collection of cafes is best known for brewing the highest quality coffee and serving its community of customers with warm, authentic hospitality.   Jonathan is here to talk about how cup of coffee and a lot of care can make the world a better place  

Laurie Palau is a mom two almost grown-up daughters, host of the super popular weekly podcast, This ORGANIZED Life, and  founder of Simply B Organized, a lifestyle company helping people declutter their lives so they could live simply and more meaningfully.   Laurie's advice has been featured in national publications including Real Simple and The New York Times and she speaks frequently on clutter, parenting, and entrepreneurship.     She is the author of the best-selling book Hot Mess: A Practical Guide to Getting Organized.   This book is the topic of our conversation today.

New York Times bestselling author, Susan Verde is mom to three teenagers, two cats a dog and a tarantula. She is also a yogi and a mindful human who teaches yoga and mindfulness to kids of all ages. Susan has written more than twenty picture books for children, in which she captures and celebrates the unique experience of being a child. Her books are used around the world to support mindfulness, yoga and  social-emotional learning programs in schools and libraries.  Today,  Susan is here to talk about her latest book and her first book for adults: Say one Kind Thing: Lessons in Acceptance, Love, and Letting Go. 

The Metropolitan Opera (the Met) is the largest performing arts institution in the United States. Each season, the Met stages more than 200 opera performances in New York with over 800,000 people in attendance.   Millions more experience the Met through its 90-year-old radio broadcast series, its new media partnerships and state-of-the-art technology, including Metropolitan Opera Radio on SiriusXM Satellite Radio, Met Opera on Demand and  free live audio streaming of performances on its website during the opera season. Yet for all of its acclaim and reputation for being innovative and forward thinking, true inclusion has not been part of the Met's story.   Enter Marcia Sells, the first Chief Diversity Officer for the Metropolitan Opera and a phenomenal mom to her daughter and step-son. Marcia joined the Met Opera after serving as Associate Dean and Dean of Students at Harvard Law School. Her storied career includes positions in academia, the private sector and public service. She is here to talk today about her work to make opera inclusive and ready to thrive in an increasingly diverse  world

Dr. Mona Delahooke is mother to three adult children, and grandmother to one grand-daughter. She is a licensed clinical psychologist with more than thirty years of experience and serves as senior faculty member of the Profectum Foundation, an organization dedicated to supporting families of neurodiverse children, adolescents and adults.  Her latest book, Brain-Body Parenting builds on the lessons of Beyond Behaviors and offers a radical new approach to parenting based on her clinical experiences as well as the most recent research in neuroscience and child psychology.  This book  is the topic of our conversation today.  

Rebecca Chandler Leege is a mother and the Chief Impact Officer at Worldreader, a US based global technology non-profit that expands vulnerable children's access to books.  Worldreader was born out of the belief that inexpensive technology and local content could help millions of children learn to read and ultimately create a better future for themselves. Since 2010, the company and its partners have distributed over 58 million digital books in 52 languages, to children and young adults in 100 countries. Rebecca has more than 20 years of leadership experience and a proven track record of growing innovative organizations through creative collaborations, cross-sector partnerships, and strategic vision.  She is here today to discuss the work of Worldreader and the positive impact it is having on the lives of millions of children. 

Lisa L. Lewis is mother to two children and a freelance journalist who covers the intersection of parenting, public health, and education. She has written for The Washington Post, The New York Times, The Atlantic, TIME, the Los Angeles Times, Slate, and Your Teen, among others.  Her new book, The Sleep-Deprived Teen: Why Our Teenagers Are So Tired, and How Parents and Schools Can Help Them Thrive is an outgrowth of her previous work on  teens and sleep, including her role in helping get California's landmark legislation on healthy school start times passed.  This book is the topic of our conversation today.  

LaMonica Williams is mother to two children and the Director of Program, Pre K - 2 Division at Teaching Matters, a national professional learning organization dedicated to helping teachers and school leaders develop the skills they need to close the gaps created by a radically unequal education system. La Monica's expertise is in elementary literacy and she also manages the work of Teaching Matters to support educators and train them to use data to advance students' reading and writing abilities.   She joins us to discuss how Teaching Matters is creating a more equitable education landscape.

Sarah Jaffe is mother to one daughter.  She began her career as an attorney for children in the foster care system, advocating for some of the most vulnerable children in our nation, but it was not until she became a mother, that she took real stock of, and became deeply troubled by, the stark differences between the lives of the children she met at work and the lives of the children she met in her parenting life.  She began to question whether her only duty as a parent was to get “the best” for her own child or whether she had an obligation to make decisions that would help create a more equitable society for all children. Her questions led her to write her first book, Wanting What's Best: Parenting, Privilege, and Building a Just World.  This book is the topic of this episode.

Alkesh Shah is a Managing Director and Head of Web3, Crypto and Digital Assets Strategy at Bank of America Global Research. He drives thought leadership in the digital asset space and his research covers crypto-assets, including tokens and infrastructure companies, and applications, such as Non-fungible Tokens (NFTs), Decentralized Finance (DeFi), stablecoins and Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDCs). He joins us today to discuss the digital asset economy and the future of money

Pamela Capalad is mother to one son, a certified financial planner, and an accredited financial counselor, who has been in the financial services industry since 2008. She is the founder of Brunch and Budget, a financial planning company with a bold mission, to create a revolutionary shift in the lives and prospects of marginalized communities by teaching them financial literacy and helping them understand and practice building generational wealth. She joins us today today to help us learn how to raise our children to have a healthy relationship with money, and to inspire all of us to do our part to bring about true economic inclusion. Welcome Pamela to Parenting for the Future. 

Luma Mufleh is mother to two daughters and one son. She is a Syrian/Jordanian entrepreneur, a coach, and a thought leader in refugee and English Language Learner education. The daughter and granddaughter of Syrian refugees, Luma grew up in Amman, Jordan, where she was one of the only Arab students in her class at an American School and one of the only girls who played on her soccer team. As a young adult in a country where being gay was considered a crime, Luma came out to her parents and was disowned. Granted asylum in the US, Luma navigated the broken immigration system to build a life for herself, opening a coffee shop and coaching soccer. She joins us today to discuss Fugees Family, the first accredited school for refugees in the United States, which she founded in 2006. The school has grown into a nationally acclaimed network of academies bringing educational equity to refugee resettlement communities across America. 

Dr. Jennifer Heisz is a mother to one daughter and an expert in brain health. She is associate professor in the Department of Kinesiology at McMaster University and directs the NeuroFit Lab which focuses on the effects of exercise on brain health. Jennifer received her PhD in Cognitive Neuroscience from McMaster and completed a postdoctoral fellowship in Brain Health and Aging at the Rotman Research Institute at Baycrest Hospital. Her research examines the effects of physical activity on mental health and cognition in young adults, older adults and individuals with Alzheimer's disease. She joins us today to discuss her first book, Move The Body, Heal The Mind, which explores her groundbreaking research on how fitness and exercise can combat mental health conditions such as anxiety, depression, ADHD, and dementia, as well as improve our focus, creativity and sleep.

Sophie Brickman is mother to two children, she's also a writer, reporter, and editor. Her work has appeared in The New Yorker, the New York Times, as well as the Wall Street Journal. She wrote a monthly column for Elle, interviewing influential women, including Nancy Pelosi and Joyce Carol Oates about their paths to success and is currently a columnist at The Guardian. Sophie graduated with honors from Harvard College, studying social theory and philosophy. She joins us today to discuss her first book, Baby, Unplugged: One Mother's Search for Balance, Reason, and Sanity in the Digital Age. It is about the intersection of parenting and technology. 

For over two decades, Dr. Todd Jason Feltman has been working in the New York City public school system and in local independent schools. He has been a classroom teacher, mentor, literacy coach, citywide literacy achievement coach, and assistant principal. Todd has master's degrees in childhood education, literary education, and school supervision and administration. He received his doctorate in urban education from the Graduate Center at the City University of New York. During Todd's career, he has come to understand exactly why some students succeed and why others fail. And he has written two wonderful interactive handbooks to help all elementary and middle school students succeed. His first handbook is for students and it is called a Student-Friendly Handbook for Navigating Success: You Need to Take Charge of Your Education! The second is for teachers of students in grades two through eight, and is called Mentoring My Elementary-and Middle-School Students to Become Powerful Navigators of Success. He joins us today to discuss this second handbook.

Bill Brady is father to five children and the co-founder and CEO of Troomi Wireless, a cellular network, specifically designed for kids to give them a safe introduction to apps and the internet. In partnership with Samsung, Troomi has released two smartphones for kids, the Samsung Galaxy A12 and Samsung Galaxy A32, both come preloaded with Troomi's kids smart operating system. The system has built-in parental controls and empowers parents with kids ages seven and up to choose the websites their kids can access, set limits on activities like gaming and restrict access to inappropriate and dangerous content like pornography and apps which attract bullies and predators. Bill joins us today to talk about his work to keep our kids safe on their smartphones and to help them engage with technology in healthy, productive ways. 

Stephanie Haynes is a mother, a veteran educator, and an education coach and consultant. Her expertise is in providing custom consulting and coaching to high school students and their parents, with an emphasis on post-high school pathway development, goal setting and time management. Stephanie's goal is to motivate her clients to create a compelling vision for their future, and develop actionable steps to build it into a reality. She joins us today to discuss her thought-provoking new book, College is Not Mandatory: A Parent's Guide to Navigating all the Options Available to Our Kids After High School. 

Stephanie Malia Krauss is mother to two children. She has an extensive background in education, youth development, and social work, and has been a teacher, coach, school leader, and nonprofit executive. Today, she works at the intersection of education, human services, and workforce development with a relentless focus on what young people need to be ready for the world and what the world needs to be ready for them. She joins us today to continue our conversation discussing her fascinating new book called Making It: What Today's Kids Need for Tomorrow's World. 

Stephanie Krauss is mother to two children. She has an extensive background in education, youth development, and social work, and has been a teacher, coach, school leader, and nonprofit executive. Today, she works at the intersection of education, human services, and workforce development with a relentless focus on what young people need to be ready for the world and what the world needs to be ready for them. She joins us today to discuss her fascinating new book called Making It: What Today's Kids Need for Tomorrow's World. The book goes beyond the question of what young people need to succeed in school, to ask what they need to be ready for life. Making It is the essential reading for anyone who wants to ensure that young people are prepared to thrive and make their unique contribution in the challenging and ever-changing world in which they will come of age. 

Dr. Rakesh Jain is stepfather to one son, a clinical professor at the Department of Psychiatry, Texas Tech University School of Medicine, and also has a private practice in Austin, Texas. Dr. Jain attended medical school at the University of Calcutta, India, and graduate school at the University of Texas School of Public Health in Houston. He served a three year residency in psychiatry at the Department of Psychiatry, a two year fellowship in child and adolescent psychiatry, and completed a post doctoral fellowship in research psychiatry at the University of Texas Mental Science Institute.  Dr. Jain has been involved in well over 100 research projects studying the effects of medications on short-term and longterm treatment of depression, anxiety, pain, mood overlap disorders, ADHD and psychosis in adult and child populations. He has co-authored six books that range from patient education to cutting edge neuro biological findings in psychiatry and mental health. He joins us today to talk about ADHD in children, and share his advice for how parents of children with ADHD can ensure their wellbeing and that of their children during this challenging pandemic time.

Chris Tomkins is uncle to five children, a TEDx speaker, spiritual life coach, and LGBTQ inner advocate. Chris has been staunched LGBTQ+ advocate for over 15 years working organizations like the gay and lesbian Alliance against defamation or GLAAD. What began as a letter, he wrote to his family to address a conversation that was not taking place, became an article, a TEDx talk, and is now a new book called Raising LGBTQ Allies. A Parent's Guide to Changing the Messages from the Playground. It is the first parenting book to focus on the prevention of homophobia, transphobia, and bullying, before they even begin. He joins us today to shed light on on the deeper multifaceted layers of homophobia and his book that encourages families to have open and authentic conversations in a practical, timely, and inclusive way. 

Roni Nocon and Amy Sage each have two children and are co-founders of ParentingEQ, a new subscription service for parents of children ages four to 11, designed to help parents nurture emotional intelligence in their children by creating a culture of emotional wellbeing in their homes.  Over the course of their careers as school counselors, they observed a decrease in children's overall wellbeing and an increase in depression, anxiety, self-harm, and negative self-worth. They found that a child's emotional health is greatly impacted by something over which schools have little influence, the family environment. They join us today to discuss ParentingEQ's mission to bridge this gap through parent-led social-emotional activities, which focuses on the emotional intelligence skills children need to lead happy and successful lives. 

Stephanie Dua is mother to three kind and brilliant daughters. She is an education entrepreneur and the co-founder and president of HOMER, the only early learning program proven to increase reading scores with just 15 minutes a day. Stephanie launched HOMER after struggling to find tools to help her own daughter learn to read despite being surrounded by some of the leading minds in education. HOMER raised $50 million from the biggest names in education and entertainment, including Sesame Workshop, LEGO Ventures and Gymboree Music and Play.   Before HOMER, Stephanie served as CEO for the New York City Education Department's Fund for Public Schools, a senior advisor to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and the Carnegie Corporation of New York. She's a graduate of UCLA and the Harvard Kennedy School.   She joins us today to share her journey to launching HOMER and her love of bringing learning to others.

Kaya Henderson is a force of nature. She has positively impacted the lives of thousands of children. She is the CEO of Reconstruction, a technology company delivering a K-12 supplemental curriculum that situates Black people, culture, and contributions in an authentic identity affirming way, so that students of all backgrounds benefit from a complete understanding of our shared history and society. Kaya is also the host of the uber popular podcast Pod Save the People. From 2010 to 2016, Kaya served as chancellor of DC Public Schools. Her tenure was marked by consecutive years of enrollment growth, increased graduation rates, improvements in student satisfaction and teacher retention, increases in AP participation and pass rates, and the greatest growth of any urban district on the National Assessment of Educational Progress. She joins us today to talk about Reconstruction, and the impact it is designed to have. 

Jennifer Grant is mother to four children and an author. She has written six books for adults and several books for children including the picture book, Maybe God is Like That Too, Maybe I Can Love My Neighbor Too, and also A Little Blue Bottle. Jennifer has written for several publications, including Woman's Day, Chicago Parent, and Patheos. For more than a decade, she wrote features for Sun-Times Media newspapers and was also a health and family columnist for the Chicago Tribune. She has a BA from Wheaton College and an MA in English and creative writing from Southern Methodist University. She joins us today to talk about her latest book for children, Once Upon a Time Not So Long Ago, which is a picture book about the COVID pandemic. 

On this final episode of Season 4, we are joined by Whitnee Hawthorne is mom to two phenomenal sons and the founder of the very popular Savvy Working Mom web platform, which is dedicated to helping working mothers thrive in every arena of their lives. Whitnee is certified in goal setting, project management, strategy performance and life coaching. She is also a professional speaker, a time management and productivity expert and widely known as a self-care guru. She joins us on Parenting for the Future to share some of her proven strategies for thriving at life and at work, strategies that allow her to live her personal credo, that working mothers don't have to choose between personal and professional success. 

Dr. LaNitra Berger is a mother to two sons and associate director of the African and African American Studies program at George Mason University, as well as the senior director of fellowships in the office of undergraduate education at George Mason University. As an art historian, LaNitra's research focuses on the intersections of art and social activism in the Black and Jewish diasporas. She has taught art of the African diaspora, African American art history, South African modern art, intersections of African and Jewish diasporas, art and social activism, and racial justice and public monuments, among other courses. She joins us on Parenting for the Future to  discuss her first phonograph, Irma Stern and the Racial Paradox of South African Modern Art: Audacities of Color, and how lessons of Irma Stern's life can help our children become agents of change. 

Dr. Susan Fisher is mother to two daughters, a researcher, and professor of obstetrics, gynecology, and reproductive sciences in the School of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco. For decades, she has been at the forefront of research on prenatal development. She has always been struck by the fact that while we parents teach our children about a lot of things, pregnancy is seldom one of those things. So, many of us grow into adulthood not fully understanding this most natural and consequential biological phenomena. She joins us on Parenting for the Future to help break the pattern of secrecy and guesswork that surround pregnancy and birth, and to share the new trailblazing science and advice for safe births and healthy babies. She also discusses her new book called, Taking Charge of Your Pregnancy. This book is an indispensable guide to the revolutionary advances in the understanding of pregnancy and birth, and it is the topic of our conversation today.

Nadine Fonseca is mother to four children and founder and Chief Executive Officer of Mighty Kind Kids  which publishes the amazing Mighty Kind Magazine. The magazine is a quarterly, anti-biased children's series that celebrates the role of kindness and compassion as the foundation for anti-biased learning and in bringing the human family closer together. Each issue is based on the premise that kindness, empathy, and compassion are teachable skills and readers learn fun facts about the world we share, read stories about kids doing good, and get actionable ideas for service and volunteer work. Mighty Kind has reached almost all 50 US states, as well as Mexico, Canada, Sri Lanka, France, Egypt, England, Ireland, Slovenia, Japan, and Finland. She joins us on Parenting for the Future to talk about how Mighty Kind is building a global community of kids who care and serving as an indispensable resource to the parents and adults who mentor and raise them.

Melissa Fensterstock is mother to two wonderful children and a seasoned biotech, medtech and consumer product executive. She is the co-founder and CEO of Landsdowne Labs. The company's first product is ChildLok, a technology designed to deactivate button batteries following accidental ingestion. Button batteries are the small, round batteries found in mostly portable electronics coming in all of our homes like remote controls, thermometers, games and toys, watches, cameras, and musical greeting cards. Button batteries are tiny, they're shiny, and they are so appealing to children that over 35,000 children accidentally ingest them every year.  She joins us on Parenting for the Future to discuss the button battery crisis and what she, through her work at Landsdowne Labs, is trying to do about it.

Michelle Glorieux is mother to one phenomenal son and is the co-founder of the ed-tech startup, TA-DA! TA-DA!'s first products are beautifully bound interactive books which marry paper technology, gorgeous art, and a symphony of original music for an unrivaled magical language learning experience. All children have to do is simply touch the images on the paper and the books come to life with real native speakers from around the globe and ambient sound effects.  To produce these books, she joins forces with, among others, Grammy Award winning music producer Jesse Lewis, highly trained linguists, talented artists, engineers, students and other teachers from around the world to help children learn languages and the cultures around those languages.  She joins us on Parenting for the Future to explore the magical world of TA-DA!

Jennifer Ann Openshaw is a mother to two amazing daughters, a financial innovator and the founder and CEO of Girls with Impact, the nation's only live online mini MBA for young women, ages 12 to 18. Jennifer has worked in Bank of America's investment management group, as well as Wilshire Associates where she advocated to turn the Wilshire 5,000 Index, a barometer of the market, into a realtime index and spearheaded a partnership with CNBC. She has also served as the press secretary to California's state treasurer and responsible for 12 financing commissions and a 70 billion-plus dollar investment portfolio. She joins us on Parenting for the Future to discuss this life-changing program that equips girls with the entrepreneurship skills, confidence and business knowledge to set them apart and set them up for future success.

Dr. Marisa Porges is mother to one fantastic son and is the eighth head of the 130-year-old, all-girls Baldwin School, outside of Philadelphia. The school is renowned for academic excellence and for preparing girls to be leaders and change-makers. This puts her in charge of helping to raise 600 girls, ages four to 18. Marisa attended the Baldwin School herself and after graduating from Harvard University, she fulfilled her childhood dream of flying jets for the U.S Navy as one of eight female aviators in an Air Wing of 200.  Marisa served in the Obama White House as a cybersecurity advisor and was a visiting fellow at Harvard Kennedy School and the Council of Foreign Relations where her research focused on worldwide counter terrorism efforts.  She joins us on Parenting for the Future to discuss her new book, "What Girls Need: How to Raise Bold, Courageous and Resilient Women”, which was inspired by the young woman at Baldwin. The book explores the old and new challenges girls  face in today's world from sexism, sexual harassment and the gender pay gap, to the need to confidently use their own voice in the workplace and ensure equity in their own homes. 

Elisse Battle has been a special educator for 18 years, working to empower students and ensure they feel seen, find their own voices, and thrive in and out of school. She's also dedicated to the work of diversity, equity, and inclusion, and supports students of color, particularly women students of color as they navigate structural barriers.  She joins us on Parenting for the Future to talk about the importance of supporting students, their schools, and their parents if we want to create a brighter future for all of our children.  Elisse also serves as an upper school learning specialist at the Trinity School in New York, a college preparatory co-educational independent school renowned for providing a world-class education to its students through rigorous academics, outstanding programs in athletics, the arts, peer leadership, and global travel. Elisse also serves as an upper school equity and inclusion coordinator, sits on the school's anti-racism task force, and is the teacher advisor for the Black affairs and girls of color clubs. 

Dr. Shirag Shemmassian is father to one son, the founder of Shemmassian Academic Consulting, and one of the world's foremost experts on admissions to highly selective colleges, graduate programs, and medical schools. For nearly 20 years, he and his team have helped thousands of students overcome obstacles and gain admission to these schools using his proprietary approach. Shirag was born in Los Angeles to Armenian parents who immigrated to the United States from Lebanon. As a high school student, he navigated the admissions process with limited college counseling. He received a BS in human development from Cornell University and a PhD in clinical psychology from UCLA. Shirag's expertise has been featured in various media outlets, including the Washington Post and Business Insider.      He joins us on Parenting for the Future to share his wisdom on how we parents can help our children hone their unique voices so that they can achieve their educational and career goals.

Dr. Albert Lin is father to two wonderful children and an internationally renowned scientist, innovator, technologist, and entrepreneur. He's the director of the Center for Human Frontiers at Qualcomm Institute, University of California, San Diego, and an award-winning National Geographic explorer and host of the fascinating uber popular show, Lost Cities with Albert Lin on National Geographic.  Albert received his PhD in material science and engineering from University of California, San Diego. He has founded and directed numerous programs, including the UC San Diego National Geographic Engineers for Exploration Program, the Exploration Lab, the Distributed Health Labs, and the international effort known as the Valley of the Khans Project in collaboration with National Geographic. He joins us on Parenting for the Future to share his advice on how we parents can HELP children cultivate a sense of adventure and wonder and ignite a thirst for discovery and a love of learning.

Gretchen Carlson is mother to two children, a journalist, author, Ted Talk alum, and a fierce, fearless internationally recognized advocate for women's rights. She started her journalism career as a political reporter in Richmond, Virginia and worked her way up through local newsrooms in Cincinnati, Cleveland, and Dallas before moving to national news in 2000 as co-host and corespondent for CBS's The Saturday Early Show. In 2005, Gretchen joined Fox News, where she co-hosted the number one cable morning news show, Fox and Friends, for more than seven years. Gretchen's catalog of interviews included every US president, vice president, and presidential candidate, as well as hundreds of leaders in business entertainment and politics. Yet, it was her groundbreaking 2016 sexual harassment lawsuit against Roger Ailes, Chairman of Fox News, alleging she had been fired from her show for refusing his sexual advances that made Gretchen the face of workplace harassment, inaugurated her work to support survivors and hold predators accountable that led her to being named one of Time Magazine's 100 Most Influential People in the World. Gretchen is also the author of two books, the New York Times bestseller, Be Fierce: Stop Harassment and Take Your Power Back and Getting Real. She recently co-founded the nonprofit Lift Our Voices to end the silencing of harassment victims through forced arbitration and nondisclosure agreements. She joins us on Parenting for the Future to discuss her experiences and her work, and how we parents can create a future world where our children do not live in fear of sexual predators and sexual harassment.    

Greg McKeown is a husband and a father to four amazing children. He is the host of the super popular podcast, What's Essential, which helps high-achieving driven productive people become successful at success and make a higher contribution effortlessly. Greg is also the author of The New York Times bestseller, Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less, which has sold more than a million copies worldwide. And the recently released, Effortless: Make It Easier to Do What Matters Most. He joins us on Parenting for the Future to share his advice on how we parents can de-clutter our lives by doing the things we have to do without strain and stress, which will free us to be more present for ourselves, our children, and for our world.  Greg is among the most popular bloggers for LinkedIn and is a young global leader for the World Economic Forum. His work has been covered by the New York Times, Fast Company, Fortune, Politico and Inc,. He has been interviewed on NPR, NBC, Fox, and the Steve Harvey Show.  Additional Links: https://gregmckeown.com    https://gregmckeown.com/books/essentialism/    https://gregmckeown.com/books/effortless/    https://gregmckeown.com/podcast/ 

Since its inception, Melissa and Doug has focused on creating authentic, innovative, high quality toys at assessable prices, toys which promotes open-ended, creative free play for new generations of children. The company's mission is to ignite imagination and a sense of wonder in children so they can discover themselves, their passions and their purpose in space. Creating gave meaning and purpose to Melissa's existence and by channeling her pain into tangible forms, she could, for a time extinguish her despair. In LifeLines, she shares her journey and the stunningly beautiful poetry she's written all her life, the words that literally kept her alive. https://www.lifelines.com   https://www.melissaanddoug.com 

Much of their work is done through EarthEcho International, a nonprofit organization founded by Phillip and his sister on the belief that young people have the power to change our planet. It is dedicated to supporting youth around the world who are taking action to protect natural resources in their local communities and solve environmental problems. EarthEcho International has programs in over 140 countries.  https://www.earthecho.org  https://www.earthecho.org/youth   

Although Benny trained as an attorney and practiced corporate law for some time, he is a serial entrepreneur at heart. In addition to Jassby, and earlier ventures, he also founded and is the chairman of the board of Credorax, a global e-commerce payment cards acquirer and processor which is licensed in over 34 countries and allows merchants to process billions of dollars in online and mobile payments.  https://jassby.com   

Michael V. Kaplen is the chair person of the New York State Traumatic Brain Injury Services Coordinating Council, which was created to advise and consult with the New York State Department of Health on issues pertaining to traumatic brain injury. He served three terms as president of the Brain Injury Association of New York State.  Michael is a frequent lecturer on brain injury. His views and opinions are frequently sought after by major news networks and publications, like the New York Times, The Washington Post, ABC, NBC and CBS News as well as ESPN. 

Mia is mom to 13-year-old Jacob who is a super athlete, entrepreneurial, and very sweet. She is also mom to 10-year-old Laila who is also entrepreneurial, artistic, and spicy. In her executive level role at Sodexo, whose annual revenue in the United States and Canada alone exceeds 10.7 billion dollars, Mia is responsible for driving the critical strategic initiatives in support of growth goals. She has founded her own nonprofit, Seven Sisters to Sisters and serves on the boards of several impactful organizations including Girls Inc. and Catalyst. She holds a BA from Wellesley College and an MBA from Harvard Business School. https://www.linkedin.com/in/mia-mends-3ab2222  https://us.sodexo.com/services/sodexomagic.html 

This year lent runs from February 17th to April 3rd. And although it is an important period of renewal and awareness for Christian families, parents sometimes are challenged to find positive, meaningful ways to help their children understand and be inspired by some of the key tenants of lent like love, generosity, forgiveness and empathy. So Love at Lent is right on time. To learn more, visit: https://www.loveatlent.com 

Alison Stewart is a mom to 12 year old Isaac, who is obsessed with sports. She is the host of the exceptionally insightful and super popular radio show on WNYC, called All of It. Alison is also the host of a new virtual book club created by WNYC and the New York Public Library in response to the Coronavirus. She has been a journalist for more than two decades and has reported for, or anchored her own ground-breaking news programs on all the major national news networks, including NPR, PBS, ABC, CBS, NBC, MTV and MSNBC. She has interviewed former presidents, supreme court justices, Nobel Peace prize winners and cultural icons. Her live reporting from the World Trade Center on 9/11, earned her an Emmy and her work as a producer/reporter for MTV News' breakthrough political coverage Choose or Lose, won her a Peabody Award. She has also authored two books. First Class, The Legacy of Dunbar, America's First Black Public High School, named one of the best books of 2013 by Essence and Mother Jones magazines and Junk, Digging Through America's Love Affair with Stuff. Alison is a Brown University graduate and was awarded a doctor of fine arts degree from Bloomfield College. She has been active in various charities, including, Dress for Success, The Lighthouse and Chess in Schools. 

Sarah Jessica Parker is mom to three wonderful children — James Wilkie, Loretta, and Tabitha. She is wife to Matthew Broderick, an actress, producer, entrepreneur, and an icon. She made her debut at the tender age of 11 in the revival of The Innocents and Broadway. By 12, she was starring on Annie, also on Broadway, and has never looked back. Sarah has starred in several critically acclaimed movies and TV shows, including Square Pegs, Glee, and Divorce, but she is probably best known for her role as Carrie Bradshaw on the HBO television series Sex and the City. For Sex and the City, Sarah has won two Emmy awards, four Golden Globe awards for best actress in a comedy series, and three Screen Actor Guild awards. Although Sex and the City wrapped in 2004, Sarah reprised the role of Carrie Bradshaw in 2008 and 2010 for Sex and the City and Sex and the City 2. To our great delight, And Just Like That, SATC The Next Chapter is currently in the works with HBO Max. Sarah owns or controls several successful business ventures, including Pretty Matches, her film and television production with HBO; SJP Beauty, her fragrance line; and SJP by Sarah Jessica Parker, her fabulous line of shoes, all produced and handmade in Italy. She's here today to talk about shaping the future through her parenting and her platform and the power of curiosity

J.R. Martinez is father to a vivacious, beautiful, curious daughter. He is well known for many reasons. You might know him for playing Brot Monroe, an injured combat veteran trying to re enter civilian life on ABC's Emmy award winning television drama, All My Children. You may also know him for writing the New York Times best seller, Full of Heart: My Story of Survival, Strength, and Spirit. You may know him for winning season 13 of ABC's Dancing with the Stars with his partner Karina Smirnoff, or from his inspiring appearances on top rated television shows like The View, The Oprah Winfrey Show, CBS Nightly News, Good Morning America, and The Tonight Show. He is one of People Magazine's annual sexiest man alive and is known for his moving, speeches to US troops around the world, or at some of the world's leading companies.

Neuroscientist Dr. Lisa Feldman Barrett is mother to one daughter. She is among the top 1% most cited scientists in the world for her revolutionary research in the fields of psychology and neuroscience. She is a University Distinguished Professor at Northeastern University with appointments at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School. She was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in Neuroscience in 2019, and is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences as well as the Royal Society of Canada. She is the author of two books, How Emotions are Made, the Secret Life of the Brain, and the fascinating, newly released book called, Seven and a Half Lessons About the Brain. 

Dr. Jacqueline Becker is an expert on the topic of bullying. She has been a psychologist in private practice in New York City for over 30 years, working with corporations to help bully executives transform into compassionate managers and mentors, working with schools for children with challenging social and emotional needs, and working with families to help resolve conflict and foster helpful meaningful relationships. Her recent book, More Time Ins, Not More Time Outs: Parent Without Bullying, explores how the uneven power dynamic between parents and of their children, lack of self-awareness, and other factors can cause parents to bully their own children. Jacqueline is a frequent guest on radio and TV shows, and has been widely cited in the New York Times, Parents Magazine, among many others. Her goal is to help each person with whom she works develop self-mastery through tools that incorporate a decision making process of integrity, wisdom, generosity of spirit, and an unshakeable commitment to ethical behavior. 

Dr. Lisa Williams is internationally recognized as an academic trailblazer, founder of a multi-million dollar company, and an award winning speaker and author. Dr. Lisa attained unprecedented success by becoming the first female professor to receive a multi-million dollar endowed chair, the first African American professor to earn tenure at Penn State University, and the first African American to receive a doctorate in Logistics from The Ohio State. At the height of her career, Dr. Lisa did the unthinkable when she left the academic life to blaze a new trail as an entrepreneur.  In 2003, she founded the World of Entertainment, Publishing and Inspiration (World of EPI), LLC. EPI is the classic Cinderella story. Dr. Lisa grew the company from negative revenues into a multi-million dollar powerhouse.  EPI is now a leading multi-cultural toy manufacturing and design firm with a global supply chain that crisscrosses the world from the US to China and other worldwide destinations. EPI’s largest customer, Walmart recently awarded Dr. Lisa the Supplier of the Year Award for her visionary leadership. Working in partnership with Walmart, EPI touches the lives of an entire generation of children through its Positively Perfect Doll Line. While featured in many magazines for her expertise in business, she is also known for her ability to motivate executives, future leaders and audiences of all sizes.In addition to winning numerous teaching awards from major universities such as Penn State, Ohio State and the University of Arkansas, she has been awarded the Outstanding Female Faculty Member of the Year from Penn State University, designated as an “Amazing Woman” by University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV) and given the Trailblazer Award by the American Marketing Association PhD. Project.