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Leadership


Board Members

NPEN's leadership consists of a Board and a Executive Committee. The Board consists of 15-25 individuals who meet bi-monthly to carry on the business of developing the field of parenting education. Board members serve for 3-year terms and are eligible to serve two consecutive terms.  The Board also holds an annual meeting typically in the Spring. Each Board member also serves on a separate committee (see committees page for more information). All Board members are dues-paying members. The Executive Committee consists of NPEN's officers as well as two Board members-at-large and meets bi-monthly as well.

If you are interested in participating in a leadership position within NPEN, please consider joining a committee or applying for a position on the Board using THIS application. 



Debbie Farr, Ph.D
Chair
Owner, Flourishing Families; Adjunct Faculty, Psychology Dept., New England College, Henniker, NH




Kat Willard, M.Ed
Vice Chair 
Sr. Director of Family Support and Literacy, First Things First, Phoenix, AZ


Celia Wilson
Secretary
Founder, Family Empowerment Consultant, Ltd., Cleveland, OH



John Jeffers
Treasurer
Retired Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Owls Head, ME


Irena Glover, Ph.D
Past Chair
Assistant Professor at Madonna University, Detroit, MI


Danielle Aretz
Pediatrician, San Diego, CA



Mollie Bailey
Program Specialist, First Things First, Phoenix, AZ

Michelle Berscheid, Ed.D
Licensed Parent and Family Educator, Early Childhood Family Education (ECFE), Family Literacy Program, Minneapolis, MN


Michael Finlay
Owner and Founder, This Is Fatherhood LLC, Portland, OR


Chelsea Hammond, M.Ed
Parent Educator, NDSU Extension, Grand Forks ND



Barbara E. Harvey, M.Ed
Executive Director, Parents, Teachers and Advocates, Atlanta, GA



Yu Jiang
Parenting Educator, Graduate Student in Educational Leadership, Whitefish, MT



Jody Johnston Pawel, LSW, CFLE
President/CEO of Relationship Toolshop® International Training Institute, LLC, Springboro, OH


Carol Nass, M.A.
Parenting Educator, Easton, PA



Rebecca Parlakian, M.A.
Senior Director of Programs at ZERO TO THREE, Washington, DC



Kristine Stanik
Student, Family and Human Services program, Portland Community College, Portland, OR
Ellen Taner, M.A.
Parenting and Family Education Consultant, Taner Associates, Brewer, ME


Ellen Taner, M.A.
Family Science Consultant, Taner Associates, Brewer, ME






Wales Brown
(In Memoriam)

Advisors


Meg Akabas
Independent Certified Parenting Educator, New York, NY


Anne Clarkson, Ph. D
Digital Parenting Education Specialist, University of Wisconsin-Extension, Rochester, MN 


Betty Cooke, Ph.D
Retired Faculty, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN



Stephanie Jones
Independent Parenting Educator & Family Life Consultant, Oak Island, NC


Glen Palm
Professor Emeritus, Child & Family Studies
St. Cloud State University, MN

Staff Support

Rachel Chrastil, M.Ed
Executive Coordinator
Parenting Educator, Minneapolis, MN


©2024 National Parenting Education Network

NPEN'S EQUITY AND JUSTICE STATEMENT

The National Parenting Education Network (NPEN) operates through the lens of equity and justice. We know the importance of social justice (racial, economic, educational, health, housing, employment, criminal, and environmental), diversity, equity, inclusion, access, and belonging within the parenting education field and our organization. We demonstrate our commitment to these realities by ensuring that our membership and leadership roles are open to parenting professionals of all ethnicities, socio-economic statuses, ages, abilities, religions, sexual orientations, nationalities, genders, and marital statuses.  

Children learn about a just society through the words and actions of their parents, caregivers, and others.  We assert that our anti-racism and anti-oppression parenting education and family advocacy work allows everyone to be heard and supported. Our work includes promoting diverse parenting educators and parenting education in our media, webinars, member communications, leadership opportunities, networking, conferences, trainings, and advocacy. By keeping racial justice, diversity, equity, inclusion, access, and belonging at the forefront, we create an environment within NPEN that supports parenting educators, parents, and caregivers, thereby, encouraging children’s healthy growth and development.


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