Schedule

Friday, May 20, 2022 (9:30 am – 5 pm ET)

Responsible storytelling: Thinking critically about how narratives about youth impact our children
Headlines so often rely on fear and crisis to capture readers’ attention. But how do these negative narratives about childhood and adolescence influence our children — and our parenting decisions? Join a panel of health experts and storytellers for a conversation about strength-based storytelling, how writers can uncover unexpected narratives, and our responsibility as journalists to think critically about the dominant narratives.

• Aisha Sultan, columnist, The St. Louis Post-Dispatch
• Ignacio Rivera, founder and co-executive director at The HEAL Project
• Ken Ginsburg, MD, MSEd, founder and program director at the Center for Parent and Teen Communication
• Jillian Baker, DrPH, EdM, director, Center for Parent and Teen Communication
• Moderator: Katherine Reynolds Lewis, independent journalist, author of The Good News About Bad Behavior, and co-founder of the Parenting Journalists Society

Promoting yourself: Get paid to speak and ace the interviews about your work

Special remarks from Dr. Ibram X. Kendi

The author of How to Be an Anti-Racist, Stamped From the Beginning, and Anti-Racist Baby will discuss media coverage of race and racism, talking to kids about race, and his forthcoming book, How to Raise An Anti-Racist. He is an author, professor, anti-racist activist, historian of race and discriminatory policy in America, and director of the Center for Antiracist Research at Boston University.

One randomly selected conference attendee will receive a poster signed by Ibram X. Kendi.

What editors want in a pitch
This roundtable of parenting editors will address how to pitch their publication, what to include, how to get their attention, and what NOT to do in order to land a byline.

• Amy Joyce, editor of On Parenting, The Washington Post
• Conz Preti, parenting editor at Insider
• Joy Shan, Features Editor, New York Magazine
• Katherine Hutton, editor and content manager of PBS Kids for Parents
• Shannon Vestal Robson, editorial director at Motherly
• Moderator: Ellen Lee, independent writer and editor and co-founder, Parenting Journalists Society

Redefining family in our coverage and storytellers
It’s past time for parenting journalism to broaden the definition of family: the majority of U.S. children aren’t being raised in suburban families led by two married, white, straight, cisgender parents. This panel will discuss reframing the parenting beat to include single parents, LGBTQ+ families, multicultural families and other family structures that reflect the reality of families in America.

• Sa’iyda Shabazz, writer and editor
• Shanicia Boswell, entrepreneur and founder of Black Moms Blog
• Trystan Reese, Collaborate Consulting, LLC
• Moderator: Jyoti Gupta, educator and author, Different Differenter

Networking hour

Join other journalists, writers and content creators to discuss ideas raised in the conference — or your own — in breakout groups that will be facilitated by the Parenting Journalists Society members listed below.

Kelly Glass

Rebecca Weber

2022 Speakers

Julie Lythcott-Haims, Author and former Stanford Dean

Julie Lythcott-Haims believes in humans and is deeply interested in what gets in our way. Her work encompasses writing, speaking, teaching, mentoring, and activism. She is the New York Times bestselling author of How to Raise an Adult; the critically-acclaimed prose poetry memoir Real American, which illustrates her experience as a Black and biracial person in white spaces; and Your Turn: How to Be an Adult, which has been called a “groundbreakingly frank” guide to adulthood. Julie currently serves on the boards of Common Sense Media, Black Women’s Health Imperative, Narrative Magazine, and on the Board of Trustees at California College of the Arts. She serves on the advisory boards of LeanIn.Org, Sir Ken Robinson Foundation and Baldwin For the Arts. She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her partner of over thirty years, their itinerant young adults, and her mother.

Dr. Ibram X. Kendi

Ibram Xolani Kendi is an American author, professor, anti-racist activist, and historian of race and discriminatory policy in America. In July 2020, he assumed the position of director of the Center for Antiracist Research at Boston University. Kendi was included in Time’s 100 Most Influential People of 2020.

Ken Ginsburg, MD, MSEd, founder and program director at the Center for Parent and Teen Communication

Ken Ginsburg is a physician, adolescent medicine specialist, and Professor of Pediatrics at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. He is committed to preparing adults to be the kind of people that adolescents deserve in their lives. He supports organizations in developing programs and policies that strengthen families and see young people through a strength-based lens. He speaks nationally and internationally and is the author of 5 award-winning parenting books as well as a toolkit for youth-serving professionals. The Center for Parent and Teen Communication (CPTC) is rooted in his strength-based philosophy and resilience-building model.

Amy Joyce, editor, On Parenting, The Washington Post

Amy Joyce is the editor for the On Parenting section of the Washington Post. Before taking that role in 2014, she was a business reporter, career columnist and features editor for the Post. Author of the book “I Went to College for This?” Amy lives in Washington D.C. with her husband, also a journalist, and their two sons.

Joy Shan, Features Editor, New York Magazine

Joy Shan is a features editor at New York Magazine. Before that, she was a story editor at The California Sunday Magazine.

Conz Preti, Parenting & Health editor, Insider

Conz Preti is an Argentine journalist and mom of three under 5. She’s worked in online media for over 15 years, and her byline can be found in many of the popular websites millennials read regularly. She has a master’s degree from Columbia Journalism. She’s the author of “Too Pregnant To Move”.

Kelly Glass, executive editor of Kindred at Parents.com and co-founder, PJs

Kelly Glass is the executive editor of Kindred at Parents.com, overseeing coverage for the people raising the next generation of Black children. Previously, she was an editor at Romper and an independent journalist whose work focused on parenting, race, health, and policy. Bylines include the New York Times, the Washington Post, What to Expect, TODAY, The Lily, Glamour, National Geographic, and more. The Chicago native is also co-chair of the Parenting Journalists Society, an NPR Illinois advisory board member, and mom to two boys and a rescue dog.

Aisha Sultan, columnist, St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Aisha Sultan is a nationally syndicated columnist, award-winning filmmaker, and speaker. Her work has run in more than a hundred publications. Aisha has worked as a staff writer at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch since 1998. She has also taught college writing at Washington University.

Bea Hundal, anchor, reporter and producer

Bea Hundal is an accomplished anchor, reporter and producer who has had the pleasure of working at BBC World TV, BBC World Service Radio, APTV, AJI and interned at ABC’s Good Morning America. London-born with a New York State of mind, Bea loves to travel, is a foodie, fashionista and fast car enthusiast! Please join her on Instagram @beahundal

Brittany Hennessy, Author, Influencer

Brittany Hennessy has been called the Influencer Whisperer and the Fairy Godmother of Influencer Marketing. She’s the author of INFLUENCER: Building Your Personal Brand In The Age Of Social Media, which she wrote while building the influencer team at Hearst Magazines and booking influencers for Seventeen, Cosmopolitan, Marie Claire, Elle, Harper’s Bazaar, Esquire, Women’s Health, Redbook, and more (2018). Before that it was Travel Channel, Food Network, Lifetime, and Spike TV (2015). And before that she was an influencer for The Gap, Svedka, Popchip, Vaseline, and Nivea where she was the North America Ambassador and got to hang out with Rihanna on a cruise ship in Germany. (2007). She’s been in this business for a long time and Influencers are her people.

Ellen Lee, independent journalist and co-founder, PJs

Ellen Lee is an independent journalist and mom of three in the San Francisco Bay Area. Her writing has appeared in publications such as The New York Times, The Wirecutter, The Atlantic, Real Simple and the San Francisco Chronicle, where she was a business and technology reporter. She loves Broadway musicals, peppermint chocolate and sleep.

Ignacio Rivera, Founder and Co-Executive Director at The HEAL Project

Ignacio G Hutía Xeiti Rivera (they/elle), M.A., is a cultural sociologist with expertise in sexual trauma, healing, and liberation for marginalized people. They are an internationally known gender non-conforming speaker, trainer, and consultant. Ignacio is the Founder and Co-Executive Director at The HEAL Project, where they work to prevent and end Childhood Sexual Abuse (CSA). Ignacio is the host of Connecting The Dots, an interview show on how CSA shows up in everyday media, as well as the co-host of Caution: Unrestricted!, a talk show that breaks open sexual stigma and taboo. You can follow Ignacio’s work at heal2end.org as well as @heal2end.

Jillian Baker, DrPH, EdM, director, Center for Parent and Teen Communication

Dr. Baker oversees overall strategy and management and is focused on co-leading CPTC to its next phase of growth, sustainability and impact. She has over 20 years of experience in designing, implementing, and translating community driven, evidence-based prevention programs for populations made vulnerable. Dr. Baker holds a Doctorate in Public Health from Drexel University and received postdoctoral training from the Center for Health Equity Research and the National Center on Fathers & Families. Dr. Baker advocates for the important role fathers play in guiding young lives and also co-hosts A Tribe Called Fertility, a podcast that focuses on maternal health in Black families.

Katherine Reynolds Lewis, author of The Good News About Behavior and co-founder, PJs

Katherine Reynolds Lewis is an award-winning journalist and author based in the Washington, D.C. area who writes about education, equity, mental health, parenting, science and social justice for publications including The Atlantic, The New York Times, Parents and The Washington Post. Her 2015 story on the school-to-prison pipeline became Mother Jones’ most-read article ever, and led to her bestselling 2018 book, “The Good News About Bad Behavior: Why Kids Are Less Disciplined Than Ever — And What to Do About It.” Her current long-form narrative project on racial justice in education is supported by the O’Brien Fellowship in Public Service Journalism and the MIT Knight Science Journalism fellowship. A biracial journalist (Asian American and White), she’s active in the Asian American Journalists Association and co-founder of the Parenting Journalists Society. 

Katherine Hutton, editor and content manager of PBS KIDS for Parents

Katherine Hutton is the editor and content manager for PBS KIDS for Parents, where she develops helpful and engaging resources for families to learn and play together. She has over 10 years of experience working in communications and media, where she has developed content and marketing strategies for national organizations and brands. Katherine enjoys reading, cozy blankets, and dance parties with her husband and daughter.

Ronda Carnegie, Chief Innovation Officer at The Female Quotient, Co-Founder of Connected Women Leaders

Throughout her more than 35 year career, Ronda Carnegie, Chief Innovation Officer of The Female Quotient and Co-Founder of Connected Women Leaders, is known as a brand builder, content marketer, compelling communicator, revenue growth strategist, and innovative leader. From The New Yorker to TED, from Sundance Institute to The Female Quotient, Ronda’s focus on building partnerships, marketing, communications, and relationship management has resulted in revenue and brand growth. She led unprecedented growth in TED’s history – from a single conference to a media company.

Sa’iyda Shabazz, writer and editor

Sa’iyda Shabazz is a writer and editor who lives in Los Angeles with her son, partner and too many pets (3) She writes about the intersections of parenting, race, sexuality, gender and socioeconomic status as well as lifestyle and pop culture. A former writer and editor at Scary Mommy, her work has also been published by The New York Times and The Washington Post. If you don’t find her in the kitchen, she’s probably (definitely) on social media.

Shanicia Boswell, author, founder @Blackmomsblog

In the midst of running her global parenting community of over half a million women, Black Moms Blog, and retreat company, The Self Care Retreats, Shanicia Boswell is an advocate for Black parenting, diversity, and helping women learn to put themselves first. Her latest book, “Oh Sis, You’re Pregnant!”: The Ultimate Guide To Black Pregnancy and Motherhood” was released as the #1 new release in Pregnancy and Childbirth and the #1 new release in Minority Demographic Studies on Amazon.

Shannon Vestal Robson, Editorial Director, Mother.ly

Shannon Vestal Robson is the editorial director for Motherly Media, where she oversees the editorial department and freelance content program, known as the Motherly Collective. She is a 15-year digital media veteran, having spent a decade at POPSUGAR. She lives in LA with her family and cat.

Trystan Reese, Collaborate Consulting, LLC

Trystan Reese is a media strategist and storyteller who focuses on LGBTQ families.

Winnie Sun, founding partner & managing director of Sun Group Wealth Partners

Winnie Sun is one of the most trusted financial voices on social media today. With 20+ years of experience in the financial services industry, Winnie serves as Managing Director of Sun Group Wealth Partners, CNBC Financial Advisor Council, Forbes contributor, regular Good Day Los Angeles, host of the Yes Factor podcast, and is also tv host of LevelUp With Winnie Sun on NASDAQ, Amazon Fire, Roku. Her trending business tweetchat averages over 150MM impressions per week. Fun fact: The hashtag #WinnieSun has been shared on social media over 25 billion times as of March 2021. (Hashtag Tracking Report)