Blog Contributors

Elisabeth Wilkins, EP Editor
Elisabeth Wilkins is the editor of Empowering Parents and the mother of a five-year-old son. Her work has appeared in national and international publications, including Mothering, Motherhood, Hausfrau, The Bad Mother Chronicles, and The Japan Times. Elisabeth holds a Masters in Fine Arts in Creative Writing from the University of Southern Maine.

James Lehman, MSW
James Lehman is a behavioral therapist and the creator of The Total Transformation Program for parents. He has worked with troubled children and teens for three decades. James holds a Masters Degree in Social Work from Boston University.

Dr. Robert Myers
Dr. Robert Myers is a clinical psychologist with 25 years of experience working with children and adolescents with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and learning disabilities, and is the creator of The Total Focus Program. “Dr. Bob” has provided practical information for parents as a radio talk show host, a regular columnist for Parents and Kids Magazine, and as editor of Child Development Institute's website, 4parenting.com which reaches 3 million parents each year. He is an Associate Clinical Professor of Psychiatry and Human Behavior at UC Irvine School of Medicine. Dr. Myers earned his PhD from the University of Southern California.

Carole Banks
Carole Banks is a Parental Support Line Advisor for The Total Transformation and Total Focus Programs. She is the mother of three grown children and the grandmother of four.

Megan Devine
Megan Devine is a Parental Support Line Specialist and writer. She holds a Master of Fine Arts degree from Goddard College. Megan has a children’s career book in pre-publication, and has several other books in the works.

Tina Wakefield
Tina Wakefield is a Parental Support Line specialist who has been coaching parents on Total Transformation techniques for nearly four years. Tina is also the mother of a 12-month-old and stepmother of a 10-year-old.

Toni Vitanza
Toni Vitanza, 47, is the mother of a son, 15. She is a Texan who now lives in Clemson, S.C. After a career as a newspaper journalist and time as a stay-at-home mom, she became a flight attendant and has flown for 11 years. In addition to flying, she has been a substitute teacher for 23 years. She has completed two four-year degrees and done graduate work in the liberal arts, studied in Scotland, trained teachers in Poland and traveled extensively. Her husband is a college professor.

Lola Howle
Lola Howle is a journalist and technical writer located in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. A single mom, she currently shares a home with her patient 80-something mother and stubborn, attention-deficit 13-year-old son.

Frank Brogni
Frank is a veteran of the US Army and graduate of the University of Wisconsin. Frank has been a self-employed entrepreneur his entire adult life. During his encore years, Frank is a Certified Performance Coach specializing in Family Relations and a credentialed member of the International Coach Federation. Frank is also the proud “Dad” to five children and “Grandpa” to four grandchildren. Currently, Frank is living with his wife Sheri in Phoenix, Arizona.

Scott Wardell
Scott Wardell is the creator and author of Scottcounseling.com. ScottCounseling offers free parenting articles, parenting eBooks and online counseling services.

Dr. Joan
Joan Simeo Munson has a Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology and is the co-author of the forthcoming 50 Plus One Great Life Lessons to Teach Your Children. Over the years, Dr. Munson has worked with incarcerated individuals, families, adolescents, and college students in a variety of settings, including county and city jails, community mental health centers, university counseling centers, and hospitals. She also has a background in individual, group, and couples counseling. Dr. Munson received her Ph.D. from The University of Denver, her Master of Arts degree in Community Counseling from George Washington University, and her Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology from the University of Illinois. Dr. Munson lives in the Boulder area with her husband and three energetic children, ages 12, 10, and 7.

Kathy Pride
Kathy has four children, aged 9, 12, 24 and 26. Her second son was seduced by marijuana when he was 16. Kathy is now a published author of "Winning the Drug War at Home". She is also a childbirth educator and is writing a pregnancy and childbirth book. Her web site is www.kathypride.com where she blogs several times a week. Kathy graduated from Brown University with a degree in Health and Society, and also has a BSN in Nursing.

Single Dad
RJ Jaramillo is a single father of three and the founder of www.singledad.com. While facing the daily challenges of raising three children on his own after his divorce, RJ realized how few resources were available to help him during this journey. He started SingleDad.com in 2007.

Annita Woz
Annita Woz grew up in a large, imperfect family in the Midwest. "As adults we have the power to build children up or tear them down," she says about the challenges of being a responsible parent, "and we never know when what we say is going to be a defining moment in a child's life." Woz is a writer and child-grower living in the Midwest with her husband and their three inspirational children. She is always learning. You can visit her website at annitawoz.wordpress.com

Matt and Julie Hellstrom
Matt and Julie Hellstrom are parents of 5 beautiful, unique adopted children. Read about their challenges and successes as parents in their parenting journey blog at Tips for parenting or Positive parenting skills.

Heather W. Soderquist
Heather Soderquist is a mother of two children and a business coach for nonprofit corporations. She is a student pilot and writes children’s books, poetry and creative non-fiction.

Kemuel Ronis
Kemuel Ronis has over 25 years of teaching experience in a variety of settings. He worked in public education from grades 5-12, has owned and operated a martial arts school for 15 years, worked in behavioral education in a hospital environment, and supervised and trained adults in behavioral techniques. Kemuel has three grown children ages 23-26, all living independent lives with successful careers that they chose themselves. Kemuel is not only proud of each of their accomplishments, but also that he and his wife Linda have successfully made the transition from raising them to being mentors and adult friends with them.

Greengirl11
I am a 42 years old and have been blessed with a great husband and three wonderful kids: my daughter is 19 and in her second year of college, my older son is 14 and a freshman in high school, and my youngest is 11 and in 6th grade. I graduated college at age 34 in 2001 and have worked in administrative and management positions until this past summer. We have a very small farm operation and raise our own chickens (for eggs) and have raised a couple of pigs and have a small herd of beef cattle. We live in a small community that we love and with good schools that care a lot about their students.

Linda Falcao
Linda Falcão is a mother, attorney, and teen educator, founder of the youth volunteer organization AMERICA SERVES, www.americaserves.net. The AMERICA SERVES Student Journal was honored by the US Department of Education in 2008 as a guide to teen service learning. She has degrees from the University of Pennsylvania in English and from the Wharton School in Economics, and attended Harvard Law School. She currently practices law and mediates in the field of employment disputes, and is an appointee to Pennsylvania’s Advisory Committee to the Commission on Alternative Dispute Resolution. Of everything in her life, she is most proud of her marriage and her children.

Susan Engel
Susan Engel is a retired Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist and single mother of two sons, aged 6 and 9 (the eldest was conceived via IVF after infertility and pregnancy loss). She grew up in several suburbs of Los Angeles, CA, and graduated in 1994 from Cal State University, Long Beach, with a MSN, and has practiced various forms of nursing over a 20-year career. She currently resides in San Diego, CA, spending her days trying to keep her sanity while co-parenting her children, writing meager fiction, creating an online business with her fiancé, and going gray.

Anita Johnston
I am a married with three children. We live on Prince Edward Island, where I grow and sell vegetables. I have recently returned to school for my GED. Our family has 2 rabbits, 1 cat, and 1 dog. I like reading, oil and water painting, photography and writing about anything interesting. I have worked in my husband's business for 16 years doing much of the bookkeeping, office management, etc. We hope to expand into managing a greenhouse and selling many types of vegetables and nursery plants.

Kim Stricker
Kim Stricker is a mom to two boys, an elementary teacher, and freelance writer. She also writes a blog about the daily experiences of raising a child with Asperger's and ADHD.

Melody
"Melody" is a wife and mother of three beautiful children ages 8, 7, and 2 years, each with their own challenges. A certified teacher, now a "stay-at-home" mom and family daycare provider, her days are filled with activity that engage a tremendous measure of energy, stamina, and courage!

Angie Schexnaider
Angie Schexnaider is married with one 15 year old son, Tyler, who has ADHD and a minor Cognitive Disorder. Angie lives in Louisiana with her family. She is also a licensed insurance agent working in an independent insurance agency.

Heather E. Sedlock
Heather is a mom of two special needs kids and has spent over a decade working with them and other children who present challenging behaviors. She has been writing for over 20 years on numerous topics. She currently resides in a small town in Oklahoma.