Parenting Teens Resource Network (PTRN) believes the informed and educated parent raises a well-adjusted adolescent. We strive to make a positive difference by providing parents and caregivers with free, easily accessible sources of information and education relevant to adolescent issues through our website and parenting workshops.
PTRN was formed so that the most up-to-date and useful information we can find about adolescent issues could be found in one location--this web site. It is our goal to give parents and caregivers of teens easy access to background information, news, resources, and journal articles essential to the understanding and raising of teenagers.
From our own experiences as parents, we know that adolescence can be a challenging time of life for families, and we recognize that physical and emotional safety is a prime concern. We realize there is a need for parents in all communities to gain knowledge and get assistance to help them better understand and parent their teenagers. Some parents need this help in their own languages; some need access to the Internet; others have impossible work schedules, so they need parenting experts who can come to them to provide the information they need.
We will make information available to as many parents as possible in three ways:
* Web site
Here we will post the most up-to-date information, news, and resources available to us. Through our online Parent Forum (coming soon), parents will be able to talk to each other and to ask questions of parenting experts and teens themselves.
* Local Community Workshops and Talks
We will begin to identify particular needs in various communities across the country and provide parent education in adolescent issues to the parents least likely to have access to this help.
* Workplace Seminars
We know that busy working parents want to be more involved in their children's lives. To help them, we will bring specialists in adolescent issues to large corporations and associations where it is sometimes difficult for parents to take time off to attend school- or community-sponsored lectures. Our workshops will be of use to companies which frequently sponsor informational sessions on life issues for their employees.
As a nonprofit association we do not charge parents for our services. We depend upon donations to help defray the cost of obtaining the best information and providing access to the best specialists.
OUR BOARD MEMBERS
Carey Simon, founder and Executive Director of Parenting Teens Resource Network, has published numerous parenting articles in magazines and newspapers and has authored a dozen guidebooks for traveling with children, including the award-winning Frommer's California with Kids. She has also written extensively about careers for high school and college students. Carey is the past president of the Asthma & Allergy Foundation/S.California, past president of the Southern California chapter of the American Society of Journalists and Authors, and past president of the PTA of Marlborough School in Los Angeles. She is also a member of the Authors Guild. Carey and her husband Danny have one daughter, Jane.
Brenda Roberts is the Managing Editor of the @CSUN (California State University at Northridge) faculty/staff newspaper and the Community@CSUN newspaper. Brenda, recipient of the Gwendolyn Brooks Award for Fiction, is the author of numerous young adult and children's books including the recent award-winning children's book Jazzy Miz Mozetta. Brenda sits on the board of the Thelma Pearl Howard Foundation, is a 2006 Proposal Evaluator for the Family Development Network (a project of the LA City Community Development Department), and is a member of the UCLA Academic Advancement Program Scholarship Council. Brenda lives in Los Angeles with her husband Virgil. They are the parents of Giselle and Haley.
Peggy Norris, the mother of two, has spent years volunteering in a variety of capacities first at her children's elementary school and later at each of their middle and high schools. Peggy is a writer and former book editor. Her expertise in these professions and her experience as a parent led her to be actively involved in selecting and editing articles for Parenting Teens Resource Network Newsletter. The Charles and Peggy Norris Family Fund, administered by the California Community Foundation, supports programs for children ranging from infants to teens. Peggy lives in Westwood, California, with her husband Charles.
Steve Steinberg is president and CEO of Vital Energy Inc., which he founded in 1984. Vital Energy specializes in large school construction projects. As a part of his goal to give back to the community, Steve donates electrical upgrades to the schools he works on. Steve has served as president of his Home Owners Association and sits on the Capital Campaign Committee of Temple Beth Haverim. He lives in Camarillo, California, with his wife Caren. The Steinbergs have two daughters.
BOARD OF EXPERTS
Elaine Leader, Ph.D., BCD, CGP, received her MSW from UCLA and her Ph.D. from The Sanville Institute (formerly the California Institute for Clinical Social Work) where she is Clinical Consulting Faculty. She was Coordinator of the Adolescent Group Psychotherapy Training in the Department of Psychiatry at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center from 1972 to1994. Dr. Leader is Co-founder and Executive Director of the Center for the Study of Young People/TEEN LINE and has been in private practice in Los Angeles since 1970. She is a consultant to law enforcement, adolescent-serving agencies and the media.
Dr. Leader has received numerous honors, including the 1964 University of London Mark of Distinction in Social Work, the NASW 1986 Daniel E. Koshland Award, the 1995 TEEN LINE Humanitarian Award, the 1995 UCLA School of Social Welfare Alumni Recognition Award, the 2000 American Foundation for Suicide Prevention Award, the 2000 Models of Pride Award, the 2002 Violence Prevention Coalition's Angel of Peace Award, and the 2003 KIDS TALK Foundation Humanitarian Award. In June, 2005 Dr. Leader was honored with the National Peer Helpers Association's 'Peer Program of the Year' Award.
A native of Michigan, Barbara Wagner is the Head of School of Marlborough School in Los Angeles, an all-girls middle and high school. Ms. Wagner was on staff at Graland Country Day School in Denver, where she served successively as music instructor, Chair of the Fine Arts Department, Head of the Middle School, Assistant Head, and Interim Head of School. Ms. Wagner came to Marlborough School in Los Angeles in Fall, 1989 as Director of Upper School and in 1990 accepted the position of Head of School.
Barbara Wagner is committed to independent school education and has long been active in local, state, and national independent school and civic organizations. Current affiliations include Treasurer of the Country Day School Headmasters Association, President of the Educational Records Bureau, and Advisor to the LMG Foundation and I Have a Dream Foundation. She is also a member of the Headmasters' Association and The Trusteeship.
Michael Ferrera, MA, is the Executive Director and co-founder of LifeWorks Mentoring, the only current stand alone mentoring organization in the country for LGBTQ youth. He holds a Master's Degree in Clinical Psychology from Antioch University and has specialized in adolescent psychotherapy for over 13 years. Previously, Michael worked for Gay and Lesbian Adolescent Social Services for eight years, a foster care agency that specializes in working with LGBTQ youth, as a group home therapist, Clinical Director and Public Policy Director. During that time, he co-authored and worked to pass statewide legislation (California) mandating equal treatment for all youth in systems of care and the required matching of emancipating foster youth with mentors that will provide support during their transition to adulthood. He also spearheaded the opening of the first group home for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender youth in Northern California.
Michael serves as the Facilitator of the Task Force to End Homophobia in the Los Angeles County child welfare system and is a member of the National LGBT Advisory Network of the Child Welfare League of America. He provides training to child care professionals and administrators, teachers, mental health professionals, foster parents and legal advocates on how to work affirmatively with LGBTQ youth. Michael shares his life with his partner of 15 years, Gregg Boyd.
Michael McLinn began his teaching career at 109th Street School in Los Angeles, where he was challenged to teach the Gifted class. The experience forced him to change his teaching strategies and to conduct more research about the Gifted and Talented African American student. Mr. McLinn received his Masters in Education from California State University, Los Angeles.
In 1979, Michael McLinn became an adviser for the Gifted/Talented Programs Office of the LAUSD, where he monitored over 200 elementary, middle and high school programs. Before he retired in 2003, Michael was District Coordinator of Gifted and Talented Programs, Schools for Advanced Studies Programs, and Advanced Placement Programs in Local District G in Los Angeles. He is currently Executive Director for the Central Cities Gifted Children's Association. He was elected to the board of the California Association for the Gifted as Mission Educator Representative. He and his wife Claudette are owners of Bright Children's Bookstore in Inglewood, California.
Lynda Chassler, Ph.D., is a Board Certified Psychotherapist and Psychoanalyst and an expert on eating disorders. Currently in private practice in Beverly Hills, California, Dr. Chassler also teaches at Antioch University in Los Angeles and at the Institute of Contemporary Psychoanalysis. Dr. Chassler received her Postgraduate Certificate in Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy from Wright Institute in Los Angeles, and her M.S.W. in Social Work from Adelphi University in New York. Her expertise in eating disorders, borderline personality disorder and child and adolescent development has resulted in numerous publishing credits. She has also been interviewed about eating disorders for CBS Evening News, and she was a keynote speaker at TEEN LINE's "Food for Thought Luncheon." She has participated in numerous seminars for TEEN LINE' s training program on eating disorders.
BOARD OF ADVISORS
Kenneth W. Bentley is vice president of community affairs for Nestle© USA, Inc. and a long-time champion of young people. A native of Los Angeles, Ken was Crenshaw High's first student body president and All-City athlete and is a member of the school's Hall of Fame. He received his Bachelors degree from the University of California at Irvine and Masters of Arts in Management from the University of Redlands.
His many awards include the NAACP's coveted Verna M. Canson ACT-SO Award, the, NPCL 'Spirit of Fatherhood Award,' Turning Point magazine's 'Living History Maker Award,' and Lifetime Achievement Awards from the Black Public Relations Society of California and the PTA. In 2006, Teen Line bestowed him with the TEEN LINE Voice Award for his commitment to youth and his generous spirit of volunteerism.
Nestle© Very Best in Youth 2005 is Ken's tenth book. He has also published Women of Courage, Men of Courage Beyond a Dream...Black Women in the Arts and Going for the Gold...The Story of Black Women in Sports. He was a contributor to the book Black Fathers: An Invisible Presence in America. Ken is a member of the board of directors of the NAACP's Crisis Magazine and the Harold Pump Foundation. He is also an advisory board member of Reading Is Fundamental of Southern California, TEEN LINE, and the Jackie Robinson Foundation. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife Jelana Collins, and their three children, Alfred, Angelena and Christina.
Maria A. Casillas is president of Families in Schools (FIS), a non-profit organization created by the Los Angeles Annenberg Metropolitan Project (LAAMP) in 2001 to engage parents in their children's education and to strengthen the relationship among families, schools and communities. Ms. Casillas also actively supports K-12 school reform through community-based coalition efforts and as an active member on various non-profit boards and advisory committees. In 2006-2007, Ms. Casillas chaired the Los Angeles Presidents' Joint Commission on LAUSD Governance and served on the Board of the Los Angeles County Board of Education (LACOE).
Ms. Casillas has been a teacher and principal in Guadalajara, Mexico, held the position of Executive Director in the Educational Service Center in Texas, and has given more than 20 years of service to the Los Angeles Unified School District as a teacher, elementary school principal, and regional superintendent. She has held various leadership roles through the California State Department of Education and has served on the Commission for Children, Youth and their Families. She currently serves as a Commissioner for the Board of Recreation and Parks for the City of Los Angeles.
Elaine Kohn has performed pro bono functions for, and has served on the boards of, several Los Angeles organizations. Ms. Kohn is currently an officer and board member of The Kohn Family Foundation and has provided pro bono legal services for The Alliance for Children's Rights. She was honored for her outstanding service as Judge Pro Tem on the Los Angeles Municipal Court and was in private law practice for more than 20 years prior to taking on her current position as Senior Staff Attorney at FINRA (the Financial Industry Regulatory Association). Active in the community, Elaine has served on the boards of the Asthma and Allergy Foundation/Southern California chapter, as well as on the board of The Center for Early Education. At the Center, Elaine served as vice president, secretary, and as chair of the personnel practices committee. She is the mother of two daughters.
Charles A. Norris, formerly Sr. Vice President of McKesson HBOC and President of McKesson Water Products Company, sits on the boards of Glacier Water Services, Inc., as Chairman and Director, and The Sports Club Company as Director. Mr. Norris, who received his MBA from Northeastern University in 1971, gives generously of his time in the Los Angeles community. He is a past Director of the Rene Dubos Center for Human Environments and is a past Trustee of the Drinking Water Research Foundation.
Charles is married to Peggy Norris, who serves as Secretary and board member of Parenting Teens Resource Network. |
