Parenting for the Future

Melissa Bernstein is mother to six amazing children, wife to her best friend and business partner, Doug, and co-founder of the successful toy company, Melissa & Doug. Melissa, whose mind, heart and hands create joy, has for all her life lived under a heavy cloud of despair. It was not until her 50th year that she discovered that she suffered from existential depression. This discovery saved her life and spurred her to write LifeLines an inspirational journey from profound darkness to radiant light.

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

Philippe Cousteau Jr. and his wife, Ashlan Gorse-Cousteau, are parents to one wonderful daughter and are expecting a second. Phillipe is the grandson of renowned French explorer, conservationist inventor, and oceanographer Jacques Cousteau, and is himself an environmentalist. Ashlan is a journalist and the couple work closely on a number of projects to bring attention to the beauty and wonder of our world and the importance of preserving it for our children and the generations to come after them.

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

Benny Nachman is father to two sons. He is the founder, president, and CEO of Jassby, a popular money app and virtual debit card for kids and teens that allows them to earn, save, donate, spend, and learn to manage their own finances. On this episode he shares his thoughts on why it is so important for all of us to raise financially literate children.

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 father to Alexander and Dianna. He is a senior partner at the law firm of De Caro & Kaplen, and professorial lecturer in law at George Washington University Law School, where he teaches traumatic brain injury law. He is an advocate for children, particularly children who sustain traumatic brain injuries, often due to their participation in sports. On this episode, Michael helps us better understand these injuries and how we can protect our children from them.

Michael 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.

He 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 Mends 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. She is the Chief Administrative Officer of Sodexo North America and a member of the company's North America regional leadership committee. Mia also leads SodexoMAGIC a joint venture between Sodexo and Magic Johnson Enterprises. Last year, she was named one of the most powerful women in corporate America by Black Enterprise.

On this episode, she talks about changing the world through her parenting and from her position in the C-suite.

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

Michelle Triant is a mom to two energetic and curious daughters, a Presbytera, a writer, an editor and a book publicist. She is a member of the Greek Orthodox faith and is dedicated to promoting health, wellness, and connection in Orthodox Christian families. She recently released Love at Lent, a beautiful colorful box of activity cards designed to be drawn at random each day of lent to encourage mindfulness, humility, kindness for the whole family.

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. 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. On this episode, she talks about shaping the future through her parenting and her journalism.

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 actor, producer, entrepreneur, and an icon. Sarah owns or controls several successful business ventures, including Pretty Matches, her film and television production with HBO. In this conversation, she talks about shaping the future through her parenting, her platform, and by practicing curiosity.

Sarah 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. She 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.

J.R. Martinez is father to a vivacious, beautiful, curious daughter. He is an actor, a New York Times best-selling writer, an ABC's Dancing with the Stars winner, a motivational speaker, an advocate, and a wounded US army veteran. He is the personification of optimism, courage, and resilience. On this episode, J.R. shares with us what it means to be a resilient parent.

J.R.'s catalogue of work includes playing Brot Monroe, an injured combat veteran trying to re enter civilian life on ABC's Emmy award winning television drama, All My Children. He has also written the New York Times best seller, Full of Heart: My Story of Survival, Strength, and Spirit.

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 the author of the newly released book called, Seven and a Half Lessons About the Brain. She is a University Distinguished Professor at Northeastern University with appointments at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School. Dr. Barrett 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. On this episode, she discusses her fascinating, newly released book called, Seven and a Half Lessons About the Brain.

https://lisafeldmanbarrett.com/books/seven-and-a-half-lessons-about-the-brain/