Speaking and Teaching

Invite me to speak to your parent group.

I speak to parents and caregivers of newborns to adolescent age groups on various topics.  Please contact me directly for more information.

Here are just a few comments about my talks:

Nancy came to our PTA meeting to give us some insight into parenting adolescents, the young and reckless. I came away with practical tips on how to communicate more calmly, including many specifics about handling the prickly conversations that often come up between us. A lot of the advice Nancy gave still resonates in my head, months later. Very concrete information, personalized with humor and humility, citing challenges she faces with her own kids. The evening made me feel like I was in a supportive community. Nancy made getting through these times actually seem possible! 
Doris F, 8th grade parent, Everett Middle School

Nancy was a wonderful guest-speaker for the parents and teachers of our co-op daycare. The daycare was struggling with difficult discipline issues, and Nancy provided an informative, well-researched, insightful talk on "emotion coaching", providing specific tools for handling a variety of discipline-related situations. Most importantly, though, she taught us how to read and respond to the emotional signs of children in order to prevent difficult situations. Additionally, Nancy created a warm environment in which parents felt comfortable sharing, and asking about, their own experiences and challenges. We all - parents and teachers - left the session feeling empowered and informed. 

Kelly V, Parent, Puddle Jumpers Daycare Co-op

Nancy gave a wonderful talk to our PTSA members on understanding and parenting our adolescent. She was informative without overwhelming the audience. She allowed questions throughout so everyone felt included, plus she gave excellent resource material and plenty of ideas for people to do more investigation on their own. She is warm, confident, funny and very personable. Our PTSA is grateful she was able to speak to our group.

Stacy Treco, PTSA President, James Lick Middle School

Nancy led our moms' group through a Family Mission seminar over three sessions.  She walked us through the importance of having a family narrative and knowing what our family values.  She gave us tips on writing a family mission statement with the help of our kids and partners.  We talked about the importance of tradition and ritual in the lives of children, and how it can expand our worldview of interconnectedness.
Nancy was knowledgeable and experienced.  She shared stories with us about her own family traditions and values.  She shared her own shortcomings and fears as a mother.  She is warm and caring and engaging.  We all came away from the seminar sobered by the importance of our families' choices but also inspired to be creative and fun and take on the weighty and exciting challenge of being a family.  
Katie McMullen, Director of Children and Family Programming, City Church of San Francisco

I was surprised that I walked out of Nancy's Parenting Talk with so much helpful information that I could use right away.  Through her expertise and humility, she helped me understand what is going on with my daughter at this stage, and gave me tools to work with her in different situations.  Her resources that she shared proved to be valuable as well.  I am thankful I was able to attend.  I feel like I have a much better grip on parenting my teen, at least for now.
Doug S, 6th grade Parent

Nancy did a great job helping us understand our kids and helping us be kind to ourselves as parents.  She helped us set expectations for our kids: both holding onto high standards and having patience for the sorts of activities their brains aren't ready to engage in, yet.  Thanks!
Daniel, PTA President