Preparing Parents and Educators in the Pandemic
A Virtual Conversation Open to Professionals and Parents
Tuesday, July 28th, 2020
12:55 p.m. Eastern Standard - 11:55 a.m. Central Standard - 9:55 a.m. Pacific Standard Time zones
Enrollment form here.
Duration is excepted to be one hour.
Save the Date Flyer For Share to Join Us Here
The Fathers and Families Coalition of America continues a series of public policy. We invite you to join us and share with your friends, parents, professionals, and leaders concerned about the wellness of children and families. FFCA is using our forum to give a fireside chat based on questions from our community partnerships. Please use the quick sign-up enrollment form and consider an item you want to ask of the guests to give you the best outcome from this time together. The COVID-19 is a public health crisis that has intersected with varying philosophies politically. However, we will introduce a nexus to focus on children. What happens to the well-being of children emotionally? What are the barriers for pre-school to k-12 educators' self-protection and safeguarding of the children entrusted in their care as professional educators? How can entities from Head Start, Day-Care Provider, and K-12 ensure developmental and educational needs are provided, especially in distance-learning to avoid children "falling through the cracks?" Where are the plans for children in poverty and children with special needs that will require added support in this pandemic?
Fathers and Families Coalition of America introduces a diverse international perspective and leaders from public health, education, parenting support education models, schools and communities programming, and more to have a tough conversation and create a blueprint for attendees to consider in their community. One of our colleagues, Dr. Delia Robinson Richards, conducted a study in the spring and early summer for children ages 5-9. Over 70% spent time on video gaming instead of classroom instruction due to a distance learning reaction vs. model. Together we can help each other and give recommendations before the school-year commences.
GUEST FACILITATOR
Mr. George Stewart, Certified Teacher for the State of Texas and State of Mississippi
SPEAKERS
C. Virginia Fields, Founder, and CEO
The National Black Leadership Commission on Health, New York City, New York
Dr. Rosina McAlpine BCom, MCom (Hons), MHEd, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer
Win Win Parenting, New South Wales, Australia
Dr. Delia Robinson Richards, Associate Professor
Early Childhood Education at the University of the District of Columbia
Ms. Toni Rivera-Joachin, Chief Executive Officer
Families & Schools Together, Inc., Madison, Wisconsin
Mr. Mark Perlman, MA, Founder
Nurturing Fathers Program, Sarasota, Florida
BIOGRAPHIES
C. Virginia Fields is the President and CEO of the National Black Leadership Commission on Health Inc., (NBLCH), formerly known as the National Black Leadership Commission on AIDS. Under Ms. Fields' leadership, the organization has grown to include affiliate chapters in 12 cities nationwide and established partnerships with over 140 organizations. Her expertise in government and politics has led to the successful implementation of noteworthy public policy achievements in health promotion and disease prevention, including HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment, and care. In 2008, Ms. Fields was appointed to the New York State AIDS Advisory Council by Governor David A. Paterson. She was appointed to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Regional Health Equity Council for Region II, one of ten such advisory councils established to address racial and ethnic health disparities. In 2016, Governor Andrew Cuomo appointed Ms. Fields to the ENDING THE AIDS EPIDEMIC Task Force that is charged with significantly reducing new infections in New York State by 2020. In 2018, Ms. Fields was appointed by Governor Cuomo to serve on a special Task Force to help eradicate Hepatitis C in the State of New York.
Ms. Fields is the former President of the Borough of Manhattan, chief executive of 1.5 million residents, to which she was elected in 1997 and reelected in 2001. She served as a member of the New York City Council from 1989-1997. Before elected office, Ms. Fields established a distinguished career in her professional field of social work, where she served in various positions as a Social Service Administrator for the New York City Work Release Program; Director of Foster Care/Adoption at The Children's Aid Society; and Consultant to the National Board of the YWCA. Ms. Fields served as an Adjunct Lecturer at New York University's Silver School of Social Work and Columbia University Graduate School of Social Work.
A civil rights activist, leader, educator, and philanthropist, Ms. Fields serves as a featured speaker on leadership issues, civil rights, health, government, and politics at numerous governmental, organizations, and private industry events. In 2004, she addressed the International Business Conference in Beijing, China, and was a speaker at the National Democratic Convention in Boston.
Birmingham, Alabama, Ms. Fields received a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Knoxville College in Tennessee and a master's degree in Social Work from Indiana University. She is a member of the historic Abyssinian Baptist Church, New York City, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, and The Links, Inc., among other civic and national organizations. A recipient of numerous awards, citations, and honors of distinction for her leadership on health, education, civil rights, and social justice issues, Ms. Fields resides in New York City.
Dr. Rosina McAlpine BCom, MCom (Hons), MHEd, PhD. is the CEO of Win Win Parenting, based in New Wales, Australia. Dr. McAlpine is a parenting expert, author, and multi-award-winning university educator and researcher for over 30 years. Rosina combines the heart and science of parenting; her research-based parenting programs are delivered nationally and internationally in partnership with socially responsible employers, to support families and workplaces to thrive. More recently, she has developed a range of online programs and interactive webinars to help working families navigate working from home, homeschooling, and managing family during the coronavirus pandemic. Dr. Rosina appears regularly in the media as a thought leader on parenting and child development. Connect with Dr. Rosina at WinWinParenting.com or DrRosina.com. Dr. McAlpine has delivered COVID-19 specific support programs for thousands of parents over the last few months in Australia, Asia, and New Zealand.
Dr. Delia Robinson Richards is highly experienced in early childhood education. She has presented at education conferences in America, the Caribbean, and Central America. She is a Fulbright Scholar who has developed and implemented new early childhood programs at the University of the West Indies and Morgan State University. Dr. Richards' research involves children's perception of the coronavirus, literacy programs in barbershops, and integrating the Multiple Intelligences in the curriculum. Dr. Richards has completed a manuscript titled Equity in the Classroom for Every Child, "An Equity Toolbox," that will provide an equitable classroom environment for children of color.
Toni Rivera-Joachin has over twenty-four years of non-profit management experience and expertise working with underserved populations, including children and families, and advocating for social justice and self-sufficiency across a variety of non-profit sectors. As a Latina, Ms. Rivera-Joachin is bilingual in Spanish and English. Specific expertise includes program and community development, grant writing experience, and community partnership/relationship development. Ms. Rivera-Joachin spent ten years at Children's Hospital of Wisconsin, managing the nationally-recognized violence prevention and intervention program, Project Ujima. Additionally, Ms. Rivera-Joachin is a founding member of the National Network of Hospital-based Violence Intervention Programs (NNHVIP) started in 2009.
Ms. Rivera-Joachin most recently served as the President and Chief Executive Director at Centro Hispano Milwaukee (Council for the Spanish Speaking, Inc.) advocating for the Latino population through dual-language early childhood education including Early Head Start and Head Start programs, elderly housing, adult education, and immigration community services. In this role, Ms. Rivera-Joachin provided vision and oversight of the programs and services offered through Centro Hispano Milwaukee, reaching over 15,000 people annually. Ms. Rivera-Joachin obtained her Bachelor of Science degree in Community Education from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. She completed her Master of Science degree in Business Management in 2007 from Cardinal Stritch University.
Mark Perlman, MA has 35 years of experience working with parents, children, and families in strengthening the family bond. He authored The Nurturing Father's Program, a 13-week parenting curriculum for men that has been utilized by thousands of fathers and implemented by organizations such as Prevent Child Abuse, Head Start, Milwaukee Fatherhood Initiative, North Carolina Department of Corrections, State of Michigan… Mark also authored the MArrage & PArenting Program (MA&PA) that helps couples parent successfully as a team. He is the past Executive Director of the Family Counseling Center, The Child Protection Center, and Fathers United Network (FUN) of Sarasota, Florida. He has served on the Florida Commission on Responsible Fatherhood, Commission on Marriage and Family Support, and currently on the Governor's Child Abuse Prevention and Permanency Council. Mark is the proud married father of 2 grown sons.
George Stewart is an educator, non-profit leader, and public policy advocate who is committed to the academic, social, emotional, and physical development of our youth and their families. He started his service career as a teacher's aide and worked his way up to becoming a certified teacher in the state of Texas and the state of Mississippi. As an urban educator, seeing parents not armed with basic education policy information, recognizing needed system changes in education, and his son's autism diagnosis led George to seek opportunities in youth/family advocacy and public policy. An example of his advocacy is his service as board president of the only family-run organization, in the state of Mississippi, that supports families who are raising children with mental health and behavioral challenges. This organization serves families all over the state of Mississippi.
As mentioned, George has also shown leadership in the public policy arena. He effectively advocated for a bill that was written and introduced in the House of Representatives as HB 490 during the 2020 legislative session. HB 490 is a bill that addressed the issue that 50% of children, diagnosed with autism, tend to wander away from their safe space. To gain support for HB 490, George lobbied other members of Congress and met with other leaders of advocacy organizations. Though it died in committee, HB 490 was still viewed as a success. Because of the knowledge and skills he's gained through his years of service, George has been interviewed and contributed content to various local and national media outlets on issues such as education, education policy, policy engagement, and advocacy. His knowledge and skills have also given him opportunities to present at local, state, and regional conferences. Such conferences include the Mississippi Male Educators of Color Convening and the Fathers and Families Coalition of America Southeastern Regional Conference. How does George want to be remembered? When asked this question, he simply replies, "I just want to be remembered as a God-fearing man who did all he could for his family and a man who left his community better than it was when he came into it."