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Our Bloggers and Parenting Experts

From first-time parents, to families launching college kids, Vicki Bohling has seen it all in her decade-spanning career as an educator. Over the years, she has also gained some professional acclaim for the writing and speaking she has done on children and families, but she admits that much of the wisdom she has acquired about raising kids has come through trial and error and humble pie, as her loving family would attest. In her current work as a licensed parent educator, Vicki is passionate about helping parents become confident in their role through good information, connecting with other parents, and a generous dose of humor. Read blog posts by Vicki.
During her five years as editor of Minnesota Parent magazine, Tricia Cornell learned that when it comes to parenting, there are right ways to do some things (car seats and bike helmets come to mind) and about a million right ways to do just about everything else. Somehow, that hasn’t lessened her anxiety around parenting her 8-year-old daughter and 6-year-old son. She lives in Minneapolis with her husband, two kids, and five chickens. Read blog posts by Tricia.
Jennifer Jolly’s job as Editor to ParentFurther.com is teaching her to appreciate parenting as a practice in patience, and empowering her to become a reliable adult for all the young people in her life—something they all need to succeed. Jennifer draws a great deal of satisfaction from watching her niece and nephew grow and learn, and knowing that she is helping to build the Developmental Assets that they need. Jennifer is an avid runner, biker, and a budding knitter. She lives in Minneapolis with her dog, cat, and life partner, Eric. Read blog posts by Jennifer Jolly.
Samantha MacDonald is the Online Parent Engagement Coordinator for ParentFurther.com, and loves that her job makes the world a better place for kids to grow up. During her free time, she can typically be found kickboxing, singing, or with her nose in a book. She lives in Minneapolis. Read blog posts by Samantha.
Steve Palmer loves his full-time job as father to five daughters and one son. He and his wife are doing their best to raise six happy, healthy, and wise kids, and while chaos — and even some tears — might present temporary setbacks, there’s nothing else they’d rather be doing! Some days, Steve also finds time to work as a licensed marriage and family therapist. If you happen to catch him “off-duty,” chances are he’ll either be traveling, eating, reading, or napping. Read blog posts by Steve.
Susan Ragsdale An “early-bloomer”, Susan has loved telling stories since the 3rd grade, and discovered her love for working with youth as a 14-year-old. She is proud to claim over a decade of happy marriage to the biggest kid she knows, Pete, with whom she shares life, and two canine kids, Lacy and Summer. They also help parent numerous nieces and nephews—both blood relatives, and friends’ “adoptables”. When Susan isn’t busy blogging for ParentFurther, she writes for TheAssetEdge blog, and provides ongoing training to the youth-serving field through her work at the YMCA Center for Asset Development. She has also authored five books to guide parents and youth workers to play, live, and lead a purposeful life. Read blog posts by Susan.
Jolene Roehlkepartain is a well-known author and parent educator. With over 30 publications under her belt, including Parenting Preschoolers with a Purpose, and Raising Healthy Children Day by Day, Jolene’s books have been translated into a number of languages, and have garnered critical acclaim. Jolene has been featured in several publications including The Washington Post, Time, Psychology Today, Glamour, Woman’s Day, and The Dallas Morning News. She has also appeared on various TV and radio programs. When she’s not writing, Jolene occasionally presents workshops on Developmental Assets to parents, childcare providers, educators, health-care professionals, faith communities, librarians, people in the workplace, and community leaders. She lives in Minneapolis with her husband and son, and continues to parent her eldest college student from afar. Read blog posts by Jolene.
Ann Saylor is the passionate mother of three “yahooligans”, ages 9, 6, and 4. She has been happily married to her husband, Dan, for 10 years. They can often be found playing soccer, throwing water balloons, working puzzles, exploring trails, navigating Super Mario Brothers on the Wii, reading books, and swimming together. In addition to blogging for ParentFurther, Ann regularly posts articles at MommySecrets and TheAssetEdge. She has also authored five books related to living, leading, and playing with purpose. Read blog posts by Ann.
When Michele Timmons’ firstborn was diagnosed with cancer, she not only had to face every parent’s worst fear, she was also just beginning her career as an educator. Between surgery, chemotherapy, and a strong will to keep on fighting, her two-year-old, Joe, was cured and has been very healthy ever since. Now, over 20 years later, Michele and her husband have managed to raise three children and channel Joe’s fighting spirit into creating a project that is making a positive impact on the world. Care Team Collaborative helps schools, families, and communities learn how to partner together to address the non-academic needs of children so that they can achieve academically. In addition, Michele also works as a part-time taxi driver—a job in which she takes much enjoyment—shuttling boys to and from soccer, baseball, basketball, tennis, driver’s education and guitar lessons. Read blog posts by Michele.
Jennifer Griffin-Wiesner, a self-proclaimed peace-loving, soul-searching, boundary-pushing city kid has been trying (for many years) to figure out why she looks so much on the outside like a minivan-driving, suburban mom! When not carpooling, grocery shopping, or working in her gardens, she can often be found coaching soccer, leading trainings, or putting her Master’s in Youth Development Leadership to good use by consulting with non-profit organizations on how to improve the quality of their work with young people, families, and communities. Read blog posts by Jennifer Griffin-Wiesner.
Marie Williams is a lawyer, writer and mother. She lives in the Washington DC-area. Along with her three-year-old daughter, Hannah, she tries to tackle each day with humor, aplomb and —of course— a spare bottle of hand sanitizer and a packet of baby wipes. Read blog posts by Marie.