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Join the Brazelton Touchpoints Center (BTC) for its 2023 National Forum, All About Fathers* and the Men* in Children’s Lives, on May 2, 3 & 4, from 11 AM – 5 PM ET / 8 AM – 2 PM PT.
*cis and transgender
BTC’s National Forum is an annual gathering of family-facing providers and leaders who come together for three days of knowledge sharing and learning. Please join us this year as we celebrate the critical role that fathers* and men* play in supporting children’s and families’ healthy development and well-being. (*cis and transgender)
This year’s Forum is virtual. Each day includes roundtable conversations about — and with — fathers and the men in children’s lives, the unique assets they bring, and the challenges they face.
Join us for conversations that:
- Provide fresh perspectives on the many facets of masculinity that fathers and men bring to children and families
- Shift mindsets about the roles of fathers and men in children’s lives – from the beginning and before
- Build awareness of cultural, ethnic and racial differences and similarities in father roles, and in the supports and barriers for fathers’ involvement in their children’s lives
- Understand fatherhood as a developmental process across the lifespan
- Explore the role of fathers’ relationships with children’s mothers, whether cohabiting or romantically involved or not, in their involvement in their children’s lives
- Affirm fathers and men who work with children and families for their essential role in children’s lives – from the beginning and before
Select the Agenda tab above to view the full Forum agenda. Detailed information about speakers will be available soon! You can register to attend all three days, or select the days that most interest you.
All Forum sessions have live Spanish translation and closed captioning available. Certificates of attendance will be provided.
T. Berry Brazelton Award Ceremony
Please join us on Wednesday, May 3, at 3:30 PM ET / 12:30 PM PT to remember T. Berry Brazelton and to posthumously honor Betty Bardige as this year’s awardee. Betty was a developmental psychologist, author, advocate for young children’s language and literacy, and former Chair of the Brazelton Touchpoints Foundation. She died in 2019.
The Award Ceremony will also feature Shabazz Larkin, a multi-disciplinary artist and writer, and author of the acclaimed children’s book, The Thing About Bees. All National Forum participants are invited to this special event.
Registration Fees
| Early Bird Rate, by March 31: | Regular Rate: |
| Full Forum (3 days) – $235 | Full Forum (3 days) – $265 |
| 2 Days – $190 | 2 Days – $210 |
| 1 Day – $95 | 1 Day – $105 |
Additional Information:
- All BTC Learning Network members get the Early Bird Rate! Email us if you are a member.
- Groups of 10 or more participants receive a 10% discount! Please use our new online registration system to register your group.
Questions? Contact us today!
Tuesday, May 2, 2023 (Day 1)
Opening
11:00 – 11:30 AM ET / 8:00 – 8:30 AM PT
Roundtable Conversation: Finding the “Dad” Path – Two Native Men Discuss their Journey to Successful Fatherhood
11:30 AM – 1:00 PM ET / 8:30 – 10:00 AM PT
Moderator:
- Tarajean Yazzie Mintz, EdD, Co-founder and Principal Consultant, First Light Education Project, LLC; Project Director, Indigenous Early Learning Collaborative
Speakers:
- Chris Allen, computer developer, enrolled member of the Navajo Nation, born and raised in Shiprock, New Mexico
- Duane Humeyestewa, multimedia storyteller, filmmaker, content producer, and creative consultant; born and raised on the Hopi reservation in northeastern Arizona
Break
1:00 – 1:30 PM ET / 10:00 – 10:30 AM PT
Roundtable Conversation: Men at the Beginning of Life and Before
1:30 PM – 3:00 PM ET / 10:30 AM – 12:00 PM PT
Moderator:
- Ann Stone, Early Childhood Innovation Director, Washington State Department of Social and Health Services, Economic Services Administration; Founder and Director, Washington State Fatherhood Council
Speakers:
- Craig Garfield, MD, Professor of Pediatrics and of Medical Social Sciences, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine; practicing pediatrician, Lurie Children’s Hospital (LCH) of Chicago
- Nicholas Kasovac, Pediatric Occupational Therapist, developer of The DAD Projects (Fathers & Infants, Toddlers & Fathers), Milk Men: Dads and Breastfeeding Support, and Baseball Tummy Time
- José Romo Ramirez, Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Nutrition Program, Washington State Department of Health; class instructor, Conscious Fathering program, Parent Trust for Washington Children
Break
3:00 – 3:30 PM ET / 12:00 – 12:30 AM PT
Roundtable Conversation: Men Who Play Professional Roles in the Lives of Children and Families
3:30 PM – 5:00 PM ET /12:30 – 2:00 PM PT
Moderator:
- Joshua Sparrow, MD, Executive Director, Brazelton Touchpoints Center
Speakers:
- Kitt Cox, Founder & Coordinator of North Shore Postpartum Help, Massachusetts
- Haji Shearer, Associate Commissioner of Family and Community Supports, Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care
- Nick Terrones, Director at Daybreak Star Preschool, Seattle, Washington
Wednesday, May 3, 2023 (Day 2)
Opening
11:00 – 11:30 AM ET / 8:00 – 8:30 AM PT
Roundtable Conversation: Black Fathers’ Mental Health – Trauma, Loss, Hope, and Joy
11:30 AM – 1:00 PM ET / 8:30 – 10:00 AM PT
Moderator:
- Hassan Daniel, Founder and CEO of The Father Factory, Inc., a positive parenting and counseling program for fathers who have experienced childhood trauma
Speakers:
- Dar’Ron Anderson, LCSWA, father, author, family engagement specialist, developer of Fatherhood Counseling
- Charles Johnson, maternal health advocate and Founder of 4Kira4Moms
Break
1:00 – 1:30 PM ET / 10:00 – 10:30 AM PT
Roundtable Conversation: Supporting Father Involvement (SFI) – Parents as Partners
1:30 PM – 3:00 PM ET / 10:30 AM – 12:00 PM PT
Moderator:
- Deutron Kebebew, Founder/President of MENtors: Driving Change for Boys, Men & Dads
Speakers:
- Carolyn Pape Cowan, PhD, Professor of Psychology Emerita, University of California, Berkeley
- Philip Cowan, PhD, Professor of Psychology Emeritus and Professor of the Graduate School at the University of California, Berkeley
- Kyle Pruett, MD, Clinical Professor of Child Psychiatry and Nursing, Yale School of Medicine’s Child Study Center
- Marsha Kline Pruett, PhD, MSL, ABPP, Maconda Brown O’Connor Professor, Smith College School for Social Work
Break AND How You Can Bring SFI to Your Program: Building Your SFI Facilitator Team
3:00 – 3:30 PM ET / 12:00 – 12:30 AM PT
Presenter:
- Mindy May, MS, Director of Partnership and Professional Development, Brazelton Touchpoints Center
T. Berry Brazelton Award Ceremony Honoring Betty Bardige
3:30 PM – 5:00 PM ET /12:30 – 2:00 PM PT
- Shabazz Larkin, father, artist, poet, film maker, painter, book-maker, and author of the acclaimed children’s book, The Thing about Bees
Thursday, May 4, 2023 (Day 3)
Opening
11:00 – 11:30 AM ET / 8:00 – 8:30 AM PT
Roundtable Conversation: Gay and Trans Dads
11:30 AM – 1:00 PM ET / 8:30 – 10:00 AM PT
Moderator:
- Jayne Singer, Ph.D., IECMH-E®, Director of Developmental and Relational Health, Brazelton Touchpoints Center
Speakers:
- Michael Accardi, Director of Resource Development, Brazelton Touchpoints Center
- Luis Roldan Aponte, Licensed Massage Therapist
- Kayden Coleman, Black transgender man who has carried and given birth to two daughters; advocate for the transgender, Black, and queer communities
- Jose Garces Rivera, MD, physician
- Brian Rosenberg, Founder of Gays With Kids, creator and head coach of GWK Academy, the only App designed specifically to help gay and queer men become dads
Break
1:00 – 1:30 PM ET / 10:00 – 10:30 AM PT
Roundtable Conversation: Black Fathers Supporting Black Mothers and Babies
1:30 PM – 3:00 PM ET / 10:30 AM – 12:00 PM PT
Moderator:
- Jessica Roach, MPH, maternal and child health professional, reproductive justice advocate, and Co-Founder and CEO, Restoring Our Own Through Transformation (ROOTT)
Speakers:
- Eric Johnson. PhD, author, Chief Consultant, Strategies to Succeed
- Dorian Wingard, COO and Partner at ROOTT
Break
3:00 – 3:30 PM ET / 12:00 – 12:30 AM PT
Closing Reflections
3:30 PM – 4:30 PM ET /12:30 – 1:30 PM PT
- Boston Renaissance Charter Public School Choir, Voices of Renaissance
2022 National Forum
At the 2022 National Forum, we honored the families and communities that we belong to and work with — and the various ways in which we nurture cultural, ethnic, and racial identities for children’s flourishing. Our plenary presentations featured the following speakers:
- Jessica Saniġaq Ullrich, MSW, PhD, Assistant Professor, University of Alaska Anchorage School of Social Work, Descendant of Kiŋiġin (Native Village of Wales)
- Cynthia Garcia Coll, PhD, Adjunct Professor, Department of Pediatrics, University of Puerto Rico, Medical Science Campus; Charles Pitts Robinson and John Palmer Barstow Professor Emerita, Brown University; Editor, Child Development in Cultural Context, Oxford University Press
- Kerry-Ann Escayg, PhD, Associate Professor of Early Childhood Education, College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences, University of Nebraska at Omaha
Learn more in our 2022 National Forum Program.
Join the Brazelton Touchpoints Center for its 2023 National Forum, All About Fathers* and the Men* in Children’s Lives, on May 2, 3 & 4, from 11 AM – 5 PM ET / 8 AM – 2 PM PT.
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