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The Brazelton Touchpoints Center (BTC) held its 2023 virtual National Forum, All About Fathers* and the Men* in Children’s Lives, on May 2, 3 & 4, 2023 (*cis and transgender).
Families are changing, and so is fatherhood. So many men want to be more involved in raising their children. Yet they’re not always welcome when they show up at programs and services for families. Programs and providers are often unprepared to open up space for fathers and other men in children’s lives.
The Forum brought together fathers and the men in children’s lives for a series of conversations that:
- Provided fresh perspectives on the many facets of masculinity that fathers and men bring to children and families
- Shifted mindsets about the roles of fathers and men in children’s lives – from the beginning and before
- Built 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
- Understood fatherhood as a developmental process across the lifespan
- Explored the role of fathers’ relationships with children’s mothers, whether cohabiting or romantically involved or not, in their involvement in their children’s lives
- Affirmed fathers and men who work with children and families for their essential role in children’s lives – from the beginning and before
U.S. Congressman Jimmy Gomez (CA-34) kicked off the Forum with brief welcoming remarks on Tuesday, May 2. Earlier this year, Congressman Gomez cared for his infant son during the opening days of the 118th Congress, bringing visibility to the role of working dads across the country. He founded the Congressional Dads Caucus to highlight issues facing working families and advocate for policies that support all parents and children. Additional information about the Congressional Dads Caucus can be found in this press release or one-page description.
Office of Head Start Director Khari Garvin provided closing remarks on Thursday, May 4.
Select the Agenda tab above to view the full Forum agenda and list of speakers. Or view the Forum Program.
All Forum sessions had live Spanish translation and closed captioning available. Certificates of attendance were provided.
T. Berry Brazelton Award Ceremony
On Wednesday, May 3, we gathered to remember BTC’s founder, Dr. T. Berry Brazelton, and to posthumously honor our friend and colleague — and Berry Brazelton’s too — the late Dr. Betty Bardige as this year’s recipient of the T. Berry Brazelton Award. Betty was a developmental psychologist, author, advocate for young children’s language and literacy, and former Chair of the Brazelton Touchpoints Foundation. Betty was a leader in early child development research and saw the power of using research for advocacy and activism to support children and families. She died in 2019.
To honor Betty’s focus on early language and literacy development, Shabazz Larkin, a multi-disciplinary artist and children’s book author, did a live reading of his book, The Thing About Bees: A Love Letter, a fitting story about overcoming fear through learning and love.
Forum Registration Fees
| Early Bird Rate, by April 15: | Regular Rate: |
| Full Forum (3 days) – $235 | Full Forum (3 days) – $265 |
| 2 Days – $190 | 2 Days – $210 |
| 1 Day – $95 | 1 Day – $105 |
Tuesday, May 2, 2023 (Day 1)
Opening
11:00 – 11:30 AM ET / 8:00 – 8:30 AM PT
Opening Remarks:
- U.S. Congressman Jimmy Gomez (CA-34), Founder of the Congressional Dads Caucus
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
In dialogue with two Native men — Duane Humeyestewa (Hopi), the father of an adult son, and Chris Allen (Diné), the father of a young child — we will explore the discoveries, the lessons, successes, and challenges, and the ultimate joy of fathers raising Native children. What hopes do these men have for their children? What strengths do they draw upon from their respective Indigenous cultures to guide them? How have they created the path to fatherhood, and how does that path evolve as their children grow into Native adults?
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
How do men support fathers and mothers from pregnancy, through birth and breastfeeding, to become the parents and partners they aspire to be? Let us count the ways — with certified postpartum doula and founder of Daddy University, Joel Austin; pediatrician Craig Garfield, a “dad bod” researcher (seriously!) and author of the American Academy of Pediatrics’ three statements on Fathers; Nicholas Kasovac, a certified breastfeeding counselor, and Prenatal Dads and Dads and Development instructor; and José Romo Ramirez, a Dad WIC worker, and Conscious Fathering Instructor. Together, they’ll talk about the roles they play in supporting fathers and mothers at the beginning of life and before in this conversation moderated by Anne Stone, a founder, and director of the Washington State Fatherhood Council.
Moderator:
- Anne Stone, Early Childhood Innovation Director, Washington State Department of Social and Health Services, Economic Services Administration; Founder and Director, Washington State Fatherhood Council
Speakers:
- Joel Austin, Founder, President & Chief Executive Officer, Daddy University Inc.; Executive Director, The School of Parent Education; Certified Postpartum Doula
- 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
Why do children — and their families — need men in early childhood settings? What do boys — and girls — learn about themselves when there is a male early educator in their lives? And what difference does it make for fathers’ engagement in early education settings and in their children’s lives? Kitt Cox, Haji Shearer, and Nick Terrones talk with moderator Joshua Sparrow about the joys and challenges of being in the minority as male early educators, and family supporters, as well as how their presence can enrich children’s development, and that of their families too.
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
How do fathers find their way through trauma and loss to hope and joy? Where do their paths take them when racism amplifies the harms? Dar’Ron Anderson, Hassan Daniel, and Charles Johnson all know from personal experience, and from the men they partner with. Together they work to discover the strengths that adversity may instill and that fatherhood nurtures. Join them as they share the ways that men hurt too, and how fatherhood can help heal.
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
Too many father involvement programs are based on stereotypical assumptions and fail to address the obstacles that keep men from becoming the fathers they aspire to be. Supporting Father Involvement (SFI) is a research-based program that surfaces these barriers and works with fathers and their co-parents — whether straight or gay, whether cohabiting or romantically involved or not — to build strong parenting partnerships, in person and over time. Studies show that, as a result of their strengthened collaboration, parents who participate in the SFI program enhance their children’s well-being and development, and their own too. Founders Carolyn and Phillip Cowan, and Kyle and Marsha Pruett tell us how in this conversation moderated by SFI facilitator, Deutron Kebebew.
Moderator:
- Deutron Kebebew, Founder/President of MENtors: Driving Change for Boys, Men & Dads
Speakers:
- Carolyn Pape Cowan, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology Emerita, University of California, Berkeley
- Philip Cowan, Ph.D., 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, Ph.D., 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, filmmaker, 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
Michael Accardi, Luis Roldan Aponte, Kayden Coleman, José Garces Rivera, and Brian Rosenberg will talk with moderator Joshua Sparrow about their joys and aspirations, and their concerns and challenges, as gay fathers and trans fathers. Find out what has harmed and what has helped on their paths to fatherhood, and how everyone can join in to make our world a more inclusive one in these divisive times.
Moderator:
- Joshua Sparrow, MD, Executive Director, 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
Black fathers and men matter in Black women’s lives as primary sources of support through pregnancy, birth, and their children’s first years. Racism has disrupted Black families by the ways Black fathers are excluded, seen, or not seen, and by the ways it has led them to see themselves. Restoring Our Own Through Transformation (ROOTT) works with Black men and women to improve their families’ maternal, neonatal, and infant health outcomes. Find out how in this conversation moderated by ROOTT CEO Jessica Roach, with ROOTT COO Dorian Wingard and their colleague Dr. Eric Johnson, chief consultant at Strategies for Success.
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 PM PT
Closing Reflections
3:30 PM – 4:30 PM ET /12:30 – 1:30 PM PT
Closing Remarks:
- Khari Garvin, Director, Office of Head Start, introduced by Dr. Joshua Sparrow
Closing Songs:
- Boston Renaissance Charter Public School Chorus, Voices of Renaissance, conducted by Chorus director, Ms. Evelyn Lee, introduced by Alisa Serraton-Cazeau, Brazelton Touchpoints Center
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.
The Brazelton Touchpoints Center held its 2023 virtual National Forum, All About Fathers* and the Men* in Children’s Lives, on May 2, 3 & 4, 2023.
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Seats still available for Touchpoints Training starting September 10!