So how do we improve and recognize the quality screen based media that our kids consume? Well, over 35 years ago Youth Media Alliance was formed to do just that for English and French speaking Canadian children. One way in which they achieve this is by identifying exceptional productions and presenting them with annual awards of excellence. Youth Media Alliance is also involved in research and training to assure that their viewers can depend upon quality content.

On November 17th (Toronto, Canada), I am honored to join Hedda Sharapan, Director of Early Childhood Initiatives at The Fred Rogers Company in delivering the keynote address at the 2011 Children, Youth & Media conference.  This two day event will feature leading experts who will discuss programming trends & provide insight into the interests and needs of our youth. Please join us for this important event.

view Press Release

Hey Moms! Join me and a bunch of tech savvy, bloggers, industry pros & execs at this year’s SheStreams conference. It will be held on September 23 & 24th at The Crowne Plaza – Time Square. SheStreams is an amazing resource for helping women to harness the strength of social media to build their brands to the level that they desire.  Plenty of new products and services will be presented to assist us all in this rapidly changing environment!

I will be speaking on Saturday, September 24th, 2011 at SheStreams NYC on the subject of Finding Success From Your Passions.  Please come say hello at the conclusion of the talk!

Finding Success From Your Passions

The easiest way to let your competitors get ahead of you is to lose your passion for what you are doing. In this session, these successful entrepreneurs will motivate you to grab hold of the reigns of your life and go after what you want.

[ SheStreams 2011 ]

I will be speaking on Friday, July 8th from 11-12p at The Evolution of Women in Social Media in Park City, Utah on the subject of TV & Entertainment.  Other speakers will be Gayle Weiswasser (VP of Social Media Communications at Discovery Communications) & Jeannette Kaplun (co-host of Viva la Familia TV show & co-founder of Todobebé, Inc).  It will be held at The Canyon’s-Grand Summit – Arrowhead venue.  Come say hello at the conclusion of the talk!

More and more, traditional media outlets such as TV are looking to take the story online. Find out how networks are working with bloggers, making storytelling more interactive, and leveraging technology to take the conversations from screen to web.

[ Evo’ 2011 ]

PBS Kids & iVillage are hosting a Summer Learning Twitter Party, Tuesday May 24th 9-11pm EST

We’ll be discussing The iVillage + PBS KIDS Summer Reading Community Challenge to promote summertime reading and other important (& fun) summer tips.  I’ll be a brand panelist @angelsanto, along with: @pbskids @kateklimo @ericaperl @angelamatusik @kellywallacetv @theaumsmama @sharonmomof6. The moderators will be: @jylmomIF@Dadventurous@troypattee and @MomItForward.

It looks like an incredible group of people and an informative night..with prizes & giveaways as well!   #gno information! • #gno featured

Pull up a keyboard & join us!

You know how there are those days that you will never forget? This has definitely been one of them. The Parent Show premiered with everyone in their PJ’s drinking champagne at 10-12 midnight in New Orleans! I was overjoyed and pretty emotional about the positive feedback that we were receiving. We had great discussions about what parents want to hear about – everything from the Summer Slump (do our kids really regress for those 2 months off?), to how we made Super Why, to discipline with positive reinforcement to embracing all types of families. I was inspired and excited to be on this new quest.

This was my first blogger conference and the Mom 2.0 women are a warm and embracing bunch who go out of their way to support each other. I was proud to be learning from them and to be sharing all of our parenting stories, tips, and insights. I hope to be talking with these women for many years to come. Thank you to Matt Graham and Jeannine Harvey from PBS for believing in what I have to say and creating this amazing opportunity for all of us parents. Without them, this project would not have been possible. (and did I mention that they make it so much fun?!) My passion has always been kids and my new mission is parents…because really, we are our kids first teachers.

Today I’m on my way to the (sold out) Mom 2.0 in New Orleans to premiere my new project, The Parent Show with Angela Santomero (www.pbs.org/parents/theparentshow) ! I’m so excited to meet all of the wonderful people who attend the conference and to get feedback on what moms feel is important to talk about. Oh, and I can’t wait for people to hear our catchy theme song! I told you we should all have a theme song!

Conference Info

I just came back from the Women in Communications luncheon for the 2011 Matrix Awards.  I am more passionate and inspired than ever!  The caliber of women in the room:  Paula Kerger, Gwen Ifill, Sheryl Sandberg, Rosie O’Donnell, Idina Menzel, Linda Kaplan Thayer, Abbe Raven, Gina Sanders, Cindi Berger, Robin Koval, Dana Tyler, Evelyn Lauder, Arianna Huffington, the list goes on.

I was never more proud to be a woman and feel a refreshed enthusiasm for how I want to raise my girls.  These women have changed the world in their fields, and they did it with verve and passion and drive and perseverance.  Go Women!