facilitator
Nationally recognized Early Childhood Development Speaker, Author and Publisher, Maria Dismondy is dedicated to inspiring and empowering not just children, but grownups as well. She has authored ten children’s books, one parenting book and made more than 900 speaking appearances. She lives in southeast Michigan with her husband, Dave, and their three children.
Lizzie Assa is the founder of The Workspace for Children, a parenting strategist, play expert, and mother of three. With a background in early childhood education and experience working with families and children, Lizzie helps parents and caregivers avoid burnout by teaching their children independent play. She is a firm believer in the power of simplicity and consistency in play and is dedicated to promoting these values. Prior to starting The Workspace for Children, Assa received a MsED from the Bank Street College of Education in New York City and taught nursery school in Manhattan. She has been featured in various publications such as Parent's Magazine, NY Times Parenting, Time, and The WSJ.
Lauren Pace is a behavior coach and child development specialist. Lauren is a mom of three (almost 4) young children and a former preschool teacher. Lauren earned her Masters of Science in Human Development and Family Studies with her thesis research in Positive Behavior Support and in-home family coaching. Lauren believes in helping parents look at the root of challenging behavior and using that as an opportunity to connect and help your child develop social and emotional skills that will serve them for the rest of their life.
In her free time, Lauren spends time with her family, doing creative hobbies and home projects with power tools. She and her husband have a mini hobby farm with chickens, dogs, and pheasants, and enjoy adventures riding up into the mountains.
Dr. Laura Markham is the author of Peaceful Parent, Happy Kids: How To Stop
Yelling and Start Connecting, Peaceful Parent, Happy Siblings: How To Stop the
Fighting and Raise Friends for Life, and now her latest book, The Peaceful Parent,
Happy Kids Workbook: Using mindfulness and connection to raise resilient,
joyful children and rediscover your love of parenting.
Dr. Laura Markham earned her PhD in clinical psychology at Columbia University and has worked as a parenting coach with countless families across the world. Over
170,000 moms and dads enjoy Dr. Laura’s free weekly coaching posts via email. You
can sign up on any page of her website, AhaParenting.com, which serves up Aha!
Moments for parents of babies through teens. Dr. Laura’s aspiration is to change the world, one child at a time, by supporting parents. The proud mother of two thriving young adults who were raised with her peaceful parenting approach, she lives with her husband in New York.