PANELISTS

Christine La Cerva, M.Ed. is the Director of The Brooklyn Social Therapy Group, with clients in both Brooklyn and Manhattan. One of her specialty areas is families and young people. With 20 years of experience in teaching children with special needs, La Cerva brings creativity and playfulness to her pioneering therapeutic work with young children and adolescents. She is especially known for her success with children diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome. She is co-author of "Therapy After September 11" (Journal of Systemic Therapies), and serves as educational director of the Therapist Training Program at the East Side Institute. La Cerva completed her graduate studies in community psychology and special education at Teachers College, Columbia University.

Lori Evans, Ph.D., is the Director of Training in Psychology and Supervising Clinician of the ADHD Service at the NYU Child Study Center. At the Center, she coordinates the child track of the Bellevue-NYU Internship Program and directs the training of clinical post-doctoral fellows and externs. Dr. Evans also coordinates the "Treatment of Adolescent Suicide Attempters" study at the Center. She provides consultation services to schools, professionals and community organizations. Evans is also the mother of two.

Jeff Gomez is CEO of Starlight Runner Entertainment, a leading producer of highly successful fictional worlds; he has helped to create many bestselling comic books, video games and animated movies. Audiences around the world will recognize Jeff’s work on such properties as Hot Wheels, Pirates of the Caribbean and Disney Fairies. A Latino who grew up on Manhattan’s Lower East Side, Jeff has always championed the concerns of young people. As a schoolteacher at the start of his career, he incorporated pop culture and street sensibilities into his lessons, emphasizing leadership skills and positive values as a path to success. Over the past decade, Jeff has performed his Never Surrender inspirational seminars to over 120,000 students, teachers, parents and businesspeople across the country. Jeff has also worked with international education foundation Operation Respect to help kids deal with the devastating problem of bullying in the classroom, on the streets and in the home. Jeff is also the dad of a 4-year-old daughter.

Ann Pleshette Murphy, author of The 7 Stages of Motherhood: Loving Your Life Without Losing Your Mind, is the parenting contributor to ABC’s “Good Morning America”. A national parenting speaker, Murphy is an AOL parenting coach, a ParentSmart columnist for USA Weekend magazine, and the former editor-in-chief of Parents magazine. She serves on the board of Zero to Three in Washington, D.C., the leading national organization dedicated to the development of infants and toddlers; and she chairs the board of the Greyston Family Inn in Yonkers, NY, which provides housing, social services and child care to formerly homeless families. She’s also the mother of two.

Ilana Ruskay-Kidd is the Director of the Saul and Carole Zabar Nursery School at JCC in Manhattan. She graduated from Harvard University and earned her Masters Degree in early childhood education from Bank Street College. From 1996-2000, she was a co-founder and K-1st grade teacher at the Ella Baker School, an alternative public school in Manhattan. There she participated in all aspects of establishing and running a new school, including recruiting students, hiring and training new teachers, running parent workshops and managing the growth of the school from two classrooms to 220 students. This was followed by her work as an early childhood curriculum consultant for the Children's Aid Society where she developed curricula with directors and teachers in nine day care, Head Start and private Nursery programs throughout the city. At the JCC, Ilana developed the Family Life department, serving children ages newborn-18 years old; and their parenting program. She has also supervised the Young Family and After School programs, the Day Camp, and the tweens, teens and volunteer programs, as well as programs for children with special needs. She is also the mother of three.

Carolyn H. Meyer, LCSW, is a social worker in private practice with over 13 years of experience helping parents, children and families. Meyer is also on the staff of Parenting Horizons parenting center. Her professional history includes psychotherapy, teaching parenting skills, leading group therapy workshops, and directing programs. She has conducted seminars and workshops for organizations such as the National Council of Jewish Women, the Jewish Community Centers Association of North America, and the New York City Public Schools. Her clinical background includes working for hospitals, drug rehabilitation centers and mental health clinics. She is the mother of two.

Nancy Samilin is a pioneer in the field of parent education. For 25 years, she has been leading her Parent Guidance Workshops in NYC, and lecturing throughout the country and abroad. Known for her commonsense advice, she is the author of four bestselling books for parents:

-LOVING WITHOUT SPOILING: And 100 Other Timeless Tips for Raising Terrific Kids

-LOVING YOUR CHILD IS NOT ENOUGH: Positive Discipline that Works

-LOVE AND ANGER: The Parental Dilemma

-LOVING EACH ONE BEST: A Caring and Practical Approach to Raising Siblings. Samalin is also the mother of two.

Sabrina Weill is the CEO of Weill Media and the founder of the new website ProjectAngelMom.com. She is a former editor-in-chief of Seventeen, founding executive of CosmoGIRL!, senior editor at Redbook, and editor-in-chief of Scholastic’s Choices. She is the mom of two young children.

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