Resource Advisory Council

Maria Giangiulio Blois, MD, lives in Texas with her husband, Erik, and their four children: Giovannina (8), Alanson (6), Lukas (2) and baby Julia (new!). She graduated from Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. She is the author of Babywearing: The Benefits and Beauty of This Ancient Tradition. Wearing her own babies has provided her with the passion and curiosity to pursue this subject. Dr. Blois lectures across the country about responsive parenting and babywearing to parents as well as medical professionals. She can often times be found wearing her own baby as she speaks. Dr. Blois also volunteers as a La Leche League Leader, providing information and support for women who choose to breastfeed. Learn more at www.drmariablois.com.

Renowned for her pure, powerful songwriting and clear voice, Beth Nielsen Chapman has become one of the most distinctive portrayers of resilience and human vulnerability with an astoundingly diverse and extensive array of songwriting credits.

She has penned hits and written tunes for some very prominent artists whose styles span country, pop, folk, blues, and jazz, such as Bonnie Raitt, Emmylou Harris, Neil Diamond, Trisha Yearwood, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Bette Midler, Andy Bey, and Ute Lempter, including the Grammy-nominated, ground-breaking smash for Faith Hill's "This Kiss," (Chapman/Roboff/Lerner).

Chapman's songs have also been featured on numerous television shows and movies. Throughout her career, Beth has been in demand as a teacher of workshops on creativity, songwriting, grief, and healing through art. The combination of her life experience and her guided tours through the unconscious provide a unique, inspiring approach to the creative process.

Reedy Hickey is a La Leche League Leader and Area Professional Liaison for La Leche League of Georgia, and is on the Board of Directors for AnotherLook, as well as API. She is the mother of a daughter and son-in-law, a son, and foster mother to 32 foster babies as they awaited adoption, one at a time. She has practiced Attachment Parenting with all of these children.

Dr. Mary Elizabeth Curtner-Smith received her PhD from the University of North Carolina-Greensboro in Child Development and Family Relations with a doctoral minor in Psychology. She is an Associate Professor in the Department of Human Development and Family Studies where she serves as co-coordinator of the Developmental Science concentration in the Psychology PhD program.

Her primary research focuses on how parent-child relationships influence children's development, especially children's peer aggression and social competence.

A second but related area of research interest is in parents' disciplinary practices. Dr. Curtner-Smith teaches graduate courses in Parent-Child Interactions and Children of Divorce and is certified as a Family Life Educator by the National Council on Family Relations.

Grammy Award winner Don Henry's songs have been recorded by legends like Ray Charles, Patti Page, and Conway Twitty, by country crooners like Gene Watson, John Conlee, and B.J. Thomas, and by young hit makers of today like Blake Shelton, Lonestar, and Kathy Mattea.

The wit and wisdom of Don's songs are widely renowned, whether it's campfire favorites, the hilarious "B.F.D." and biker lullaby "Harley," the wonderfully poignant tribute to Martin Luther King Jr., "Beautiful Fool," and, of course, the Grammy Award-winning country classic "Where've You Been."

In addition to a Grammy, Kathy Mattea's version of "Where've You Been" won Don (and co-writer Jon Vezner) "Song of the Year" honors from the Academy of Country Music, the Country Music Association, and the Nashville Songwriters Association International. "Where've You Been" was the first song to be awarded all four honors in the same year!

Don has recorded three albums so far: "Wild in the Backyard" (1991), "Live at The Bluebird" (2001), and "Flowers & Rockets" (2001).

Dr. Kendall-Tackett is a health psychologist and International Board Certified Lactation Consultant, and the Owner and Editor-in-Chief of Praeclarus Press, a small press specializing in women's health. Dr. Kendall-Tackett is Editor-in-Chief of Clinical Lactation, Fellow of the American Psychological Association in Health and Trauma Psychology, President of the APA Division of Trauma Psychology, and Editor-in-Chief-elect of Psychological Trauma. She is a Clinical Associate Professor of Pediatrics at the Texas Tech University School of Medicine in Amarillo, Texas and Research Associate at the Crimes against Children Research Center at the University of New Hampshire. 
Dr. Kendall-Tackett specializes in women's-health research including breastfeeding, depression, trauma, and health psychology. Her research interests include the psychoneuroimmunology of maternal depression and the lifetime health effects of trauma. Dr. Kendall-Tackett has won several awards for her work including the 2013 Outstanding Research Poster Award from the U.S. Lactation Consultant Association, the 2011 Community Faculty Award from the Department of Pediatrics, Texas Tech University School of Medicine, and the 2011 John Kennell and Marshall Klaus Award for Excellence in Research from DONA International (with co-recipient, Tom Hale). She has authored more than 390 articles or chapters and is the author or editor of 24 books on maternal depression, family violence and breastfeeding. Her most recent books include: Psychology of Trauma 101 (2014), The Science of Mother-Infant Sleep (2013), Depression in New Mothers, 2nd Edition (2010), The Psychoneuroimmunology of Chronic Disease (2010), Trauma & Physical Health (2009), and How to Write for a General Audience (2007). She is also co-author (with Nancy Mohrbacher) of Breastfeeding Made Simple, 2nd Edition (2010).  A full listing of her books is available at UppityScienceChick.com, BreastfeedingMadeSimple.com, KathleenKendall-Tackett.com, and PraeclarusPress.com.

Minda Lazarov was a nutritionist whose professional career spanned a variety of positions with government and private nonprofit organizations serving low income families.

She served in several positions with the Supplemental Food Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), including coordinator of the Tennessee Pediatric Nutrition Surveillance and Breastfeeding Promotion Programs and chair of a national committee to address the low rates of breastfeeding among women enrolled in WIC. Ms. Lazarov helped launch the U.S. Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI) for the US Committee for UNICEF and Wellstart International. She also served as Director of the Maternal Infant Health Outreach Worker (MIHOW) Program for the Vanderbilt Center for Health Services form 1999 to 2006.

Please read API's tribute to Minda's life and work for families.

On a Mother (of a) Quest for 15 years as a journalist, activist and nonprofit visionary, Lisa Reagan explores the space between our unsustainable industrial story and the emerging story of what is possible for Cultural Creative families – who are leading the way forward.
Lisa is a co-founder of the nonprofit, Families for Conscious Living and the executive editor of, Kindred. Her vision of serving Cultural Creative families is currently carried forward through nonprofit collaborations and over 300 international Pathways Connect Gathering Groups sponsored by the award-winning, conscious living magazine, Pathways to Family Wellness.
Lisa shares her personal stories of shifting in features, such as Spiritual Composting, in Kindred. In her presentations at conferences and workshops, she inspires parents to look toward Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey, for guidance on transforming themselves as a path to transforming our unsustainable culture.
Her Kindred Fireside Chats and interviews with conscious living leaders, like Deepak Chopra, MD; Paul Ray, PhD; Marilyn Schlitz, PhD; Thom Hartmann; Joseph Chilton Pearce and others, continue to forge the new story of holistic family wellness at a time when the United States ranks dead last for infant, child and maternal wellness among its 40 industrial nation peers.  You can watch her video interviews on Kindred’s Vimeo and You Tube Channels. Listen to her interviews and teleconferences with Dr. Lauren Feder, president of the Holistic Pediatric Alliance, here.
Lisa is featured in the upcoming film documentary, The Love Bomb. Her forthcoming books share her 15 year adventure exploring the conscious living movement.