API's Board of Directors
The dedicated professionals who are members of Attachment Parenting International's Board of Directors meet quarterly to develop policies and procedures, define the vision and mission of the organization, and advise staff when needed.
API's Co-Founders
Barbara Nicholson, MEd
API Founder
Barbara Nicholson holds a master's degree in Education, specializing in learning disabilities. She has volunteered for over 20 years with La Leche League International, an educational and support organization for breastfeeding mothers. She is also trained as a facilitator in the Nurturing Parenting Program. Ms. Nicholson co-founded Attachment Parenting International in 1994.
She has spoken to a variety of groups -- including parent educators, psychology students, conference attendees, and juvenile probation officers -- about parenting as a prevention model for societal violence. Ms. Nicholson continues to work closely with API on fundraising and has served on the development committee for the Maternal Infant Health Outreach Worker (MIHOW) Program at Vanderbilt University. Barbara is the mother of four adult sons and resides in Nashville, Tennessee.
Lysa Parker, MS, CFLE
API Founder & Director Emeritus ParentsLifeLine.com
Lysa Parker has a master's degree in Human Development and Family Studies, is a Certified Family Life Educator (C.F.L.E.), and is a trained facilitator for the Nurturing Parenting Program. Ms. Parker is the co-founder of API and served as the Executive Director from 1994 to 2007. She managed program development and public relations and continues to speak to various groups and conferences about parenting as a prevention model for societal violence.
With a bachelor's degree in Education, specializing in special education, she taught in California, Tennessee, and Alabama during her 20-year career, working with children with multiple handicaps and/or learning disabilities. Other experience includes several years of volunteer work with La Leche League International, a nonprofit organization that provides breastfeeding education and support, and as an API Support Group Leader.
She is the mother of two adult sons and an adult stepdaughter and grandmother to twin grandsons. She lives with her husband in Madison, Alabama. Lysa Parker is available for private consultations, personal parent coaching sessions, workshops, and speaking engagements. Visit her web site to learn more!
API's Board of Directors
Janet Jendron
Janet Jendron, President of the Board of Directors, has been a long-time supporter of API. She served for eleven years on the LLLI Board of Directors and many years on the LLLI Alumnae Association Council. Janet has also served on numerous other non-profit Boards, including church-related and wish granting organizations. She has written articles and spoken at conferences throughout the United States on a wide variety of issues related to her non-profit and paid work. The mother of four children ages 25 to 33, she spends as much time as possible with her five-year-old granddaughter Mary Grace. She lives in South Carolina near Columbia and works full time at the USC School of Medicine in the SC Assistive Technology Program, where she specializes in information technology accessibility, conference planning, equipment reutilization and public relations.
Lu Hanessian
LetTheBabyDrive.com
Lu Hanessian is author of the acclaimed memoir Let the Baby Drive: Navigating the Road of New Motherhood (St. Martin's Press, 2004), veteran TV journalist and former NBC anchor of Real Life, Discovery Health Channel host of Make Room for Baby, weekly newspaper parenting columnist, national speaker, and workshop facilitator.
She is the founder of WYSH® (Wear Your Spirit for Humanity) - a unique brand of "socially-conscious" apparel and accessories for children and parents that promote attachment and connection - and is pioneering an educational approach and curriculum for gifted children with special needs called "ENGAGE." She and her husband are the grateful parents of two boys, ages 6 and 9.
Reedy Hickey, International Board-Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC)
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.
Gena Kirby
Gena Kirby is a wife, mother of two children, doula, and co-owner of Mommy Matters Maternity Boutique and Family Resource Center in Fresno, California. She is the creator and host of the radio show Progressive Parenting. She is turning the show into a live-streaming-video format, with the hopes of creating a television show. Her mission at Mommy Matters is to educate parents about gentle birth and to share the joys of parenthood with families using the principles of Attachment Parenting.
Picture courtesy of Present Photography.
Maria Giangiulio Blois, MD
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.
Judy Sanders
Judy connected with La Leche League in 1965 and has been involved ever since, serving in many ways, including time on the LLLI Board of Directors. Judy and her husband, Gordy, raised five children: Rick, Dave, Kathleen, John, and Maria. She cannot imagine who they all would have been without the loving philosophy of LLL woven into their family. Twelve grandchildren enrich her life. She delights in seeing her children and their spouses matter-of-factly and lovingly parenting their unique families.
Judy edited Northwest Baby & Child, a Seattle newspaper for families with babies and small children. She has worked as a professional actress and produced vocal concerts. Among her volunteer work she served as a court-appointed special advocate for abused and neglected children. Judy lives in Seattle and exchanges grins with babies whenever possible.
