Publications:
Lisa Stroyan was recently featured in the Fort Collins Coloradoan
“The Playful Way”, North Star Family Magazine
“Minimize Conflicts with Empathic Discipline”, North Star Family Magazine
“Strategies for Handling Conflicts with Young Children”, Gifted Magazine, February 2004
Short Bio (Long and Medium versions available upon request)
Lisa Stroyan, founder of Empathic Parenting, is a parenting facilitator, writer, and coach. Through workshops, talks, and phone coaching, she empowers parents across the country to create positive, respectful relationships with their children. Lisa’s down-to-earth style and playful approach is based on programs such as Positive Discipline, Life Coaching, Non-Violent Communication, and Collaborative Problem Solving for Children with Behavioral Challenges. Lisa’s writing has been published internationally and her website provides extensive resources for parents. You can find her on the web at www.empathic-parenting.com.
Full-res photo:
Press Release (more details and photo)
FORT COLLINS, COLO. - June 19th, 2008 –
Amy Makice and Lisa Stroyan, two parenting facilitators, have created a free internet radio show and podcast for parents. With Parent's Day approaching on July 27th, they have created Pay It Forward Month: during the month of July, they will offer their services for free, asking clients to support another parent or family, particularly tornado victims, in lieu of payment.
When tornadoes hit Colorado, many first heard about them on the internet through email and social network groups, and quickly checked local news websites for more information. Parents use the internet for more than information, though; it can also be a source of support. On the Washington Post's blog, one mom comments, "It's just so much easier to communicate through the internet--you can check in and maintain contact easily no matter how busy the rest of your life is." (1)
Yet parents feel isolated despite support and information available on the internet. The web often makes parenting sound easy and obvious, so parents may not talk about the difficulties they face. "No matter what your choice, someone will judge it", Lisa Stroyan says. Parents are afraid to share what really goes on in their house, for fear of looking out-of-control, indulgent, or overly-harsh. One mother writes, "With the anonymity of the internet, a lot of discussions tend to become quite opinionated, rude and downright mean at times." (1)
Amy Makice and Lisa Stroyan, moms who know those feelings of isolation and judgment first-hand, work through their own parenting challenges while helping parents across the country. They hear stories of frustration as well as triumphs through internet parent support groups they facilitate. Now, Makice and Stroyan want to spread that support to a wider audience.
Amy Makice is a therapist in Bloomington, Indiana; Lisa Stroyan is a parenting coach and educator in Fort Collins, CO. They are the voice of the internet radio show "Parenting for Humanity," found on blogtalkradio.com and on iTunes. Through the call-in show, Stroyan and Makice offer honest, helpful ideas for parents. The show is free, and is available live or for download as a podcast.
They each also teach parenting classes and work with parents individually. Instead of taking payment for these services in the month of July, they will instead ask clients to "Pay It Forward" by supporting other families. They suggest supporting tornado victims, making meals for a family, collecting needed items for a women's shelter or foster children, or offering one's own services free to customers that will "pay it forward" in turn.
The radio show can be found at www.blogtalkradio.com/parenting, or you can find it in iTunes by searching for "Parenting For Humanity". Stroyan and Makice can be found through their website, www.parentingforhumanity.com.
Parents' Day is held on the fourth Sunday of every July, and was established in 1994 when President Bill Clinton signed a Congressional Resolution into law (36 U.S.C. § 135) for "recognizing, uplifting, and supporting the role of parents in the rearing of children." (2) The President endorsed Parent's Day in 2007. (3)
(1) http://blog.washingtonpost.com/parenting/2007/08/mom_to_mom_dad_to_dad.html
(2) http://www.usholidaysonline.com/taxonomy/term/86
(3) http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/07/20070712-3.html
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