Who am I?

• a parent educator for the Bellevue College Parent Education Program, where I teach parents of children age 1 – 7, and also teach a STEM enrichment class for children age 3 – 7
• a childbirth educator for the Great Starts program at Parent Trust for Washington Children
• an author (co-author of Pregnancy, Childbirth, and the Newborn: The Complete Guide and Simple Guide to Having a Baby, author of Great Starts Guide to options for maternity care)
• a social worker, with 5 years experience working with people who were facing terminal illness, then 25+ years with people who were birthing and caring for young ones
• a former labor support doula
• a facilitator for support groups through PEPS: Program for Early Parent Support
• a curriculum designer – I created the lesson plans that were used by Great Starts instructors to serve over 1500 families a year, I created topic guides that were used by PEPS facilitators to serve over 2000 families a year, and since 2013, I have been creating resources for parent educators, and lesson plans for preschool STEM enrichment classes.
• a program manager – I’ve managed a childbirth education program with over 30 employees that served 2000 families a year at multiple hospitals and community sites and a program that provided support groups for over 1800 families per year, I’ve run a week-long online family camp for 170 people ranging from 4 – 84 years old.
• I have served on the boards of The Kineo School, Northlake Unitarian Universalist Church and Eastside Preparatory School
• an alumna of Brandeis University (BA in Sociology), University of Washington (MSW), and Bastyr University (certificate in Spirituality, Health, and Medicine)
• mom to a 26 year old, a 23 year old , and a 9 year old
• an amputee (for tips on handling phantom pain, see this article)

Current Online Projects:

• More Good Days with Kids. Includes:
  • a blog for parents: research, resources & realistic recommendations for families with kids age 1-5
  • a collection of handouts and other resources for childcare providers, preschool teachers and parent educators who work with families with kids from birth to 5 years
• Inventors of Tomorrow. Lesson plans for STEM enrichment classes for ages 3 – 6.
• Transition to Parenthood. It has a podcast for expectant parents and a large collection of resources for childbirth educators, including handouts, class outlines, and interactive class activities.
• More Good Days with Babies – a website for parents with a few articles on breastfeeding and newborn care
• On this site, I write about tech issues for the non-tech-savvy social services professional or educator, covering social media marketing, online passive fundraising, and how to use Zoom.

Other things I have written:

• Energy Medicine: Hands-On Healing of the Human Energy Field.This is a summary of research I did in 2001 when enrolled in the certificate program in Spirituality, Health, and Medicine at Bastyr University. Includes a discussion of a wide array of traditional healing techniques and new age healing techniques.
• Western Dance 1450 – 1650 and The Old Measures: 1570 – 1675, about reconstructing and performing dances from Renaissance Italy and Elizabethan England.
• 2 small cookbooks of recipes reconstructed from 14th and 15th century manuscripts from England

Here’s my CV if you want the details on my work history and education.

To contact me, email janelled at live.com