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Parenting for Character - Rob Baggett

Read: The latest from Rob

Age: 56

Location: Northeast Richland
Life: Married with two children, a son, 23, and a daughter, 21. Guidance counselor at Blythewood Middle School. Recently published a collection of articles about character education along with more in-depth essays in a book titled “Character Connections.” Wife Teresa is a pediatrician.
Why he’s here: Rob believes there is nothing more important than raising children to be good citizens. He says, “I have learned many valuable lessons that I want to share with other parents. . . . The Parents Panel provides another way to connect with people encountering the joys and frustrations of parenthood for the first time.”

Parents Are People, Too - Denise Dunn
Read: The latest from Denise

Age: 44
Location: Blythewood
Life: Married with two daughters, ages 18 and 11. Has written a book called “Superwoman Has Left the Building, A Professional Woman’s Journey from the Office to the Home” that has not yet been published. Has hosted a radio show called “Parents are People Too” and recently facilitated a workshop for full-time moms.

Why she’s here: Denise hopes to create conversations around topics that are relevant to parents/grown-ups, rather than their children only. She says, “Topics could include how relationships between partners change once a family is started and how full-time parents can unexpectedly lose their sense of identity.”

Mommy Advocate - Rozalynn Goodwin
Read: The latest from Rozalynn

Age: 31
Location: Harbison/Irmo

Life: Married eight years, daughter is 2 years old. Rozalynn is director of policy research and a registered lobbyist for the South Carolina Hospital Association. She is also the founder of The Motherhood Priority (themotherhoodpriority.com), a nonprofit advocacy organization working with employers, policymakers and civic organizations to re-establish the priority of motherhood in the workplace.
Why she’s here: Rozalynn believes the Parents Panel can be a resource to strengthen families in the Midlands and seeks to add her perspective as a new mother and an advocate for working mothers. She says, “Becoming a mother changed my priorities almost instantly. I realized then the awesome responsibility of motherhood and how much mothers need support from family, society and work environments to function effectively in the most important job in the world - nurturing future generations.”

The Practical Parent - JoAnn Polickoski
Read: The latest from JoAnn

Age: 38
Location: Blythewood
Life: Married with five children, ages 12, 9, 6, 3 and 1 (three girls and two boys, a true “full house”). A homeschooling mom who is relatively new to the Columbia area having endured eight moves in 13 years of marriage. In her pre-mom life, JoAnn worked as a newspaper copy and layout editor and was later the editor of a monthly parenting magazine in Fredericksburg, Va.
Why she’s here: JoAnn hopes to share ideas that strengthen family bonds with fun and creativity while also maintaining sanity. She says, “I would love to hear from other Midlands parents who share our interests in recreation and camping, scrapbooking, nurturing creativity, bargain hunting, family-friendly decorating and making healthy eating and exercise a priority while also saving time, money and maybe even the planet.”

Survival and the Single Mom - Denise Riley
Read: The latest from Denise

Age: 37
Location: Edgewood (Columbia)
Life: Divorced with two children, a 17-year-old son and a 12-year-old daughter. Riley works in the Office of Executive Policy and Programs, where she assists constituents who call the governor’s office for help.

Why she’s here: Denise came across the Parents Panel one day and became a regular reader. She says, “While I enjoyed the various topics discussed, I was somewhat dismayed that all the contributing parents were married. While that is the preferred method of parenting, it is not a reality for all of us. I hope my contributions will appeal to those of us endeavoring to do the very best job we can all by ourselves.”

Speaking of which … - Julie Stensland
Read: The latest from Julie

Age: 37
Location: Lower Richland

Life: Married 8 years with two children — daughter, 5, and son, 2. Former elementary classroom teacher turned part-time consultant for Richland 1, volunteer coordinator for her church’s Sunday nursery and contributing writer to Palmetto Parent Magazine.
Why she’s here: Julie stays current with the latest research and headline news stories on family and parenting topics. She feels her experience in the classroom and now as a parent will spark lots of interesting discussion topics for Midlands families. “A sense of humor is really important — and there’s nothing better than another Mom to share the good, the bad and the ugly with!”

Are All of Those Yours?! - Stephanie Trevitz
Read: The latest from Stephanie

Age: 42

Location: Forest Acres
Life: Married twelve years with six children with special needs ranging in age from 8 to 16. Stephanie and her husband are foster parents for Lexington County DSS. Four of their children are adopted; two are in the process of being adopted. Stephanie has a blog about raising her children whom she refers to as “The Hoovers” — high powered vacuums that suck up everything in their path (www.parentingthehoovers.blogspot.com). It is through this blog that she decompresses from the stress of her everyday life. In her “spare” time, Stephanie works as a National Board Certified, early elementary, special needs, public school teacher. Before marriage and children (her previous life), she earned a doctorate from Vanderbilt University.
Why she’s here: Stephanie believes that this panel would not be complete without having the voice of a parent of non-typical children. She offers perspectives from a large family, adoption, and parenting special needs children. She says, “I’m very realistic about parenting, and I have given up on being perfect.” She also believes that it is a survival skill for parents of children with special needs to embrace the humor in their circumstances.