Meet Your Raising Resilience Team!
Parenting is a tough job! We get it. We've lined up some great topics and speakers to help your family thrive during the 21.22 school year. We can't wait to connect with you.
In the meantime, we hope you enjoy these last weeks of summer. If you missed any of our CONNECTIONS CAFE sessions from last year, you can view them via our Video Library.
We asked our board members to share their favorite parenting quote(s) and parenting book(s). There are some great suggestions here:
April Avey Trabucco (Executive Director)
April has been an island resident since 2009 and has two teenagers enrolled in BISD schools. Prior to joining Raising Resilience in 2019, she spent 20 years serving small and midsize nonprofits. She led marketing and sales efforts for the Tony Award-winning LORT theatre company, TheatreWorks, in Palo Alto, and consulted for arts, technology, medical, and human service organizations in the Seattle and Silicon Valley regions. A graduate of AMDA (College and Conservatory of the Performing Arts) in New York, April balanced work while performing with regional theatre and opera companies before settling into her favorite role by far – raising her children.
Favorite Parenting Quote:
“Be Kind. For everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.” - Plato
“Calm is Contagious. Just as our kids mirror our stress, they can also mirror our calm.” - William Stixrud, Ph.D. and Ned Johnson
Favorite Parenting Book:
· Raising Boys with ADHD: Secrets for Parenting Healthy, Happy Sons by James W. Forgan Ph.D. & Mary Anne Richey
· ADHD & Me: What I Learned from Lighting Fires at the Dinner Table by Blake E.S. Taylor
· The Total Transformation Program (Audio and Workbook) by James Lehman, MSW & Janet Lehman, MSW
Lisa Gsellman (President)
Lisa and her husband Mark have raised (and launched) two kids of their own and have welcomed 7 international students into their home over the past 10 years. Lisa currently works as the Director of Admissions at West Sound Academy, a community she loves and has been a part of for almost 15 years. Previous volunteer work includes the Bainbridge Island Teen Center, Girls on the Run, and Soroptomist of Greater North Kitsap. She loves to travel, hike, camp, fly fish, and go on 'empty nest' adventures with her husband and their dog Aida. Working to support youth is a core value, and she may be a kid at heart anyway.
Favorite Parenting Quote:
“I’m not sure if resilience is ever achieved alone. Experience allows us to learn from example. But if we have someone who loves us – I don’t mean who indulges us, but who loves us enough to be on our side – then it’s easier to grow resilience, to grow belief in self, to grow self-esteem. And it’s self-esteem that allows a person to stand up.” - Maya Angelou
Favorite Parenting Book:
· How to Raise an Adult series of books by Julie Lythcott-Haims
Tim Ensley, CPA (Treasurer)
Tim Ensley has been the Treasurer for Raising Resilience since 2019. Tim is an active CPA in the local community. As Treasurer, Tim provides financial management and oversight to the organization. Prior to his accounting career, Tim served in the U.S. Navy. Tim lives in Manette with his wife Maggie, and their three children, Nikolai, Owen, and Luna. Outside of work, Tim volunteers with the Armin Jahr Elementary and Mountain View Middle School.
Favorite Parenting Quote:
“Before becoming a parent, I didn't know I could ruin someone's life by asking them to put their toys away.” - Tim Ensley
Favorite Parenting Book:
· The Self-Driven Child: The Science and Sense of Giving Kids More Control Over Their Lives by William Stixrud, Ph.D. and Ned Johnson
Tara Powers-Hausmann (Secretary)
Tara has a BA in English Literature from St Lawrence University and after working as an editor for decades she completed her studies in independent educational consulting at the University of California, Irvine. Having launched her own two children, she now runs College Fit Consulting and champions high-school students of all abilities as they embark on their journey. Tara is a member of the Independent Educational Consultants Association (IECA; associate member), the Pacific Northwest Association for College Admission Counseling (PNACAC), and Seattle Area College Consultants (SACC). She has a specialty in assisting students with learning differences/neurodiversity through the college application process.
Favorite Parenting Quote:
"Life is defined by little snags and big setbacks; success is determined by the ability to distinguish between the two and rebound from either." - Frank Bruni
Favorite Parenting Book:
· Where You Go Is Not Who You'll Be: An Antidote to the College Admissions Mania by Frank Bruni
Stephanie Dalton (Program Committee Chair)
Stephanie is a Functional Medicine & Nutrition practitioner dedicated to helping women heal from root causes. Her business, Chia and Chocolate, focuses on using food, herbs, and targeted supplements as medicine. Previous to this she worked in the tech industry as a multimedia and website producer for a decade. Over the years she has been a facilitator for middle school and teen girls, focusing on self-discovery via Elements for Girls and Teen Talking Circles. Stephanie lives on Bainbridge Island with her husband and two teenage sons.
Favorite Parenting Quote:
“Children are educated by what the grown-up is and not by his talk.” - Carl Jung
Favorite Parenting Book:
· Parenting With Love & Logic by Foster Cline
Lisa Marinkovich (Development Committee Chair)
Lisa and her husband, Steve, moved from Seattle where they successfully launched one son. They were drawn to Bainbridge Island for the community and schools for their second son, now a teenager. Lisa is a lifestyle blogger at galpal.net, an authentic source for fresh ideas and inspiration for what matters most to women, bringing women together for the greater good. Marinkovich operates a marketing consulting firm and has worked with UCLA Health, LA Lakers, UW Medicine, and more. Before that, she spent 25 years working in the radio, sports, and in-flight entertainment industry, where she worked with various Fortune 500 companies.
Favorite Parenting Quote:
“If your child feels loved, they feel safe. If your child feels loved, they can open up to you. If your child feels loved, they will be courageous in life because they know they have a cushion to fall back on. If there’s one big gift we can give our children is to know they are truly loved, no matter what.” -Carolina King | MamaInstincts.com
Favorite Parenting Book:
· The Self-Driven Child: The Science and Sense of Giving Kids More Control Over Their Lives by William Stixrud, Ph.D. and Ned Johnson
Aalesa Barker (Finance Committee)
A long, long time ago in a Heartland far, far away, Aalesa Barker transnavigated the continental U.S. by car with her husband and three kids. In pursuit of a new adventure, she moved to the Pacific Northwest. She decided to continue her noble career in banking, by which she touched many lives and met many new people. To this day, her daily life includes helping her community, exploring the great outdoors, and being the adopted cat’s favorite.
Favorite Parenting Quote:
“There is no such thing as a perfect parent. So just be a real one.” - Sue Atkins
Favorite Parenting Book:
· Secrets of the Baby Whisperer by Tracy Hogg
· Raising An Emotionally Intelligent Child: The Heart of Parenting by John Gottman, Ph.D. w/ Joan DeClaire
Jennifer Cannon, AICP (Development Committee)
Jennifer is an urban planner and project manager working with communities to evaluate and problem-solve ways to strategically improve transportation infrastructure, community vibrancy and health, and meet housing needs inclusively and sustainably. She specializes in community engagement and has helped many different communities for over 15 years find ways to take action towards achieving their goals. She lives on Bainbridge Island with her husband and is a mom of two wonderful 9 year old girls, 2 dogs, 1 cat, and many chickens. In her spare time, Jennifer volunteers at her children’s school and other organizations focused on community building.
Favorite Parenting Quotes:
“Joy, collected over time, fuels resilience.” - Brene Brown
“One of the greatest dignities of humankind is that each successive generation is invested in the welfare of each new generation.” - Fred Rodgers
“Individually, we are one drop. Together, we are an ocean.” - Ryunosuke Satoro
Favorite Parenting Book:
· The Brain Rules series of books by John Medina
Wandee Pryor, PsyD (Program Committee)
Wandee grew up on Bainbridge Island, left at age 18, and returned with her husband and two daughters in 2015. She earned her doctorate at CIIS in San Francisco, completed her internship at UCSF and her residency at Kaiser. Wandee has been a practicing clinical psychologist since 2009, working with children, adolescents, adults, and families. She has created a variety of groups for parents and teens and provided trainings on subjects ranging from adolescent chronic pain to ASD/ADHD in girls. She loves reading, running and swimming and recently served as a child psychology consultant for artist Wendy MacNaughton’s online kids show Draw Together.
Favorite Parenting Quote:
"The quality of our relationships determine the quality of our lives." - Esther Perel
"I'm not raising babies! I'm raising adults!" - Marian Robinson (aka Michelle Obama's mother)
“Making the decision to have a child - it is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body.” - Elizabeth Stone
Favorite Parenting Book:
· Raising Human Beings: Creating a Collaborative Partnership with Your Child by Ross Greene
· The Explosive Child by Ross Greene
· How to Talk So Kids Will Listen and Listen So Kids Will Talk by Adele Feber and Elaine Mazlish
· Siblings Without Rivalry by Adele Feber and Elaine Mazlish
· How to Raise and Emotionally Intelligent Child by John Gottman Ph.D.