Experts, Advisors & Resources

On this page, you'll find a wide variety of experts on preteen health and parenting issues. The Beacon Street Girls inhabit a world where girls can go to have fun and learn about who they are, while modeling real life experiences. We work with world-renowned experts on how to best present the ideas and issues embedded in each of the books Here are just a few of the experts who have graciously given us their time, reviewing book outlines and manuscripts.

Terrill Bravender, MD, MPH
Chief, Adolescent Medicine
Nationwide Children's Hospital
Columbus, OH

Dr. Bravender is now the Chief, Adolescent Medicine at Nationwide Children's Hospital. Previously he was the director of Adolescent Medicine and the Medical Director of the Duke Eating Disorders Program at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina. He is an Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Psychiatry, and Community and Family Medicine.

Dr. Bravender attended medical school at the University of Michigan and completed his residency training in pediatrics at Duke University Medical Center. He completed subspecialty training in adolescent medicine at Boston Children's Hospital, during which time he also received a Master of Public Health degree from Harvard University. He served on the faculty of Harvard Medical School prior to returning to Duke University in 1999.

Dr. Bravender’s research and clinical interests involve the intersection of behavioral and physical health, with a particular emphasis on child and adolescent nutrition. He is the co-founder of the Duke Eating Disorders Program, where he has been instrumental in advancing services for the prevention and treatment of childhood obesity at Duke and continues to investigate innovative approaches to promoting child nutritional health.

Dr. John Knight
Director of the Center for Adolescent Substance Abuse Research at Children's Hospital Boston
Associate Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School

John Knight received his MD degree from University of Vermont College of Medicine. He completed an internship and residency at Albany Medical Center Hospital and a postgraduate fellowship at Children's Hospital Boston.

Dr. Knight has served as a consultant to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, and the President's Office of National Drug Control Policy. Dr. Knight's research is directed at developing an effective brief intervention for drug abuse that could be widely implemented in settings where adolescents receive routine healthcare.

The long-term goal of Dr. Knight and his colleagues at the Center for Adolescent Substance Abuse Research (CeASAR) is to improve screening and intervention for adolescent substance abuse in medical office settings. Because use of drugs and alcohol is associated with a variety of health problems, settings where adolescents receive routine medical care are ideal for routine screening and early intervention. However, little research has been conducted on the efficacy of screening and intervention for drug use among adolescent primary care patients.

Dr. Lisa Machoian
Author
Expert on girls' psychosocial development, mental health, and self-esteem

Dr. Lisa Machoian, author of The Disappearing Girl: Learning the Language of Teenage Depression, is a national expert on girls’ psychosocial development, mental health, and self-esteem. Dr. Machoian taught at Harvard University, Graduate School of Education and also was the director of the Gender Studies Program. At Harvard she taught a popular on course on risk and resilience in girls' development.

Dr. Machoian has worked for more than twenty years with girls as a psychotherapist, consultant, workshop facilitator, researcher, and teacher. Additional areas of her expertise are learning disabilities, depression, and trauma. Dr. Machoian speaks, conducts workshops, and consults to families, schools, and programs across the country and locally. She has a private practice, lives in Cambridge, and holds a master degree and a doctorate from Harvard University.

Rachel Simmons
Author
Founding Director of the Girls' Leadership Institute

Rachel Simmons is the author of the New York Times bestseller Odd Girl Out: The Hidden Culture of Aggression in Girls, the first book to explore the phenomenon of bullying between girls. Rachel has appeared on the "Oprah Winfrey Show, " "Today," "Dateline NBC," and National Public Radio’s "Diane Rehm Show" and "Talk of the Nation." Rachel’s work has been profiled in numerous publications, including New York Times Magazine, the Washington Post, and the Los Angeles Times. Rachel speaks all over the country to girls, parents, and teachers about female aggression and its implications for girls’ and women’s lives.

Rachel grew up in the Maryland suburbs of Washington, D.C. After graduating from Vassar College, where she double majored in Women’s Studies and Political Science, she worked for Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani in New York’s City Hall as an Urban Fellow.

Rachel won a Rhodes Scholarship in 1997 from New York. She worked for New York’s Senior Senator Charles E. Schumer as deputy finance director for his US Senate campaign in 1998, and after the election attended Oxford University, where she began studying female aggression.

Rachel is the Founding Director of the Girls' Leadership Institute and a consultant to schools all over the country. Odd Girl Out was recently adapted into a Lifetime television movie, which premiered in April 2005. Rachel lives in Brooklyn.

Catherine Steiner-Adair, Ed. D
Author
Clinical Psychologist

Dr. Catherine Steiner-Adair is an internationally recognized clinical psychologist, school consultant, public speaker and author who has devoted her professional life to helping parents and children thrive. Over the past 25 years, Dr. Steiner-Adair has consulted to over 350 independent and public schools, non-profit organizations and corporations working with professionals, parents and students on strengthening children’s social and emotional development and deepening parents’ connections to their children (ages 3-21.)

Described as a pioneer activist, researcher and clinician, Dr. Steiner-Adair has received numerous awards and honors for her work on behalf of girls and women. She is the co-author of Full of Ourselves: A Wellness Program Advancing Girl Power, Health and Leadership (published by Teachers College Press 2006). This dynamic health-and-wellness education program is the first primary prevention program of its kind to show sustained, positive changes in girls’ body image, body satisfaction, and body esteem. Full of advice about how to claim your own strengths and be a leader, not get caught up in cultural messages that make you feel bad about yourself, and how to have healthy relationships and a healthy body, Full of Ourselves emphasizes girls personal power and overall mental and physical wellness, and reduces the risk for disordered eating in girls (grades 3-8) without ever mentioning eating disorders. A founding member of the International Academy of Eating Disorders, Dr. Steiner-Adair lectures internationally on eating disorders education, prevention, therapy and advocacy, and how to raise strong healthy girls.

Dr. Steiner-Adair is a therapist in private practice in Chestnut Hill, Mass. In addition, she is the Director of Eating Disorders Education and Prevention at the Klarman Eating Disorders Center at McLean Hospital, and a Clinical Instructor in the Department of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. Before starting her private practice, Dr. Steiner-Adair was a school psychologist and teacher at Phillips Academy Andover and the Dana Hall School. She lives in Chestnut Hill, Mass., with her husband, and their son and daughter.

Jill Zimmerman Rutledge, M.S.W., LCSW
Author
Psychotherapist specializing in adolescent girls and young women

Jill Zimmerman Rutledge was born on Abraham Lincoln's birthday, February 12. She grew up in Highland Park, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, and is the oldest of three children. Her mother volunteers at The Art Institute of Chicago as a docent; her father is a retired businessman. When she was young, Zimmerman Rutledge was very close to her grandparents and her dog, a basset hound named Gus. Zimmerman Rutledge was a good student in high school and liked English and French best. She also liked to play sports, and enjoyed spending time with friends. At age 12, Zimmerman Rutledge received her first guitar as a birthday present. Playing the guitar, knitting, and arts & crafts projects helped her cope with the stress of middle school and high school.

Zimmerman Rutledge ent to college at the University of Colorado in Boulder, Colorado. She attended graduate school at The University of Illinois, where she earned an M.S.W. (Master's of Social Work). Zimmerman Rutledge completed post-graduate work at The Family Institute of Chicago/Center For Family Studies. Recently Zimmerman appeared on ABC TV and Channel 7 to discuss her book, Dealing With The Stuff That Makes Life Tough. She has also been featured as a body image expert on National Public Radio's "Talk of The Nation" and on an MTV Finland television documentary.

Zimmerman Rutledge has lectured nationally on girls' and women's issues, and has taught classes at the University of Chicago, Loyola University of Chicago, National Lewis University, Northwestern University, and the Atlanta Girls' School. Her published articles on women and body image have been reprinted in numerous college and high school textbooks, magazines, and periodicals. She has also been quoted in Fitness Magazine, Teen People, and YM. Zimmerman Rutledge lives in Evanston, Illinois, where she maintains a private practice in psychotherapy. She is married and has two sons, one stepson, and a chocolate lab.

Elaine J. Osgood
President & CEO
Atlas Travel International

Elaine Osgood has built a global travel agency from one employee and no clients in 1986, to one of the leading travel agencies in America 20 years later. She has been honored as the 2006 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year for Travel in New England, "One of the Top 50 Business Builders in North America" by Fast Company magazine and her agency was recognized as one of the "Top 50 places to Work in America" by Working Mother magazine. Her company has ranked in the Top 100 Women-Led Businesses in Massachusetts for five years by Babson College and The Commonwealth Institute. She has a keen interest in women-led businesses and opening the door for young women who creatively strive for excellence. With a bachelor's degree in education and master’s in psychology, Osgood began her career with a decade of addressing child welfare issues in her native Worcester, Mass., and is now the mother of an enthusiastic six-year-old daughter adopted from Russia.

Osgood has built an award-winning team of global vacation specialists and corporate travel management experts. Based in Milford, Mass., Atlas Travel International has experienced unprecedented growth led by Osgood’s vision of exceeding traveler expectations and providing a level of personal service that is rare in today's travel industry. Her team of global specialists have assisted thousands of families in planning travel experiences worldwide.

David Kleeman
President
American Center for Children and Media

David Kleeman is President of the American Center for Children and Media, an executive roundtable that leads the US industry in developing sustainable and kid-friendly solutions to long-standing issues.

The Center also promotes the exchange of ideas, expertise, and information as a means for building quality, and looks worldwide for best practices. David is Advisory Board Chair to the international children's TV festival, PRIX JEUNESSE, and has led North American advisors to four children’s media World Summits.

David is in demand as a strategist, analyst, author and speaker. He has advised producers and broadcasters, as well as organizations like the MIT Media Lab, UNICEF and See Jane. In 2002-3, he authored a major study for PBS and the Markle Foundation, on public broadcasting’s unique roles for children in the digital era. He has written two book chapters and numerous articles for trade, academic and general press.

David graduated from Harvard. Married, and with two adolescent daughters, he discovered that running offers time with no phones, computers, TV or sibling squabbles. Apparently, he enjoys the quiet: he has run 10 marathons, from Boston to Beijing!

Dr. Laura Compian, PhD
Manager of Reference Content
Education.com, Redwood City

I'm just trying to do my part to leave this world a better place than when I first found it. How does one accomplish this mission? Well, I've decided to make improving the lives of children and adolescents one of my core missions (while squeezing in a soccer game here and there!).

In order to make a difference, I earned a B.A. in Psychology from the University of California at Berkeley and a doctorate in Counseling Psychology from Stanford University. Since earning my degree, I have worked as a psychologist, conducting therapy and psychological testing in school, community mental health, and children's hospital settings. These experiences have helped me to better understand the key issues affecting children's lives at home and in school. Most recently, I completed a postdoctoral research fellowship at the University of California at San Francisco and served as adjunct faculty at San Francisco State University, University of San Francisco, Santa Clara University, and San Jose State University, teaching undergraduate- and graduate-level courses in psychology.

In my current role, I am managing reference content at Education.com, aiming to provide top-notch information and advice for parents looking to help their children meet their highest potential. If you want to talk schools or children's mental health, drop me a note!

Jean Kilbourne
Author
Award-winning filmmaker

Jean Kilbourne is internationally recognized for her pioneering work on alcohol and tobacco advertising and the image of women in advertising. Her films, slide lectures, and television appearances have been seen by millions of people throughout the world. She was named by New York Times Magazine as one of the three most popular speakers on college campuses.

Her book, Can't Buy My Love: How Advertising Changes the Way We Think and Feel, was called by Publishers Weekly "a profound work that is required reading for informed consumers." It won the Distinguished Publication Award from the Association for Women in Psychology. The award-winning films based on her lectures include "Killing Us Softly," "Spin the Bottle," and "Slim Hopes." She has been interviewed by many magazines and newspapers, and is a frequent guest on radio and television programs, including the "Today Show," "On the Record with Bob Costas," and the "Oprah Winfrey Show." Dr. Kilbourne has served as an advisor to the Surgeon General and has testified for the U.S. Congress. She is a Visiting Scholar at Wellesley College. She has received many awards, including the Lecturer of the Year award from the National Association for Campus Activities. The presenter of an award from the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists said, "No one in the world has done more to improve the image of women in the media than Jean Kilbourne."

Dr. Joy Jacobs
Author
Clinical Psychologist

Joy Jacobs is a clinical psychologist and published author who provides individual, family and group therapy for children and teens with eating disorders, body image concerns, and/or weight concerns. Joy's goal is to help families build active, well balanced lifestyles to reach their personal "best." Joy is one of the few officially certified providers of a specialized family-based treatment for eating disorders nationwide and internationally. Joy leads workshops in the US and internationally on eating disorders, media literacy, and body image; she also trains and supervises others in her field.

Joy serves on the Professional Advisory Panel for Families Empowered and Supporting Treatment of Eating Disorders (F.E.A.S.T). She is a member of the Academy for Eating Disorders and serves on its Media Affairs Committee. Joy also supports the American Dietetic Association, the Eating Disorders Coalition, and the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA).

In a previous life, Joy was a fashion editor and attorney. She was on the staff of Vogue magazine and a corporate lawyer in New York City. Always drawn to the convergence of fashion, health, media and behavior, Joy returned to school to follow this passion and obtained her doctorate in psychology. Joy graduated from Duke University and Harvard Law School. During college, Joy studied Renaissance art in Florence, Italy, and attempts to speak (and wear) Italian whenever possible.

Although Joy considers herself a city person, she currently resides in beautiful San Diego, California, with her husband and twin toddlers, Aviv and Yarden. Among Joy's many hobbies are yoga, running, shopping, movies, and reading.

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Corporate Advisory Panel

Anchored by the award-winning Beacon Street Girls book series, BSG is fresh, inspirational, multi-cultural and richly detailed. Informed by current research on how to strengthen girls’ self-esteem, BSG stories offer fun, friendship and socially responsible values in a contemporary setting. That's a big job to handle by ourselves, so we work with a smart group of advisors who guide and inspire us.

Marc Gobé
President, CEO and Executive Creative Director
Desgrippes Gobé

Marc Gobé is the founder, Chairman and CEO of Desgrippes Gobé, one of the world’s top ten brand image creation firms. Responsible for Coca-Cola’s new worldwide identity and packaging design, Marc Gobé, who graduated from the Ecole Professionnelle de Design Industriel in Paris, has written Emotional Branding and Citizen Brand. His company has created breakthrough, emotionally driven brand design strategies for such clients as Coca-Cola, AOL, IBM, Estée Lauder, Starbucks, Gillette, Air France, Abercrombie & Fitch, Victoria’s Secret, Godiva, and Danone.

Marc Gobé is a frequent speaker at top marketing and design conferences. He has also been invited to address senior managers on emotional branding in corporations such as L’Oréal, Montblanc, Motorola, Procter & Gamble, AOL, General Mills, and Peugeot. He has received numerous international design awards.

His book, Brandjam, will discuss ways to humanize brands through design. Using jazz as a metaphor, Brandjam celebrates the creative power of intuition when shared in a participative way by designers, marketers, researchers, and consumers alike.

Sheryl S. Leach
Creator of "Barney"

As a producer, creator, and entrepreneur, Sheryl Leach is a proven success in the field of children's and family entertainment. Sheryl turned a desire to find quality interactive and educational entertainment into one of the most successful children's properties of all time. As the Founder/Creator of "Barney," she developed and launched the property in the US and in 100 countries around the world. She built "Barney" to be one of the highest-rated children's series on television, one of the best-selling children's video brands in the history of the industry, as well as an international record-breaking licensing and publishing phenomenon. In addition, Sheryl collaborated on a world-class theme park attraction with Universal Studios and produced an internationally successful theatrical release with Polygram Filmed Entertainment.

Today, Sheryl is utilizing the expertise and resources she gained from the "Barney" phenomenon to provide opportunities for other producers and distributors of quality entertainment to realize their dreams. As co-founder of the Shei'rah Foundation, Sheryl supports visionaries, media projects, and entertainment channels producing programming that enhances, celebrates, and challenges the human spirit - programming that brings positive, uplifting messages to the world. Through the Shei'rah Foundation, co-founder Howard Rosenfeld and Sheryl are currently sponsoring projects with Link TV, Connecticut Public Television, NEXTNEXT Entertainment, and the Foundation for Conscious Evolution. In addition, the Foundation supports a variety of youth-based media projects: Chat the Planet, Taking It Global, and Global Youth Action Network (GYAN).

Joyce Hakansson
Educational programing expert
Founder, Theatrix

Joyce Hakansson, a pioneer in computer education, joined the Computer Education Project at the Lawrence Hall of Science in 1975. She then designed and developed the Computer Gallery at Sesame Place for Sesame Street Workshop and founded Berkeley Learning Technologies, an educational software company producing highly successful products for computers, hand held learning toys, and museum exhibits.

In 1994, she founded Theatrix, an award winning educational software publisher. Joyce brought technology to people with disabilities as the Executive Director of The Alliance for Technology Assistance and Creative Director of C.A.S.T. Joyce is currently teaching and consulting in Northern California.

Marsali Hancock
President, Internet Keep Safe Coalition

Ms. Hancock serves as the president of the Internet Keep Safe Coalition and brings over 16 years of public service, education, and business management experience to her position.

She founded the Mountain West String Academy, a highly successful music education program funded by public and private grants and through donations.

By gathering university staff, school principals, professional musicians, college students, and parent volunteers, she created a program that currently carries up to 300 students. Ms. Hancock also founded the Science Summer Workshop, a hands-on, advanced youth science tutoring program, where she organized curriculum, lessons, and activities that cover basic chemistry, virology, and biology.

A highly talented musician, Ms. Hancock worked as a professional violinist for over 25 years, completing a solo CD and numerous studio recordings for films and symphonic soundtracks. She served as an adjunct faculty member for the Utah State University School of Music and occasionally substitutes for the Utah Symphony. Ms Hancock earned her violin performance degree in music from Brigham Young University and is the mother of six children. She enjoys gourmet cooking, gardening, and hiking with her children.

Cheryl Yaffe Kiser
Director of Marketing and Corporate Engagement,
The Center for Corporate Citizenship at Boston College

Cheryl Kiser is part of The Center's strategic management team and oversees all aspects of The Center's positioning and marketing strategies, media relations, member relations, and communications. Prior to her position at Boston College, Cheryl was the Director of Corporate Communications for WFD, Inc. (formerly Work Family Directions), and head of community and press relations for the Metropolitan District Commission, the largest Massachusetts state agency.

Cheryl has always been at the intersection of public policy, private enterprise and community. She has primarily entered organizations when they have needed a new positioning strategy, as well as the development of either new markets in the private sector or constituents in the public/political sector and executed those strategies. She has won awards in public affairs and public relations for her campaigns.

Cheryl sits on the advisory board of The Harvard Cancer Prevention Center and on the advisory board of The New England Coalition on Health Promotion and Disease prevention (NECON), a non-partisan organization that serves as a vehicle for the development and enhancement of disease prevention and health promotion public policies in New England.

Meg Milne Moulton
Consultant
Co-executive Director of NCGS

Ms. Moulton is a nationally/internationally recognized consultant to independent schools and associations. She has over thirty years of experience in enrollment management, marketing, market research, and communications. A former collegiate director of admissions, she is a principal consultant with Marketing & Enrollment Associates of Concord, Massachusetts. Her roster of clients includes close to 100 schools and organizations.

Ms. Moulton serves as a trustee on independent school boards including the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) and has contributed to non-profit and for-profit advisory boards. She is a member of the Private Schools Advisory convened annually by the National Center for Educational Statistics and the U.S. Department of Education.

Since its founding in 1991, Ms. Moulton has been Co-Executive Director of the National Coalition of Girls’ Schools (NCGS). Her work with the Coalition has contributed to raising public awareness of girls’ schools and their value and bringing deserved to educational programming for girls in the areas of math, science and technology, financial literacy, leadership development, and global citizenship.

Ms. Moulton has been a regularly invited speaker at national gatherings (NAIS, TABS, CASE, Boys' Schools Coalition) and at international conferences in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. Her articles have appeared in Independent School Magazine, The Next Marketing Handbook, and The Head’s Letter to name several publications. She has been quoted frequently in the media including appearances in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, The Boston Globe, Congressional Quarterly, Teacher Magazine and on television (CNN, WGBH).

June Rokoff
Co-founder and Vice Chair
The Commonwealth Institute

June is a co-founder and vice chair of the Commonwealth Institute, a non-profit organization that works with women entrepreneurs and CEO’s to help them build sustainable growth businesses. As the former Senior Vice President of Lotus' Worldwide Services Group, June Rokoff had worldwide responsibility for the company's service functions and businesses, including consulting services, education and training, and the Lotus Institute. She has served on many public and non-profit boards, including The Partnership, the New England Chapter of the National Association of Corporate Directors, as well as the Colonel Daniel Marr Boys & Girls Club in Dorchester.