xxxx

Social media and smartphones are reshaping childhood — and not always for the better. How can parents and policymakers fight back? Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell joins Globe columnist Shirley Leung for a conversation on setting cellphone guidelines in schools, holding social media companies accountable, and giving parents the tools to protect their kids in the digital age.

Access to quality, affordable childcare is a critical issue for working families and the economy at large. Donna Levin, co-founder of Care.com and CEO of the Arthur M. Blank School for Entrepreneurial Leadership at Babson College and Lauren Kennedy, Co-Founder of Neighborhood Villages identified this gap in early learning and care. This panel, moderated by Globe reporter Janelle Nanos, will explore the systemic challenges facing childcare today and discuss bold, scalable solutions to ensure that families and businesses thrive.

Opening and Closing Remarks Provided by PNC

Discover how to balance your physical and mental well-being amidst the demands of work and family life. This panel will delve into essential topics such as mental health, and the overlooked perimenopause shift — and teach vital self-care strategies for working mothers. Globe Parenting Unfiltered writer Kara Baskin is joined by women’s health expert Dr. Heather Hirsch, founder of the Menopause & Midlife Clinic at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital and CEO of Health by Heather Hirsch MD Collaborative.

This conversation with experts and peers explores aging in the workplace, addressing shifts in career goals and dynamics in a multigenerational office. Reporter Katie Johnston is joined by Leslie Forde, the founder of online community Mom's Hierarchy of Needs, Jennifer Fraone, executive director at Boston College Center for Work & Family, and Addie Swartz, CEO of reacHIRE to discuss career growth for working mothers.

Learn how to care for your child’s mental health as well as your own with practical tips for balancing parenting demands with self-care. Editor Naomi Martin moderates this panel and is joined by mental health experts to discuss how to create a healthy and sustainable balance between family care and personal time. Panelists include Dr. Allie Baker, who works at Massachusetts General Hospital’s Center for Women's Mental Health, and Dr. Meredith Elkins, co-program director of the McLean Anxiety Mastery Program at McLean Hospital in Belmont.

Boston-based entrepreneurs Tracy Skelly, Nicky Bandera, and Elaine Chow share their experiences pursuing both professional and personal success as they aim to grow small businesses while balancing the demands of raising a family. With Globe reporter Janelle Nanos moderating the panel will discuss the unique challenges they face as well as the strategies they’ve used to juggle both roles.

Join three mom authors — Mary Catherine Starr (Mama Needs a Minute!), Laura Zigman (Small World, Separation Anxiety), and J. Courtney Sullivan (Maine, The Cliffs) — as they share the challenges and rewards of balancing motherhood and authorship. Their experiences can shape their stories, or can serve as an escape from the everyday stressors of motherhood. This conversation is moderated by Kara Baskin.

While rare cancers are by definition, rare, in the U.S., together they make up a fourth of all cancer diagnoses. Boston consistently tops the charts for oncology and specialty treatment, with leading doctors and researchers here driving efforts to understand and combat these devastating diagnoses. This panel explores the prevalence of rare cancers and the work being done right here in Massachusetts to accelerate research and find new treatment strategies.

Explore the paradigm-shifting research underway in the Boston biotech and healthcare scenes, where cutting-edge innovations are tackling rare diseases with great precision. This panel features experts who will highlight advancements they are accelerating in gene therapy, targeted treatments, and biomarker discovery. The group will also share the importance of collaboration across academic institutions, health systems, and private industry to improve outcomes for patients with these often overlooked conditions.

In this session, hear the inspiring stories and unique challenges of children living with rare diseases and the incredible support systems that nurture them. Families, teachers and caretakers will share their experiences supporting these resilient patients and provide insight into the many ways they provide care, education, and advocacy for the rare disease community.

Bestselling Novelist & Author of Small World, Separation Anxiety, and Animal Husbandry

Laura Zigman's the author of six novels, including Small World (a New York Times Group Text pick and New York Times Editor’s Choice), Separation Anxiety (which was optioned by Medford, MA-native Julianne Nicholson and the production company Wiip ("Mare of Easttown") for a limited television series); and Animal Husbandry (which was made into the movie "Someone Like You," starring Hugh Jackman and Ashley Judd). She has ghostwritten/collaborated on several works of non-fiction, including Eddie Izzard's New York Times bestseller, Believe Me, has been a contributor to the New York Times and other publications, and was the recipient of a Yaddo residency. She lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where she helps clients via Zoom, phone, and sometimes in person with their writing as Zigman Freud, Writing Therapist. She is at work on two new novels.

Artist, Author of Mama Needs a Minute!, Creator of @momlife_comics

Mary Catherine Starr is an artist, graphic designer, and author of the comic memoir Mama Need a Minute! Her popular Instagram account @momlife_comics explores motherhood, marriage, and the double standards of parenting through hilarious and relatable comics. She lives on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, with her husband and their two children.

Executive Director, Boston College Center for Work & Family

Now in her 20th year at the Boston College Center for Work & Family, Jennifer has recently been named Executive Director upon the retirement of Prof. Brad Harrington. Jennifer oversees corporate relations and programming for the Boston College Workforce Roundtable, a premier learning and networking community for HR leaders at progressive organizations, and the Center’s primary and secondary research efforts. Jennifer collaborates with and advises global organizations on topics such as parenting and caregiving, workplace flexibility, inclusion and belonging, employee well-being, career development and management, and improving the total employee experience.

Jennifer enjoys presenting at local and national conferences and has been featured on Marketplace, NPR, Fox 25, NECN, and in Money, Time, Fortune, the Boston Globe, Working Mother, Human Resource Executive and other publications. Jennifer received her BS in Clinical Psychology from Tufts University and her Master of Social Work and Master of Business Administration from Boston College. Jennifer and her husband John are the proud parents of two young adults.

CEO of Heather Hirsch MD Collaborative, Founder of Heather Hirsch Academy

As seen on Oprah Daily, Live with Kelly and Mark, Drew Barrymore, and other national news broadcasts, Dr. Heather Hirsch is a beloved menopause and midlife expert with over 300,000 followers across her ever-growing platforms. She dispels myths and misconceptions about menopause and its treatment options.

Dr. Hirsch is board-certified in internal medicine and completed a fellowship at Cleveland Clinic. She founded the menopause clinic at Brigham and Women's Hospital while serving as faculty at Harvard Medical School before scaling Midi Health and starting her own national telemedicine platform, the Heather Hirsch Collaborative.

Dr. Hirsch’s passion is teaching, and in 2020, she launched the Heather Hirsch Academy. The Academy offers premier training and mentorship for healthcare professionals in menopause and women’s midlife care.

Dr. Hirsch’s mission is simple: to support all 30 to 50 million women in the United States while training best-in-class midlife clinicians.
 

CEO and Founder of Mom’s Hierarchy of Needs

Leslie is the CEO and Founder of Mom’s Hierarchy of Needs®. The business provides evidence-based tools for Moms to reclaim time from the never-done list for wellbeing and helps Employers retain caregivers.

Over 3,500 parents have participated since March of 2020 in the Mom’s Hierarchy of Needs research study—the longest-running of its kind—about the pandemic’s ongoing impact on work/life, care, and wellness needs for parents.

Leslie has used research to inform growth and innovation strategy for over 20 years. Most recently, she held leadership positions at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Care.com, and CSpace, an Omnicom market research agency.

For the past decade, she’s focused on media and technology for the childcare, eldercare, mental health, and education sectors.

She’s a frequent speaker and consultant to organizations on how to retain and support parents, caregivers, and people of color, including HubSpot, Merck, Scholastic, and the Barr Foundation.

Her writing about wellbeing, equity, and the future of work has appeared in The Washington Post, Slate, Parents Magazine, TLNT, Directorship, and her website, Mom’s Hierarchy of Needs, among other publications.

She’s been quoted in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, CNN, National Geographic, Fast Company, US News & World Report, SHRM, and many other outlets.
 

Founder & CEO of The Little Cocoa Bean Company; advocate for Childhood Nutrition Equity

Tracy Skelly is a Panamanian, Afro-Latina educator, business leader, and food security advocate committed to transforming childhood nutrition. As the visionary founder of The Little Cocoa Bean Company, Tracy combines her expertise in education, operations, and business development to create healthy, globally inspired meals and snacks for children.

Her passion for food justice was ignited during her time with Teach for America, where she witnessed the profound impact of food insecurity on her students’ ability to learn. This pivotal experience led her to pursue an ME.D in Education Policy and Management from Harvard Graduate School of Education, shaping her dedication to addressing systemic inequities in food access.

With over two decades of experience in education, ed-tech, and business development, Tracy has grown The Little Cocoa Bean Company into a trusted brand that empowers families to explore diverse, nourishing food options while championing equity in childhood nutrition.

 Company info: The Little Cocoa Bean Company is a wellness brand that creates globally inspired, nutritious meals and snacks for children, championing health, diversity, and equity in childhood nutrition.

 Expert in Women’s Mental Health, ADHD, and Adolescent Psychiatry; Faculty, MGH/Harvard Medical School

Dr. Allie Baker is a double board-certified child, adult, and perinatal psychiatrist, internationally recognized for her expertise in women's mental health, ADHD and learning disorders, and adolescent mood and anxiety disorders. She maintains a private practice and serves on faculty at MGH/Harvard Medical School.

Dr. Baker is a sought-after speaker and educator, featured on NBC, ABC, CBS, and other national media outlets, where she shares insights on mental health with a focus on families. She also serves on the medical advisory board of the Wait Until 8th pledge, helping families foster healthy relationships with technology. Above all, her most important credential is being Mom to three wonderful children.

Join us for a networking reception designed to expand your professional connections and engage with fellow working mothers. Beer, wine, and light appetizers will be served. Guests will also have the opportunity to explore activations focused on supporting working mothers and learn about various nonprofit organizations.

Bestselling Novelist & Award-Winning Author of The Cliffs, Saints for All Occasions, and The Engagements

J. Courtney Sullivan is the New York Times bestselling author of the novels Commencement, Maine, The Engagements, Saints for All Occasions, and Friends and Strangers. Her latest novel, The Cliffs, was a 2024 Reese's Book Club pick.

Courtney's work has been translated into seventeen languages. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times Book Review, The Washington Post, the Chicago Tribune, New York, Real Simple, and O: The Oprah Magazine, among many other publications. In 2017, she wrote the forewords to new editions of two of her favorite classic novels–Anne of Green Gables and Little Women. She lives in Massachusetts with her husband and two children.

CEO of reacHIRE

Addie Swartz, Chief Executive Officer of reacHIRE, works with Fortune 500 companies and HR leaders to broaden and expand talent pipelines, boost engagement, and develop diverse leaders within organizations. From Return-To-Work programs which bring seasoned talent back into corporations after a career break, to development programs powered by a proprietary platform that helps participants realize their potential, the company is committed to helping organizations develop the next generation of leaders, enhance retention, and build community. Ms. Swartz has spent the past three decades as a leading voice on how to support and advance professional women at all levels of the workforce.

In 2023 she was selected to the Forbes "50 Over 50 List for Innovation," and in 2021 was honored to be on Inc. Magazine's Top Female Founder List. She started her career at Bain & Co., built new businesses within Disney, Reebok and Lotus Development, and from there, went on to found three companies, all focused on empowering women and girls. Ms. Swartz holds a BA from Stanford University and an MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. Addie and her husband Joel Rosen are the proud parents of two adult daughters. 

Founder of Chop Value, Boston

Elaine Chow is the founder of ChopValue Boston, a pioneering business that transforms recycled chopsticks into sustainable furniture and interior features. With a background in nonprofit management spanning 20 years, Elaine transitioned into entrepreneurship to focus on sustainability and community impact. She holds an MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management and has been recognized for her innovative approach to circular economy practices. Elaine's vision for ChopValue Boston is to inspire a more sustainable local economy while connecting with her heritage as a Chinese-American. Her work has been acknowledged with awards, including the SCORE Boston Rising Star Client of the Year award in 2023. Elaine continues to drive sustainability initiatives in Boston, aligning her business with the city's green economy goals.

Founder of Project Paulie

Nicky Bandera is the founder of Project Paulie, a community-driven initiative that began in March 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. As the world locked down, Nicky started cooking lasagnas in her home kitchen to support friends, family, and community members who were struggling. Over time, her efforts expanded to deliver over 2,500 lasagnas to those in need, including restaurant workers and others affected by the pandemic.

The name "Project Paulie" was inspired by a scene from Goodfellas, where Paulie slices garlic with a razor blade. A video featuring this scene helped spread the word about her initiative. The project’s signature symbol, the "Little Tomato," represents the homemade tomato sauce used in her lasagnas and serves as a conversation starter about the organizations supported through Project Paulie’s merchandise sales.

To sustain and grow her mission, Nicky transitioned from cooking to designing hats and apparel featuring the tomato logo. Each product color is linked to a specific local organization, with proceeds donated to support causes such as food security, mental health, and community welfare. 

Welcome from Linda Henry of The Boston Globe 

Head of Education, Little Sprouts Brands

With 20 years of experience in education and child development, Alex is a passionate and dedicated leader, deeply committed to nurturing young learners as they discover the world around them and reach their fullest potential. Currently serving as the Head of Education at Little Sprouts, Heartworks, and Building Blocks Early Learning Schools, Alex focuses on creating innovative and nurturing educational environments that foster growth, creativity, and social emotional success in early childhood.

Throughout her career, Alex has held influential roles in education settings within local Boston communities. In these roles, Alex has developed and implemented educational programs for children with diverse learning needs, including dyslexia, ADHD, and executive functioning challenges. Her expertise in early literacy and child development ensures that every child receives the support they need to thrive, while advocating for equal access to high quality education for all.

Alex holds an M.Ed. in Language and Literacy from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and a BS in Child Development from Vanderbilt University. Her strong academic background, combined with extensive hands-on experience, allows her to integrate research-based best practices with practical strategies that make a real difference in the lives of young children. Beyond her professional role, Alex and her husband are raising three young children in the Boston area.

 Author of Minimalist Parenting & multimedia creative, Christine Koh LLC

 Christine Koh is a music and brain scientist turned multimedia creative. She spent a decade in academia, during which time she earned prestigious fellowships from the National Institutes of Health to fund her Ph.D. research at Queen’s University and joint-appointment postdoctoral fellowship at Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Christine was about to become a professor when she decided to hang up her academic spurs in favor of more flexible and independent ventures. Since 2006, Christine has built an award-winning creative portfolio as an author, podcaster, speaker, designer, and mission-driven creative director. You can find her work at her website, and connect via Substack, Bluesky, Instagram, and Facebook.

Paige is a working mother of four who shares relatable content on TikTok and Instagram, highlighting the everyday experiences of women balancing motherhood, careers, and relationships. Known for her candid insights on the mental load of motherhood and the challenges of creating equity at home and work, Paige’s content resonates with millions. She also advocates for affordable childcare, paid leave, and reproductive rights, sparking important conversations about what families need to thrive. Her impactful voice and relatable storytelling have led to features in Scary Mommy, The Today Show, Good Morning America, and more.

Learn more about Paige on her website linked here!

Remarks provided by Boston Mayor Michelle Wu.