I Am Dad

Sharmain is a National Speaker, Author, and Trainer in areas of fatherhood and prison reentry. After serving time in prison, Sharmain reentered society with a plan, a passion, and a purpose. Despite the challenges of a felony conviction, Sharmain worked hard to overcome the barriers to a successful entry into society. The birth of his first child in 2014 gave him a deeper reason to achieve success after prison. In 2015, Sharmain attended a heavily promoted fatherhood event in which he was the only father to show. Seeing an opportunity, he volunteered to host a fatherhood workshop himself. His event was successful and he eventually landed a full-time job as a Father Involvement Coordinator at WIC (Women, Infants & Children). In the first year, he successfully recruited and completed over 100 fathers. During his time at WIC, Sharmain would travel the country to other WIC and Family service organizations to inspire them to focus on fatherhood. His success with the WIC Fathers program was his launching pad to his current success as a speaker and trainer. In 2020, Sharmain graduated with degrees in Business Management and Marketing at Carthage College. In 2021, he completed his Master’s in Business Design and Innovation at Carthage College. His turnaround story has led to many awards including the NAACP positive impact and the 20 under 40 award. His story has inspired so many that even the district attorney and his original sentencing judge worked together to release Sharmain from parole 4 years earlier than anticipated. All of his work led to one of the most honorable accomplishments that can be given to someone who turns their life around after prison. In 2022, Sharmain had all of his legal rights restored after receiving a FULL PARDON from Governor Tony Evers in Wisconsin. He now has a mission to help hundreds of justice-impacted people to be granted a pardon.

Sharon Pizzuti is an Executive Director at Courtland Consulting – a child support consulting firm in East Lansing, Michigan. She has more than 35 years of combined government and consulting leadership in child support. Her career includes roles as a public servant for the two largest Michigan child support offices, consulting for the Federal and State of Michigan Department of Health & Human Services, Federal Department of Labor/Bureau of Labor Statistics, and for the Michigan Supreme Court, State Court Administrative Office. She’s spent the last 19 years focused on court and human service improvement programs including Fatherhood, Mediation, and Equal Access to Justice work. She is an ERICSA (Eastern Regional Interstate Child Support Association) Executive Board Member, VP of Conference Operations, Chair of the Onsite Committee and serves on finance, exhibitor and sponsor, conference planning, and communications committees. She is a member of the WICSEC (Western Intergovernmental Child Support Engagement Council) Communication and DEI committees. She also serves on the NTCSA (National Tribal Child Support Association) conference planning and advisory committee. Sharon serves as an Executive Board Member and Treasurer for NCSEA (National Child Support Engagement Association) and is an active committee member dedicated to improving court & human services. Her experience, research, and online presence highlights her passion for creating partnerships and intersections for fatherhood programs, community partners and child support agencies. She understands the impact of trauma, barriers, and biases as well as how to connect the right people and agencies to promote equity and inclusion in child support programs and focus on the best interests of children and their families.

Why Fathers Cry at Night is an intimate and non-traditional (or "new-fashioned") memoir, Kwame Alexander shares snapshots of a man learning how to love. He takes us through stories of his parents: from being awkward newlyweds in the sticky Chicago summer of 1967, to the sometimes-confusing ways they showed their love to each other, and for him. He explores his own relationships—his difficulties as a newly wedded, 22-year-old father, and the precariousness of his early marriage working in a jazz club with his second wife. Alexander attempts to deal with the unravelling of his marriage and the grief of his mother's recent passing while sharing the solace he found in learning how to perfect her famous fried chicken dish. With an open heart, Alexander weaves together memories of his past to try and understand his greatest love: his daughters. Full of heartfelt reminisces, family recipes, love poems, and personal letters, Why Fathers Cry at Night inspires bravery and vulnerability in every reader who has experienced the reckless passion, heartbreak, failure, and joy that define the whirlwind woes and wonders of love. Kwame Alexander is a poet, educator, producer, and #1 New York Times Bestselling author of 36 books, including THE DOOR OF NO RETURN, AN AMERICAN STORY, BECOMING MUHAMMAD ALI, co-authored with James Patterson, REBOUND, which was shortlisted for prestigious UK Carnegie Medal, The Caldecott Medal and Newbery Honor-winning picture book, THE UNDEFEATED, illustrated by Kadir Nelson, and his NEWBERY medal-winning middle grade novel, THE CROSSOVER. A regular contributor to NPR's Morning Edition, Kwame is the recipient of numerous awards, including The Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award, The Coretta Scott King Author Honor, Three NAACP Image Award Nominations, and the 2017 Inaugural Pat Conroy Legacy Award. In 2018, he opened the Barbara E. Alexander Memorial Library and Health Clinic in Ghana, as a part of LEAP for Ghana, an international literacy program he co-founded. He is the writer and executive producer of THE CROSSOVER TV series on Disney+.

Vito J. Borrello is the first Executive Director for the National Association for Family, School, and Community Engagement (NAFSCE), appointed in September 2014. Since its founding, NAFSCE has addressed systemic issues to advance family, school and community engagement as a strategy for child development, student achievement and school improvement. Initiatives include Reframing the Family Engagement Conversation and the establishment of the National Alliance for Family Engagement; the 18-state State Consortium on Family Engagement in partnership with the Council for Chief State School Officers; and its Family Engagement Consortium on Pre-service Educator Preparation. Prior to his current position, Mr. Borrello served as the 19-year president of Every Person Influences Children, a New York-based organization providing parenting education, and family engagement in education programs. Current National Advisory Board Member roles include Scholastic, and the Center for Education Equity. Recent previous national roles include membership on the National Family, School and Community Engagement Working Group; and two completed terms as both an Appointed and At-Large Board Member for National PTA, where he also served on committees for finance, legislation, resource development, strategic planning and leadership recruitment. He is co-founder and Chairman Emeritus for the NY State Family Engagement Coalition. Prior to his NAFSCE appointment, Mr. Borrello was Chairman of the NY State PTA Urban Initiatives Task Force, Steering Committee member of the NY State Parenting Education Partnership, and a past appointee to NY State Education Department workgroups for Teacher Standards, Striving Readers, and Safe Schools. In his home community of Western New York, Mr. Borrello is a past Board Member for the State University of NY at Buffalo's Alberti Center for Bullying Abuse Prevention; past Chairman for the Care Management Coalition of Western New York, and past Board member for Buffalo's Read to Succeed literacy initiative. He is a graduate of the Health Foundation for Western and Central New York Fellowship program and a 1998 graduate of Leadership Buffalo. Mr. Borrello has a Bachelor's Degree in Music Education from Wittenberg University and resides in East Amherst, New York with his wife, Maria, and has two daughters, Marisa and Samantha. He commutes to the NAFSCE offices located in Alexandria, Virginia.

As the CEO of Fathers Incorporated, I am honored to support the White House’s proclamation for Second Chance Month. This significant initiative recognizes the potential for change and growth in every individual, regardless of their past. In our work to empower fathers and strengthen families, we understand the importance of providing opportunities for redemption and transformation. In the spirit of Second Chance Month, we want to acknowledge the graduates of our Gentle Warriors Academy. These dedicated fathers have come to understand the crucial role they play in the lives of their children, even after making mistakes. They have embraced their journey towards self-improvement and have become a shining example of the power of second chances.

Fathers Incorporated introducing an "new" podcast called "SIDELINE DAD" The podcast that's all about promoting positive father involvement in youth sports. This podcast is designed to help dads navigate the world of youth sports, providing tips, advice, and inspiration to help them support their children and make the most of their sports experience. As a sideline dad, you have an important role to play in your child's sports journey. This podcast is dedicated to helping you fulfill that role to the best of your ability, by sharing stories and insights from experts, coaches, and other dads who have been there before. In each episode, we'll explore a different topic related to youth sports, from strategies for staying positive in the face of setbacks, to tips for helping your child develop good sportsmanship and teamwork skills. We'll also tackle some of the challenges that can arise in the world of youth sports, such as dealing with overly competitive parents or navigating the complexities of sports travel. Whether you're a seasoned sports dad or just starting out on this journey, "Sideline Dad" is the podcast for you. So grab a seat on the sideline, put on your headphones, and join us as we explore the world of youth sports and help you become the best sideline dad you can be! You can subscribe to learn more about the podcast launch in September 2023. You can subscribe and follow the up-to-date news at www.sidelinedad.com

In 2018, Dr. J. L. Adolph completed his Ph.D. in English/African Diaspora Studies at the University of Missouri-Columbia; his dissertation centered on Fatherhood Narratives in Hip-hop Lyricism. He received an MA from the University of Missouri-Columbia in 2009 and a BA in English with a minor in Africana Studies from Central Missouri State University, May 2005. Dr. JL Adolph has a professional background in utilizing hip-hop culture as a tool to teach at-promise youth and families with histories of trauma successfully. The English professor employs innovative communication methods furnishing an educational space to discuss urban male parenting in Contemporary America. His keynote speeches and interactive online series Dad Cypher: A Hip-hop Guide to Fatherhood challenges critics' skepticism of hip-hop culture and the mythology of African American fatherhood. As a media literacy specialist and researcher, Adolph utilizes his expertise to empower inner-city marginalized dads. Hence, his works seek to alter or “remix” the mainstream narrative of African-American fatherhood.

Dr. Jeffery M. Johnson is President and CEO of the National Partnership for Community Leadership (NPCL)whose mission is to strengthen the service capacity of public/private agencies to empower low-income parents and youth through innovative training techniques, practical program management tools and evidence-based practices. As president of NPCL, Dr. Johnson has overseen the planning and implementation of two of the nation's most significant social welfare research projects involving low-income men and fathers. Since 1997, under Dr. Johnson leadership, NPCL has convened an annual international fatherhood conference that attracts policymakers, family practitioners, and parents worldwide. He was also the visionary and national planning committee chair for the 100th anniversary of Father’s Day. Dr. Johnson also presided over the National Youth Development Practitioner’s Institute for the Department of Labor’s Youth Opportunities Unlimited Program. Additionally, Dr. Johnson currently serves as Dean of the Fatherhood Learning Academy for the Healthy Start Technical Assistance and Support Center.

The Fatherhood Research and Practice Network (FRPN) is a five-year initiative funded by Office of Planning Research and Evaluation to build the evidence base for fatherhood programming. Co-directed by Jessica Pearson of CPR and Jay Fagan, professor of social work, Temple University, FRPN funds teams of researchers and practitioners to conduct rigorous research; provides technical assistance to grantees to improve the quality of the research they conduct; builds the capacity of researchers and fatherhood practitioners by conducting webinars, training programs, preparing written materials, and conducting original research on fatherhood; and disseminates new research and best practices through a comprehensive website, www.frpn.org. Pearson founded CPR in 1981. Her research includes some of the first national studies of mediation in custody and visitation disputes, parent education, and supervised visitation. She has also completed leading evaluations of new initiatives in child support programs including hospital-based paternity, family-centered services, collaborations with workforce agencies, early intervention strategies, methods of avoiding and addressing child support debt, and addressing parenting time orders and access and visitation problems. Dr. Pearson served as co-principal investigator of a seven-state demonstration project that resulted in the creation of the State Access and Visitation Grant Program that now awards $10 million annually for programs to support parenting time. Pearson provides technical assistance, research, and facilitation services to federal, state and local agencies, and service delivery programs. Her areas of expertise include improving access to public benefit programs, developing effective work programs for low-income parents and mentoring and literacy programs for disadvantaged learners. Dr. Pearson is currently the Director of the national Fatherhood Research and Practice Network where she oversees grants distributed to projects to rigorously evaluate fatherhood programs, and provides training to improve practice and evaluation in the fatherhood field.

Jackie Brewton is a highly sought-after youth speaker, author and teen relationship expert. She is a graduate of Furman University. In 2001, she walked away from a successful career in corporate America in 2001 to establish, MotivationN3D, Inc. a motivational speaking company. She can be found speaking to classrooms of thirty or delivering keynotes before large assemblies of thousands. Over the past 20 years, Jackie has spoken to hundreds of thousands of teens across the country and abroad, and has amassed more than 17,000 letters from students. These letters, along with her “real talk” classroom discussions, have given her a window into the hearts and minds of teen girls and guys, few adults ever get to experience.

Dr. Janice Kelly is a Full Professor, the Chair of Interdisciplinary Studies, and the Program Director of Professional Communications at Molloy University. She was a guest editor for Fathering: Theory, Research, and Practice about Men as Fathers. She produced a documentary on “Perceptions of Fathers in the Media: In search of the Ideal Father.” She co-edited “Deconstructing Dads: Changing Images of Fathers in Popular Culture.” She holds memberships and leadership in several local and national professional organizations and community-based initiatives. She recently published Sistas in Action: Hearing the call leading the way in the book Black Female leaders in Academia: Eliminating the Glass Ceiling with Efficacy, Exuberance, and Excellence. And co-authored an article, “From Silver Streak to Black Panther: The shifting landscape of Black masculinity in film.” Her recent project examines the evolving images and perceptions of Black fathers in TV commercials between 2018-2022. Her research interests include organizational communication, media literacy, media representation of the black family, and gender and leadership styles.

THOMAS JOINER grew up in Georgia, went to college at Princeton, and received his Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of Texas at Austin. He is The Robert O. Lawton Distinguished Professor in the Department of Psychology at Florida State University (FSU), Tallahassee, Florida. Dr. Joiner’s work is on the psychology, neurobiology, and treatment of suicidal behavior and related conditions. Author of over 795 peer-reviewed publications, Dr. Joiner is the Editor-in-Chief of the journal Suicide & Life-Threatening Behavior, and was awarded the Guggenheim Fellowship and the Rockefeller Foundation’s Bellagio Residency Fellowship for work on suicidal behavior.

Shenandoah Chefalo is a graduate of Michigan State University, holding a Bachelor of Arts with a Major in Interdisciplinary Studies in Social Science, a Core Essentials Graduate from Coach U, and a member of the Foster Leaders Movement. She is a sought after speaker on topics surrounding youth in foster care, and has been featured as a guest locally, nationally and internationally. A survivor and alumni of the foster care system, Shenandoah Chefalo is also the co-founder of the Good Harbor Institute, which translates evidence-based research on trauma into skills that can be used immediately and everyday. At Good Harbor Institute they believe that knowing is not enough. Skills + Action = Healing. In additional to her book, Garbage Bag Suitcase, she also wrote an e-book entitled Setting Your Vision and Defining Your Goals, and is also working on her next manuscript, Hiking for Stillness.

Patrick J. Patterson is President of Global Partners for Fathers and Families Consulting, LLC, a national consulting firm that equips schools, hospitals, Head Start, Healthy Start, public and private sector agencies with the tools to authentically serve fathers, men, boys, and their families. Patrick has launched and managed community, statewide, and national fatherhood programs during his 20-year career, including serving as contract manager for the National Responsible Fatherhood Clearinghouse during President George W. Bush, President Barack H. Obama, President Donald J. Trump, and President Joseph R. Biden Administrations. As an expert working with fathers, men, and boys, Patrick has been a featured fatherhood keynote, workshop leader or trainer in 46 states, the US Virgin Islands and 7 different countries. He is married to his high school sweetheart, Sherani Ashford Patterson, and they have 2 beautiful daughters, Peyton (16) and Lorin (14), with whom Patrick has co-authored two children’s books entitled “I Love When Daddy Reads to Me” and “Unplugged – A Day of Family Fun without Devices” which are sold on Wal-Mart, Target, Amazon, Barnes and Nobles, and Books a Million websites. Patrick earned a Bachelor of Social Work degree from Benedict College (an HBCU) and dual Master’s degrees in Social Work and Public Health from the University of South Carolina.

The purpose of Justin's life is to connect and he's on a mission to connect the hearts of fathers to their children and children back to their fathers. Justin is passionate about reigniting and restoring fatherhood around the world and changing the next generation. He's an active father who's taken a bold approach by building a fatherhood platform on four core areas: faith, family, fitness and finances. He believes that if you win at work, but don't win at home then you haven't won. His goal is to provide fathers with events, experiences, education and technology to unleash the unlimited potential inside of their kids and raise resilient kids who go out and change the world. He's created a for-profit and a non-profit that will impact 10 million fathers in the next 10 years and end fatherlessness. He's worked with the NFL, Pro Football Hall of Fame, NASCAR, Fortune 500 and INC 5000 corporations, provides executive 1-1 coaching, completed a TEDx on fatherhood and built a fatherhood media ecosystem that continues to expand. Justin believes that far more is caught than taught and is an intentional and active father with his four kids and serves as a father figure to countless young men in his community. Justin is also deeply passionate about helping people tell their stories to the world. As the author of the best selling book Daddy Saturday, he created a field manual for fathers on how to be intentional with their kids. In his career as a publisher, he has the honor of helping business leaders, athletes, celebrities, entrepreneurs and thought leaders become professionally published authors. Justin wears many hats and is an avid Spartan obstacle course racer. He believes in doing hard things daily and becoming comfortable being uncomfortable. His kids participate in Spartan Kids races and he's integrated the "earned not given" mantra into his home. He's also a farmer and raises highland cows to sell to hobby farms and breeders. Each sale creates the purchase of a cow for a family in Daddy Saturday Kenya. He manages True South Farm, the families personal residence and retreat that hosts weddings, masterminds and corporate events and has a barn Airbnb on site. His wife Heather Batt is an incredible entrepreneur and he's supported her women-owned businesses for the last 15 years. In fact, that's how Daddy Saturday started as he found himself at home all day on Saturdays with four kids while she ran her bridal business. He has a B.S. in Sports Marketing from Clemson University. He and Heather raise their four children (Hayden 15, Blane 13, Mason 10, Easton 8), 15 highland cows, miniature pony and run their modern working farm "True South Farm" outside Nashville, TN.

Mr. Eugene Schneeberg, President of Fathers Forward and author of “I Never Met My Father: My Journey from Fatherless to Fatherhood” is an award winning and sought after speaker and trainer. Eugene is an expert at providing trainings in the fields of fatherhood, prisoner reentry, youth violence prevention & faith based partnerships. Eugene provided strategic advice to the White House Office and the U.S. Department of Justice after being appointed by President Barack Obama as the Director of Faith Based Partnerships for the Justice Department. Eugene led DOJ’s efforts as part of the President Obama’s Responsible Fatherhood Initiative, and the My Brother’s Keeper Initiative. This resulted in over $30 million dollars in new grants for Juvenile Justice Involved Young Fathers and an increased focus on Empowering Parents within the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Eugene co-chaired the Obama Administration’s efforts to support and improve outcomes for Children of Incarcerated Parents. He helped lead the Attorney General Eric Holder’s Federal Reentry Council. He helped expand DOJ’s Youth Violence Prevention efforts helping to build the capacity of more than 30 major US Cities to combat youth violence. Eugene has received numerous awards, authored several articles and has addressed hundreds of audiences. He has appeared on ABC, CBS and has been quoted and referenced in the Washington Post, Boston Globe, Huffington Post, Christian Broadcast Network and many other news outlets.

Dr. Bouchet is a Senior Consultant for Fathers Incorporated. She is the co-author (with Kenneth Braswell) of Fathers Incorporated's training curriculum, What About Dad, that equips health and human service providers to more effectively engage fathers. Dr. Bouchet is also the Principal Consultant for Bouchet and Associates--Strategic Consulting for Social Change--where she provides expertise in public relations and communications, outreach, coalition building, research, evaluation, policy, practice, and program management. She has provided technical assistance and training to individuals, non-profits, government entities, philanthropic and mission-driven organizations. Dr. Bouchet is the former Executive Director of Women In Fatherhood where she advocated for the removal of structural barriers faced by low-income fathers and developed the Voices of Women and Men Matter media campaigns to increase positive images of low-income fathers and men of color and raise the awareness of the importance of fathers from the vantage point of women. She was honored as a Champion of Change for low-income men and fathers by the White House for her work with Women In Fatherhood. Dr. Bouchet was also the Project Director for the Hispanic Healthy Marriage Initiative (HHMI) Grantee Implementation Evaluation, which was a joint effort between the ACF Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation (OPRE) and the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE). Dr. Bouchet brings over 10 years of research-based advocacy on issues related to vulnerable youth and disadvantaged, minority populations. She is also a trained behavioral therapist who worked with children with Autism Spectrum Disorders and provided support for their families. Dr. Bouchet is also the proud mother of her 16 year old daughter, Chloe.

Kwame Alexander is a poet, educator, producer, and #1 New York Times Bestselling author of 36 books, including THE DOOR OF NO RETURN, AN AMERICAN STORY, BECOMING MUHAMMAD ALI, co-authored with James Patterson, REBOUND, which was shortlisted for prestigious UK Carnegie Medal, The Caldecott Medal and Newbery Honor-winning picture book, THE UNDEFEATED, illustrated by Kadir Nelson, and his NEWBERY medal-winning middle grade novel, THE CROSSOVER. A regular contributor to NPR's Morning Edition, Kwame is the recipient of numerous awards, including The Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award, The Coretta Scott King Author Honor, Three NAACP Image Award Nominations, and the 2017 Inaugural Pat Conroy Legacy Award. In 2018, he opened the Barbara E. Alexander Memorial Library and Health Clinic in Ghana, as a part of LEAP for Ghana, an international literacy program he co-founded. He is the writer and executive producer of THE CROSSOVER TV series on Disney+.

Shari Doherty works for Child Find of America, Inc., where she serves as the Parent Help Program Director and Lead Trainer. She supervises a case work team addressing missing child matters, location efforts, legal options, family conflict, parenting skills and parenting apart. She is a seasoned mediator and certified NYS Victim Advocate and Paralegal with expertise in child abuse, exploitation and sex trafficking, divorce, parenting apart, interpersonal violence and mediation methodologies. Along with direct services, Ms. Doherty conducts trainings for family service providers, legal and mental health professionals, parents, edu-carers and school staff, child welfare agencies, NGO grantees and others on issues related to family conflict, denied access and missing children, parenting skill building, domestic violence and fatherhood related issues. She specializes in crafting experiential and engaging workshops on often difficult subjects. She has served her community as a volunteer mediator, recreation commission chair, and member of parent-teacher and youth dance theatre boards. She and her husband have raised three lovely, wise-cracking daughters and therefore both appreciate and lament their now empty nest.

Co-Host of Get Up Mornings with Erica Campbell This husband and father of five has forged his career at the intersection of faith and humor. With an infectious energy and an unmistakable voice, GRIFF contributes laughter, sincerity, and a real world approach to living inspiration out loud.