2021 Highlights
Supporting Parents, Nurturing Children
Greetings!

This year has been a incredible year of programs, outreach, and building. Here are some highlights to read while we build suspense for our big reveal! Readers like you helped us in 2021 to:

  • Welcome new people to API - Our Board is pleased to announce three new Board members to API: CEO and educator Valerie Bryant, priest and therapist Rod Kochtitzky, and psychology professor George Holden. The staff is pleased to welcome Emily Macbeth to communications, Katie Simmons to accessibility/technology, Lee Cutshaw to group leader resources, and student Laksha to social media, and welcome back Rachel Losey to special projects, Rita Brhel as editor, Kendrah Nilsestuen to the mini-grant committee, and API Advisory Board member Lu Hanessian as podcast host.
  • Develop and launch a new free online leader training program and group leadership resources, with already more than 50 taking on the training.
  • Create a new blog, #NormalizeNurturing as the successor to more than a decade of API Speaks and APtly Said
  • Design a new website with built-in accessibility to make sure all parents are supported
  • Share research carried out with Southern Methodist University showing that families who work with API report that they have warmer relationships with their children, use less coercive discipline, and experience fewer child behavior problems compared with other groups of parents.
  • Open a new office, giving our organization a physical location that includes office and meeting space, an AP library, a store, and a baby carrier library
  • Add knowledge and referral capacity as eight staff and Board members completed a variety of trainings and certifications, including the Postpartum Support International training on perinatal mood disorders; the Center for Babywearing Studies certification; Healthy Outcomes from Positive Experiences training, Circle of Security Workshop, Trauma Informed Care training, and the Attached at the Heart Parenting Education Program Online training
  • Expand Board resources, including the YWCA 21-Day Racial Equity and Social Justice Challenge, Culture and Diversity in Building Communities, accessibility resources, and more
  • Develop the Attached at the Heart Parenting Program Online training and platform, with research component for teaching online and in-person
  • Complete training events for educators in the US, EU, Greece, Turkey, and plan upcoming training events for Australia/Asia, Greece, Turkey, and Argentina
  • Support the La Leche League International 65th anniversary conference with API representatives presenting worldwide on attachment - including six API Board members, three advisory board members, one resource advisory council, one former board member, and one staff member, all presenting different sessions - and registration is open through April 2022
  • Present the importance of parents and support within childcare discussions
  • Carry out a campaign of parenting tips that replenish, nourish, and provide practices that make everyday parenting better
  • Create and prepare to launch a new online community to support AP leaders, educators, and partners
  • Support parents from around the world with questions on attachment, sleep, custody, and much more, and
  • Undertake our most intense effort to examine our work and expand our reach and impact - the results of which we'll share next!

That’s some of what we’ve been up to, all because we believe these steps to broaden our work will help more parents and children flourish. The positive childhood experiences that the Principles and API offer are key for fostering empathy, compassion, peace, and joy.

Thank you for being a part of our community!