Parenting Portal with Joanna Port

Dorothy Klock, MD is a Board Certified Family Physician. Dr. Klock holds a BS from UCLA, earned her MD from Albany Medical College, and completed her Family Medicine residency at Brown University-Memorial Hospital of Rhode Island.  Dr. Klock has over fifteen years of clinical experience in the Los Angeles area, including 13 years in the Department of Family Medicine at Kaiser Permanente,  and she served as a medical advisor for the entire run of the hit TV sit-com Scrubs.  Dr. Klock leads parenting seminars regularly, offers parent-child puberty classes, group workshops for kids and teens, and is available for private parenting consultation.

Margaret Grundstein was raised in Detroit, attended the University of Michigan and then headed east, first to Goddard College for a Bachelor’s in History and then to Yale to graduate with a Master’s in Urban Planning in 1970. With the ink still wet on her diploma, Margaret headed west, dropping out to live communally in the woods of Oregon, an adventure she writes about in her first memoir, Naked in the Woods; My Unexpected Years in a Hippie Commune, published by Oregon State University Press in 2015. Five years later, having dropped back in, Margaret created a niche that fit her life as a single parent, the owner/director of a preschool in Venice, California which she still runs today. Margaret also has a private practice as a psychotherapist in Los Angeles. Ten years ago she added a third career, writing. Margaret’s second book, Not Dead Yet: The Life and Loves of a Septuagenarian, a collection of eight personal essays, is presently looking for a home with a publisher.

Mindy Podolsky Owens is a Registered Dietitian with a Master’s Degree in Nutrition. She also has a certificate in adult weight management. Her broad and extensive experience includes nutritional consultation, designing and managing a nutrition consult service for a Chicago Health Maintenance Organization, developing a grant-based weight management program for childhood obesity at La Rabida Children’s Hospital, establishing and implementing a weight management program for a chain of health clubs in London, England, and managing a thriving private practice, consulting individuals and families on weight loss, healthy eating, healthy pregnancies and "creating healthy homes." Mindy has counseled obesity clinic participants in Detroit, Michigan, children with Type I Diabetes at the American Diabetic Association’s Diabetes Camp in Illinois, and patrons of the Canyon Ranch Health Spa in Tucson, Arizona.

Charlotte Reznick, PhD, is author of The Power of Your Child's Imagination: How to Transform Stress and Anxiety into Joy and Success and contributing author of the chapter "Imagery as a Therapeutic Tool with Children" in Transformative Imagery: Cultivating Imagination for Healing, Change and Growth. She is a child educational psychologist and a former UCLA Associate Professor of Psychology. Dr. Reznick has a 30-year meditation practice and is the creator of Imagery For Kids: Breakthrough for Learning, Creativity, and Empowerment, a mindful coping skills program. In addition to her private practice in Los Angeles, she creates therapeutic meditation CDs, blogs for Psychology Today and Huffington Post, is a frequent media consultant, and teaches workshops internationally on the healing power of children's imagination.

Dr. Grogan is a practicing pediatric orthopedic surgeon in the west Los Angeles area. He has seen over 45,000 patients in his career. Dr. Grogan graduated cum laude from Princeton University with a degree in Biology and received his medical degree from the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine. Dr. Grogan’s orthopedic training has included an orthopedic residency at UCLA plus several orthopedic fellowships in pediatric orthopedics, trauma, and NIH sponsored joint replacement surgery.

Dr. Soheil Simzar, M.D., a board-certified dermatologist, specializes in skin cancer surgery and cosmetic dermatology. He began his medical studies at Van Nuys Medical Magnet High School, graduating in the top 1%. He received his Bachelor of Science in Neuroscience from University of California at Los Angeles, Doctor of Medicine at UCLA, and was a Resident Physician in Internal Medicine at Olive View-UCLA Medical Center. At Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, he continued his Residency in Dermatology and was served as Dermatology Chief Resident, while also accomplishing a Preceptorship by the American Society for Dermatologic Surgery in Cosmetic and Surgical Dermatology. After his specialty training, Dr. Simzar completed a fellowship in advanced dermatological procedures and surgery including neuromodulators, fillers, sclerotherapy, scar treatments, and laser surgery. He is a clinical instructor of dermatology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and teaches medical and surgical dermatology to the dermatology residents and medical students. He was awarded UCLA’s Dean’s Honor List and a recipient of the American Society for Dermatologic Surgery Preceptorship Award. Dr. Simzar is an experienced researcher, has authored in numerous prestigious medical publications, and has presented at national conferences.

Donna Holloran earned her BS in Psychology and Child Development before moving to California and earning a MSW from UCLA. She is also certified in Infant Mental Health.  Donna founded Babygroup in Santa Monica, California, in 1996 and there maintains her practice as a parent educator and child development specialist.

Richard and Lois Reinis are grandparents 16 times over. They share some lessons learned through the 24 years of grandparenting.

Stephanie Demery is a licensed marriage and family therapist in West Los Angeles, working with children, adolescents, and families. She specializes in working with childhood disorders that include depression, anxiety, PTSD, learning challenges, low self-esteem, conduct disorders, autism, ADD and ADHD, addiction, and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. She's certified in EMDR therapy.

Rachel Zaslansky Sheer is co-owner and co-founder of The Grapevine Agency established in 2005. Specializing in permanent placement of executive/personal assistants, home staffing and management, utilizing the highest standards of recruiting. Prior to becoming a recruiter, Rachel was an Executive Assistant to Kevin Huvane, Managing Partner of Creative Artists Agency (CAA). Before joining Huvane’s team, Rachel worked for two Talent Agents in the Motion Picture Department of CAA. Rachel graduated from University of Maryland with a BS in Psychology and a concentration in Women’s Studies. Originally from Chappaqua, NY, Rachel relocated to Los Angeles in 1998. She lives in Brentwood with her husband and two children.

Hedieh Naydawood, MS CCC-SLP is a Speech Language Pathologist in private practice, specializing in early intervention. Her trainings to the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health, Los Angeles Universal Preschool, North Lost Angeles, and Westide Regional Centers have focused on the benefits of relationship-based speech and feeding therapy.

Nathalie Aluisi, M.A., OTR/L, SWC is a pediatric occupational therapist with over 18 years of experience.  She specializes in the areas of sensory processing disorders, autism spectrum disorders, social/emotional regulation, executive functioning, social thinking, developmental delays, premature birth, social skills, fine motor/visual motor difficulties, and feeding/oral motor skills.  She has advanced training in Sensory Integration theory and practice, and is certified to administer the Sensory Integration and Praxis Test.   She has completed courses through AOMT and is an orofacial myofunctional therapist.  She has her advanced practice certification in Swallowing Assessment and Intervention (SWC).  Mrs. Aluisi is a Certified Infant Massage Instructor.  She is certified in the Interactive Metronome and is trained in the Therapeutic Listening Program and iLs Integrative Listening System.  She completed the U.S. Department of Education traineeship for the USC School-based Occupational Therapy Training Project.  She has served on the advisory board for this School-Based Training Grant.  Mrs. Aluisi worked in various school settings running sensory-motor groups incorporating yoga, consulted with teachers and parents and provided individualized treatments, while working closely with professionals using Floor Time (DIR Model).  She has been in private practice in West LA, providing clinic based intervention, home and school based services, and consultation.  She is currently on the advisory board for the development of an Early Childhood Center.  She presents at schools and parent groups on topics relating to sensory integration and children’s motor skill development.  Nathalie works closely with parents, teachers, pediatricians, psychologists, speech therapists, physical therapist, and other professionals assisting children.  Nathalie received a B.A. in Kinesiology and a B.A. in Sociology from the University of Colorado at Boulder and an M.A. in Occupational Therapy from the University of Southern California.  She lives in West LA with her husband and three sons.

Lauren Bruns specializes in early childhood music education and has been writing songs for more than 20 years. She owned and managed Sessions Songwriting and Music from 2011 to 2016 and is the current head of the music department at Laurence School in Valley Glen, CA.

Lindsay Astor Grant is a licensed Pediatric Occupational Therapist. She received her Masters degree in occupational therapy from USC and has advanced training in sensory integration, executive function, and visual perceptual motor skill development. In 2018 Lindsey founded Learning Redesigned, working as an independent consultant for private schools.

Donna Holloran earned her BS in Psychology and Child Development before moving to California and earning a MSW from UCLA. She is also certified in Infant Mental Health.  Donna founded Babygroup in Santa Monica, California, in 1996 and there maintains her practice as a parent educator and child development specialist.

After completing his BA in Fine Arts from the School of the Art Institute in Chicago, David worked as an Exhibit Designer for the Kohl Children’s Museum. While working there he had an opportunity to meet and work with many educators including the philosopher Loris Malaguzzi from the municipality of Reggio Emilia, Italy, founder of the Reggio Approach. David then worked as an education coordinator and atelierista at Chicago Commons, a social service agency that developed early childhood programs on Chicago’s west and south side and completed his Masters in Child Development through the Erikson Institute. After 8 years, he served as an adjunct professor and education coordinator at Aquinas College then worked in Manhattan to develop the Blue Man Group’s parent-child program into the Blue School nursery and elementary school. Upon finishing his doctorate at the University of Calgary in Canada, he became director in 2015 at First Presbyterian Nursery School in Santa Monica, an historical school that celebrated its 60th anniversary last year.

Erica Curtis is a board-certified art therapist, licensed marriage and family therapist, and internationally cited expert on parenting, relationships, and mental health, specializing in creative and cutting-edge approaches to psychotherapy and teaching. She lives in southern California with her husband and three children.

Dr. Berman is an Association Professor of Psychiatry at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, and runs her own clinical practice. Her interest is focused on increasing healthy child development by strengthening the parent-child bond. She is on the clinical faculty at the UCLA Women’s Life Center, which specializes in mental stability during pregnancy and post-partum.

Rebekka Helford, MA, LMFT, earned her Bachelor's degree in Psychology from Brown University and her Master's degree in Clinical Psychology with an emphasis in Marriage and Family Therapy from Pepperdine University. Rebekka has enjoyed working with children and their families in a variety of capacities both therapeutic and non-clinical for over 15 years. In addition to conducing weekly psychotherapy for adults in her Santa Monica-adjacent private practice. Rebekka also specializes in short-term intensive parent consultation, offering both home and office visits to help families navigate developmental hiccups and get back on track. Since 2016, Rebekka has supervised and trained interns and led Mindful Parenting Groups at Well Baby Center in Mar Vista. Learn more about Rebekka’s thoughts on parenting and being human at her blog, Living in Captivity, as well as her podcast, The Sandbox with Diane and Rebekka.

Reveta Bowers has been engaged as the Lead Faculty Member at the NAIS Institute for New Heads.  She was the Head of School at the Center for Early Education in Los Angeles, (Toddler – 6th grades, 538 students), where she had been for 41 years before retiring in 2016.  She attended the University of Southern California where she received her degree in Humanities.  She later returned to graduate school and completed a Master's degree in Developmental Psychology and three teaching credentials.

Kathy Leader is an artist and art teacher that studied Fine Art in South Africa, teaches art classes for kids, and hold art camps for kids. She encourages kids and adults to break free from self-criticism and reconnect with their basic human creative instinct by focusing on art as a process instead of a method of product creation.

Jennifer Waldburger from Sleepy Planet gives advice, suggestions and tips on how to help babies sleep.  She focuses on babies age 0-1 years old.

Susan Stone has over 40 years of experience as a licensed marriage and family therapist in the Los Angeles area. She has had a special focus on parenting skills and on helping parents find their way through the complex issues around of raising happy, responsible, and productive kids. Along with seeing clients, Susan speaks often to parents and educators on topics of interest about children of all ages. She has appeared on radio and television as a parenting expert, and is the author of the book The Indulgence Trap - When Too Much is Not Enough. 

This episode is about how to find the right preschool for your family. It covers different philosophies, what to look for in a school and how to find the right match.