A NOTE FROM MICHELLE

As you can see, I had the natural good looks, style, and poise of a sixth-grade A-lister. Check out that bow tie!

I wasn’t just interested in style. I loved culture, too. Here I am getting ready to perform a jazz dance number to the 1966 Broadway hit “If They Could See Me Now”, popularized for me by Kathie Lee Gifford’s catchy TV commercials for Carnival Cruise Lines.

By eighth grade, l’d achieved a level of self-confidence and sophistication that can best be measured by my brave choice to pin a giant brooch on my corduroy suspenders for picture day. This did not, uh, resonate with my peers.

The point is, I work with young adolescents because I know what it feels like to be on the fringe, and all adolescents, no matter how seemingly confident or popular, feel on the fringe in one way or another. The same is true for parents of adolescents. Even the ones who show up as the happiest of families on social media will tell you their kids make them feel like complete strangers at times.

I left Boston at age 17 to attend college in Ohio, where I studied English and Education, graduating in 1994 with an English major and a teaching degree for grades 7-12.

I moved to Atlanta, then Charlotte, where I worked for a Big 5 consulting firm in their Knowledge Management department, then, when 80,000 of us were suddenly laid off (you may recall the Enron scandal), I started my own tutoring and educational consulting business. My children were toddlers at the time.

Remembering how hard middle school had been for me, and talking with other people who said the same, I developed summer camp programs, Athena’s Path for girls and Hero’s Pursuit for boys, to help middle schoolers learn leadership skills that would help them better handle the many changes, and challenges, middle school brings.

Schools started asking if the camp curriculum could be used in schools, too. I reworked the curriculum as a school day elective, and schools across the country began implementing leadership curriculum. This photo looks photoshopped, but it’s not. This is me doing my best David Attenborough impression in the wild of a middle school cafeteria.

I published my first book about helping kids (and their parents) transition to middle school with less dread, more hope, and more enthusiasm.

I got my first big national media break as a guest expert on the TODAY Show. The entire team was as nice as you’d hope and has continued to be a rewarding part of my media career.

This was the same year I launched a private parenting group on Facebook based on the parenting philosophies in my work.. I’m proud of our 13,000+ members from across the country and the world and the supportive corner of social media we’ve carved out to help each other.

I published my second book on bridging the language gap between adolescents and parents, with tips on how to have meaningful discussions on even the trickiest topics together.

Most recently, I published a book for parents of kids ages 8-18 to help parents guide their kids through life’s little (and big!) setbacks from elementary through high school.

These days you’ll find me traveling the country, giving talks on my books and signing copies.. I hope to see you at a book event soon!