Katie Cruce, Nicole Hopkins, and Meg Kraner

Holy Innocents’ Episcopal School, Atlanta, GA

We were so grateful to have Michelle join us for our school’s Wellness Week. Her down‑to‑earth warmth, paired with true expertise, made both her student talks (How to Be Less Stressed) and her parent session (How to Be a Less Stressed Parent) feel incredibly supportive, relevant, and impactful.

One of her key messages—“Belly Up to the Buffet”—has really lingered with our community because it resonated so deeply. Students, parents, and staff are still referencing it!

As counselors, we walked away not only inspired, but feeling like we made a new friend. We can’t recommend Michelle highly enough.

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Mary K. Young, MS, RDN

MKYoung Food & Nutrition Strategies

THANK YOU so much for being the keynote speaker at the Nourish Now Adolescent Summit. Your presentation was spot on, added so much dimension, and was exactly what we were looking for to set the stage for the rest of the discussions. You helped bring the adolescent into the room and gave every scientist and communicator (and parent!!!!) such an insightful view of this life stage. We are so grateful.

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Denise Gallardo

Palmer Trinity School, Miami, FL

Wow! What an incredible morning we had at Palmer Trinity School with Michelle Icard. From the moment she took the stage, her energy was infectious. Michelle’s presentation wasn’t just informative; it was real. Her advice was practical. With many “aha” moments, we walked away with a renewed sense of confidence on navigating the sometimes-turbulent waters of raising young adults. We need more of this!

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Andy North

Hammond School, Columbia, SC

Michelle Icard visited and did a phenomenal job engaging with our middle and upper school students, as well as our parent community. Her message, encouraging students to be active in their lives and developing agency, resonated well. The parents enjoyed hearing how to support their students while teaching them how to act and develop skills to solve problems and build resiliency in difficult situations. Michelle’s research-based methods landed well with our entire community. 

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Nour Akkad

The Pegasus School, Huntington Beach, CA

It was such a joy having Michelle with us at Pegasus. Her warmth, insight, and humor resonated deeply with our entire community, parents, students, and staff alike. The feedback from parents and staff has been beyond positive. The only negative comments we heard were from those who were sad to have missed it. We love Michelle!!

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Juli Gardner

Community School of Davidson, Davidson, NC

In conclusion, Michelle Icard’s lecture was a transformative experience. Her blend of information, approachability, inspiration, and relatability made it an invaluable session. I wholeheartedly recommend her lectures to anyone seeking a deeper understanding of adolescence and actionable strategies to support young individuals during this crucial phase of life. 

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Elizabeth Morris

Parents’ Association Parent Education Chair, Holy Innocents’ Episcopal School, Atlanta, GA

We were thrilled to have Michelle speak to our parents as part of our Parent Education series. She was immediately relatable, warm, and personable. Michelle offered great tips for our group that are understandable and easily applicable. Building and maintaining relationships with our middle and high schoolers is critical, and parents crave common sense guidance like Michelle gives to help them navigate through those trying times.

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Grade 8 Student

American International School of Mozambique

Michelle understood our point of view better than our parents. My parents went to the parent talk and are now using her techniques which have helped communication and my relationship with my parents.

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Sarah Mumford

Parent Wellness Committee for Bryn Mawr School, Baltimore, MD

Thank you for such a valuable presentation.  It was incredibly timely and pertinent and we’ve already applied some of the approaches you discussed to communicate with our children. Every parent with whom I’ve spoken shares my enthusiasm. We know it benefitted so many and is truly a gift that will keep on giving.

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Kerin Hughes

Palisades Episcopal School, Charlotte, NC

Michelle has provided workshops for faculty, students, and parents of Palisades Episcopal School. Her wisdom about middle-level students provides comfort and understanding for both parents and teachers. Her presentations are powerful and insightful. She imparts her knowledge in a witty manner that makes these very important and sometimes frightening topics fun and engaging. As a Head of School, I am pleased to have Michelle as a resource for our school community.

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Dr. Lisa Novak

CATCH, Chicago, IL

When Michelle Icard presented to our suburban Chicago community, she completely captivated the audience. She was authentic and knowledgeable, and she brought both warmth and humor to tough topics. Michelle’s research and insights helped to shed light on some universal parenting struggles, and she armed parents with concrete strategies to help them navigate these inevitable moments. Michelle’s approachable style helped us all feel understood and empowered. We are so grateful that she came to speak and share her wisdom with us!

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Sean Fitts

The Marlborough School

The event with our parents was a huge success. Michelle’s metaphors and explanations really helped. I particularly loved the way she asked our parents about the characteristics of a bad (micromanager) manager, and flipped it. That resonates well with the message they hear from our school, so we are harmonious. We’d like to work with Michelle again next year so I’ll be on the lookout for your next book.

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Roger Fussa

Buckingham Browne & Nichols School (BB&N), Cambridge, MA

I have not heard a better talk at BB&N, which has top speakers! With reassuring humor, Michelle offered great tips grounded on clear explanations of tween/teen changes in body, mind, and identity.

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Greg Chalfin

The Walker School, Marietta, GA

Michelle provides families with warmth and engagement while also outlining that our kids can and will endure challenging moments and do hard things. Our community is incredibly grateful for her guidance, wisdom, and care. For middle school families, for all families, I can’t recommend a speaker more highly than Michelle.

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Kristin Dallman

UL, LLC – UL Parents BRG

We were lucky enough to have Michelle Icard speak to our Working Parents BRG at UL (United Labs). She was funny, humble and inspiring. During the strange and uneasy times many parents have been going through during the pandemic, the virtual schooling, quarantines etc, we could not have picked a better speaker to put us at ease. Michelle armed our parents with tangible tips, tricks and perspectives that many have already put into practice!

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Caitlin McLennan

North Shore Country Day, Winnetka, IL

Michelle came to North Shore Country Day as a speaker for the Family Action Network, which curates a popular series of accomplished speakers each year. While discussing her most recent book, Michelle shared an incredibly important message with the audience: our children’s failures are natural and, in fact, a necessary part of their development into capable, competent, caring adults. Hopefully, everyone left the discussion inspired to identify their own “whisper network” to help them navigate the challenges of parenting adolescents together!

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Kathleen Osborn

Hathaway Brown School, Shaker Heights, OH

Michelle Icard was the keynote speaker at an event called “Parenting in the Middle,” open to parents of teens and tweens at our all-girls school, and open to members of the general public residing in our area outside Cleveland. Advertising Michelle’s talk alone drew a phenomenal crowd – people are hungry for the information she shares. When it came to practical tips for delivering on important topics, Michelle did not disappoint. She is witty, wise, and well-rounded. We designed the evening event to include several breakout sessions after her keynote presentation. But when the school bells chimed to tell people it was time to move to the next class, nobody wanted to move. Several were still jotting down notes and pulling up Michelle’s website on their smartphones. One parent whose eighth-grade daughter has been one of our students since preschool said that Michelle’s presentation was the best we’ve ever offered. We would certainly bring Michelle back to campus again, and there’s no doubt that there’d be a line out the door to see her.”

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Lorelei Lindow

Ravenscroft School, Raleigh, NC

Michelle Icard was a wonderful speaker for our community! She led a very engaging conversation with our students (over 300!) about the powerful messaging of gender stereotypes in advertisements. Our students are still referencing the images that were presented and often share new ones with me that they come across. Equally powerful was Michelle’s presentation to parents. We offered a program that was open to the community at large. With over 150 in attendance, there still was an intimacy created where parents openly discussed the challenges of parenting during their children’s middle school year. She gave practical strategies to enhance communication and problem-solving.  I fully endorse Michelle for any school environment!

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Mark Peres

Charlotte Center for the Humanities, Charlotte, NC

Michelle, you gave a wonderful talk that offered warmth and wisdom. You have raving fans willing to travel across the country to hear you speak and it’s clear why. You had the room in your hands.

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Sarah Peeden

Eastside Preparatory School, Kirkland, WA

It was such a pleasure hosting Michelle Icard as a Visiting Thinker at our school. Michelle presented twice, once to faculty and again to families, and both sessions were rich, thoughtfully crafted, and expertly presented. Faculty members and parents alike have remarked on Michelle’s ability to connect with our community in such a short time. For example, she provided detailed responses to audience-generated questions that showcased her empathy, expertise, and humor. Who knew parent education could be so fun and affirming? I surely didn’t. Truly, our school community has not only benefited from reading Michelle’s work but also by getting to learn from her in person. I would highly recommend Michelle as a guest speaker to any school or parent organization looking to engage in enriching conversation and continuing education. 

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Aubrey Shipway and Shannon Agin

HS PA Presidents, Grace Church School, New York, NY

Thank you, Michelle, for joining us as a special guest speaker for our high school and middle school parents. We loved your warm, humorous and non-judgmental perspective on how we can better equip our kids to turn their setbacks into successes. Your talk both inspired and guided parents with everyday practical advice and the science to back it up. Thanks to you, we left the talk not fearing our kids’ mistakes and failures, but embracing them as a path to growth! We are so grateful to you for your time and for sharing your expertise. 

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Traci Rigsbee

North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics

We have already received such great feedback on Michelle’s presentation! Thank you for such an engaging, informative talk with our parents. We are grateful for the time and energy you put into helping us support students and their families in developing resiliency. It was a pleasure!  We’re sorry we missed the opportunity to thank you, as the questions from parents kept coming in. You definitely resonated with our parents!

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Lora Farkas

Director of Parent Engagement, Belmont Hill School

Michelle shared her insights and research with humor and warmth. Our parent community appreciated the framework of the “8 Setbacks” and the steps to take in response to a “failure.” At some point, every parent of an adolescent will have a moment when they think “What do I do now?”, and wish for a wise friend to guide them. Hopefully, they will have read Michelle’s book and her words will provide comfort and a plan to move forward.

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Jen O’Ferrall

Lower School Co-Director of Student Life for St. Christopher’s School, Richmond, VA

Michelle’s message was timely, relevant, and practical. I’ve received nothing but positive feedback, and many actually commented that they ordered the book during or shortly after her talk. As a parent herself, Michelle is relatable and authentic. Her approach is realistic, and her strategies can be implemented immediately. Hopefully, we can have Michelle back with us at St. Christopher’s in the near future!!

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Calanit Amir

Progressive Insurance Company – ParentConnect ERG

Michelle Icard was the keynote speaker at an event we held for our ParentConnect ERG, open to parents of teens and tweens nationwide. We had incredible participation! The presentation focused on “Fourteen Talks by Age Fourteen” with copies of her book by the same title sent to 50 lucky recipients who were chosen randomly. Michelle’s presentation was not only informative, it was funny, interactive, and touched on many important topics for parents and caregivers of teens and tweens. We could have gone on for hours longer – questions and participant interaction were still coming in strong when we had to wrap up. We have already been asked to have Michelle come back for Part II!

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AnneMarie Peterlin

Teacher at Providence Day School, Charlotte, NC

Thank you for coming to our PDS Middle School Faculty meeting. I feel that you are exactly what we needed. I am trained in my field and education but not necessarily in the changing landscape of “the middle”. Thank you!

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