Humane Education - Humane Parenting - Human Rights - Consumerism - Beautiful Frienships

About Me

Photo by Karen Parker

I am a mother and humane educator living in northwestern New Jersey with my husband John, my daughter Bess (2), and various four-legged family members. We are anxiously awaiting the arrival of our new baby in the spring of 2008. We share four wooded acres with assorted deer, foxes, coyote, bears, birds, squirrels, chipmunks, and creepy-crawlies, whom we enjoy watching and learning about.

I am currently completing my M.Ed. degree through a joint program with the Institute for Humane Education and Cambridge College. My concern for animal protection issues brought me to the program, but over the years I have become active in the areas of environmentalism, voluntary simplicity, the local food movement, and issues of economic justice. I have always believed that the key to building a more humane future was to teach children respect for themselves, other people, other species and the planet from the time they were very young, so that they would be ready to tackle difficult issues creatively and comprehensively as they grew older. Since becoming a mother, I have come to realize that in order for this to happen, we need to empower parents and give them the tools to examine their parenting and lifestyle choices and model compassionate, conscious living for their children.


I am an active member and volunteer in the Holistic Moms Network, and frequently review books on parenting, environmentalism and consumerism for their website. I also write and edit news pieces for MOTHERS (Mothers Ought To Have Equal Rights), an organization that fights for economic justice and security for mothers and other caretakers. I am looking forward to the publication of my first non-scientific article in the March/April 2008 issue of Mothering magazine.

I graduated summa cum laude from Seton Hall University with a B.A. in Experimental Psychology and a minor in Liberal Arts. I went on to enroll in a Ph.D. program in neuroscience at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey where my research focused on learning and cognition and the effects of stress on these processes.

Visit Kelly's Blog at http://www.beautifulfriendships.blogspot.com

© Copyright Beautiful Friendships. All rights reserved.
Webdesign by Web For U