I Am Dad

Garbage Bag Suitcase: A Journey of Foster Care and Troubled Fathers w/ Shenandoah Chefalo

Shenandoah Chefalo is a graduate of Michigan State University, holding a Bachelor of Arts with a Major in Interdisciplinary Studies in Social Science, a Core Essentials Graduate from Coach U, and a member of the Foster Leaders Movement. She is a sought after speaker on topics surrounding youth in foster care, and has been featured as a guest locally, nationally and internationally. A survivor and alumni of the foster care system, Shenandoah Chefalo is also the co-founder of the Good Harbor Institute, which translates evidence-based research on trauma into skills that can be used immediately and everyday. At Good Harbor Institute they believe that knowing is not enough. Skills + Action = Healing. In additional to her book, Garbage Bag Suitcase, she also wrote an e-book entitled Setting Your Vision and Defining Your Goals, and is also working on her next manuscript, Hiking for Stillness.

Exploring the Intersections of Responsible Fatherhood, Friendship and Brotherhood w/ Patrick Patterson

Patrick J. Patterson is President of Global Partners for Fathers and Families Consulting, LLC, a national consulting firm that equips schools, hospitals, Head Start, Healthy Start, public and private sector agencies with the tools to authentically serve fathers, men, boys, and their families. 
Patrick has launched and managed community, statewide, and national fatherhood programs during his 20-year career, including serving as contract manager for the National Responsible Fatherhood Clearinghouse during President George W. Bush, President Barack H. Obama, President Donald J. Trump, and President Joseph R. Biden Administrations.  As an expert working with fathers, men, and boys, Patrick has been a featured fatherhood keynote, workshop leader or trainer in 46 states, the US Virgin Islands and 7 different countries. 
He is married to his high school sweetheart, Sherani Ashford Patterson, and they have 2 beautiful daughters, Peyton (16) and Lorin (14), with whom Patrick has co-authored two children’s books entitled “I Love When Daddy Reads to Me” and “Unplugged – A Day of Family Fun without Devices” which are sold on Wal-Mart, Target, Amazon, Barnes and Nobles, and Books a Million websites.
Patrick earned a Bachelor of Social Work degree from Benedict College (an HBCU) and dual Master’s degrees in Social Work and Public Health from the University of South Carolina.   

Conversation with the founder of Daddy Saturday w/ Justin Batt

The purpose of Justin's life is to connect and he's on a mission to connect the hearts of fathers to their children and children back to their fathers. 
Justin is passionate about reigniting and restoring fatherhood around the world and changing the next generation. He's an active father who's taken a bold approach by building a fatherhood platform on four core areas: faith, family, fitness and finances. He believes that if you win at work, but don't win at home then you haven't won. His goal is to provide fathers with events, experiences, education and technology to unleash the unlimited potential inside of their kids and raise resilient kids who go out and change the world. He's created a for-profit and a non-profit that will impact 10 million fathers in the next 10 years and end fatherlessness. He's worked with the NFL, Pro Football Hall of Fame, NASCAR, Fortune 500 and INC 5000 corporations, provides executive 1-1 coaching, completed a TEDx on fatherhood and built a fatherhood media ecosystem that continues to expand. Justin believes that far more is caught than taught and is an intentional and active father with his four kids and serves as a father figure to countless young men in his community.
Justin is also deeply passionate about helping people tell their stories to the world. As the author of the best selling book Daddy Saturday, he created a field manual for fathers on how to be intentional with their kids. In his career as a publisher, he has the honor of helping business leaders, athletes, celebrities, entrepreneurs and thought leaders become professionally published authors. 
Justin wears many hats and is an avid Spartan obstacle course racer. He believes in doing hard things daily and becoming comfortable being uncomfortable. His kids participate in Spartan Kids races and he's integrated the "earned not given" mantra into his home. He's also a farmer and raises highland cows to sell to hobby farms and breeders. Each sale creates the purchase of a cow for a family in Daddy Saturday Kenya. He manages True South Farm, the families personal residence and retreat that hosts weddings, masterminds and corporate events and has a barn Airbnb on site.
His wife Heather Batt is an incredible entrepreneur and he's supported her women-owned businesses for the last 15 years. In fact, that's how Daddy Saturday started as he found himself at home all day on Saturdays with four kids while she ran her bridal business.
He has a B.S. in Sports Marketing from Clemson University.
He and Heather raise their four children (Hayden 15, Blane 13, Mason 10, Easton 8), 15 highland cows, miniature pony and run their modern working farm "True South Farm" outside Nashville, TN.

I Never Met My Father w/ Eugene Schneeberg

Mr. Eugene Schneeberg, President of Fathers Forward and author of “I Never Met My Father: My Journey from Fatherless to Fatherhood” is an award winning and sought after speaker and trainer. Eugene is an expert at providing trainings in the fields of fatherhood, prisoner reentry, youth violence prevention & faith based partnerships.  Eugene provided strategic advice to the White House Office and the U.S. Department of Justice after being appointed by President Barack Obama as the Director of Faith Based Partnerships for the Justice Department.
Eugene led DOJ’s efforts as part of the President Obama’s Responsible Fatherhood Initiative, and the My Brother’s Keeper Initiative. This resulted in over $30 million dollars in new grants for Juvenile Justice Involved Young Fathers and an increased focus on Empowering Parents within the Federal Bureau of Prisons.
Eugene co-chaired the Obama Administration’s efforts to support and improve outcomes for Children of Incarcerated Parents. He helped lead the Attorney General Eric Holder’s Federal Reentry Council. He helped expand DOJ’s Youth Violence Prevention efforts helping to build the capacity of more than 30 major US Cities to combat youth violence.
Eugene has received numerous awards, authored several articles and has addressed hundreds of audiences. He has appeared on ABC, CBS and has been quoted and referenced in the Washington Post, Boston Globe, Huffington Post, Christian Broadcast Network and many other news outlets.

RECOGNIZING HOW FATHERHOOD SHAPES HOW WE WORK WITH FAMILIES w/ Dr. Stacey Bouchet

Dr. Bouchet is a Senior Consultant for Fathers Incorporated.  She is
the co-author (with Kenneth Braswell) of Fathers Incorporated's
training curriculum, What About Dad, that equips health and human
service providers to more effectively engage fathers. Dr. Bouchet is
also the Principal Consultant for Bouchet and Associates--Strategic
Consulting for Social Change--where she provides expertise in public
relations and communications, outreach, coalition building, research,
evaluation, policy, practice, and program management. She has provided
technical assistance and training to individuals, non-profits,
government entities, philanthropic and mission-driven organizations.
 
Dr. Bouchet is the former Executive Director of Women In Fatherhood
where she advocated for the removal of structural barriers faced by
low-income fathers and developed the Voices of Women and Men Matter
media campaigns to increase positive images of low-income fathers and
men of color and raise the awareness of the importance of fathers from
the vantage point of women.  She was honored as a Champion of Change
for low-income men and fathers by the White House for her work with
Women In Fatherhood.  Dr. Bouchet was also the Project Director for
the Hispanic Healthy Marriage Initiative (HHMI) Grantee Implementation
Evaluation, which was a joint effort between the ACF Office of
Planning, Research and Evaluation (OPRE) and the Office of the
Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE). Dr. Bouchet
brings over 10 years of research-based advocacy on issues related to
vulnerable youth and disadvantaged, minority populations. She is also
a trained behavioral therapist who worked with children with Autism
Spectrum Disorders and provided support for their families.  Dr.
Bouchet is also the proud mother of her 16 year old daughter, Chloe.

A FATHERHOOD JOURNEY TO A DOOR OF NO RETURN w/ Kwame Alexander

Kwame Alexander is a poet, educator, producer, and #1 New York Times Bestselling author of 36 books, including THE DOOR OF NO RETURN, AN AMERICAN STORY, BECOMING MUHAMMAD ALI, co-authored with James Patterson, REBOUND, which was shortlisted for prestigious UK Carnegie Medal, The Caldecott Medal and Newbery Honor-winning picture book, THE UNDEFEATED, illustrated by Kadir Nelson, and his NEWBERY medal-winning middle grade novel, THE CROSSOVER.
A regular contributor to NPR's Morning Edition, Kwame is the recipient of numerous awards, including The Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award, The Coretta Scott King Author Honor, Three NAACP Image Award Nominations, and the 2017 Inaugural Pat Conroy Legacy Award. In 2018, he opened the Barbara E. Alexander Memorial Library and Health Clinic in Ghana, as a part of LEAP for Ghana, an international literacy program he co-founded. He is the writer and executive producer of THE CROSSOVER TV series on Disney+.

Understanding how Parental Conflict Creates Unsafe Environments for Children w/ Shari Doherty

Shari Doherty works for Child Find of America, Inc., where she serves as the Parent Help Program Director and Lead Trainer. She supervises a case work team addressing missing child matters, location efforts, legal options, family conflict, parenting skills and parenting apart.
She is a seasoned mediator and certified NYS Victim Advocate and Paralegal with expertise in child abuse, exploitation and sex trafficking, divorce, parenting apart, interpersonal violence and mediation methodologies. 
Along with direct services, Ms. Doherty conducts trainings for family service providers, legal and mental health professionals, parents, edu-carers and school staff, child welfare agencies, NGO grantees and others on issues related to family conflict, denied access and missing children, parenting skill building, domestic violence and fatherhood related issues. She specializes in crafting experiential and engaging workshops on often difficult subjects.
She has served her community as a volunteer mediator, recreation commission chair, and member of parent-teacher and youth dance theatre boards. She and her husband have raised three lovely, wise-cracking daughters and therefore both appreciate and lament their now empty nest.

What’s Funny and Not So Funny About Being a Dad w/ Griff

Co-Host of Get Up Mornings with Erica Campbell
This husband and father of five has forged his career at the intersection of faith and humor. With an infectious energy and an unmistakable voice, GRIFF contributes laughter, sincerity, and a real world approach to living inspiration out loud.

Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters w/ Bweela Steptoe

Bweela Steptoe is a literacy advocate and workshop presenter. Her mission is to educate and share the legacy of her father, John Lewis Steptoe, the award-winning children’s books author and illustrator, with the world
About Bweela 
Steptoe Bweela Steptoe enjoys creating the fabric as well as the garments of her self-named label “Bweela Steptoe”. Her one-of-kind designs are her own interpretation of deconstruction called, “Couture Deconstruction”. You can spot a deconstructed look by its defining characteristics, which include raw edges, fraying, revealed linings, exposed zippers, and unusually sewn seams. Garments that appear unfinished, recycled, or give the illusion that they’re coming apart. Bweela uses her artistic background and family art influences as an inspiration for her fabric and clothing designs. 
In addition to Bweela Steptoe the Fashion Designer. Bweela Steptoe is the mother of twin daughters who are currently attending private colleges out of state. Bweela Steptoe became a contributing author for an anthology in 2016 with 19 other authors; Delay But Not Denied, 20 Inspirational Stories About Life And Resiliency, A Mother’s Love And Fight For Her Daughters; dealing with life and resiliency. In her chapter, she talks about the struggle and hardships she went through having two daughters that were faced with different learning styles that are viewed as learning disabilities. Bweela Steptoe is a literacy advocate and workshop presenter.

Moving from Black Boyz to Black Men w/ Chris Broussard

Chris is an internationally known sports analyst and commentator for the FOX Sports 1 television network and FOX Sports Radio. Today, he serves as the daily Co-Host of “First Things First” on FS1, and can also be seen regularly on FS1’s “Undisputed,’’ “The Herd,’’ and “Lock It In.” He also serves as co-host, along with Rob Parker, of one of the country's most popular daily national radio shows, "The Odd Couple." Before joining FOX Sports in the Fall of 2016, Chris worked for 12 years as an NBA analyst and reporter at ESPN, ESPN The Magazine, and ESPN.com. Chris wrote for The New York Times from 1998-2004 and graduated from Oberlin College.
He is the Founder and President of a National Christian Men's organization called The K.I.N.G. Movement. K.I.N.G. stands for Knowledge, Inspiration and Nurture through God, and seeks to help boys and men reach their God-given potential in every realm of life.
Happily married for more than 25 years, Chris has twin daughters and lives with his wife Dr. Crystal Broussard in New Jersey.