Board Of Directors
Jennifer Doebler (Chair) had her life change more than a decade ago with the birth of her first child and a friend’s gift of Your Self-Confident Baby. Inspired by Magda Gerber’s wisdom and compassion, she attended Johanna Herwitz’s Parent-Infant Guidance™ classes in NYC with her two daughters. Seeing the Educaring® Approach in action spurred her to want to learn everything she could about how to meet infants during this foundational time of life. After a career in the corporate world and as anentrepreneur, she is now thrilled to follow her passion for supporting infants, parents and caregivers in their journeys. In addition to being a RIE® Associate, she has completed Introductory and Advanced-Level Pikler Training with Anna Tardos & Agnes Szanto. Jennifer facilitates parent and child classes in San Francisco’s East Bay and consults with parents and professionals. Inspired by the Educaring® Approach, she seeks to ennoble the work of caring for babies and elevate the quality of care they receive. www.forbabyandme.com / jennifer@forbabyandme.com
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Gail Nadal (President) has worked with young children for over 25 years and has a passion for 0-3 year olds. She works for the Yolo County Office of Education as the Director of Early Childhood Education, which serves children of poverty through the county’s Head Start and Early Head Start programs as well as State preschool, and has incorporated the Educaring Approach in all the sites. Gail serves as the Coordinator for the Local Planning Council and is a part-time instructor for the Center for Excellence in Child Development at UC Davis Extension; mentoring and coaching Family Child Care Providers serving children 0-3 years. She is part of the grassroots effort in the Sacramento area to offer RIE® Foundations™ training and workshops to the community. Gail holds a Master’s in Educational Leadership in Child Development from CSU Sacramento.
Debbie Bergstrom is a Child Youth Program Administrator, WestEd PITC Graduate, PITC Infant/Toddler Specialist and ECE Consultant. For 30 years she has worked in full day care programs, and in supporting and training Family Child Care Providers. Debbie studied at the Pikler Institute in 2008. She is currently a global childcare center consultant based in Oak Harbor, Washington.
Melissa Boozell (Secretary) is a former business litigation and labor law attorney, who now focuses her time and efforts on raising her two young boys and volunteering for organizations that help support children and families. Prior to joining the RIE® Board of Directors, she was a member of the City of San Marino’s Recreation Commission and the Board of Directors of St. Edmund’s Nursery School, where she assisted with the school’s fundraising and marketing efforts. Melissa was first introduced to RIE® as a parent in Ruth Anne Hammond’s Parent-Infant Guidance™ class. She was quickly drawn to the Educaring® Approach and became eager to deepen her connection with RIE®. As a member of the Board, Melissa is committed to helping RIE® expand its reach and to making the Educaring® Approach a reality for as many children, parents, and caregivers as possible, regardless of potential socioeconomic barriers. Melissa has a B.A. in History and Sociology from Yale University and a J.D. from
Harvard Law School. Along with her husband and two sons, she enjoys playing and watching
sports, traveling, and exploring the great outdoors.
Angela R. Fisher, Ph.D. (South Orange/Maplewood, NJ), holds a Ph.D. in Infant-Toddler Developmental Psychology. She is an NJ-Infant Mental Health Mentor- IV [Policy], a Certified Infant Massage Educator, Childbirth Doula, and serves as an adjunct faculty member in the Early Childhood Graduate Department at City University in New York. She consults with parents, caregivers, and educators on developmentally appropriate and respectful practices with infants and toddlers nationally and internationally. She facilitates RIE® Certified Parent-Infant Guidance™ classes in the New York/New Jersey area. Angela’s scholarly research and parent-infant observation tool are uniquely influenced by Magda Gerber’s work. She is dedicated to supporting parent-infant relationships across cultures based on Magda Gerber’s Educaring® Approach. ababydr@gmail.com
Jim Franke is a retired entrepreneur and businessman who now spends his time raising his two boys and helping both private and not-for-profit organizations set, pursue and meet their goals. From an early age, Jim has been interested in early childhood development and education; and he has pursued this interest both professionally and personally by serving on the Boards of Directors of several non-profits as well as earlier in his career being a member of the non-profit practice at McKinsey & Co. Jim has a BA in Economics and Political Science from Duke University and an MBA from Stanford. Today, Jim is focused on helping RIE® expand to impact as many children, families, and childcare professionals as possible. He is also dedicated, together with his partner Steve Bialecki, to raising their two young boys with respect and understanding.
Christine Ho has over 15 years’ experience leading diverse teams in product development, commercial launch, and business operations. She leads global teams in resolving complex issues and engages with clients and customers to ensure their needs are met. As a new mom, Christine participated in RIE’s parent-infant classes and learned the value of listening and respecting the child’s individuality. These lessons have influenced her both personally and professionally. Christine holds a BA from UC Davis and a MBA from USC.
Raija Horstman is a mother of four and also an attorney focused on complex commercial litigation, including false advertising, trade secrets, copyright and trademark infringement at Crowell & Moring LLP. She was introduced to RIE® by Melanie Snell and has seen the benefits of the Educaring® approach after taking Parent-Infant GuidanceTM classes with her. She is committed to helping RIE® accomplish its mission of making the Educaring® approach accessible to as many babies and families as possible. Raija has a B.A. in German and a M.A. in German Literature from Texas Tech University and J.D. from the University of Texas School of Law. Raija is dedicated to raising her two daughters and two sons with respect and is enjoying watching them explore and grow into their own individual personalities.
Michelle Mapp, MBA, RIE CEO. As a communications, management and non-profit consultant for the last two decades, Michelle Mapp brings a mix of organizational development, strategic communications and education sector experience to RIE. Michelle holds a Masters in Business Administration from the Warwick Business School in the United Kingdom, and a bachelors of arts in Political Communications from George Washington University in Washington DC. She also has two project management certifications including the PMP (Project Management Professional) from PMI (Project Management Institute) and the PMD Pro for project management for international development professionals. Michelle worked with RIE as the Board Program Manager for a year before being slated to step in as Interim CEO in February 2020. She was named CEO in April 2021. Prior to joining RIE, Michelle had her own nonprofit consulting business helping numerous organizations to reach for their missions and objectives.
Michelle, her husband and two sons moved to the Los Angeles area in 2015 and enjoy the warm winters.
Melanie Snell (San Fernando Valley, California) Melanie Snell is a mother of four children. She and was lucky enough to find RIE® when her oldest was four months old. She and her husband have been practicing the RIE® philosophy in their home ever since. Melanie became a RIE® Associate in 2014 after slowly making her way through the professional development program, pausing her studies occasionally to have babies. Melanie teaches RIE® Parent/Infant classes on Saturdays at the Los Angeles RIE® center. She also teaches RIE® Nurturing Nanny™️ courses and Before Baby™️ classes, as well as private consulting. During the week she is the Tot Center Coordinator at Kirk O’ the Valley school. Where she works with children 18 months to 3 years old.www.raisingwithrespect.com melsnell@sbcglobal.net