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MEDIA
My work – as a certified parent coach, a mental health activist, a community leader, a speaker, and a writer focused on helping parents realize the power they have to foster healthy family relationships – is featured in national, state, and local media.
"Are You Raising Kids in Captivity, then Expecting Them to Survive in the Wild?" (Let Grow)
Vanessa Elias shares lasting ripple effect of block parties in “The Rise, Fall, and Power of Block Parties, Explained.” (12/13/24 Strong Towns)
"A block(buster) idea" Be the Change: Costco members find ways to improve others’ lives – Vanessa featured in Costco Connection (December 2024)
As part of Dr. Vivek H. Murthy’s "Recipes for Connection" initiative, Block Party USA is a featured resource that supports building social connection through gathering. (November 2024, Office of the U.S. Surgeon General website)
Certified parent coach Vanessa Elias explains how parents can manage their fears and give kids boundaries and guidance to find joy and adventure in "This Halloween, Don’t Steal the Magic." (10/24/24 Let Grow)
Neighboring 101 online block party featuring guest speaker Vanessa Elias (9/19/24)
Vanessa’s Letter to the Editor “Come to the Volunteer Fair — It’s Good for Your Mental Health” (9/19/24 Good Morning Wilton)
At the heart of Wilton’s unplugged initiative is Vanessa Elias, as featured in “Back to School, Back to Connection: Spotlight on Wilton, Connecticut” (Unplug Collaborative blog)
Parenting coach and mental health activist Vanessa Elias has helped spearhead the push to ban cellphones in Wilton, Conn. schools (8/22/24 Good Morning Wilton)
Block Party USA Announces 2024 Back-to-School Challenge! Now…until September 30, 2024! (8/14/24)
Building Stronger Neighborhoods, One Block Party at a Time – Block Party USA brings neighbors together for the common good, through good old-fashioned fun. Here’s how you can, too. (7/10/24 The Epoch Times)
Vanessa Elias – How to Throw a Block Party and Why You Should, plus her free guide and regular Zooms to help you make a block party happen (6/15/24 The Plural of You podcast with Josh Morgan)
Block Party USA is featured as an organization creatively trying to balance giving kids individual freedom and a stable, tight-knit community. (6/6/24 The Boston Globe)
OK to Delay community event featuring middle schoolers, parents, and Vanessa Elias discussing delaying smartphones and social media. (6/3/24 Greenwich, CT Public Library)
“Rebuild Social Trust: Weaving A New, Inclusive Social Fabric" featuring Vanessa Elias at We Give Summit 2024 (5/8/24)
Thrive with a Guide sponsored Claudia Erickson, BSW MPH and Unplug Collaborative co-founder, to deliver keynote for 2024 Mental Health Action Month. (5/2/24 Wilton Library)
Lenore Skenazy, Jonathan Haidt, and Vanessa at The Anxious Generation art installation by artist Dave Cicirelli. (March 2024, New York City)
"Parents, Schools and Technology: Conquering Mean Behavior Together" hosted by Wilton Public Schools, Wilton Youth Council, Insight Counseling, Thrive With A Guide, & Newport Academy. (3/7/24 Wilton High School)
Weaving in 400 Seconds – Vanessa shares how she is weaving community in her area and beyond, and how she got to where she is today. (3/5/24 Weave: The Social Fabric Project at the Aspen Institute)
Speaker Vanessa Elias on "Raising Healthy, Capable, and Resilient Middle Schoolers" sponsored by the PTAs of Coleytown and Bedford Middle Schools (2/29/24 Bedford Middle School, Westport, CT)
Vanessa Elias facilitates roundtable discussion about mattering and our achievement culture, hosted by Weston Human Services. (1/29/24 and 2/5/24 Weston Library)
Are you the family's Chief Holiday Officer, and burned out? Vanessa offers tips to make December fun again on Midlife Mavericks podcast with Alison Jacobson. (11/26/23 Episode 114: Secrets to Managing Stress During the Holidays with Vanessa Elias)
Vanessa Elias is a co-facilitator of “Roundtable Discussion on Mattering,” leading a conversation on what mattering means to those in the room and how to view self-worth independent from achievement. (11/9/23 Comstock Community Center)
Vanessa on parenting teens through young adults, and self-compassion and finding joy, on Midlife Mavericks podcast with Alison Jacobson (11/5/23 Episode 111: Parenting Through a Mental Health Crisis with Vanessa Elias)
Senate Bill 1133, which increases childhood independence in CT, was signed into law. Vanessa Elias, co-founder of the Free Play Matters Task Force, has campaigned for this cause since its inception. (7/20/23 Good Morning Wilton)
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