At a Glance
Ohio State University professor joins advisory board
Organization schedules communication workshops for April
National Week of Conversation participation confirmed
Proposal submitted for USPS commemorative stamp honoring parenting education
Parents Forum has officially appointed Professor Sarah Schoppe-Sullivan to its advisory board, marking a significant expansion of the organization's academic expertise and credibility. Schoppe-Sullivan, a professor of psychology at The Ohio State University, joins the Cambridge-based grass-roots initiative as it prepares for a series of national education events this spring. The appointment coincides with the organization's efforts to scale its communication-based curriculum to a broader audience across the United States, building on decades of community-level work in the Greater Boston area, across the US and abroad.
Academic Integration and Strategic Advisory
The addition of Professor Schoppe-Sullivan brings a research-focused perspective to the Parents Forum leadership team at a time when the organization is actively expanding its national profile. As a scholar specializing in family relationships, her expertise aligns closely with the organization's core mission to improve communication within family units and across the broader social structure. This appointment signals a deliberate effort to ground practical parenting strategies in established psychological research and peer-reviewed academic frameworks, lending additional credibility to the curriculum Parents Forum has developed over many years.
The organization, based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, has long prioritized practical strategies for managing difficult interpersonal messages — particularly those that are emotionally charged or unwelcome. By integrating high-level academic expertise into its leadership structure, the group aims to further refine its signature approach to emotional awareness and honest communication. The Parents Forum advisory board plays an important role in shaping these educational methodologies before they are delivered to the public through online workshops and community programs.
The timing of this appointment is strategic, as the group prepares for increased public visibility during national awareness weeks this spring. Schoppe-Sullivan's background in psychology provides a strong foundation for the "Listen First" initiatives scheduled for the upcoming season. Her involvement also highlights a growing trend among non-profit organizations of seeking formal academic validation for community-based educational programs, ensuring that the strategies they promote are supported by evidence rather than anecdote alone.
"As a scholar of family relationships, I am excited to join the Parents Forum advisory board and support their efforts to foster caring, honest and respectful communication in families and society."
— Sarah Schoppe-Sullivan, Ph.D., Professor, The Ohio State University
Workshop Programming and Public Engagement
In conjunction with the Listen First National Week of Conversation, Parents Forum has scheduled a series of online workshops focused on practical communication skills. These sessions, titled "How To Tell Somebody Something They'd Rather Not Hear," are designed as focused thirty-minute online modules that give participants direct, actionable techniques for delivering difficult messages with care and clarity. The programming is scheduled for April 7, April 9, and April 10, 2026, with time slots available to accommodate participants in different time zones throughout the United States.
The workshop title itself reflects the central challenge that Parents Forum has spent years addressing: how individuals — whether parents, caregivers, colleagues, or friends — can communicate honestly without causing unnecessary harm or triggering defensiveness. The thirty-minute format is intentional, designed to be accessible to busy participants while still allowing time for meaningful interaction and guided practice. This balance between brevity and depth has been a hallmark of the organization's approach since its early days as a community workshop provider in the Cambridge area.
Online workshops for teenagers and senior citizens
While the primary focus remains on parents and caregivers, the organization has opened these sessions to a wide demographic, including teenagers and senior citizens. This inclusive approach reflects the organization's long-held stance that emotional awareness and communication skills are universal requirements, relevant at every stage of life. These free online workshops serve as a key delivery vehicle for the Parents Forum curriculum, allowing participants to engage with core concepts in real time and ask questions in a structured, supportive environment.
The workshops are part of a larger effort to provide accessible education without financial barriers. By utilizing digital platforms, the organization can reach a national audience during the spring awareness campaign in a way that would have been impossible through its original in-person model. Participants are required to register via email, a process that allows the organization to manage session sizes and maintain the quality of the interactive components throughout each session.
National Advocacy and Postal Recognition
Beyond its educational workshops, Parents Forum is currently pursuing a formal proposal to the United States Postal Service to create a commemorative stamp honoring the field of parenting education. Submitted with support from the National Parenting Education Network, the proposal makes the case that parenting education deserves national recognition as a discipline that has meaningfully contributed to the wellbeing of children, families, and society for over a century. If approved, the stamp would represent one of the most visible public acknowledgements the field has ever received.
The proposal highlights the historical significance of parenting education and its role in supporting healthy child development and strong family structures across generations. By advocating for a commemorative stamp, the organization aims to raise public awareness of the resources and professional expertise available to families, many of whom may not know that structured parenting education programs exist in their communities. This advocacy work represents a broader shift within Parents Forum toward higher-level recognition efforts that complement its grassroots educational programming.
Supporters across the country have been encouraged to submit letters to the USPS to bolster the initiative's chances of success, turning what began as an organizational proposal into a wider community campaign. This symbolic advocacy effort is led by Eve Sullivan, who continues to oversee the organization's outreach and program direction with a focus on ensuring the stamp campaign reflects the full scope and history of the parenting education movement. If approved, the stamp's creation will mark a significant and lasting milestone for practitioners and families who have long championed this field.
Regional Impact and Community History
Parents Forum has maintained a long-standing presence in Cambridge and surrounding communities, where it built its reputation over many years through face-to-face workshops and direct community engagement. Previous initiatives have included local workshops on communication tied to significant cultural moments such as Martin Luther King Jr. Day, reflecting the organization's belief that honest, compassionate communication is inseparable from broader social values. This deep-rooted local history provides the foundation for everything the organization is now building on a national scale.
The organization's evolution from local community workshops to national advisory boards and federal advocacy proposals reflects a significant broadening of its reach and influence. By maintaining its base in Massachusetts while recruiting advisors from major research institutions like Ohio State University, the group bridges the gap between local service and national impact in a way that preserves the authenticity of its original mission. This growth is reflected in the expanding range of partners and communities its work now touches, spanning healthcare providers, educational institutions, and international organizations.
The organization remains focused on its core mission of improving how people frame and present difficult messages in a way that preserves relationships and builds trust. The continued leadership of Eve Sullivan ensures consistency in the program's approach as it adopts new technologies and reaches new audiences through online workshop delivery. As the April sessions approach, Parents Forum is well positioned to bring its curriculum to a significantly larger participant base than in any previous year, with Professor Schoppe-Sullivan's involvement adding both academic authority and renewed momentum to the work ahead.