About the Authors
Angela Berkfield
Angela Berkfield was a social justice educator and activist and parent of two boys advantaged because of race, class, gender, and ability. In her words, “I have a tall task in raising kids who have privilege to move through the world honoring principles of equity and justice. I’ve aimed to center social justice in my parenting from day one. The more caregivers I can partner with on this journey, the better!” Angela taught in a variety of settings over the course of two decades and co-founded The Root Social Justice Center, ACT for Social Justice, and Equity Solutions. She earned an MA in social justice from the School for International Training, and she believed that a world where everyone can thrive is possible, and coming.
Zara Raven
zara raven is an Afro-Caribbean descended, mixed-race queer mama parenting using a consent-based, non-hierarchical approach. From 2015 to 2018, zara was the director of DC-based grassroots organization Collective Action for Safe Spaces (CASS), working to create community-based strategies to interrupt patriarchal violence and state violence in public spaces. zara sees the family as an important site of resistance against oppression and seeks to uplift alternatives to the nuclear family structure to promote collective responsibility for the safety and well-being of whole communities.
Chrissy Colón Bradt
Chrissy Colón Bradt is an educator and mom to two children under the age of six. As an Afro-Latina in an interracial marriage, Chrissy is keenly aware of her family’s intersecting identities and privilege. She strives to support her children in developing a positive racial and ethnic identity, and in taking joy in this one precious life. Chrissy serves as an educator and director of equity and inclusion at an independent school and is on the board of The Courage of Care Coalition and The Root Social Justice Center. She holds a BA in comparative ethnic studies from Barnard College and an M.Ed. in special education from Hunter College.
rev. dr. Frank nelson
Rev. Dr. Frank Nelson, Angela's Dad, is from the Midwest. Rosemary and Frank married in 1974 and together raised three wonderful children: Angela, Paul, and Joel. They have nine wonderful grandchildren. Rev. Frank pastored churches from 1974 to 2008. He retired early to focus on his writing ministry, as well as officiating weddings and preparing engaged couples for marriage (www.OnlineMarriagePreparation.com). As an outgrowth of his writing, he launched a publishing company (www.TalkPoints.com) to promote good communication. Frank and the rest of his family have always enjoyed the outdoors. He loves camping, hiking, fishing, and creating things out of wood. He's a fan of Netflix, too!
Kristen Elde (Editorial & PR Manager)
Kristen Elde is a queer, upper-middle-class white woman with a disability who lives in western Massachusetts with her husband and nine-year-old. She's an editor/writer who joined the Parenting 4 Social Justice team in 2018 as a social media contributor after meeting and being inspired by P4SJ founder Angela at a workshop she facilitated. These days she loves working with a local group focused on race equity in K-12 education, getting lost in music and books, and talking real + goofing around with her family.
Jaimie Lynn Kessell
Jaimie has spent her entire life dealing with the consequences of being born into generational poverty—hunger, prejudices, and a lack of access to connections and capital that would facilitate an upwards movement of social class. One of Jaimie’s life goals is to raise her four children—ages 16, 14, 6, and 7 months—with the knowledge necessary not only to propel themselves out of poverty but to help create a world in which all people have access to what they need, not just to survive, but to thrive.
Rowan Parker
Rowan Parker has worked in early childhood education and early childhood development for over a decade. He is white and transgender; he is neurodivergent and has a chronic pain condition. Rowan currently works in Early Intervention as a developmental specialist, assessing young children for therapeutic needs, but his favorite part of the job is helping parents learn to understand and work with their children. He continues his work with children as a foster parent with his partner. Rowan has a master's in education from Western Governors University.
Abigail Healey
Abigail Healey is white, cisgender, and middle-class raised. She is the mother of two children, one of whom is limb-different and hard of hearing, and both of whom are creative, wild, and kind. She currently works with elders, providing activities and gardening at a residential care facility. She is constantly seeking ways to engage her children in critical thinking, big questions, justice, and change-making. She started her social justice work decades ago with cardboard puppet theater and loves the way that bringing creativity into activism makes it feel like a new world is possible. She lives with her family in southern Vermont.
Brittney Washington
Brittney Nicole Washington is a Southern Queer Black Artist + Mama + Art Therapist + Doula + Strategist + Troublemaker. Brittney's multidisciplinary approach to her craft applies an understanding that 1) our most important responsibility is dismantling the power arrangements that maintain structural oppression and poverty; 2) everyone has different points of entry into politicization and social justice movements; and 3) art is a portal toward healing, imagination, and movement for that purpose.
As an artist, Brittney uses painting, illustration, and filmmaking to uplift BIPOC experiences and perspectives in media. Her work decolonizes ideas of normality and invites radical empathy across difference. As a racial justice strategist and cultural organizer, Brittney facilitates nationwide to illuminate the historical events that shape our current experiences of racialized poverty, trauma, and disconnection. She curates arts-based spaces where folks can be brave, vulnerable, and imaginative about how to bend our world toward justice together. She also serves as a visual arts producer for various movement groups in the DC area.
jackie macneish (Education Outreach & Curriculum Development)
Jackie MacNeish is a white, middle-class, neurodivergent woman living in western Massachusetts with her white husband, white 9-year-old, and white neurodivergent 12-year-old. She has been in the educational field for decades, teaching experiential, outdoor, environmental, classroom, special, and expeditionary education. She recently led her first, inspiring Parenting 4 Social Justice book group with other parents from her children's school and is planning to co-lead at least three groups in the 2022-23 school year. Jackie hopes you'll join her and start a P4SJ book group in your area!