Meet The Mentors
 

Claire Marie Beery      
I have been working with parents and children in many capacities and settings since the birth of my first daughter over 30 years ago. During these years, my natural strengths as a teacher and counselor have blended with my curiosity about my experience as a parent into a professional life in the fields of childbirth, child development and psychology. I have taught natural childbirth classes and attended births as a doula; consulted privately and facilitated support groups and workshops for parents; worked with adults and children to heal from traumatic birth experiences; provided early childhood mental health consultation to child care centers; lead numerous trainings for professionals; and worked in hospitals, non-profit organizations, local and state programs and in private practice.

The thread in all my work is my desire to support parents in discovering their priorities and strengths, expanding their awareness of themselves and their children, learning new approaches to birthing and parenting, and developing a strong parent/child attachment.

Although I have a list of degrees and certifications, my three daughters have been my greatest teachers.

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Pam Leo                                 
I have been working with families for nearly 30 years. I work with expectant parents, teen parents, refugee parents, foster parents and adoptive parents. In addition to my classes for the public, I teach inmate parents at The Maine Correctional Center and mothers in recovery programs. I am a certified childbirth educator and a labor support doula. I teach a prenatal parenting class “Bonding with Your Baby: Preparing for parenting in the first year.” Since 1989 I have been teaching my seven session Connection Parenting series, “Meeting the Needs of Children” which promotes parenting through connection rather than coercion and parenting practices that nurture the strong, healthy parent-child bond vital to effective parenting and optimal child development.  

For the last ten years I have written a bimonthly parenting column for the Parent & Family Paper in Maine. My articles and workshops are based on over thirty years of research as an independent scholar in human development and more than 50,000 hours spent with and observing children. For 22 years I was a family child care provider and I have been a parent educator, childcare provider trainer, and family consultant 16 years. 

I am a founding board member of the Alliance for Transforming the Lives of Children. I also serve on the board of Birth Roots, a non-profit organization dedicated to providing financial support to mothers who want to choose alternative birthing options.  

I have two grown daughters and three grandchildren ages 8, 6, and 22 months. My passion is learning all I can about optimal human development and my mission is to share that information with as many people as I can.

For more information, please visit my website at connectionparenting.com.