John Livingstone, M.D., Chair

Bonnie Bracy, Teacher
William Brennan, Writer/Producer
Joanne Cantor, Ph.D.
Karen Jaffe, Executive Dir.
David Kleeman, Executive Dir.
Margarita Pérez, Ed.D.
Ron Slaby, Ph.D.
S. Norman Sherry, MD.
Victor Strasburger, MD.
Michael Rothenberg , MD.

(for the purposes of scientific exchange, does not imply endorsement of commercial product)

American Medical Association:
John Nelson, M.D., Trustee; Roger Brown, Ph.D.

American Academy of Pediatrics
Michael Rich, M.D.

American Psychiatric Association
David Fassler, M.D., Trustee and Chair of the Council on Children, Adolescents, and their Families.

Institute of Mental Health Initiatives, George Washington University
Suzanne Stutman, Director, MSW, BCD

Dr. John Livingstone, M.D., Chair
Dr. Livingstone is the founder of outpatient psychiatric services for children and adolescents at McLean Hospital, and is Clinical Assistant Professor at Harvard Medical School. For the last 15 years Dr. Livingstone has focused on two specialized areas: a clinical focus regarding parenting and child development, and a public health focus regarding parent education and the positive and negative impact of media on families. He founded and edited the award winning quarterly “Dialogue,” published for the creative community by the Institute for Mental Health Initiatives. Dr. Livingstone has been a consultant to the Caucus for Producers, Writers and Directors; the TV Ratings Implementation Group; Hanna Barbara Productions; PBS, ABC, MTV and TBS. In 1998 he led the formation of a national health coalition (AMA, AAP, APA, AACAP, et. al.) to lobby congress for a rating system based on child health principles and science. Dr. Livingstone’s writings on the subject of children and media include: “The Violence Framework: Understanding, Reporting, and Portraying Violence;” “The Process and Perils of Rating Television;” and “Television Rating Systems: Time for Methodology in Madness.” Top

Bonnie Bracey
Ms. Bracey is a teacher-agent of change, working on technology integration projects with classroom teachers. She holds leadership roles with numerous technology initiatives including the White House Technology Initiative, the President's National Information Infrastructure Advisory Council, and the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education Task Force. A former Fulbright Exchange Teacher in India and elementary school teacher in Virginia, Bonnie was selected as a Christa McAuliffe Educator by the National Education Association. She was co-founder of the Online Internet Institute and is on the NASA review board for youth projects. She serves on numerous advisory boards, including Technos, The National Urban League, E-School News, and On the Horizon. She is currently working with the European Children's Television Centre in Athens on their World Summit for Children project--part of a global information infrastructure initiative outreach involving the use of the Superinformation Highway in children's media. Top

William Brennan
Mr. Brennan has been writing, producing and directing television and interactive media for twenty-six yeas. Starting at NBC as an Associate Producer, William went on to WCVB-TV, ABC in Boston, where he wrote, produced and directed original programming for national syndication. He was an Executive Producer, first at WCVB and then WGBH-TV, Boston, where he was responsible for a wide variety of national programming, including science, children’s and drama. William established Brennan Associates in 1989, an information and educational media consulting company. William is a member of the Writer's Guild and Director's Guild of America. His television programs have been honored with numerous awards including the Emmy, Gabriel, Ohio State, UPI, IFPA, ACT, Gavel, IRIS, NEA, and New York International Film and Television Festival Gold Medal. His interactive programs have received awards from Invision, Summit, International Cindy, EMMA, MIMC, and The New York Festivals.  Top

Joanne Cantor, Ph.D.
Dr. Cantor is a professor of Communication Arts at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and an internationally recognized expert on children and the mass media. Her research has focused on children's emotional reactions to scenes involving violence and other disturbing images. Dr. Cantor has published more than 70 scholarly articles and chapters. She was a senior researcher for the National Television Violence Study. Her new book, “Mommy, I’m Scared”: How TV and Movies Frighten Children and What We Can Do To Protect Them, summarizes this research and its implications for a general audience. Top

Karen Jaffe, Executive Director of KIDSNET, Inc.
Ms. Jaffe created KIDSNET, a computerized clearinghouse for children’s television, radio and related technology, in 1985 after an extensive career in broadcasting and education. A former Communications Specialist for the NEA, Ms. Jaffe wrote a syndicated column on children’s television for Los Angeles Times Syndicate over a period of three years. In 1992, she was appointed to the National Council for the Endowment for Children’s Educational Television.  Top

David Kleeman, Executive Director of the American Center for Children and Media
ACCM promotes the exchange of ideas, expertise, and information as a means for building quality in children's television and interactive media. The Center looks worldwide for models of excellence. David is principal consultant to the international children's TV festival (PRIX JEUNESSE), and has been deeply involved in three World Summits on Children and Media. Kleeman is in demand as an author, speaker, strategist and analyst on children’s media. He has served as advisor or consultant to Fox Family, Microsoft, the MIT Media Lab, UNICEF and many other companies and organizations. Top

Margarita Pérez, Ed.D.
Dr. Pérez is Assistant Professor of Early Childhood Education at Worcester State College. Dr. Pérez teaches the introductory course “Early Childhood Education Today” and supervises student teachers. She has two special interests: the translation of child development research into appropriate teaching practices; and how informal learning settings afford opportunities for young children and their families to learn in non-school situations. He first interest was realized as she worked to develop childcare provider standards at the Child Development Associate project in Washington, DC. Her second interest was developed as she served as the Curriculum Development and Early Childhood Education Specialist for the research division of Sesame Street at the Children’s Television Workshop (now the Sesame Workshop). More recently she has continued to develop this interest in informal learning settings as she has served as principal evaluator of Boston Children’s Museum and Action for Boston Community Development Head Start collaboration. Top

Ronald Slaby, Ph.D.
Dr. Slaby is a lecturer on education and pediatrics at Harvard University and senior scientist at the center for Violence Prevention and Control at the Education Development Center. He has presented testimony to the U.S. House of Representatives on television violence effects and remedies. He has authored many books, including Early Violence Prevention: Tools for Teachers of Young Children, and Aggressors, Victims, and Bystanders: Thinking of Action to Prevent Violence. He also serves as an advisor to several award-winning children's television programs, including Shining Time Station, Long Ago & Far Away, Ghostwriter, and CNN Newsroom. Top

S. Norman Sherry, M.D.
Dr. Sherry is a retired pediatrician and Clinical Assistant Professor in Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Sherry has extensive experience teaching child development, and training in child psychiatry. He has worked extensively with the American Academy of Pediatrics governing and policy committees, and helped create guidelines for rating video games for the Recreational Software Advisory Council (RSAC). Dr. Sherry has been a consultant to public television and broadcast networks. Top

Victor Strasburger, M.D.
Dr. Strasburger is currently Chief of the Division of Adolescent Medicine, Professor of Pediatrics, and Professor of Family & Community Medicine at the University of New Mexico School of Medicine in Albuquerque. Dr. Strasburger is the author of more than 120 articles, papers, and books on the subject of adolescent medicine and the effects of television on children and adolescents, including Adolescents and the Media, and the forthcoming Children, Adolescents and the Media (with Barbara Wilson, Ph.D.). He has served as a consultant to the American Medical Association and the National PTA on the subject of children and television. Top

Michael Rothenberg, M.D. (in memoriam)
TVMentor is dedicated to the memory of Dr. Rothenberg, who passed away Jan 15, 2000. A pediatrician and child psychologist with 20 years of clinical and academic experience in developmental issues, Dr. Rothenberg was TVMentor’s earliest champion and first advisor. He was the author of the groundbreaking article in the Journal of the American Medial Association, “Effect of Television Violence on Children and Youth,” and the co-author, with Dr. Benjamin Spock, of the 1985 and 1992 editions of Dr. Spock’s Baby and Child Care. Top