About Parenting with Dignity
The Parenting With Dignity® program is a parent - education organization. Our existence is built around teaching the concepts presented in our video course, "Parenting with Dignity" - as outlined in this web-site.
A Message from the President and Founder
We have experienced a number of changes since our inception in 1996. Yet, the mission and the unshaken commitment to the children of America have not changed. My wife Barbara and I have spent much of our adult life sharing our vision of parenthood with countless groups of people across the United States.
As a direct result of the generosity and vision of our son Drew Bledsoe the Parenting With Dignity™ curriculum, is available to every parent. The dream we share is that The Parenting With Dignity® program serve as an invaluable resource to all people who desire a world in which respect for others, and especially children, is a way of life.
I hope that you will become part of making this dream a reality. Please consider becoming an agent for change. Order a set of videotapes, hold parenting classes in your community; and make a tax-deductible donation to our organization. Together we can change the world.
Who We Are
Parenting With Dignity®, a non-profit 501(c)(3) corporation, was established in 1996 as a parent education organization that disseminates information on all aspects of raising children capable of making responsible decisions. Our mission is to improve the lives of children by promoting and teaching effective parenting skills.
Mac Bledsoe, founder and chief spokesman for Parenting With Dignity, delivers talks to parenting organizations, youth groups, and in schools and churches across America. Mr. Bledsoe and the Parenting With Dignity curriculum have been featured on the TODAY Show, ABC's 20/20 television show, and on numerous national and local radio and television programs. Robyn Berndt of the Washington State Superior Court-Juvenile Court Division says,
"Mac (Bledsoe) has a way of connecting with people that makes them feel special and valued. He gives people, young and old alike, a sense of hope and confidence that they can improve their lives. His parenting curriculum is used in our schools, churches, detention centers, and even in private homes. It is one of the most valuable resources in my library here at Yakima County Juvenile Court. Our community owes a great deal of gratitude for the good work Mac has done and continues to do for our parents and young people."
The Parenting With Dignity curriculum presents very effective and common sense techniques for raising responsible, independent children. PWD advocates permitting children from a very early age to make some of their own decisions, and to experience the consequences early on, so that they can act responsibly when alone, and become more independent when they grow older. PWD teaches parents and caregivers to rethink their approach to discipline, punishment and empowerment. Fundamental to the Parenting With Dignity curriculum is a focus on developing parenting skills that help to address many of the child abuse causes perpetrated by inexperienced and unprepared parents.
Board of Directors
We are very proud of the people who donate their time, energy and money to further the mission of this organization. The Parenting With Dignity® programis pleased to introduce you to our Executive Management and Directors.
Barbara Bledsoe
Secretary/Acting Chairman
Barbara Bledsoe is foremost a mother (to Drew and Adam Bledsoe), wife to (Mac Bledsoe) and now grandmother to Drew's three sons. Additionally, she is a teacher of the parenting series. Parenting with Dignity, which her husband Mac Bledsoe created and produced with her collaboration based on real life experience with their own sons and her students. She is also the office manager for her son Drew Bledsoe.
Barbara received her B.A. in Education from Central Washington University in Ellensburg, WA. Following 11 years majoring in motherhood, she earned her fifth year degree from the same institution. Barbara's 21 year teaching career focused on Language Arts at the middle school level. While teaching mostly seventh graders, she participated in curriculum revision, was a mentor teacher and whole language specialist and presenting at teaching literacy conferences, and also was a Middle School Coordinator for Walla Walla School District leading the implementation of the shift from junior high to middle school. Additionally, she and Mac taught "Investments in Excellence", Lou Tice's Self Esteem Program, to district employees.
Currently, Barbara teaches Parenting with Dignity classes, tutors in the juvenile system, is a member of the PTSA VERIFY INITIALS and sits on a Community Accountability Board (CAB) for juvenile offenders. She volunteers with March of Dimes, American Heart Association and the Children's Miracle Network community fund raiser.
Barbara and Mac Bledsoe have been married since 1967 and have two sons. Drew, the founder of the Drew Bledsoe Foundation, is married to Maura and has three sons. Adam is a graduate of the University of Colorado.
Mark C. Griege, J.D., CPA, CFP ™
Treasurer
Mark Griege is a partner in the financial planning and investment group of Robertson, Griege & Thoele. Mark is licensed as an attorney, a Certified Public Accountant (CPA), and a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER ™ Practitioner. He graduated from Southern Methodist University with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree, and from The University of Texas School of Law with a Doctor of Jurisprudence degree.
Mr. Griege serves on the editorial advisory board of the Journal of Financial Planning. He has previously served on the national board of the Institute of Certified Financial Planners in Denver, Colorado, having been a past president of both the Dallas Chapter and Texas State
Association. He has also served as a member of the advisory board of Charles Schwab & Co. Mark also serves as a member of the board of directors of The Troy Aikman Foundation, an organization dedicated to meeting the needs of underprivileged youth.
CFP™ and CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ are certification marks owned by the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standard, Inc. These marks are awarded to individuals who successfully complete the CFP Board’s initial and ongoing certification requirements.
David Dunn
Board Member
Dave Dunn lives in Laguna Beach, California with his wife LeAnn and his 1-year old daughter Jennifer. He is President and CEO of AthletesFirst. The firm maintains a client list of athletes, including professional football, baseball, basketball, and hockey players. Their office is located in Newport Beach.
Dave started out his career in sports as the Head Manager of the UCLA football team while at UCLA. After graduating in 1983, Dave worked for the Los Angeles Olympic Committee for two years before heading to the Bay Area to attend law school at Hastings. He graduated with his J.D. in 1988.
Mac Bledsoe
President and Founder
Mac attended the University of Washington on a football scholarship and was captain of the Husky Football team while earning a degree in Speech and Psychology. In their junior year of college Mac married Barbara, his sweetheart since the eighth grade. That was the beginning of a 37-year marriage and a partnership as best friends and schoolteachers.
READ MAC'S FULL BIO