Visit The Experts

Susanne M. Alexander

Claudia Arp and David Arp

Claudia Arp and David Arp, a husband-wife team, are Marriage Educators, and Founders of Marriage Alive International (www.marriagealive.com). They are conference speakers and frequent contributors to national print and broadcast media. The Arps are authors of over 30 books, including the popular 10 Great Dates series and the Gold Medallion Award-winning book, The Second Half of Marriage. The Arp’s have a newly released DVD curriculum, 10 Great Dates Before You Say I Do, which was co-produced with PREPARE/ENRICH. Dave and Claudia have been married for over 45 years. They have three sons and eight grandchildren and live in Northern Virginia.

Sue Atkins

Sue Atkins is a Parent and Relationship Coach based in Lingfield, Surry, England. She is the author of Raising Happy Children for Dummies, and she is the Judge for National Family Week “Family of the Year.” Sue also appears regularly on BBC Breakfast TV and The Jeremy Vine Show on BBC Radio 2, which has over 6,000,000 daily listeners. To receive her free newsletter bursting with practical tips and helpful advice, go to www.positive-parents.com or buy her Parental Journey audio CD and ideas book at www.positive-parentsclub.com/The_parental_journey_audio_CD_and_ideas_book.htm.

Julie M. Baumgardner

Julie M. Baumgardner, M.S., C.F.L.E., is the President and Executive Director of First Things First, an award-winning, grassroots initiative based in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The organization is dedicated to strengthening marriages and families through education, collaboration, and mobilization. Julie has conducted hundreds of workshops and frequently speaks nationally on family, parenting, and marriage issues. She also teaches community leaders how to build grassroots initiatives. Julie’s weekly column on family issues in the Chattanooga Times-Free Press reaches thousands. Julie serves on the boards of a number of community and national organizations, such as The Marriage CoMission, The Coalition for Marriage, Couples and Families, Laugh Your Way to a Better Marriage, and The National Healthy Marriage Resource Center. She and her husband Jay have been married for more than twenty years and have one daughter. Julie can be reached at www.firstthings.org, julieb@firstthings.org, or 423-267-5383.

Michael J. Beck

Michael J. Beck, Ph.D., received his post-doctoral training at the Center for Modern Psychoanalytic Studies in New York, where he published a number of his most important articles. He went on to found the Institute for Psychotherapeutic Studies, where he taught, wrote, and supervised mental health professionals for a number of years. He is published in the area of child and family dynamics in the Long Island Clinician and Family Therapy and Psychoanalytic Review. He edited the book The Narcissistic Family Member. He is co-author with his wife and daughter of 365 Questions for Couples. Dr. Beck has led workshops on Family and Marital Therapy and Modern Treatment of Depression and Anxiety for Western Suffolk Personnel & Guidance Association, Suffolk County Psychological Association, and the American Association of Sex Educators, Counselors & Therapists (AASECT). He is a Fellow in Family Therapy of AASECT, and he has been cited as a “Supervisor of Excellence” by the California Psychological Association. Michael Beck has been married since 1967. He and Stanis Beck live in New York and have two adult daughters. Dr. Beck can be reached at mjbeck3391@att.blackberry.net.

Stanis Marusak Beck

Stanis Marusak Beck, M.S.W., A.C.S.W.-R, M.A., a Clinical Social Worker since 1973, has received post-graduate training through Manhattan Center for Advanced Psychoanalytic Studies in New York City. She co-founded the Long Island Institute for Psychotherapeutic Studies and is experienced in a number of mental health settings, where she has functioned as both advocate and supervisor. She has supervised graduate social work students in the field placement services for Adelphi, Fordham, and Yeshiva Graduate Schools of Social Work and for graduate counseling students from C. W. Post. She has been approved as a Feminist Therapist by the South Shore Chapter of N.O.W. and has published in the field of psychotherapy. She is a Diplomate with ACSW, Diplomate with NASW, and was a Board-certified Diplomate with the American Board of Examiners in Clinical Social Work. She completed a post-graduate M.A. program at Columbia University (Graduate Studies in Conflict Resolution and Organizational Psychology) and is a New York State Mediator through International Center for Cooperation and Conflict Resolution. She is currently on the faculty of the Long Island Center for Modern Psychoanalysis. Stanis co-authored 365 Questions for Couples with Dr. Michael Beck and Seanna Beck. She and Michael Beck have been married since 1967. They live in New York and have two adult daughters. She can be reached at 631-587-1924.

Anne Bercht

Anne Bercht is the author of My Husband’s Affair Became the Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me, host of the website: www.beyondaffairs.com, and Director of the Beyond Affairs Network (BAN) International. She is also a professional speaker and relationship coach. Together with her husband, Brian Bercht, she has created and delivers a series of marriage education seminars. She is most known for the Healing From Affairs Intensive weekend designed especially for couples in marital affair recovery. Anne and Brian reside in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. They have three grown children and two grandchildren.

Linda Bloom and Charlie Bloom

Linda Bloom, L.C.S.W., and Charlie Bloom, M.S.W., are Psychotherapists and Marriage Counselors who teach communication seminars and relationship workshops throughout the world. They are co-authors of the best-selling book, 101 Things I Wish I Knew When I Got Married, Simple Lessons to Make Love Last,  and Secrets of Great Marriages: Real Truths from Real Couples About Lasting Love, published in 2010. They offer educational and counseling services to individuals, couples, and organizations. Their website is www.bloomwork.com, and they can be reached at 831-421-9822 or by email at lcbloom@bloomwork.com. They live and practice in Santa Cruz, California.

Yolanda Brown

If you ask Yolanda “Yanni” Brown, “What’s love got to do with it?” she answers without hesitation, “Everything.” As CEO and Founder of Kiss & Make Up with Intimate Evenings, this forty-two-year-old Certified Relationship Educator and romance aficionado has made the celebration of LOVE her business. Yanni helps women, as well as committed, engaged, and married couples as they navigate through the challenges that accompany love, life, and the pursuit of happiness. Yanni is currently working on her own book, and she can be reached at: yanni@intimateevenings.com; www.intimateevenings.com; P. O. Box 118211, Chicago, IL, USA, 60611, 312-719-6632.

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Robert Buchicchio

Robert Buchicchio, L.I.C.S.W., D.C.S.W., has a B.A. in Psychology from the University of Rhode Island and an M.S.W. in Clinical Social Work from Ohio State University. He holds a diplomate from the National Association of Social Workers. He is a licensed Clinical Social Worker in Vermont, where he has had a private mental health practice for the past thirty years, working with individuals and families and specializing in couples work. Bob is the author of Taking Space, How To Use Separation To Explore The Future Of Your Relationship and For Those Wanting Changes in Their Relationship, a home-study course for couples, which is a ten-step problem-solving guide for struggling relationships, managing separations, and recovery and rebuilding after an affair. Information is at www.takingspace.com. Bob has conducted couples workshops throughout his professional career and has taught at Vermont College and Norwich University. As a professional associate with the American Humane Association (children’s division) and Action for Child Protection, Inc., he has trained social workers nationally and internationally on building therapeutic relationships in the casework process for child maltreatment situations. He served as the Chief Social Worker (Captain) in the U.S. Army Hospital in Seoul, South Korea, where he worked with individuals and families stationed overseas. Bob has been married to Harriet for 40 years. They have two grown children.

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John Buri

John Buri, Ph.D., is a professor of Psychology at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota. He and the love of his life, Kathy, also his high school sweetheart, have been married for thirty-eight years and have six children and six grandchildren. Dr. Buri has taught a university course on the Psychology of Marriage and the Family for the past twenty-five years. He is the author of the marriage book How To Love Your Wife, as well as over fifty research articles and book chapters. He is a frequent speaker on topics of dating, marriage preparation, marriage enrichment, parenting, and family life. Dr. Buri can be reached at jrburi@stthomas.edu.

David M. Carder

David M. Carder is a Marriage and Family Therapist with a specialty in adultery prevention and recovery. His website is www.TornAsunder.org. Dave has applied his specialty for the Tony Robbins Passion Project, Discovery Health Channel, Marriage Uncensored, Focus on the Family, The Psych Journal, Family Life Today, Smart Marriages® and Happy Families Conference, 100 Huntley Street, Departments of the Army and Navy, the Salvation Army Leadership Training Conference, and The American Association of Christian Counselors. His articles and observations have appeared in The Ladies Home Journal, USA Today, and The Counseling Connection. His book credits include Close Calls: What Adulterers Want You to Know About Protecting Your Marriage, Torn Asunder: Helping Couples Recover from Infidelity, and Torn Asunder Workbook. Dave currently serves as Pastor for Marriage and Lay Counseling Ministries at the First Evangelical Free Church of Fullerton, California. He also gives pastoral oversight to Caregivers of the Mentally Ill and Family to Family, the National Alliance on Mental Illness family training program. Dave also serves on the boards of The Center for Individual and Family Therapy and Marble Retreat Center, Marble, Colorado. Dave has been married to Ronnie, his jogging partner, for over 40 years, and they have four grown children, three of whom are married. They love to travel the globe when they are not playing with their five grandchildren.

Gary Chapman

Gary Chapman, Ph.D., is the author of the best-selling Five Love Languages Series, including The Five Love Languages for Singles, as well as many other relationship books. He is the director of Marriage and Family Life Consultants, Inc. in North Carolina. Dr. Chapman is a Senior Associate Pastor at Calvary Baptist Church in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, where he has served for thirty-six years. He and his wife Karolyn have been married for forty-five years and have two adult children and two grandchildren. His websites are www.5lovelanguages.com, where couples can also complete their love language profiles, and www.garychapman.org.

Paul Coleman

Paul Coleman, Psy.D., is a Psychologist and Relationship Therapist in private practice. He is the author of a dozen books including The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Intimacy and We Need to Talk: Tough Conversations with Your Spouse. He has appeared as an expert on the television shows Oprah and Today. Dr. Coleman and his wife Jody have been married for twenty-seven years, and they have three children. He can be reached at www.paul-coleman.com

John Curtis

John Curtis, Ph.D., is a consultant, researcher, business trainer, and author. Previously, John was a full-time marriage and family counselor, who achieved clinical membership in the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy. His education includes a Masters in Counseling and a Ph.D. in Human Resource Development. John is married with two children and two grandchildren. John’s book, Marriage Built to Last: 9 Steps to Life-Long Love! can be found at www.marriagebuilttolast.org. His book Happily Un-Married: Living Together & Loving It is at www.wecohabitate.com.

Joel and Kathy Davisson

Joel Davisson and Kathy Davisson identify themselves as husband and wife, parents, friends, pastors, and authors. They have been married for twenty-six years (sixteen of them happy years) and have four children: Chris, Jenifer, Josiah, and Shekinah Glory (who went to Heaven in September 2008). Joel and Kathy have written two life-changing books that teach many new paradigms of marriage, The Man of Her Dreams/The Woman of His! and Livin’ It and Lovin’ It!  Miracles happen everywhere they are read. Many marriages have also been touched by their live seminars and personal appearances. You can contact Joel and Kathy at joelandkathy4@aol.com or by calling 386-206-3128. You can order the books, DVDs, and CD sets of these teachings at www.bestmarriage.com or www.godsavemymarriage.com

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Rita DeMaria

Rita DeMaria, Ph.D., has been a Couples and Family Therapist for over thirty-five years. She is a senior staff member and Director of Relationship Education at Council for Relationships in Philadelphia. She is the co-author, along with Sari Harrar, of The 7 Stages of Marriage (Readers Digest Books, 2007). She has also produced resources for couples programs that can be found on her website www.MarriageDoctor.com. Dr. DeMaria specializes in helping couples rekindle love and commitment in marriage. She has been interviewed by The Today Show and many other TV, radio, and media programs. She also publishes professionally and teaches in the Post-Graduate Training Program in Couples and Family Therapy at Council for Relationships. For more information about that program, visit www.CouncilforRelationships.org. Dr. DeMaria has been married for thirty-two years and has two children. 

Krsnanandini Devi Dasi and Tariq Saleem Ziyad

Krsnanandini Devi Dasi and Tariq Saleem Ziyad are Co-Directors of Dasi-Ziyad Family Institute based in Cleveland, Ohio, an agency that provides a number of curricula, courses, and workshops (www.dzfi.org). Their educational services have empowered hundreds of couples, families, and individuals with healthy relationship skills. Krsnanandini holds degrees in Education and Sociology. Tariq has degrees in Psychology and Business Management. Dasi and Ziyad are Certified Family Life Educators (CFLEs), Certified Family Wellness Instructors, PREPARE-ENRICH Coaches, members of the National Council on Family Relations, and co-authors of several magazine and newspaper articles about healthy families, parenting, relationships, and marriage. This husband-and-wife team is the 2008 recipient of the Nguzo Saba Award for promoting community and family unity from the Imani Foundation. Featured in the popular book, Cleveland Couples: 40 Inspiring Stories of Love and Commitment by Kathy Dawson, Krsnanandini and Tariq have nineteen children altogether. She is the biological mother of ten of them—enough to keep them “working to empower families for a long time.”

Krsnanandini Devi Dasi is a Certified Family Life Educator, Certified Family Wellness Instructor, PREPARE-ENRICH Coach, and Co-Director of Dasi-Ziyad Family Institute (www.dzfi.org). However, of all the education, credentials, and professional experience that Ms. Dasi brings to her work in healing and strengthening individuals, couples, and families, she is most grateful for her connection with her spiritual mentor and teacher, Swami Bhaktivedanta. While she is thankful for being able to serve in these professional capacities, Ms. Dasi attributes her passion, dedication, and commitment to the inspiration and gentle, empowering wisdom that she received from her beloved teacher. She currently serves as Senior Minister of the Cleveland, Ohio, Hare Krishna community and is supportive of her husband’s work in the Muslim community.

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Sandra Dye

Sandra Dye is a child, teen, and parenting expert who completed her doctoral coursework at the Professional School of Psychology in San Francisco, California. Sandra is married with an eighteen-year-old son and fifteen-year-old daughter. She has extensive experience over her twenty-six years in private practice, helping parents and their children use the positive power of connecting to support and influence each other. From her education and clinical work, Sandra has developed a five-step system she uses to guide families to understand one another and resolve conflicts. Her website, www.One-Step-Ahead-Parenting.com, is a problem-solving, interactive site designed for parents, preteens, and teens to connect with, learn from, and communicate with each other. You can also connect with Sandra at www.facebook.com/OneStepAheadParenting.

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Elizabeth Einstein

Elizabeth Einstein, a Marriage & Family Therapist in Ithaca, New York, is one of America’s leaders in the field of stepfamily education. She has been an expert in this field for over thirty years and has also lived through two challenging stepfamily experiences. She is available for workshops and professional training. See www.stepfamilyliving.com to obtain her newest books, Strengthening Your Stepfamily and Active Parenting for Stepfamilies, for the best guidance for success. Her website includes her current workshop schedule.

James and Kathryn Elliott

Kathryn Elliott, Ph.D., and James Elliott, Ph.D.  are therapists and soulmates. Since childhood, they had each longed for closeness and spent much of their adult lives searching for it in a partner. In 1989, at the start of their doctoral program, they found each other. They’ve enjoyed the great gift of spending the last twenty years married, working as therapists and creating and practicing Anthetic Therapy, their unique approach to individual and couples therapy, as well as learning how to be soulmates. They share their love story, love letters, and unique skills on their website, www.soulmateskills.org. You can gain more ideas for creating your own soulmate relationship in the Elliotts’ book, Disarming Your Inner Critic, and they are currently authoring Soulmate Skills.

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Don Ferguson

Don Ferguson, Ph.D., Psychologist and author of Reptiles in Love: Ending Destructive Fights and Evolving Toward More Loving Relationships (2006, Jossey-Bass/Wiley) has been a teacher, trainer, and practitioner in the field of relationships and group therapy for over twenty-five years. He has presented hundreds of seminars and training sessions to clinicians, businesses, government offices, and other organizations. Visit his website www.inrelationships.com for more information on his methods and workshops. In 2009, Dr. Ferguson opened Infinite Relationships, LLC, where he and colleagues offer intensive evaluations, evening seminars, weekend workshops, education, and psychotherapy groups, as well as other forms of individual and couples therapy.

Rodney and Karen Grubbs

Ecstatically happily married for over thirty years, authors and speakers, Rodney and Karen Grubbs are Founders of Never Ending Honeymoon They are the creators of the "52 Weekly Marriage Boosters" series of weekly email tips and strategies to help keep that Never Ending Honeymoon marriage alive and thriving.

Sign up for free at My Marriage Boosters.com.   Their upcoming book, The Perfect First Year, (www.ThePerfectFirstYear.com), will bless your life with actionable tips and strategies to build your marriage into a Never Ending Honeymoon.  Rodney and Karen have two happily married sons and one grandson.

Weekly Marriage Boosters

Mark Gungor

Mark Gungor is one of the most sought-after speakers on marriage and family in the country. Each year, thousands of couples attend his “Laugh Your Way to a Better Marriage”® seminars. His take on marriage issues is refreshingly free of both churchy and psychological lingo. Mark is Pastor of Celebration Church in Green Bay, Wisconsin. He speaks for churches, civic events, and business meetings and even the U.S. Army. Mark has been featured on national broadcasts such as Focus on the Family and ABC News. His daily Internet radio show is heard worldwide, and his weekly television show Love, Marriage, and Stinking Thinking is available on TBN and Sky Angel. Learn more about Mark and his marriage seminars at www.laughyourway.com. Mark and his wife Debbie recently celebrated their 37th wedding anniversary and have two married children and four grandsons.   

Scott Haltzman, M.D.

Scott Haltzman, M.D. is Board-certified in Psychiatry and a Distinguished Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association. He is a Clinical Assistant Professor at Brown University Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior and the Medical Director of NRI Community Services in Woonsocket, Rhode Island. Dr. Haltzman is a member of the “Love Network” of Redbook magazine. He co-authored the chapter, “Men, Marriage, and Divorce” in the American Psychiatric Press book, Men and Mental Health. He is an internationally recognized speaker, presenting at the annual  Smart Marriages® and Happy Families Conference and at the annual meeting of the American Psychiatric Association. Scott Haltzman is the Founder and Editor of www.DrScott.com and www.365Reasons.com and author of The Secrets of Happily Married Men, The Secrets of Happily Married Women, and The Secrets of Happy Families. Dr. Haltzman has gained international recognition for his work in support of marriage and committed relationships. He has appeared on The Today Show, 20/20, Good Morning America, and in publications such as Time, Glamour, Redbook, Parent’s, Cosmopolitan, Men’s Health, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, The Chicago Tribune, and local and national radio, TV, and print. He resides in Rhode Island with his wife of twenty-two years and two children.

Susan Heitler

Susan Heitler, Ph.D., a Clinical Psychologist based in Denver, Colorado, specializes in helping couples build strong marriages. Dr. Heitler is author of a book on marriage therapy, From Conflict to Resolution, and a book on the skills for marriage success called The Power of Two. Her online Power of Two course offers a fun way for couples to learn these skills from the comfort of home. Dr. Heitler and her husband, married almost forty years, are proud parents of four adult children and nine grandchildren. Office contact information: 303-388-4211; drheitler@therapyhelp.com; www.TherapyHelp.com; www.po2.com; www.poweroftwo.org

Patty Howell

Patty Howell, Ed.M., A.G.C., is Vice President of Operations & Media Relations, California Healthy Marriages Coalition. Patty is the author of the Healthy Marriage series of booklets (available at www.CaMarriage.com), for which she was a 2010 recipient of the Smart Marriages® Impact Award. Patty and her husband, Ralph Jones, have taught relationship skills in fourteen countries around the world and are co-authors of World Class Marriage (available at Amazon.com and barnesandnoble.com) and the Sixteen-Hour World Class Marriage Workshop for couples (www.WorldClassMarriage.com). Email:  Patty@CaMarriage.com.

Jim Hughes

Jim Hughes is the author of C Through Marriage, Revitalizing Your Vows. He is an ordained Pastor, now retired, who served in churches for nearly forty years before turning to a writing ministry. Jim lives in Iowa and has been married for nearly forty years, has two adult married children and one son still at home, and one granddaughter. Jim can be reached at thefourj@mchsi.com; www.cthroughmarriage.blogspot.com; or through Facebook.

Greg and Priscilla Hunt

Greg and Priscilla Hunt are dynamic speakers and are known for their lively, fun presentations. The Hunts are a certified Leader Couple and Specialists in Marriage Enrichment with Better Marriages (www.BetterMarriages.org). They are Seminar Directors for PREPARE-ENRICH, Instructor Trainers for Couple Communication, and certified Trainers for Mentoring for Better Marriages. They have been involved in marriage education and enrichment since they married in 1976. Priscilla is the Executive Director for Better Marriages, a non-profit since 1973, whose aim is educating couples for vibrant, lifelong relationships. After thirty-three years in pastoral ministry, Greg is now a consultant and writer, working in the areas of leadership, relationships, and spirituality. The parents of two adult children and grandparents to two granddaughters, Greg and Priscilla live in the metropolitan area of Kansas City, Kansas.

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Barbara Jenkins Spires

Barbara Jenkins Spires is an entrepreneur and creator of Couple Links, a patented relationship board game endorsed by Smart Marriages®. The Couple Links board game is designed to help couples understand, appreciate, and validate each other. Couple Links board games can be purchased at www.couplelinksgame.com. Barbara resides in New York with her loving husband of thirteen years and two children.

Couple Links Game

Gabrielle Kaplan-Mayer

Gabrielle Kaplan-Mayer is a writer, educator and wedding officiant based in Philadelphia. She is the author of The Creative Jewish Wedding Book (www.jewishlights.com) and currently serves as Director of Spirituality for Children and Youth at Congregation Mishkan Shalom. She also creates and officiates at personalized spiritual and secular wedding ceremonies for Jewish and interfaith couples through Journeys of the Heart (www.journeysoftheheart.org). She loves working with couples and is available for long distance consultations related to wedding rituals and ceremony through phone, Skype, or email. Gabrielle has been married to Fred Kaplan-Mayer for nine years and is the proud mother of two young children. You can reach her at gabriellekm@gmail.com.

Kat Kehres Knecht and Curtis Knecht

Kat Kehres Knecht, C.P.C.C., P.C.C. and Curtis Knecht,  M.F.T., P.C.C., are co-Founders of The Relationship Coaching Company (www.RelationshipCoaching.com). They developed a program that uses the 7 Keys to Relationship Success to teach and coach individuals and couples how to create extraordinary relationships. They are the creators of the Staying Engaged cards, a combination of playing cards and discussion-prompting relationship questions. Kat specializes in helping women entrepreneurs who are looking for a fulfilling love life, has her own weekly radio show, and makes regular contributions to the media. She is the author of It’s Not Just Your Wedding, It’s Your Life! Curtis uses an integration of coaching and psychotherapy, along with humor, to bring creativity, life, and light into a healing process that turns even the deepest of troubles into a rich opportunity for learning and growing. Kat and Curtis teach what they live and love what they do. They are married and live in Ventura, California. They have a blended family of four remarkable adult children. Kat and Curtis have each experienced divorce, so they know firsthand the importance of beginning any relationship with very clear intentions and a commitment to staying connected all along the way. Contact at: Connect@RelationshipCoaching.com or 805-641-3281.

Staying Engaged Cards

Mark Laaser

Mark Laaser, Ph.D., is a Counselor and Founder of Faithful and True Ministries based in Minnesota (www.faithfulandtrueministries.com). His specialty is sexual addiction, and he is the author of Healing the Wounds of Sexual Addiction and The Pornography Trap. Dr. Laaser is a frequent speaker at the annual Smart Marriages® and Happy Families conference, where he includes in his presentation the healing he and his family have experienced from this challenge.  Mark and his wife Debbie have been married for 37 years and have three grown children.

Nancy Landrum

Nancy Landrum, M.Psy., lived through the stepfamily experience with her husband Jim and their children. She helps couples in which at least one spouse has a child from a previous relationship to learn the skills and guidelines that enable them to build a strong and loving stepfamily marriage. She is the author of How to Stay Married & Love It! Solving the Puzzle of a SoulMate Marriage, co-author of the program Mastering the “Mysteries of Stepfamilies”, and producer of the DVD Marriage Skits for Laughter and Learning. Her website is www.nancylandrum.com, and she can be reached at nancy@nancylandrum.com.

Peter J. Larson

Peter J. Larson, Ph.D., is the President of Life Innovations, the international headquarters of the PREPARE-ENRICH Program (www.prepare-enrich.com). He is a licensed Psychologist, receiving his doctorate in Clinical Psychology and an M.A. in Theology from Fuller Graduate School of Psychology in Pasadena, California. Before joining Life Innovations, he specialized in premarital counseling and couples therapy as the Director of Research and Clinical Services for the Smalley Relationship Center. Dr. Larson is the co-developer of the Couple Checkup inventory and a co-developer of the Customized Version of PREPARE-ENRICH. He has published numerous journal articles and has co-authored the Couple Checkup book (2008), the PREPARE to Last program (2007), and the PREPARE-ENRICH Marriage Mentor Program (2009). Peter and Heather Larson have been married fourteen years, and they have three children.

Carol Ummel Lindquist

Carol Ummel Lindquist, Ph.D., is a marriage counselor and happily married mother of two.  In her new book, she shows what you can do to make your marriage better and grow closer to your spouse after the kids arrive.  This handbook is engaging, fun and practical, and filled with easy-to-follow tips!  The Happy Couple Handbook is now available in limited advanced release at www.unlimitedpublishing.com/lindquist

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Emily Luschin

Emily Luschin, M.Ed., is an affiliate scholar at the Institute for American Values. She began working in the field of marriage and family as a Research Assistant on the National Healthy Marriage Resource Center in the School of Family Life at Brigham Young University. Thereafter, Emily was a program analyst for the Administration for Children and Families, Department of Health and Human Services, where she founded and served as Managing Editor of the African American Healthy Marriage Initiative Newsletter (2006-2007). She teaches marriage and relationship education classes and is a Certified Gottman Educator. Her publications include the Healthy Marriage Initiative Activities and Accomplishments 2006 and Military Service and Marriage: A Review of the Research. Contact information: Institute for American Values, 1841 Broadway, Suite 211, New York, NY 10023; Telephone: (212) 246-3942.  Emily lives in Tokyo, Japan, with her husband and daughter.

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and Families

Elizabeth Marquardt

Elizabeth Marquardt, M.Div., M.A. (international relations), is Vice President for Family Studies at the Institute for American Values (www.americanvalues.org).  She is also Editor of the Family Scholars Blog (www.familyscholars.org) and can be contacted through that site. Elizabeth is the author of Between Two Worlds: The Inner Lives of Children of Divorce and many research studies. She lives near Chicago, Illinois, with her husband and two children.

Fiona McDonald

Fiona McDonald has been employed at Relationships Australia in Perth, Western Australia, since 2001 (www.wa.relationships.com.au). She is the Senior Manager of Education Services and Professional Training Development. Fiona is an accredited relationship educator, having spent more than twenty years in the field. Fiona has had extensive experience training facilitators and running many groups, covering such areas as: communication and conflict resolution, assertiveness, relationship development and education, self-esteem raising, and parenting children and adolescents. She was President of the Marriage and Relationship Educators Association of Australia for four years. Fiona is also a Bahá’í Faith Marriage celebrant  (authorized by the Bahá’í institutions and the civil government to officiate Bahá’í weddings) and has served on the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Australia for over eighteen years (www.bahai.org.) She has been married to Keith for thirty-five years and has four grown children and two grandchildren.

Mike McManus

Mike McManus is President of Marriage Savers, a non-profit organization which has helped 10,000 clergy create Community Marriage Policies in 228 cities in the United States (www.marriagesavers.org; 301-469-5873). These cities have since reduced their divorce and cohabitation rates and raised marriage rates. Mike and his wife Harriet co-authored Living Together: Myths, Risks & Answers, with a foreword by Chuck Colson. It is the definitive book on addressing the soaring problem of cohabitation. He has also written about reforming no-fault-divorce laws: How to Cut America’s Divorce Rate in Half: A Strategy Every State Should Adopt, with a foreword by Governor Mike Huckabee. Mike also wrote Marriage Savers: How To Help Your Family and Friends Avoid Divorce. A former Time magazine correspondent, Mike has written an award-winning “Ethics & Religion” newspaper column weekly since 1981 (www.EthicsandReligion.com). He has appeared on the 700 Club, Oprah, ABC World News, NBC Nightly News, the CBS Early Show, 48 Hours, Focus on the Family, and more. Articles on Mike and Marriage Savers have appeared in TIME, Newsweek, U.S. News & World Report, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and hundreds of local papers. Mike and Harriet McManus have been married forty-three years and have three married sons and seven grandchildren.

Ana Morante

Ana Morante, L.M.F.T., C.F.I.E., is a bilingual Marriage, Family, and Child Therapist, helping people in both Spanish and English. She is dedicated to strengthening couples and families and assisting in the creation of the best environment possible for children. She has a private practice in San Jose, California, and is a certified Parent and Family Life Educator and a Family Wellness Partner and Trainer. Ana has been married for sixteen years and has two daughters and a stepson. She can be reached through www.familywellness.com.

Jamil Muhammad

Jamil Muhammad is the Director of Programming for Wedded Bliss Foundation, www.weddedblissinc.com, a community-based organization helping teens and adults create healthy relationships and healthy marriages. One of its goals is giving more children the benefits of a two-parent family. He has worked with families for decades and has a special love for working with men.  His work with Nisa Muhammad (no relation) as pioneers in strengthening marriage in the Black community was featured on CNN’s Black in America 2. He is single and looking for wedded bliss.

Nisa Muhammad

Nisa Muhammad is the Founder of the Wedded Bliss Foundation www.weddedblissinc.com  a community-based organization helping teens and adults create healthy relationships and healthy marriages. One of its goals is giving more children the benefits of a two-parent family. She created Black Marriage Day for communities to celebrate marriage in very unique ways. It is held annually on the fourth Sunday in March, and it has grown from 30 participating cities participating in 2003 to close to 300 communities conducting celebrations in 2010. Mrs. Muhammad is the co-author of Basic Training for Couples, a marriage education curriculum. Her work as a pioneer in strengthening marriage in the Black community was featured in detail on CNN’s Black in America 2. She knows both the joys of marriage and the sorrows of divorce. She works so her five children and more adults can enjoy wedded bliss.

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Noelle C. Nelson

Noelle C. Nelson, Ph.D., is a relationship expert and popular speaker in the U.S. and abroad. She is the author of nine best-selling books, including her most recent, Your Man is Wonderful: How to Appreciate Your Partner, Romance Your Differences, and Love the One You’ve Got (www.yourmaniswonderful.com) and Dangerous Relationships: The Seven Warning Signs of a Troubled Relationship. Dr. Nelson focuses on how we can all enjoy happy, fulfilling lives while accomplishing great things in love, at home, and at work. Visit www.drnoellenelson.com for more information.

Susan Page

Repeat Oprah guest Susan Page conducted workshops for couples from 1980 until 2003. Her international speaking and media career has taken her to twenty-six states, Canada, Korea, Australia, and Mexico. She is the author of five relationship books including her first international bestseller: If I’m So Wonderful, Why Am I Still Single?, which was translated into twenty-two languages, The Eight Essential Traits of Couples Who Thrive, and her latest book, Why Talking Is Not Enough: Eight Loving Actions That Will Transform Your Marriage. Susan offers telephone coaching to individuals and couples. Visit her website at www.susanpage.com. Susan is a graduate of Oberlin College and holds a Master of Divinity degree from San Francisco Theological Seminary. She began her career as Campus Minister at Washington University in St. Louis and at Columbia University in New York. Later, she served as Director of Women’s Programs at the University of California, Berkeley, where she helped found the nation’s first university-based human sexuality program. She lives in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, with her husband of thirty years. They have one son and three grandchildren.

Margaret Paul

Margaret Paul, Ph.D., is a noted public speaker, best-selling author, workshop leader, relationship expert, and Inner Bonding® facilitator. She has counseled individuals and couples, as well as led groups, classes, and workshops since 1968. She is the author and co-author of eight books, including the internationally best-selling Do I Have To Give Up Me To Be Loved By You?; Healing Your Aloneness; Inner Bonding; and Do I Have To Give Up Me To Be Loved By God? She is the co-creator, along with Dr. Erika Chopich, of the Inner Bonding® healing process, recommended by actress Lindsay Wagner and singer Alanis Morissette, and featured on Oprah, and of the unique and popular website www.innerbonding.com. Their transformational self-healing/conflict resolution software program, SelfQuest®, at www.selfquest.com, is being donated to prisons and schools, as well as sold to the general public. Margaret has three children and three grandchildren.

Sheryl Paul

Sheryl Paul, M.A., pioneered the field of bridal counseling in 1998. She has since counseled thousands of people worldwide through her private practice, her best-selling books, The Conscious Bride and The Conscious Bride’s Wedding Planner, and her website, www.consciousweddings.com. She’s regarded as the international expert on the wedding transition and has appeared several times on The Oprah Winfrey Show, as well as on Good Morning America and other top television and radio shows and in newspapers around the globe. She lives in Boulder, Colorado, with her husband and two young sons. Phone sessions are available worldwide by calling 303-474-4786. Her blog is http://myconscioustransitions.com.

Kerri Pomarolli

An entertainment veteran, Kerri Pomarolli has performed on the same stage as some of the biggest names in comedy. She has been on television many times, including The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Comedy Central, ABC Family, Lifetime, Hallmark Channel, and NBC. Kerri has written three published books, including Guys Like Girls Named Jennie, which is being considered as a romantic comedy. Her books are well known to both secular and Christian readers, and her award-winning articles appear in newspapers and national magazines. Kerri tours extensively throughout the United States and Canada to churches, corporate events, and today’s top comedy clubs. Look for Kerri in the documentary Hollywood on Fire, which includes some of today’s and yesterday’s well-known celebrities. Her husband Ron McGehee is also a standup comedian. For bookings and more information, please see www.kerripom.com.

Beverly Rodgers and Tom Rodgers

Beverly Rodgers and Tom Rodgers have been Christian-based Counselors and married to one another for over thirty years. They own and operate Rodgers Christian Counseling and the Institute for Soul Healing Love in Charlotte, North Carolina. Both have their Ph.D.s in Clinical Christian Counseling. Dr. Bev also has a Masters Degree in Marital and Family Therapy, and Dr. Tom also has two Masters Degrees, one in Counseling and one in Human Development. Together, they have written Soul Healing Love, Adult Children of Divorced Parents, The Singlehood Phenomenon, and Becoming a Family That Heals. They have appeared on television on A Time for Hope, His Side Her Side, The American Family, NBC Nightside, and Marriage Uncensored. They have also been featured speakers on radio shows on NPR, the BBC, and Focus on the Family. Together they facilitate relationship workshops for couples, singles, and families across the globe. The couple has two grown daughters. They can be contacted through their websites: www.soulhealinglove.com and www.becomingafamilythatheals.com.

Dugan Romano

Dugan Romano is a cross-cultural Trainer and Consultant specializing in family adjustment to overseas moves. She is the author of Intercultural Marriage:  Promises and Pitfalls (3rd edition, 2008) with Intercultural Press, a Nicholas Brealey Publishing Company. She has twenty years of experience in her own cross-cultural marriage with an Italian, with whom she lived in his country (Italy), hers (U.S.A.), and a third (Brazil). She also brings to her writing the knowledge she has gained from the hundreds of couples she has interviewed for each edition and revision of her book. She can be reached through her publisher at 617-523-3801 or www.interculturalpress.com.

Robert A. Ruhnke

Robert A. Ruhnke, C.SS.R., M.Th., D.Min., was ordained a Catholic priest in 1966. In 1975, as Family Life Director for the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston, Texas, he began to train married couples to function as sponsors (mentors) for couples preparing for marriage. In 1996, he began Marriage Preparation Resources (www.marriagepreparation.com) to make himself available to churches that wanted to set up the For Better and For Ever marriage preparation program, which he developed. He is also available online to assist those seeking information about Christian marriage and other personal/faith concerns and questions. Father Ruhnke currently lives in San Antonio, Texas.

William Sarles and Cynthia Sarles

William Sarles and Cynthia Sarles have been married almost thirty years. They are a Mentor Couple with the Galveston-Houston, Texas Catholic diocese. They smilingly, lovingly, and proudly say they have two perfect children and a perfect grandchild due soon. Bill works for a NASA contractor, and Cynthia teaches math at a community college.

Robert F. Scuka

Robert F. Scuka, Ph.D., M.S.W., L.C.S.W.-C., is Executive Director of the National Institute of Relationship Enhancement® (www.nire.org) in Bethesda, Maryland, and a lead member of its training faculty. Dr. Scuka specializes in marriage education and couple therapy and is the author of Relationship Enhancement Therapy: Healing Through Deep Empathy and Intimate Dialogue (Routledge, 2005). Rob and his wife Mary live in Kensington, Maryland, and they have two adult children. He can be reached at robscuka@earthlink.net.

Lidy Seysener

Lidy Seysener is the principal of Northern Beaches Counseling, a very successful hypnotherapy and Counseling Practice at Mona Vale in Sydney, Australia. Amongst her many skills, Lidy is a Counselor/Psychotherapist, Hypnotherapist, and a Neuro-Linguistic Programming and Time Line Therapy Master Practitioner, with memberships in a variety of associations, including the Australian Counselors Association and the Australian Society of Clinical Hypnotherapists. Lidy is also a qualified Family Dispute Resolution Practitioner and Community Mediator registered with the Australian Attorney General’s Office, thereby accrediting her to issue certificates for applications before the Family Court of Australia. In her work, Lidy supports individuals, couples, and families in creating happier lives for themselves. In her personal life, Lidy has four adult children, all of whom are now living successful lives in their own right. You can reach Lidy at www.northernbeachescounselling.com.au or www.northernbeachesmediation.com.au.

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Grete Shelling

Grete Shelling, Ed.S., M.S. is the author of the book In Love But Worlds Apart–Insights, Questions and Tips for the Intercultural Couple. She has been involved in multicultural social work for over thirty years and specializes in counseling intercultural couples. She holds both Master’s and Education Specialist degrees in Professional Counseling from Georgia State University and a diploma in Pastoral Counseling from Richmont Graduate School of Counseling. Austrian-born but raised in the United States, Grete is married to a “very” American husband who, she says, is culturally very different from her. They have a grown son who now lives in Austria. She can be contacted through InLoveButWorldsApart@yahoo.com.

James Sheridan

James Sheridan, author of A Blessing for the Heart, God’s Beautiful Plan for Marital Intimacy, writes a weekly newspaper column on marriage skills. He also frequently presents before judicial and legislative groups on Marriage and Public Policy. He regularly speaks for couples’ retreats and banquets on a variety of subjects, including Sex & Romance in the Biblical Marriage, 10 Things Every Married Couple Should Know About Sex, and Using Rituals to Strengthen Your Marriage. He is a regular presenter at the international Smart Marriages® and Happy Families Conference. Contact information:  www.marriagedoneright.com, email: jsheridan@marriagedoneright.com.

Marriage Done Right

Syble Solomon

Syble Solomon is an expert on the psychology of money and is a popular speaker for groups as diverse as couples, the National Football League, the YWCA, and bankers. She created Money Habitudes™, a unique deck of cards that has helped thousands talk about money and discover their own habits and attitudes (“habitudes”) about spending, saving, and giving away money in a fun, non-judgmental, non-threatening game format. Users learn how those habitudes silently influence their relationship, financial wellbeing, and life goals and make new choices. Syble was named Educator of the Year in 2006 by the Association of Financial Counseling and Planning Education. Money Habitudes™ cards won the Smart Marriages® 2009 Impact Award and are endorsed by the Institute of Consumer Financial Education. The company website is www.moneyhabitudes.com. You can reach Syble at syble@lifewise.us or 888-833-4331.  Syble has been married for 37 years and has two sons.

Amy Spencer

Amy Spencer is the author of Meeting Your Half-Orange: An Utterly Upbeat Guide to Using Dating Optimism to Find Your Perfect Match (Running Press, 2010, www.meetingyourhalforange.com). She created the website The Dating Optimist (www.thedatingoptimist.com) and the iPhone application “Half-Orange Optimisms.” Amy writes for Glamour, New York, CNN.com, Cosmopolitan, In Style, Real Simple, Harper’s Bazaar, and Match.com. She was previously the host of a Sirius satellite radio relationship call-in show called Sex Files on the Maxim channel and has appeared on Fox, E!, CBS, NBC, VH-1, and others. Amy has also been featured as a Relationship Expert on Howard Stern’s Sirius channel Howard 100 News.  Amy is married and lives with her "half-orange"–her husband–in Venice, California.

David Steele

David Steele, M.A., L.M.F.T., is Founder of Relationship Coaching Institute, the first and largest international relationship coach training organization. He is author of the ground-breaking book for singles Conscious Dating: Finding the Love of Your Life in Today’s World, now in its second edition. His website is www.RelationshipCoachingInstitute.com.

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Raymond Switzer

Raymond Switzer, author of Conscious Courtship: Finding Someone to Love for the Rest of Your Life, is a Canadian Psychologist living with his wife Furugh and their children, Nasim and Nabil, in Gödöllő, Hungary, to help establish the Bahá’í Faith community in that country. He has given seminars and presentations on courtship and marriage in Germany, Poland, Cyprus, Slovakia, Croatia, Austria, England, Greece, the Czech Republic, Turkey, and Italy. He is the only therapist in Hungary trained in Imago Relationship Therapy, and much of his practice involves working with couples. You may visit the Switzer’s website at www.switzer.hu.

Matthew Turvey

Matthew Turvey, Psy.D., L.P., is the Vice President of Outreach for PREPARE-ENRICH (www.prepare-enrich.com). He is a licensed psychologist with a specialization in Marriage and Family Therapy and oversees many of PREPARE-ENRICH’s strategic partnerships and marketing efforts. He is the author of several articles on marriage and family topics, especially relational wellness in the workplace. Dr. Turvey has been married for almost fifteen years to his beautiful bride Nicole, and together they have three young children that keep them hopping, tired, and forever laughing.

Raphaella Vaisseau

Raphaella Vaisseau is a prolific artist and writer. Through her company, Heartful Art (www.heartfulart.com), she focuses on providing original art, as well as artfully designed posters and magnets to assist people everywhere to empower themselves and others. Her artwork hangs in collections world-wide and has been licensed for use on music covers, t-shirts, and more. She can also be reached at raphaella@heartfulart.com.

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John Van Epp

John Van Epp, Ph.D., President/Founder of Love Thinks, LCC is the author of How to Avoid Falling in Love with a Jerk (McGraw-Hill), which blends in-depth research with humorous stories to provide a map for making healthy relationship choices. His twenty-five years of clinical experience and extensive research in premarital, marital, and family relations have paved the way for his teach-out-of-the-box courses, PICK (How to Avoid Falling for a Jerk) and Marriage LINKS to be taught in thousands of churches, singles organizations, educational settings, and social agencies in all fifty states, ten countries, and by more than 2,500 military personnel. Van Epp and his innovative Relationship Attachment Model, book, and relationship courses were awarded the Smart Marriages® Impact Award in 2008, and they have been featured in The Wall Street Journal, Time, Psychology Today, O Magazine, and Cosmopolitan. Dr. Van Epp has appeared on the CBS Early Show, The O’Reilly Factor, Fox News, and Focus on the Family. He has been happily married for over thirty years and is the proud father of two daughters. His website is www.lovethinks.com, and he can be reached at vanepp@nojerks.com.

Clarence and Ja’Ola Walker

Clarence Walker, Ph.D., and Ja’Ola Walker, D.D., have been Family Life Educators throughout their married life. Both currently serve as Pastors, and they share Biblical principles with couples and singles with a special focus on Black families. They are co-creators of “For Christian Lovers Only,”™ a research- and faith-based curriculum. (www.clarencewalkerministries.com) Clarence Walker worked as a Marriage and Family Therapist for twelve years. He holds a post-graduate Certificate in Marriage and Family Therapy, as well as a Ph.D in Biblical Counseling and M.S.W. He is the author of Biblical Counseling with African Americans and Breaking Strongholds in the African-American Family. His website is www.clarencewalkerministries.com. Ja’Ola Walker has her D.D, M.Ed. in Counselor Education and her B.A. in Psychology. She has authored The Eight Powers of a Woman. The Walkers have been married for thirty-four years and have two sons.

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