Marlene has worked with parents, teachers and children for 30 years, directed foster care and counseling programs, provided parent and teacher education in MA & FL. She also taught Child/Family/Teacher Relations at the University of South FL for 8 years. “I did not decide to write a book on parenting because I felt I was an expert, although my years of experience would indicate some level of expertise. I undertook this project because although I had a great deal of experience caring for babies and children of all ages, at the time I became a mother, I was overwhelmed with the sense of protection and responsibility I felt for my son.”She holds a M.A. In Family Studies from Goddard College had the privilege of attending the Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School, as well as three years in a Ph.D. program on public policy and child welfare. She is a mother and grandmother. She is the author of If Only They Came with Instructions, A Guide for Parents, Nobody’s Perfect-Parenting in a World of Change, her latest book, as well as a series of books for first grade students and their families dealing with health and safety issues. She was the President of Parenting U International, a company she started with Gail Toulan, Ph.D. in 2007. The company did not survive the 2008 financial crisis when Publix was just about to roll our Parenting Link Program for their nearly 150,000 employees. Due to the challenging financial situation, Publix did not want to roll out any new programs at that time. She has worked with more than 2000 parents and more than 500 teachers in elementary schools and special education programs, for the Social Work Training Institute and as a manager, as well as a trainer for Head Start staff.