Blended Family Parenting The Dos and Don’ts

Webinar

Blended Family Parenting

The Dos and Don’ts

Date: September 25, 2020
Time: 12:00 pm PDT

Description:

Forming a new, blended family comes with great challenges and great rewards. Having realistic expectations is important for parents wanting to start a blended family. We’ll explore elements that successful blended families have in common and how to address attitudes and behaviors that lead to conflict.

In collaboration with

Webinar Speakers

Moderator

Dayn A. Holstrom, CFLS

Managing Partner & Family Law Attorney Holstrom, Block & Parke, APLC

Dayn Holstrom has distinguished himself and his team as the number one family law firm in Orange County, Riverside, and San Bernardino. His highly experienced attorneys and support staff are exceedingly knowledgeable and support all of their clients with the heart and determination to see your case through.

His commitment to excellence is evident throughout his numerous lifetime achievements. While attending Western State University College of Law, he received the American Jurisprudence Award for the highest achievement in a specific subject 17 times, he was Editor in Chief of the Western State University Law Review and Director of the School’s Don Program for tutoring other students. Dayn was Valedictorian and graduated summa cum laude with the highest GPA in the history of the school.

Fast forward 30 years, Dayn has built a powerhouse of a firm serving Family Law clients throughout California. Mr. Holstrom is exceptionally experienced and well thought of by the local bar associations and judiciary in the communities in which he practices: Orange County, Riverside County, and San Bernardino County. He has served as a Judge Pro Tem and he has been voted “Best Lawyers” by Inland Empire Magazine, OC Metro Magazine and has been consistently rated 10.0 of 10.0 by Avvo.

While not in the office, Dayn enjoys flying, spending time with his kids (3 are lawyers-or soon to be), and 4 grandkids.

Kristen A. Holstrom, CFLS

Managing Attorney of Custody Queens, Certified Family Law Specialist, Family Law Attorney

Kristen Holstrom is the Managing Attorney and Founder of Custody Queens, a subdivision of Holstrom, Block & Parke, APLC. As a Certified Family Law Specialist, Kristen focuses on education in legal matters and litigation in complex custody cases. She is well respected and active within the community, sits on several boards, and has received many accolades and awards including being a three time recipient of the Super Lawyers Rising Star Award. Most recently, she was named the Top 50 Women Rising Star award, and the Top 100 Up-and-Coming Southern California Rising Star list, which is reserved for the top one percent of attorneys in practice under ten years. Kristen’s passion is, and always has been helping children and families navigate through the emotional and difficult times.

As a mother of three young children, Kristen truly understands the hard work, complexity, and joy of raising children. Kristen’s vast legal knowledge and personal experience provides her with a truly unique perspective on family dynamics, effective communication between co-parents, and family law. Kristen focuses on the uniqueness of each case, rather than the “one size fits all” approach and applies real life experience to all aspects of family law cases. Kristen is deeply valued by her clients for her creative legal strategy, aggressive nature, and unwavering loyalty. Kristen is also a radio personality on the Custody Queens radio show on Go Country 105, Saturdays at 8:30 AM.

Stephen Nixon

Attorney and Founder TalkingParents.com

Stephen Nixon graduated from the Florida State University College of Law in 2007. After law school, Stephen served as an Assistant State Attorney for Florida’s First Judicial Circuit. He then went on to co-found The Nixon Law Firm where he practiced family law.

As an attorney, Stephen saw firsthand how poor communication and a lack of accountability caused considerable problems for his clients. The inability to compile an accurate and complete record of interactions between parents led directly to increased legal bills, wasted time in court, and an unhealthy co-parenting environment. He saw the need for a service that would allow parents to keep a single, complete, and unalterable record of all communications and interactions between them. He also saw the need for a service that allowed parents involved in domestic violence situations to communicate regarding their children without sharing their actual contact information or location. These realizations led him to create TalkingParents.com, which launched in 2010. Since that time, TalkingParents has added many new features and expanded its userbase across the U.S. and around the world.

Benjamin Heldfond

Co-Author & Founder, Our Happy Divorce. Owner of Heldfond Holdings, LLC

Ben is the Co-Author of “Our Happy Divorce”, a book Ben and his Ex-Wife Nikki DeBartolo, wrote about their journey through divorce and how it brought them closer together. Ben intimately understand the detriment divorce can cause in the lives of children. The example of his parents’ divorce instilled in him a deep commitment to doing better by his own kids.

Ben’s the owner of Heldfond Holdings, LLC a holding company that invests in a wide variety of companies. Everything from real estate, private equity, and venture capital. Some of them he has an active role either through an advisor or the board of directors. Heldfond Holdings currently holds approximately 20 companies.

Ben began his real estate career in 1999 with a focus on commercial real estate as Vice President, Diversified Assets at DeBartolo Holdings, LLC, Tampa, Florida. He played an integral part in the company’s real estate development acquisitions and diversified investing transactions as well as taking an active role in the Tampa Bay community through the various DeBartolo Family Foundation philanthropic programs. Ben is a founding board member of the Brooks DeBartolo Collegiate High School, a charter school that helps underprivileged children.

Ben graduated from The University of California, Berkeley with a Bachelor of Science degree in African American History and Business Administration. Since then he has been involved with several non-profit organizations; many focused on addiction/alcoholism including: Facing Addiction w/NCADD, Road Recovery, Phoenix House, Young People in Recovery and American Cancer Society Tampa CEO Council with a focus on Governance, Finance and Strategic Planning.

Ben is an avid golfer, sports enthusiast and co-host for a local radio show, 102.5 the Bone. He resides in South Tampa with his wife, Nadia; his 16-year old son, Asher; his 6-year-old daughter Isabella, and his 4-year-old son Jackson.

Dr. Erin Grimes, Psy.D

Licensed Clinical Psychologist

Erin Grimes earned her B.A. at UCLA in 2001 and her Psy.D. at California School of Professional Psychology in 2008. She has practiced and taught in the Department of Psychiatry at UCSD from 2007-2014. She has also worked in private practice for the past 12 years treating families, couples, and individuals. Erin sees patients in La Jolla and Solana Beach and offers consultation services for families considering divorce.

Erin’s treatment approach includes cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) to offer clients effective and quick ways to change behavior and use more adaptive thinking styles to approach life challenges and stress. She also uses existential psychotherapy approaches to help enhance self-awareness, insight, develop empathy, and confidence in one’s personal relationships and professional settings. Both approaches integrate mindfulness exercises such as breathing, meditating, and self-care through healthy lifestyle choices as a way to improve psychological health and well-being.

Personally, she is passionate about being a mother of two children and participating in her community. Through these life experiences, she has gained an understanding of the joys and struggles that accompany marriage and parenthood, which has supported her ability to empathize with the challenges her clients endure. Her own journey of life, personal growth, and development helped her to work with clients in their experiences.

Naja Hall

Author and Founder, Blended and Black. Runs VIP Stepmom.com

Naja Hall was born and raised in Memphis, TN and has called Harlem, New York City home since 2007. She is the founder of VIPStepmom.com and Blended and Black. As a Certified family life educator and Master Coach, she understands that the family is THE MOST influential entity of human development, and her work centers around helping individuals, couples, and families navigate some of life’s toughest transitions.

As a means to stay close to her comedy writing roots, Naja produces her passion project Dating Debacles. She also hosts of the popular podcast, “I know I’m Crazy with Naja Hall” and is the author of the Amazon best-seller “Girl, Bye!” Book series. Naja’s life’s work is to teach empathy, accountability, and emotional intelligence through the art of story-telling and genuine human connections.

She earned an undergraduate degree from The University of Tennessee in Family and Consumer Sciences and went on to attend The University of North Texas where she worked on an MBA in International Business. While in Dallas, TX she began her career as a corporate Buyer. One day while gazing out of her cushy office window, she noticed her colleagues, seemingly in a single filed lined, in the same dark suit, walking into a workday of monotony. It was then that she hopped on her glittery broomstick, flew away, and never looked back!

“If I could have one super-power, I would love to be able to teleport. That way, I could have cheese eggs, bacon and grits with my Grandma in Memphis every morning, go for a mid-day swim in Antigua, have lunch in Rome with perfect strangers and be home in time for dinner with my Husband in Manhattan.”