About PEP
Who We Are
PEP’s mission is to build strong, harmonious family relationships through parenting education, skills training and support.
We help adults foster the values of mutual respect, shared responsibility, competence and cooperation in young people, preparing them to make positive contributions to their families, their communities and the world at large.
Our Purpose
We’re a one-of-a-kind nonprofit organization dedicated to helping parents and caregivers build strong and harmonious family relationships so that children grow up in a supportive environment fostering the critical values of respect, cooperation, responsibility, and competence.
We know that an encouraging home environment is strongly connected to positive mental health and wellness in children, teens, and adults.
Our Clients
Our clients include any adult caring for a child! PEP has reached over 50,000 parents and caregivers through our direct programming and via partnerships with companies, schools, health care providers, nonprofit organizations, and businesses.
Based in the Washington, DC area, PEP serves clients throughout the U.S. and globally.
Our Programs
Our programs, offered online and in-person, give parents of toddlers to teens the knowledge to understand the underlying causes of their children’s behavior, and the practical skills and tools they need to address problems right away.
PEP programs are offered in English and Spanish and include videos-on-demand, webinars, virtual and in-person classes, and individual support.
Our Approach
PEP’s approach is founded on the time-tested theories and work of Dr. Alfred Adler and Dr. Rudolf Dreikurs. We offer an empowering approach, providing effective skills and tools for raising children that are applicable to all phases of parenting, in all kinds of environments.
Our award-winning curriculum is flexible, convenient, relevant, and engaging. Participants can be confident that what they’re learning isn’t just a “fad,” but is research-based and taught by highly trained, fellow parents who understand what parenting can be like today.
Why PEP?
PEP presents an authoritative, or democratic, style of parenting that promotes:
- Discipline as a way to teach, not punish, children.
- Connecting, listening, encouraging, and being a non-anxious presence.
- Setting structure and limits that foster a child’s sense of security.
- Giving kids a voice and choices to foster autonomy and independence.
PEP promotes a strength-based parenting approach that aligns with research-tested best practices for child development.
- Curricula focuses on age-appropriate child development, from preschoolers through teens.
- Parents can choose classes to fit their schedules and needs.
- We help parents reflect on the relationship with their child and see the world from their child’s viewpoint.
- We give parents concrete skills and tools to strengthen their communication and relationship with their children.
- By coming together with other parents in our programs, participants see that they are not alone
PEP programs are presented online and in-person (public health conditions permitting) to accommodate the busy lives of parents and caregivers.
- PEP reaches parents through partnerships with schools, companies, nonprofits and other direct channels.
- PEP offers a wide variety of programs from 1-hour webinars to multi-week classes.
- PEP offers a library of on-demand videos and live webinars covering 65+ common parenting challenges.
- PEP programs are designed to be interactive, engaging, and supportive.
PEP Parent Educators are trained and experienced facilitators who:
- Complete a series of PEP parenting programs followed by rigorous training and mentoring.
- Help parents adapt PEP’s parenting approach to apply to their own family circumstances.
- Deliver practical skills and instruction with warmth, humor and professionalism.
- Are relatable, empathetic, and share lessons learned along their own parenting journey.
PEP Staff & Board

Kathy Hedge
Executive Director

Gabriela Cordero Rodriguez
Latino Programs Coordinator

Colleen Reed
Program Director

Alison Collins
Administrator

Lynne Ticknor
Education Director
Board of Directors
Pascale Brady
President
Leanne MacDougall
Vice President
Margaret Klotz
Secretary
Julie Baron
Treasurer & Finance Committee Chair
Michele Dreyfuss
Susan Milner
Jessica Muse
Eileen O’Grady
Kelly Van Orden
Governance Committee Chair
Kristen Waksberg
Fund Development Committee Chair
Kathy Hedge
Executive Director