Meet Your Host

Kristen Skiles

I am a Certified Stepparent Coach, founder of Stepmomming.com, host of the chart-topping podcast Stepmomming Made Easy, and author of the 5-star rated book of the same name, Stepmomming Made Easy. I am on a mission to help overwhelmed stepmoms feel seen, supported, and equipped with the tools they need to navigate stepfamily life with confidence.

With a blended family that includes a 16-year-old stepdaughter, Kristen knows firsthand the complexities of stepmom life–from overcoming insecurities as the “second wife,” to learning tough lessons in shared parenting, and navigating her own childhood as a stepchild in multiple blended family dynamics. She even shared a home (and a business!) with her stepdaughter’s mom for a season, giving her a uniquely compassionate and real-world perspective on co-parenting.

Kristen’s coaching, resources, and debut book Stepmomming Made Easy are all built on the belief that while stepmomming is hard, it doesn’t have to be miserable. Her practical, validating approach has been featured on TODAY, The Atlantic, Newsweek, The Boston Globe, Texas Today, and Scary Mommy.

Website | Instagram | Facebook 

Meet Your Speakers

Michaela Bucchianeri, PhD

Psychologist & Coach, The Anxious Stepmom

Dr. Michaela Bucchianeri (@theanxiousstepmom) is a clinical psychologist, coach, and consultant specializing in stepmom emotional wellness. Blending the science of psychology and the art of stepmomming, Michaela helps women navigate stepmotherhood with more confidence—so they can worry less, focus on what lights them up, and start having more fun.

Inspired by her own 13 years of stepmom experience, she shares honest reflections and translates mental health research into practical strategies for thriving in this unique role. In 2023, at her stepson’s insistence, she launched The Anxious Stepmom, an online education and support platform that now reaches nearly 25,000 followers.

Beyond her work with stepmoms, Michaela’s mental health expertise has contributed to landmark initiatives, including Minnesota’s Safe & Supportive Schools Act, Harvard’s STRIPED curriculum training future leaders in eating disorder prevention, and First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! Campaign.

Her insights have been featured in StepMom Magazine, The Everygirl, Verywell Health, HuffPost, and The New York Times.

Website | TikTok | Instagram | YouTube

Erin Careless, PhD

Director, Dalhousie University

Erin has spent 16 years working in adult education, with a research focus on how stepmothers learn to navigate their roles. Her PhD involved interviewing women across Canada, giving her deep insight into the lived experiences of stepfamily life. Erin is passionate about helping women find their own fit as stepmoms – centering personal authenticity over external expectations. Erin, her husband, Matt, and their children live by the ocean, a place Erin considers the best kind of therapy.

Rachel Dunne

Stepfamily Coach and Licensed Counselor

Rachel Dunne is a wife, mom, stepmom, stepfamily coach, and licensed counselor with a passion for helping stepmoms find peace and purpose in the chaos of blended family life. She has been coaching stepmoms all over the world for the past five years, and in 2023 became a licensed mental health counselor to strengthen and expand her ability to serve stepfamilies with both professional expertise and personal understanding.

For the past two years, Rachel has been helping train professionals to become certified stepfamily coaches with the StepFamily Foundation. She is also a strong advocate for the mental health of stepmoms and is currently pursuing her PhD in Counselor Education & Supervision, with a focus on stepfamily dynamics and the well-being of women in blended families.

Known for her honest yet compassionate approach, Rachel brings a faith-based perspective to her work, offering stepmoms a safe place to be real about their struggles while pointing them toward hope, healing, and practical strategies for daily life.

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Monica Edenholm

PA-C, LMFT

Monica Edenholm, LMFT, PA-C, is a dedicated practitioner who bridges the gap between clinical expertise and lived experience. As an LGBTQ+ mother and stepmother in a busy household of four children—including two stepkids—she intimately understands the nuances of navigating blended family dynamics while honoring one’s identity. Through her practice, Purpose & Passion, Monica helps families build resilient, authentic connections. By blending her medical and therapeutic backgrounds with personal heart, she provides a safe, validating space for LGBTQ+ stepmoms to feel empowered and seen in their unique journeys.

Website

Cherika Edwards

Personal Injury and Family Law Attorney, The Law Office of Cherika Edwards

Cherika Edwards is a dedicated and compassionate attorney who specializes in both family law and personal injury law. With a reputation for advocating fiercely for her clients, Cherika founded The Law Office of Cherika Edwards with the mission to provide quality legal representation to those in need, particularly families and individuals navigating difficult times.

After graduating from University of Houston with a Bachelors degree in psychology, Cherika Edwards earned a Juris Doctor degree from Thurgood Marshall Law School.

Outside of her legal practice, Cherika is deeply involved in her community, volunteering her time and resources to give back. As a proud advocate for fathers’ rights and a strong believer in the power of clear communication, she works tirelessly to empower her clients and help them achieve their legal goals.

Website | Instagram | TikTok

Heidi Farrell

Marriage and Blended Family Coach, Not Just a Stepmom

Heidi Farrell is a certified Marriage and Stepfamily Life Coach. She works with individuals, couples, and kids through the challenges of communication, boundary-setting, emotional regulation, and parenting differences. After walking through her own struggles as a stepmom, combined with adding three of her own children, Heidi started her blog at NotJustaStepmom.com. She has a coaching office in Kearney, Nebraska, where she offers in-person or Zoom options. She also offers weekend coaching intensives for couples who are serious about making deep, meaningful changes in one impactful weekend. Heidi has been married to Tim for 15 years. Her two stepkids are now in their 20s, and her “ours” children are 14, 12, and 10. You can find out more about Heidi and her coaching at HeidiFarrellCoaching.com. Look for her eBook about adding an “ours baby” to a stepfamily on her website, and her upcoming book, entitled “Unexpected Stepmom.”

Website | Facebook | Instagram

Joslynn Flowers

Stepmom Coach, Podcast Host, and Speaker

Joslynn Flowers is a passionate stepmom coach, podcast host, and marketing professional with a heart for blended families. As the host of The Daily Stepmom Podcast, she empowers stepmoms to find peace in the chaos and thrive in their unique family roles.

Joslynn offers an honest and hope-filled perspective on the challenges and joys of stepfamily life, parenting, and marriage. A stepmom of three and biological mom of one, she understands the complexities of modern parenting and leads with authenticity, humor, and grace.

Whether speaking, mentoring women, or recording her next episode, Joslynn’s mission is clear: to build community, cultivate hope, and remind every stepmom she’s not alone.

Website | Instagram

Barbara Goldberg

President, The Evil Stepmother Speaks

Barbara Goldberg is the voice behind The Evil Stepmother Speaks, an empowering resource for stepmothers navigating blended families. Drawing from personal experience and professional expertise, she offers honest, heartfelt guidance with humor and grace. Her mission is to help stepmothers feel seen, supported, and strong. Barbara holds a Bachelor’s in Special Education, an MBA, and is a certified Martha Beck life coach. She leads thriving Facebook communities, hosts retreats through Stepmom Sanctuary Retreats, and is the author of two books: The Evil Stepmother Speaks: A Guide for Families Who Want to Love and Laugh and her children’s book, I Want a Stepmom, Too!.

Website | Instagram | Facebook

Naja Hall

Coach, VIPStepmom

Naja Hall is a nationally recognized stepfamily expert, speaker, and coach who helps stepmothers navigate the emotional and relational complexities of blended families. Through her platform VIP Stepmom, Naja has supported thousands of women in building healthier boundaries, stronger partnerships, and more peaceful homes. With over a decade of experience working with stepfamilies, she combines practical strategy with compassionate insight to help women reclaim their confidence and stability inside complicated family systems. Naja is also an on-air personality, author, and media contributor known for her honest and empowering conversations about modern family life.

Website | Facebook | Instagram | TikTok

Megan Hunter

CEO, High Conflict Institute

Megan Hunter is a leading expert in conflict and relational dynamics and the creator of Conflict Influencer®. As The Conflict Influencer, she has spoken in more than ten countries across diverse industries and sectors, bringing practical conflict-resolution strategies to global audiences. She co-founded High Conflict Institute and has been central to developing research-based training and consulting frameworks used in workplaces, courts, healthcare, government, and human service systems. Megan’s work makes complex conflict concepts accessible and applicable in both organizational and personal settings. She also co-hosts the podcast It’s All Your Fault!

Website

Anita Inglis

Founder, Institute of Step-Family Dynamics and Core State Curation

As a step-child, divorced mother, and step-mother Anita has been part of a step-family for most of her life. This gives her important insight into the varied and complex dynamics at play within step and divorced families. Anita enjoys working with couples, individuals, and children. She brings her personal experience and years of mentoring, along with graduate and post-graduate qualifications in psychology, to her work. Her family of 7 step/kids, a dog, and 2 cats, along with the launch of her new personal development program Core State Curation keeps her busy.

Website | Facebook | Instagram

Tammy J

Stepmom Goals

Tammy J is the heart and voice behind Stepmom Goals. Just a few minutes outside Detroit, Michigan, Tammy is living her best life with her husband, their 9-year-old son, and her 18-year-old stepson. Since stepping into the role as an intentional stepmom in 2013, Tammy has faced the challenges of blended family life… at one point nearly walking away from her marriage. Through therapy, prayer, and newfound confidence, she chose healing and growth instead. Tammy’s journey sparked Stepmom Goals, where she writes to empower stepmoms to let go of perfection, embrace their worth, and adjust their crowns daily. She’s re-releasing her children’s book, “Mama T and Me,” along with her new ebook, “Stepmom Goals: Invisible No More (The A–Z Survival Guide).”

Website | Facebook

Todd Jensen

Assistant Professor, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Todd Jensen, PhD, MSW is the Gary Stuck Faculty Scholar in Education and an Assistant Professor of Human Development and Family Science in the School of Education and a Faculty Fellow of the Carolina Population Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. His scholarship focuses on understanding how to leverage youths’ connection to stepparents as a unique developmental asset and identifying factors that promote high-quality stepparent-child relationships, particularly those involving adolescent children.

Website | LinkedIn | Instagram | Bluesky | Twitter/X | Research Lab

Alicia Krasko

Stepmom Coach

Alicia is a Stepmom Coach, host of The Stepmom Side Podcast, and CEO of The Stepmom Side Community, an online community empowering stepmoms to navigate their unique challenges with confidence and clarity. Through coaching, community, and transformational mindset work, she helps stepmoms go from overwhelmed and burnt out to feeling in control and at peace in their role. Alicia’s mission is to create a space where stepmoms feel heard, supported, and empowered to thrive in their blended families.

Website | Instagram | TikTok

Brenda Ockun

Founder & Publisher, StepMom Magazine 

Brenda Ockun is Founder & Publisher of StepMom Magazine—the how-to guide for any woman who dates, lives with, or is married to someone who has kids.

Brenda leveraged her career as a marketing executive to launch StepMom Magazine, creating the resource she wished was available when she met her husband. Brenda’s been a guest on NPR’s “Talk of the Nation,” “Good Morning America” and the “Steve Harvey Show”—and she’s been quoted in “The Washington Post,” “USA Today” and other major publications.

A stepmom of two, ages 30 and 32, Brenda lives in Upstate New York with her husband Gregg and their two Rhodesian Ridgebacks: Moose and Lilly. 

Website | Instagram 

Dr. Patricia Papernow

Psychologist

Dr. Patricia Papernow is the internationally recognized authority on “blended families.” She’s the author of Surviving and Thriving in Stepfamily Relationships and co-author of The Stepfamily Handbook. Dr. Papernow’s work has shaped best practices for families worldwide. She’s a recipient of multiple distinguished awards for her contributions to family psychology and therapy. Today, she’s here to share the predictable challenges and hidden traps of stepfamily life—and, most importantly, what five decades of research and practice tell us about what works, and what doesn’t to meet them.

Website

Cheryl Shumake

Founder, Stepmom Sanity

Cheryl Shumake is a passionate speaker, Bible teacher, podcast host, and founder of Stepmom Sanity, a Christ-centered community equipping stepmoms with guidance, resources, and support for blended family life. She and her husband, Jonathan, co-founded Sawubona Blended Families, serving Black and Brown couples and helping churches build gospel-shaped homes and effective stepfamily ministries. Cheryl is the author of Waiting to Be Wanted and has been featured on Moody Radio, Focus on the Family, and FamilyLife platforms. A frequent conference speaker, she lives in Michigan, where hospitality and heartfelt conversations are always on the menu.

Website | Facebook | Instagram

Wendy Tamis Robbins

Well-Being Strategist, high-Performance Coach, Author, Speaker and Attorney

Wendy Tamis Robbins is an internationally recognized anxiety expert, master coach, speaker, digital course creator, podcaster, author and founder of CAVE Club – her coaching community exclusively for professional women. After 26 years in Big Law as a corporate attorney and a battle with colon cancer, Wendy left to pursue her passion in coaching high-achieving women on how to live their best life unapologetically. Her bestselling book The Box: An Invitation to Freedom from Anxiety chronicled her journey to finding freedom from 40 years of mental illness. She speaks regularly at academic institutions like Harvard Law School, has been featured by Boston Magazine, BBC Studios, NBC and Fox News. And she is a frequent contributor to Thrive Global, Law360 and Stepmom Magazine. She has been a stepmom of two for over 16 years.

Learn more at wendytamisrobbins.com/stepmom.

Website | Instagram

Lauren Weeks

Certified Stepfamily Coach with Blended by Distance, LLC

I am a certified stepfamily coach who brings both professional training and lived experienced to my work. I’ve walked through long-distance, every-other-weekend step-motherhood, transitioned to full time step-parenting for some time, and later returned to a long distance role. These experiences give me a well-rounded understanding that while the challenges stepmoms face are fundamentally similar, each role carries its own unique emotional and relational complexities. I specialize in coaching long-distance stepmoms, a frequently overlooked minority within blended families that often face added stigma and misunderstanding. My passion lies in helping stepmoms feel seen, validated and confident in their role, no matter the distance.

Website | Instagram | TikTok

Keisha Williams

Therapist/Owner, Journey To Better Counseling Services PLLC

I am a licensed therapist and relationship coach. I specialize in serving Kingdom marriages by connecting couples to Kingdom purpose to know how to fight for their unions. I teach couples that marriage was God’s idea, and when He joins two individuals together, their union will have a greater impact on the Kingdom than what their individual callings could handle.

I draw from clinical approaches such as the Gottman Method of Couples Counseling, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Mindfulness, Motivational Interviewing, and Christian Counseling. I am passionate about serving people. Using an integrated model, I seek to meet you where you are.

As a Jesus follower, His influence guides and empowers my work, bringing healing, restoration, and hope to individuals and couples. I believe we were uniquely created, and we are not meant to do life alone. Being seen by your partner matters. Your relationship matters. It is my honor and mission to help couples move from fighting with one another to fighting together for the sake of their union.

Website | Facebook

Alex Willumsen

Founder, coach, mentor

Alex from @stepbystepbrighton supports women across the uk and beyond navigating the often unspoken realities of stepmotherhood. Having experienced the complexities of becoming a stepmum without having children of her own, Alex brings both lived understanding and professional insight to her work. For over 6 years she has created warm, non-judgmental spaces where women can speak honestly about grief, love, identity, infertility challenges and belonging. Through Step by Step Brighton, Alex mentors stepmums and couples to feel less alone and more confident in their roles. Her support groups and coaching are known for their compassion, honesty and practical wisdom—offering connection, validation and gentle guidance for women experiencing fertility challenges and/or realities of involuntary childlessness, and finding their place within blended families.

Instagram

Mia Wisinski

Creator, Playful Heart Parenting

Mia Wisinski has been a theater educator, performer, songwriter, and more… but her favorite role by far is being Mommy to Zal and Novi, and “Mama Mia” (stepmom) to Aliya.

Mia is deeply passionate about play, creativity, and laughter. As a naturally silly person, she was surprised by how quickly she lost touch with that part of myself after becoming a parent when she suddenly found herself in a stepmom role. Bit by bit, she found my way back and saw just how powerfully play could shift the whole energy of her home.

That journey led her to start Playful Heart Parenting in 2023. Since then, she’s connected with hundreds of thousands of parents who are looking to bring more lightness, humor, and connection into everyday life. Her mission is simple: to make the future a little brighter and more loving by helping families create more joyful, meaningful moments through laughter… even on the busiest days and in the hardest seasons.

Website | Instagram

Michelle Zunter

Writer, Personal Coach

Michelle Zunter (Brown) is a California-based writer who brings over 15 years of stepmom experience to her work.

Michelle has written countless articles on the topic of stepparenting for multiple publications, with a strong emphasis on self-reflection, compassion, and personal growth. Michelle’s complete collection of articles is archived at The Pondering Nook on Substack, where she currently writes about stepparenting, parenting, relationships, marriage, divorce, aging, and self-improvement.

Michelle created “The Pondering Stepmom Podcast,” which is available at The Pondering Nook on Substack, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts. Michelle authored “No Little Girl Ever Dreams Of Becoming A Stepmom: A Companion Guide For The Stepmom Journey,” a book designed to support stepmoms at all stages—whether they’re full-time, part-time, experienced, beginners, or in transition.

More recently, Michelle has started her coaching business as a certified mindset and life coach for women.

Substack | Instagram | Facebook | TikTok

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