Staff and Board

Blyth founded Courageous Parents Network in 2014, 13 years after the death of her daughter and nephew from infantile Tay-Sachs. Building on her career in television production and distance learning, she conceived of CPN as a way to bring the voices and lived experience of parents and clinicians to families actively caring for children with illness. She has worked with leaders in pediatric palliative care —doctors, nurses and nurse practitioners, social workers, patient advocacy groups, palliative and hospice care providers—as well as with families. She serves on the board of National Tay-Sachs and Allied Diseases Association, where she helps oversee NTSAD’s family support services, and in CPN’s liaison role to the American Academy of Pediatrics’ Section on Hospice and Palliative Medicine. In 2021, Blyth received the Presidential Citation for Palliative Care Advocacy from AAHPM.

Blyth received her BA in History from Yale College and a Masters in Education from Harvard University.

Jennifer brings her experience as an educator and development professional to her role in engaging patient and caregiver organizations, industry partners and healthcare clinicians. A bereaved mom, she serves as president of Ben’s Dream: Sanfilippo Research Foundation and has worked with researchers and patient advocacy groups worldwide to fund and advance gene therapies to the clinical trial stage. In addition to co-authoring Supporting Families Considering Participation in a Clinical Trial, she has been recognized with a Boston Celtics Heroes Among Us award, Global Genes RARE Champion of Hope, and Sanofi TORCH Award.

Jennifer received her MEd in middle school education from Lesley University.

Chrissy brings to CPN her experience as a psychologist with expertise in delivering support and intervention to parents and caregivers of children with complex medical needs. She is actively involved in the Society of Pediatric Psychology, Division 54 of the American Psychological Association. In addition to co-authoring the Standards of Psychosocial Care for Parents of Children with Cancer, she has founded a professional group of pediatric psychologists who are committed to supporting parent caregivers through clinical intervention, research, education and outreach. Chrissy also collaborates with colleagues nationally and internationally on efforts to improve the illness experience for children and their families and publishes on these topics.

Chrissy received her PhD in Clinical Psychology from The Ohio State University. She is an Assistant Clinical Professor, for the Department of Psychiatry at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.

Alison utilizes more than 10 years of marketing and communications experience to support CPN’s programs. The organization benefits from her attention to detail and ability to manage numerous tasks at once, as does her family. The mom of two young children, she relates to families’ desire to make good decisions and says, “I understand that parenting is a challenge, even on the best of days.”

Alison received her BS in Environmental Science from Muhlenberg College and her MA in Energy and Environmental Analysis from Boston University.

Claire graduated with a BA in Psychology from Boston College. Claire is interested in understanding the ways in which organizations can make change in society and specifically, the ways in which CPN helps make a difference in the lives of the families it serves. Claire is an active listener and a sympathetic voice who contributes her communication and organizational skills to the work of the CPN team.

Laura is a mother to a child with a life-limiting condition, an avid reader and writer, and a nurse. Her work has been featured in Positively Rare, the AAP Hospice and Palliative Care Newsletter, and the documentary film Dragon Mom. She serves on her local Commission on Disability and on a Parental Advisory Board supporting adaptive recreation programs. The writing of other courageous parents and passionate clinicians has shaped her advocacy, emotional life, and caregiving. At CPN, she works to connect, honor, and amplify the voices of families and clinicians.

Laura earned a bachelor’s degree in biopsychology from Bates College and a master’s degree in nursing from Columbia University.

Naomi is the mother of Noah Samuel, a former micro-preemie given a poor prognosis. She brings to CPN her lived experience raising a child with severe neurological impairment and life limiting diagnoses, as well as her skills as a life doula and grief coach. She models what a good quality of life can look like despite life limiting diagnoses and medical complexities. Naomi is the author of And God Remembered Noah and a principal in the 6,000 Waiting documentary (2019). She enjoys getting lost in nature, taking naps and long exhales on her yoga mat.

Naomi earned her Master of Public Health from Walden University.

Courageous Parents Network’s content management system and site are overseen by developer extraordinaire Z Brewer. We could not do this without him!

Devin works alongside Zach, developing new features to ensure that the Courageous Parents Network website experience is enjoyable and accessible to all. His prior experience in operations and customer service have made him a passionate advocate for users and their interests and needs.