workshops & consultations

Melissa offers parent workshops and speaking engagements for school districts, professional, parenting, & community organizations, and in-home groups known as “The Living Room Series”. She works with parents of toddlers, tweens, and teens. If you are interested in hosting an event, please reach out for rates and dates.

For related content and resources follow Melissa on Instagram @askable_mama

What Parents Are Saying

Speaking Topics

  • Sometimes it's difficult to know how much is too much (or too little) to discuss at any given age but sexual health education needs to start early and at home. It's not a one time talk but a series of conversations that happen over time. We'll talk about why these conversations are so important (hint..it's mostly safety related), when to have these conversations, how to start the conversations, and what may be getting in the way for you as a parent!

  • Research shows that rates of sexual assault among young people are high and that parents and caregivers are not always discussing the basic fundamental issue of consent with young people. Teaching consent starts early - way before kids are sexual intimate. It's a topic that comes up , or should be, in family dyanamics, in online interactions, and in every day life and we have so many opportunities to start teaching and modeling the foundations of consent. 

  • Sexually Explicit Content is different and far more accessible than it used to be. For this reason, it's important for parents and teens alike to think critically about it. This can include helping them understand the skewed gender dynamics, inaccurate and false portrayals of reality, racism, bias, and misogyny, violence, and most importantly the performative nature. Teens need to know that porn is not an accurate portrayal of sex and they should understand the potential negative impacts it can have on their sexual health and development. Teens and adults alike may also benefit from learning about ethical pornography.

  • It is getting increasingly difficult for parents to make decisions about when and how to allow their kids social media and tech use. And for good reason! The research continues to tell us how dangerous it is while the access continues to grow and grow. Sometimes it can feel like you are losing control - but staying informed is key. It is important to be knowledgable about what kids are doing and seeing online, what the current risks are, and what measures you may can put it place to help make sure their media use feels healthy, safe and aligned with your families values. 

Previous Speaking Engagements:

Curious where Melissa has presented before?
Here is a list of some recent groups:

  • Bender JCC "Tough Talk Series" - Bethesda, MD

  • Breastfeeding Center for Greater Washington - Washington, DC

  • Community Group - Austin, TX

  • Community Group - Raleigh, NC

  • District of Columbia Public Schools - Washington, DC

  • Edlavitch JCC - Washington, DC

  • Family Psychological Services of Capitol Hill - Washington, DC

  • Foundry United Methodist Church - Washington, DC

  • Hill Center at the Old Naval Hospital - Washington, DC

  • Northern Virginia Parents of Multiples - Fairfax, Virginia

  • Pyle Middle School - Bethesda, MD

  • Rachel Bailey’s Parenting Academy

  • Sidwell Friends Parent Group - Washington, DC

  • St. Mark's Episcopal Church - Washington, DC

  • Thurgood Marshall Child Development Center - Washington, DC

  • United States Senate Mom's Group - Washington DC

  • Vienna Mom's  - Vienna,VA

Askable mama 

Askable Mama started as sexual abuse prevention work. In my first job after graduate school, I worked in a pediatric psychiatric hospital where every child on my caseload had been a victim of sexual abuse. I worked in a few different places after that (mostly schools & social service agencies) and there too so many of my young clients had been victims of sexual abuse and assault. As I became more and more acutely aware of the intersection between sexual trauma and mental health, I also realized that many of these kids did not have the language for what was happening, nor did they have an adult that they felt comfortable turning to.

In 2011 I started primarily working with adults. Clients would come to therapy for anxiety, depression, relationship challenges, etc,,, but almost inevitably sexual health would enter the conversation. Often clients would discover that their lack of sexual health education had negatively impacted their health and well-being as adults. I kept feeling that there has to be a better way. It became clearer and clearer that a lack of comprehensive sexual health education, and a societal and cultural discomfort in talking about sexual health leads to shame, conflict, confusion, an increased risk of victimization.

I developed Askable_Mama to support parents on breaking this cycle. I help parents see "why" these conversations are imperative and I help them think through and plan how to have them. Over the years, the work has evolved. As children have more online access, and since social media and AI have become inescapable, what were once only in-person risks are now increasingly online dangers. My workshops and consultations are built to help parents understand the concerns and to help them gain confidence and comfort around how to have these conversations early and often throughout childhood and adolescence. 

 Interested in having Melissa speak to your group or organization?
Contact us for more information & availability.

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