Welcome to the Read For Pixels Author Alumni section where you can check out previous panels and learn more about the dads and experts who have previously taken part in Fathers For Pixels livestream panel sessions.
They support the cause to end violence against women. Do you?
It’s time to stop violence against women. Together.
Walking The Walk: A Better Self, A Better Dad
Brian Anderson, co-founder of Fathering Together; Evan Grae Davis, the acclaimed documentary filmmaker of It’s A Girl; and Mike Duncan, founder and executive director of the Native Dads Network will be discussing why it is important for dads to work on recognising and rooting out ingrained sexism, misogyny, and toxic masculinity in themselves, sharing their tips and experiences for doing this successfully, and why this will help dads become better parents while helping prevent and stop violence against women and girls.
This live panel session took place at 8.30pm EST, June 5th, 2020 (Friday). Check out the panel session on YouTube here.
Brian Anderson – USA
BRIAN ANDERSON is the co-founder of Fathering Together, a global initiative to bring fathers together through storytelling, educational opportunities and community. Prior to Fathering Together, Brian worked with college men to understand masculine privilege and devise strategies to be allies for women and girls. As the proud father of two spirited daughters, he works to see a bright future for them, free of violence and filled with opportunity.
Evan Grae Davis – USA
EVAN GRAE DAVIS is the husband of Jennifer, father of Jarrett and Ashton, adventurer, activist, speaker, documentary filmmaker, director of It’s a Girl, and human rights advocate. His passion is to create (and equip others to create) strategic media communication tools that impact culture through storytelling methods that engage the heart. Having encountered the scope of violence against women throughout the world in his travels, he sees advocating for equality and justice for women as a key priority.
Mike Duncan – USA
MIKE DUNCAN is an enrolled member of Round Valley Indian Tribes. His tribal heritage is Concow/ Wailaki / Wintun/ Western Band Shoshone. He is the founder and CEO of the Native Dads Network. Mike facilitates the “Fatherhood is Sacred” curriculum that has been completed by 200 parents and families, helping create a network of fatherhood groups in Northern California. He works with urban and rural native communities, conducting workshops on Historical Trauma/Intergenerational Trauma, Healthy Relationships, and Family Violence and Abuse.
Raising Good Men: Shaping Boys into Men who Respect Women and Girls
Brit Holmberg, a veteran clinical social worker; Davud Grosic, a life coach specialising in helping men manage their emotions; and Dr Prem Kumar Vijayan, an expert in Hindu nationalism and masculinity, will be discussing why it is critical for dads to teach and role model non-sexist, non-violent, and non-misogynistic behaviour and values to their sons in order to help prevent and stop violence against women in their communities. They will be sharing their expertise and experiences on the steps that dads can take to be better male role models and conscientious parents to their sons.
This live panel session took place at 10.30am EST/3.30pm UK Time, June 13th, 2020 (Saturday). Check out the panel session on YouTube here.
Brit Holmberg – USA
BRIT HOLMBERG is a Clinical Social Worker with a decade of experience providing mental health services to a wide array of populations in the Chicagoland area. Brit uses a strengths-based approach to support clients in identifying their core values and finding their voice. Brit’s interests include mindfulness, anti-racist practice, spirituality, and group work. You may run into him on the bike path, a community march, one of the city’s great restaurants, or at a playground with his 2 young children.
Davud Grosic – Slovenia
DAVUD GROSIC is from Slovenia and has two beautiful kids. He runs a life coaching business where he works with men to show them how to understand and manage their emotions. The first thing he does is find what is causing that behavior and why is that happening so that they can work to end violence in their families and communities.
Prem Kumar Vijayan – India
DR. PREM KUMAR VIJAYAN did his MPhil in English from Delhi University, and his PhD from the International Institute of Social Studies, in The Hague, The Netherlands. His thesis was recently published as a book, Gender and Hindu Nationalism: Understanding Masculine Hegemony. Vijayan is a father of a son and a daughter and lives in Delhi, India.
Empowering Daughters: Raising Girls Without Sexism
Bernardo Rosa Rodrigues, a public affairs expert; George Ivan Maertens Aramayo, a former NCAA basketball player; and Dr Kyle Ashlee, a writer, educator, and stay-at-home dad, will be discussing why it is critical for dads to rise to the challenge of parenting daughters with as little sexism as possible. They will be sharing their expertise and experiences on the steps that dads can take to recognise and resist ingrained sexist parenting practice while supporting their daughters as they confront sexism, misogyny, and rape culture.
This live panel session took place at 10.30am EST/3.30pm UK Time, June 20th, 2020 (Saturday). Check out the panel session on YouTube here.
Bernardo Rosa Rodrigues – Portugal & Belgium
BERNARDO ROSA RODRIGUES is Portuguese and lives in Brussels, Belgium. He loves spending time with his children and other than contributing to The Pixel Project as part of their Research and Twitter Tag teams, he’s also very active in his kids’ school and in a number of initiatives to make Brussels a greener and more pleasant city. He works in public affairs.
George Ivan Maertens Aramayo – USA
GEORGE IVAN MAERTENS ARAMAYO (a.k.a. Iván) is a Bolivian American raised in Washington Heights, Manhattan. Being 6’6”, he played basketball D1 NCAA and professionally overseas. While studying psychology at UNCG, he played college volleyball too. Currently, he works with Fathering Together to support men struggling with mental wellness. He was a father to 3 daughters, but lost one at birth and another recently to violence. Currently he is raising his youngest daughter who is 17 years old.
Kyle Ashlee – USA
DR KYLE ASHLEE is a writer, educator, and stay-at-home dad who lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota. When he’s not chasing after his daughter, he spends his time writing and speaking about fatherhood, education, and spirituality.
Using Your Voice: Influencing Male Peers and the Community to Stop Sexism, Misogyny, and Violence Against Women
Albert G. Titman, Chairman of The Board of Directors of the Native Dads Network; Jim C. Hines, award-winning Science Fiction & Fantasy author and former crisis counselor; and Robert De Leon, Texas-based activist and community leader will be discussing how dads can speak up and take action to get their peers and community to prevent and stop sexism, misogyny, and violence against women and girls.
This live panel session will take place at 8.30pm EST, June 26th, 2020 (Friday). Check out the panel session on YouTube here.
Albert G. Titman – USA
ALBERT G. TITMAN hails from the Nishenom/ Miwok/ Maidu/ Pit River/Mexica people. He is the current Chairman of the Board of Directors for the Native Dads Network. Albert is also the Lead Addictions counselor at the Sacramento Native American Health Center Inc. where he provides alcohol/drug abuse assessments, diagnosis, and treatment to individuals, couples, families, and groups to achieve more productive marriage, family, and social adjustment. Albert is the father of 5 grown-up children and enjoys Miwok traditional ceremonial singing and dancing and cooking for his family.
Jim C. Hines – USA
JIM C. HINES is the author of the Magic ex Libris series, the Princess series of fairy tale retellings, and the humorous Goblin Quest trilogy. His latest novel is Terminal Uprising, book two in the humorous science fiction Janitors of the Post-Apocalypse trilogy. He’s an active blogger, and won the 2012 Hugo Award for Best Fan Writer. Jim was a crisis counselor in college and is the only SFF author with a dedicated section on his website for rape resources. He lives in mid-Michigan with his family.
Robert De Leon – USA
ROBERT DE LEON is an activist and community leader that is strongly committed to community development and sustaining advocacy around health promotion and the role that the family unit plays in the evolution of our society. Robert has worked on a diverse portfolio of programs that affect the Latino community including intimate partner violence (IPV). He a
Raising Boys in a Digital World: Fathering in the Age of Social Media
Emiliano Diaz de Leon, the Men’s Engagement Specialist at the Texas Association Against Sexual Assault (TAASA); Soraya Chemaly, Director and co-founder of the Women’s Media Center Speech Project; and Stuart Chase, a veteran communications, public and media relations and social media expert, will be discussing the unique challenges of parenting boys in the age of social media including help boys navigate and use social media safely while respecting women and girls online, neutralising the subcultures of misogyny and femicide on social media (and teaching their sons to do the same), as well as what men and boys can do to help prevent and intervene in online violence against women and girls.
This live panel session will take place at 10.30am ET, June 5th, 2021 (Saturday). Bookmark the YouTube Live page here.
Emiliano Diaz de Leon – USA
EMILIANO DIAZ DE LEON works for the Texas Association Against Sexual Assault (TAASA) as the Men’s Engagement Specialist. Emiliano came to this work as a victim advocate due to his experiences of family violence and his perpetration of teen dating violence. He is a proud dada of an 11-year-old boy named Joaquin and is happily married to Cynthia, a longtime educator. He strives to be a role model for his son and other men working to heal and end cycles of violence. He lives in Austin, Texas.
Stuart Chase – Canada
STUART CHASE has almost 20 years of varied communications, public and media relations and social media experience across governmental, agency, private and non-profit sectors. In short, he loves to tell a good story. He lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with his wife of 15 years and their two children.
The “Fathers Raising Feminist Sons” Session: The Samalin Family
MenChallenging Co-founder, Joe Samalin, his father, Rich Samalin, and his brother Matt Samalin who is a dad to a toddler son, will be discussing the role of dads in raising boys into men to respect women and girls and challenge toxic masculinity and how this has worked in and for their family, as well as for their peers and their wider community.
This live panel session will take place at 10.30am ET, June 12th, 2021 (Saturday). Bookmark the YouTube Live page here.
Joe Samalin – USA
JOE SAMALIN was born and raised in New York City, and has been working on issues of gender-based violence for over 20 years, beginning as a student activist and organizer. He has worked with numerous organizations in NYC, nationally, and internationally including Day One, San Horizon, Men Can Stop Rape, Breakthrough, and others, and currently works as a consultant to help engage men and boys in preventing gender violence. He has experience designing and facilitating trainings, curricula, and men’s engagement programs, and has delivered hundreds of talks, lectures, and workshops relating to gender violence. In 2019 he co-founded MenChallenging, an online campaign challenging men to directly support survivors of gender violence and to take action to prevent it.
Matt Samalin – USA
MATT SAMALIN was born and raised in New York City. He attended SUNY Purchase for an undergraduate degree in performance, and is currently finishing up a PsyD as a school psychologist. He is currently working as a counselor to college and university students, and lives with his partner Bella and their son Oliver in upstate New York.
Rich Samalin – USA
RICH SAMALIN was born and raised in the Bronx NY and was a talented athlete and musician from high school on. He is a classically trained bass player, recording engineer, composer, and more. He currently works as the sole audio engineer to George Guidall, heralded as the top audio book voice over artist today. He is married to muralist and painter Lisa Samalin, and they have two sons Matt and Joe, one grandson Oliver, and two cats.
Fathering and Masculinity in the Pandemic Era
Dr Jamie Rishikof, a clinical psychologist working with kids, teens, and families for more than 20 years, and Emiliano Diaz de Leon, the Men’s Engagement Specialist at the Texas Association Against Sexual Assault (TAASA) will be discussing the unique demands of parenting boys during the global pandemic including challenging toxic masculine behaviour that sabotages public health efforts, what fathers can do to help their sons understand and adhere to public health and safety best practices, and what fathers and sons can do to help stop the shadow pandemic of violence against women.
This live panel session will take place at 10.30am ET, June 19th, 2021 (Saturday). Bookmark the YouTube Live page here.
Dr Jamie Rishikof – USA
DR JAMIE RISHIKOF been in practice as a clinical psychologist working with kids, teens, and families for more than 20 years. He has two children: Carter (12) and Madison (9). He finds that his clinical work informs his life as a parent, and his experience as a parent informs his clinical perspective.
Emiliano Diaz de Leon – USA
EMILIANO DIAZ DE LEON works for the Texas Association Against Sexual Assault (TAASA) as the Men’s Engagement Specialist. Emiliano came to this work as a victim advocate due to his experiences of family violence and his perpetration of teen dating violence. He is a proud dada of an 11-year-old boy named Joaquin and is happily married to Cynthia, a longtime educator. He strives to be a role model for his son and other men working to heal and end cycles of violence. He lives in Austin, Texas.
Michael Yonas, DrPH, MPH – USA
MICHAEL YONAS, DrPH, MPH, serves as vice president of public health, research and learning and is responsible for managing The Pittsburgh Foundation’s public health research, prevention and intervention initiatives. He is the proud dad of Zachary (age 20) and Annie (age 16).
The “Fathers Raising Feminist Sons” Session: The Kishore Family
Captain Kishore Chinta and his 16-year-old son, Yogit Kishore, will be discussing the role of dads in raising boys into men to respect women and girls and challenge toxic masculinity and how this has worked in and for their family, as well as for their peers and their wider community.
This live panel session took place at 10.30am ET, June 4th, 2022 (Saturday). The YouTube recording is archived here.
Captain Kishore Chinta – India
CAPTAIN KISHORE CHINTA was born in a sleepy seaside town Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh and raised in Vizag, a bustling port city. He is an alumni of the illustrious National Defense Academy and a former Indian Air Force fighter pilot on Mig 21s & Mirage 2000. He has been a corporate and business aviation pilot for last 16 years who has flown 14 different aircraft and now runs his own company. Additionally, he has been actively involved in social work and volunteer work during the COVID pandemic and runs a yearly campaign to donate blankets and medicines to the homeless. Throughout the COVID pandemic, he was actively involved in finding oxygen, hospital beds and medicines for COVID patients. Captain Kishore is married to a fellow Air Force officer who has been a pillar of support for 21 years and counting. They are blessed with a 20-year-old daughter and 16-year-old son.
Yogit Kishore – India
YOGIT KISHORE was born and raised in New Delhi, India. A 16 year old who is a 10th class student in BGS International School, Dwarka, New Delhi. He has a Red belt in Taekwondo and is a national-level roller skater who has won multiple medals. Yogit loves video games and listening to music. He is also learning to play the guitar. He aspires to become a pilot like his father.
“My Book Dad”: Fatherhood and Male Role Models in Speculative Fiction
Acclaimed speculative fictions authors Errick Nunnally, Marshall Ryan Maresca, and Paul Tremblay will be discussing fatherhood in fantasy, science fiction, and horror and how positive male role models in genre fiction can help address sexism, misogyny, & violence against women in pop culture.
This live panel session took place at 10.30am ET, June 18h, 2021 (Saturday). The YouTube recording is archived here.
Errick Nunnally– USA
ERRICK NUNNALLY was raised in Boston, served in the USMC, graduated from art school, and studied Krav Maga. He has published three novels, Blood for the Sun, All the Dead Men, and Lightning Wears a Red Cape, and several stories in anthologies and magazines. Visit erricknunnally.us to learn more about his work.
Marshall Ryan Maresca – USA
MARSHALL RYAN MARESCA is a fantasy and science-fiction writer, author of the Maradaine Saga: Four braided series set amid the bustling streets and crime-ridden districts of the exotic city called Maradaine, which includes The Thorn of Dentonhill, A Murder of Mages, The Holver Alley Crew and The Way of the Shield, as well as the dieselpunk fantasy, The Velocity of Revolution. He is also the co-host of the Hugo-nominated, Stabby-winning podcast Worldbuilding for Masochists, and has been a playwright, an actor, a delivery driver and an amateur chef. He lives in Austin, Texas with his family.
Paul Tremblay – USA
PAUL TREMBLAY has won the Bram Stoker, British Fantasy, and Massachusetts Book awards and is the author of The Pallbearers Club, Survivor Song, The Cabin at the End of the World, A Head Full of Ghosts, and other novels and collections. His essays and short fiction have appeared in the Los Angeles Times, New York Times, and numerous year’s-best anthologies. He has a master’s degree in mathematics and lives outside Boston with his family.