Dr. Amy Tiemann and Kidpower founder Irene van der Zande have each reached millions of people with innovative resources that improve lives through education and empowerment.

The Authors

The dynamic co-author duo of Amy Tiemann PhD, and Irene van der Zande, founder of Kidpower, have a combined expertise of more than 50 years of advocating for personal safety, abuse prevention, and violence reduction. They have achieved this both by working together through Kidpower International, and by pursing their individual interests including full-time classroom teaching, martial arts, organizational consulting, serving as a child advocate (guardian ad litem), and writing more than a dozen books. Doing Right by Our Kids is a powerful culmination of their partnership, bringing their knowledge, expertise and practical skills to a wide audience of parents, teachers, and all who work in youth-serving organizations.

Amy Tiemann PhD

Dr. Amy Tiemann leads at all levels. A Stanford-trained neuroscientist, Amy Tiemann is an educator at heart who connects with audiences as an author, speaker and trainer, and media producer.

Tiemann brought Kidpower training to her state, establishing the Kidpower North Carolina Center in 2008. As a nationally-respected personal safety expert, she has consulted with K-12 schools and served on UNC-Chapel Hill’s Title IX Task Force to improve the university’s policies addressing sexual assault and domestic violence.

As the author of Mojo Mom:  Nurturing Your Self While Raising a Family,  Dr. Tiemann is a sought-after speaker and commentator, and a frequent guest expert on parenting websites, national radio tours, magazines from Redbook to Glamour, and TV including ABC News, the CBS Early Show, and NBC’s Today Show.

Knowing the power of stories to create social change, she serves as an Executive Producer of socially relevant films through her company Spark Productions. Recent films include The Rape of Recy Taylor and Olympic Pride, American Prejudice, documentaries that tell important historical stories that have profound relevance to modern society’s challenges.

In her free time, Amy enjoys martial arts. She is a black-belt practitioner of To-Shin Do ninjutsu who is proud to train alongside her husband and son as an “all-black-belt family.”

Amy Tiemann’s combination of perspectives gives her a unique ability to make an impact on individuals, families, and cultural standards to create positive social change.

To interview Dr. Amy Tiemann, arrange to have her give a “Doing Right By Our Kids” seminar, or speak at your event, please contact Cynthia Fioretti, via cynthia@ckfio.com or 301-367-0664.  You can learn more about Amy's work at AmyTiemann.com

Irene van der Zande
Founder of Kidpower International®

Irene van der Zande empowers millions of people worldwide. She is the Founder and Executive Director of Kidpower Teenpower Fullpower International®, the global nonprofit leader in ‘People Safety’ education, providing positive and practical solutions to bullying, violence, and abuse. Since 1989, Irene has inspired an international movement of leaders, reaching over 5 million people of all ages, abilities, identities, and walks of life with effective, culturally-competent interpersonal and social safety skills.

Throughout Irene’s three decades of leadership and collaboration, Kidpower has earned an outstanding reputation for developing, organizing, and presenting high quality child protection, positive communication, advocacy, self-defense, and personal safety programs and curriculum. She is an expert at adapting services to meet the needs of those facing increased risk of violence because of disabilities, poverty, and prejudice.

As Kidpower’s lead author, Irene puts life-saving skills and lessons directly into the hands of parents and professionals. Her work has gained world-wide acclaim by experts in education, law enforcement, and health for being upbeat, experiential, age-appropriate, emotionally safe, traumainformed, and relevant. Kidpower lessons have been presented in over 20 languages, across six continents.

Irene is an inspiring and entertaining speaker, trainer, and storyteller who is a master at preparing people to turn problems into successful practices; take charge of their safety and well-being; and develop joyful relationships that enrich their lives.

To learn more about Kidpower International's workshops, training, and free resources, visit www.Kidpower.org.  To arrange an interview, consultation, or speaking engagement with Irene van der Zande, please email safety@kidpower.org or call 800-467-6997.