Jeannine Marie Lenehan


Jeannine Marie Lenehan - Founder and Principal

Let’s get started with The Resilient Child! Let’s Start Learning

Changing the Vernacular on Media & Child Health! Let’s Start Learning

Jeannine Marie Lenehan is Principal and Founder of SUNKISSED FAMILIES™ and the Center for Social & Emotional Health. Jeannine was raised in the Greater Boston area and earned her B.A. in English Literature. She went on to live several lives as a publicist, paraprofessional, and as a children’s advocate while raising her children with her husband Dan. She fulfilled her dream of returning to school while she was working at Tufts University in Medford, MA. It was there she enjoyed attending talks and lectures and where she met professor, mentor, and future Academic Advisor Julie Dobrow who shared her deep-seated understanding of media and its effects on child health. In 2013 she was accepted into the Masters Program at the Eliot-Pearson Department of Child Study and Human Development at Tufts University and received her M.A. in Child Development in 2015. Jeannine worked as a Graduate Researcher at The Center on Media & Child Health at Boston Children’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School and at Tufts University for Healthy Families, Children’s Trust Massachusetts. Her specialized areas of study include the interrelation of the psychological and social health of children, media & child health, and how a child’s healthy attachments can positively influence them and help foster their resilience. She is a member of the American Psychological Association [APA] and is CITI Certified [in human rights protections].

Jeannine has made her home with her husband on the Island of Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts where she enjoys researching and writing for parents and their families in addition to bicycling, kayaking, and making clam chowder for family and friends!

 

Acknowledgements

To my Academic Advisor, professor and mentor, Julie Dobrow, for sharing with me her deep-seated understanding of media and child health, for the awe-inspiring way she approaches her life and the lives of her students, and for her enriching and immeasurable contribution to mine. To all of my professors: Julie Dobrow, Martha Pott, Ellen Pinderhughes, Kerri Modry-Mandell, Chip Gidney, and Jayanthi Mistry for teaching me countless ways to optimize children’s health: with and without media. Your lessons continue to encourage me to be an ardent listener and participant, to weigh opinions regardless of popularity and, with equal measure, have the confidence to know my words are worthy of being heard. To my former Site Supervisor, Kristelle Lavallee, at the Center on Media and Child Health at Boston Children’s Hospital [CMCH], Boston, MA, for her wonderful guidance, for introducing me to numerous ways of optimizing children’s health through the production and consumption of media, and allowing me to introduce the rich voices of Erikson, Bowlby, and Ainsworth to the CMCH content. To Harvard University Associate Professor Michael Rich for bringing together a wealth of experience and making CMCH a reality, and making me feel so welcomed. To the Eliot-Pearson staff for their support, cheerful dispositions, and dedication to the Eliot-Pearson community. To the Eliot-Pearson students who inspired me every day with their camaraderie and the creative and proactive way they approach children’s health and development. To my colleagues at SUNKISSED FAMILIES™ for sharing their unique insight on the evolution of the social and emotional health of children and their families and for making this ride so worthwhile! To my husband Dan for his infinite wisdom, love and support, and for encouraging me to be the best version of myself. To my children, Julianne and Sean, for showing me, by example, the rich experiences that can evolve with creating your own rubric. To my mother for leaving me with beautiful memories and her unconditional love. I know yours was not an easy journey. To my mother-in-law for loving me like a daughter; and to my extended family and friends for their boundless humor, love, and for the precious bond we share.



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