My Choice Matters: Parenting to Prevent Substance Use will shine a spotlight on the emergence of vaping and explore how anxiety and depression can push pre-teens and teenagers to experiment with alcohol, tobacco and other drugs.

Substance use is something all parents are concerned about. This summit is designed to go beyond raising awareness. We will not only provide parents and caregivers with up-to-date information on what’s out there, but also arm parents with practical tips and resources.

Featured Keynote Speaker: Lynne Griffin

Lynne Griffin is a nationally recognized expert on relationships and family life. She is the author of three novels and the nonfiction guides Let’s Talk About It: Adolescent Mental Health and Negotiation Generation: Take Back Your Parental Authority Without Punishment. 

Lynne teaches family studies, early childhood education, and leadership at the undergraduate and graduate levels at Wheelock College in Boston. She recently completed a second year stint as visiting scholar of education in Singapore. In addition, Lynne teaches fiction writing at Grub Street Writers in Boston, and co-created the innovative and intensive program for soon-to-be-published writers called Launch Lab.

Her articles have appeared in Brain, Child, Parenting magazine, Scholastic’s Parent & Child, The Writer magazine, The Huffington Post, The Boston Globe, The Drum Literary Magazine, and more.