Carolina Allen discusses motherhood with Erica Komisar, LCSW and Madeline Wallin from FEFAF and Haro

“Free women. Free women from feeling terrorized and imprisoned by the narrative that unless they are a hard driving career woman, making lots of money competing with men out in the world, that they have no value. Free women, and give them permission to embrace instincts that they feel, but society doesn’t give them permission to feel.” - Erica Komisar

“How can we talk about the future of the world if we can’t talk about, and especially in a forum that’s supposed to be for women, [if] we are not using the word ‘mother’ or ‘family’ and we’re talking about the future?” - Carolina Allen

“We need to use the words more. We need to show motherhood. We need to talk about it so much more and use the correct words. … Nobody exists without the mother!” - Madeline Wallin

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A graduate of Georgetown and Columbia Universities and The New York Freudian Society, Erica is a psychological consultant bringing parenting and work/life workshops to clinics, schools, corporations, and childcare settings, including The Garden House School, Goldman Sachs, Shearman, and Sterling and SWFS Early Childhood Center.

Erica Komisar is a clinical social worker, psychoanalyst, parent coach, and author. With 40 years of experience in private practice, she works to alleviate pain in individuals who suffer from depression, anxiety, eating, and other compulsive disorders. By helping them live better lives and have more prosperous, more satisfying relationships, she assists them in achieving their personal and professional goals and living up to their potential.

Erica is also the author of the book Being There: Why Prioritizing Motherhood in the First Three Years Matters and has appeared on major media networks such as CBS, ABC, FOX, and NPR. She regularly contributes to the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, New York Daily News, and FOX 5 NY. She is a Contributing Editor to the Institute for Family Studies. Her second book, Chicken Little The Sky Isn’t Falling: Raising Resilient Adolescents in the New Age of Anxiety was released in 2021. Her upcoming book, guiding parents through divorcing healthily, will be released in 2025. She lives in New York City with her husband, optometrist, and social entrepreneur Dr. Jordan Kassalow, with whom she has three teenage and young adult children.

Madeleine Wallin is General Secretary of the European Federation of Parents and Caregivers at Home (FEFAF) as well as the International Coordinator and Board Member for Haro: she previously served as President of both organizations. In her work at FEFAF and Haro, she advocates freedom of choice and equality for parents in Swedish family politics and wants to raise awareness about children's needs and the importance of motherhood. She has been interviewed by and written articles for many magazines, newspapers, and international media including the Wall Street Journal and the BBC. She is a mother of five children between 22 and 36 years of age. She lives in Hyssna, in the countryside close to Gothenburg in Sweden with her husband. Together they founded Malwa Forest AB, a business that manufactures and sells small forestry machines. Madeline is currently one of the owners and a member of the board.

Carolina Allen is the founder and leader of Big Ocean Women, the international maternal feminist organization representing perspectives of faith, family, and motherhood throughout civil society. Carolina holds a B.A. in philosophy from the University of Utah with an emphasis in cultural religions and philosophy of science. Her inspirational and philosophical work has been presented at various international U.N. conferences. She is a native of Brazil, and a fluent trilingual. She and her husband Kawika are parents to 7 children. She is an avid soccer fan and had a brief career as a semi-professional player.