Stan Shapiro is a well-known teacher and parenting expert, psychotherapist, lecturer and author (Classrooms That Work, Practical Parenting, and Parent Talk). He is the Founder of the Ontario Parenting Education Center, the past Director of the Alfred Adler Institute of Ontario, and a former Course Director in the Faculty of Education at York University. Stan also founded Classrooms That Work – a professional development program for teachers.

Stan became committed to parenting and teacher education while working as a school psychologist in Dayton, Ohio during the mid 1960’s. He began studying with Dr. Rudolf Dreikurs, a student of renowned Psychiatrist Alfred Adler. Dreikurs was involved in adapting Adler’s principles to teaching and raising children. Stan worked to set up some of the first parenting workshops, which were based on ground breaking ideas such as respect for children, understanding the motivations for misbehavior, encouragement, and finding alternatives to the traditional disciplinary tools of punishment and rewards. Forty years later, this approach can be seen in virtually all of the parenting and teaching programs being offered today.     

Stan has led countless workshops with his practical, easy-to-understand and humorous style. From the inner-city schools of Detroit to a Cree School in the far northern town of Kuujjuaraapik, he has fought tirelessly for the idea that teachers and students can and should work cooperatively to create a positive classroom environment.  At the same time, as one of North America’s top parenting experts, he has worked to stress the importance of making parenting education available to every community.

 He has two children and five grandchildren.


Karen Skinulis

Karen Skinulis became interested in parenting issues as a young teenager when her father, Stan Shapiro, first met Rudolf Dreikurs. Their enthusiasm about the importance of respectful parenting infused her with a desire to work in this field.  She graduated from York University with a BA in psychology and then went on to become a certified Montessori Teacher. For the last twenty-five years she has taught parenting classes and workshops to a wide audience including organizations and corporations such as The University Health Network, TD Bank, and MDS Sciex as well as family-focused agencies such as The Catholic Children’s Aid Society and The Kiwanis Club. She has co-authored three books for parents and teachers: Practical Parenting, Classrooms That Work, and Parent Talk.  Karen is the mother of two daughters.