Bronwyn Becker Charlton, Ph.D.

Bronwyn Becker Charlton, Ph.D., Co-Founder of seedlingsgroup, received her doctorate in Developmental Psychology from Columbia University and was a research scientist at New York University’s Center for Research on Culture, Development and Education. Dr. Charlton has published findings from her research on parenting and child development in prestigious journals and books, and lectured at professional conferences, schools, and public workshops. Dr. Charlton provides parenting support and developmental information to low-income mothers at Room To Grow; a direct-service program in New York City. She is on the advisory board of the not for profit Mount Sinai Parenting Center and is on the faculty at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in the Department of Pediatrics. She is also the mother of three children, Olivia, Graydon and Helena.

Aliza Pressman, M.A., Ph.D.

Aliza W Pressman, Ph.D., Co-Founder of seedlingsgroup, received her undergraduate degree from Dartmouth College, her MA in Risk, Resilience and Prevention from the Department of Human Development at Teacher's College and earned her Ph.D. in developmental psychology from the Columbia University Graduate School of Arts and Sciences with a fellowship at the National Center for Children and Families. Dr. Pressman is an assistant clinical professor at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in the Department of Pediatrics. Aliza is the co-founding director of the non profit Mount Sinai Parenting Center. She is the host of the podcast Raising Good Humans as well as the mother of her two daughters, Penelope and Vivian.

Mariel Benjamin, LCSW

Mariel Benjamin is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in New York City with over 10 years of experience at Mount Sinai Hospital working with families and children. She received her B.A. and B.S. summa cum laude from Northwestern University and her masters degree in social work from New York University.  Currently, Mariel is the Director of Programs at the Mount Sinai Parenting Center and is on faculty at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in the Department of Preventive Medicine. She has received multiple awards and recognition for clinical excellence and has presented at multiple national conferences on her work and expertise. Mariel is also the mother of 2 young children, Madelyn and Lucas.

Fern Drillings, R.N., M.S.N.

Fern Drillings, R.N., M.S.N. is a certified childbirth educator, lactation consultant, and a certified CPR instructor. She has been teaching childbirth preparation and CPR classes for over twenty five years. Ms. Drillings received her bachelor of nursing from the University of Rochester and her masters of nursing with specialty in woman's care from the University of Pennsylvania. She is currently on the faculty of the New York University and Adelphi University schools of nursing and has worked in several of Manhattan’s top hospitals.

Blair Hammond, M.D., General Pediatrician

Blair Hammond, M.D. received her undergraduate degree magna cum laude from Dartmouth, where she was a member of Phi Beta Kappa. She received her medical degree from Dartmouth–Hitchcock Medical Center, and later completed her residency training in Pediatrics at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, where she was awarded the Clinical Educator Award. Dr. Hammond also completed her medical education fellowship at ISMMS, and has since been the Pediatric Clerkship and Sub-Internship Course Director. In 2008, Dr. Hammond founded the General Pediatrics Faculty Practice where she still practices today. In 2010, she was awarded the Mount Sinai Excellence in Teaching Award. Today, Dr. Hammond is a board certified pediatrician who is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Pediatrics at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Dr. Hammond continues to be involved in medical student and resident education, in addition to her general pediatric practice.

seedlingsgroup supports the work of the Mount Sinai Parenting Center by donating time, materials and services. The Parenting Center’s mission is to integrate evidence-based parenting into every healthcare interaction.  By training pediatric healthcare providers, offering services for patients and families in need and conducting research to advance scientific knowledge, the Center aims to transform the delivery of pediatric healthcare nationwide.

Learn more about the Mount Sinai Hospital Parenting Center.