The Penguin Speakers Bureau

Author and speaker Marybeth Hicks began her career in the White House where she wrote special correspondence and talking points for President Ronald Reagan. Today, her writing has shifted to focus on the most important job in the world—being a parent.

Marybeth is the weekly family columnist for The Washington Times, the general-interest daily newspaper located in the nation’s capital that is known across the country as “America’s newspaper.” Marybeth’s column “Then again…” appears on the cover of the Family Times section and explores issues and experiences that affect families and shape communities.

She is also the author of two parenting books. BRINGING UP GEEKS: How to Protect Your Kid’s Childhood in a Grow-Up-Too-Fast World (Penguin/Berkley, July 2008), includes a foreword by child advocate Dr. Kimberly Thompson, founder of Harvard’s Kids Risk project.

Marybeth’s first book, THE PERFECT WORLD INSIDE MY MINIVAN: One Mom’s Journey Through the Streets of Suburbia (Faith Publishing), is a special collection of columns that appeared originally in The Washington Times. This book was selected by the Catholic Press Association as one of the three most outstanding family books for 2006. Marybeth is a contributor to two anthologies, AMAZING GRACE FOR FAMILIES (2008) and AMAZING GRACE FOR MOTHERS (2004), both from Ascension Press.

Marybeth’s columns are syndicated each week to several nationally prominent websites, including www.jewishworldreview.com, www.catholicexchange.com, www.catholicmom.com, www.faithmag.com, and www.mommasaid.net. She has been published in Detroit’s Metro Parent magazine and the nationally syndicated FAITH magazine.

A popular radio personality, Marybeth appears each Monday morning as the hour-long featured guest on the nationally syndicated program Morning Air, the flagship morning drive show on Relevant Radio. Her live call-in segment allows her to field questions from callers about parenting and family-life issues. Morning Air is heard on over thirty radio stations in markets including Chicago, Pittsburgh, Minneapolis/St. Paul, and Austin.

After her job at the White House, Marybeth worked as a professional communicator for educational, health care, and corporate institutions. A Michigan resident, she was a gubernatorial appointee to the board of the Michigan Children’s Trust Fund. She currently serves on the advisory board of Partnership for Learning, a national non-profit that promotes school success.

Marybeth and her husband Jim Hicks, a law professor, live in the Midwest with their four children—Katie, eighteen; Betsy, sixteen; Jimmy, thirteen; and Amy, ten.

Check out Marybeth’s website at www.marybethhicks.com.