Dawn O. Braithwaite
Willa Cather Professor of Communication Studies Emeritus at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, USA

Dawn O. Braithwaite Ph.D. is a Willa Cather Professor of Communication Studies Emeritus at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. She studies how families interact to create, navigate, and change relationships and rituals, especially in stepfamilies and chosen families. She has published six books in 14 editions and 160 articles. Dr. Braithwaite was named a Distinguished Scholar of the National Communication Association (NCA) and is a NCA Past President. Dr. Braithwaite received NCA’s Brommel Award for Family Communicatoin. She authors the “Communication Matters” blog for Psychology Today: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/communication-matters

Lawrence Ganong
Emeritus Professor of Human Development and Family Science and Nursing at the University of Missouri, USA

Lawrence Ganong, Ph.D., is Emeritus Professor of Human Development and Family Science and Nursing at the University of Missouri, USA. He has co-authored over 310 journal articles and chapters and 10 books and has received 12 grants from public and private institutions. Ganong’s research program has focused on how post-divorce families, particularly stepfamilies, develop and maintain satisfying and effective relationships. Ganong is a Fellow in the National Council on Family Relations and the Gerontological Society of America. He has served on the Board of Directors of the National Council on Family Relations, the Council on Contemporary Families, and The Stepfamily Association of America.

Patricia L. Papernow
Director of the Institute for Stepfamily Education, USA

Dr. Patricia Papernow integrates current research with over 4 decades of clinical practice to teach all over the U.S. and the world about best practices for meeting stepfamily challenges. She has written dozens of articles and book chapters and has authored the leading books for clinicians and stepfamily members: Surviving and Thriving in Stepfamily Relationships: What Works and What Doesn’t, and, with Karen Bonnell, The Stepfamily Handbook: From Dating to Getting Serious to Forming a “Blended Family.” Patricia is the recipient of awards for Distinguished Contribution to Family Psychology from the American Psychological Association, and for Distinguished Contribution to Family Therapy Theory and Practice from the American Family Therapy Academy.

Professor Angela Abela is a clinical psychologist, a family therapist, and a clinical supervisor. She played a pioneering role in the setting up of a Centre for Family Studies at the University of Malta which later became the Department of Child and Family Studies where she is a resident academic. She spearheaded the setting up of the Maltese Association for Family Therapy and Systemic Practice (MAFT-SP) and currently serves as its President. Formerly chairing the National Family Commission, she is the deputy chairperson of the Committee for Positive Parenting and Strengthening of the Family. This committee oversees the implementation of Malta’s Positive Parenting Strategy (2016-2024) for which she is the primary author. She sits on the Board of Directors of the Malta Foundation for the Wellbeing of Society. On an international level, she has worked extensively as an expert for the Council of Europe in the area of children and families. She has published widely in the field of family studies and is a former associate editor of Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry published by Sage. She is also an International Advisory Editor of Contemporary Family Therapy: An International Journal, published by Springer Science. In 2022, she received the European Family Therapy Association award in recognition of her excellence in the field of research in family therapy and systemic practice.

Suzanne Piscopo is a Professor within the Department of Health, Physical Education and Consumer Studies in the Faculty of Education at the University of Malta and currently chairs the Faculty Doctoral Committee. She is mainly involved in Masters level teacher training of prospective Home Economics, Primary and Early Childhood Education teachers. She also lectures within the BSc (Hons) Home Economics programme and is often invited as an ad hoc lecturer in other university courses. Suzanne’s main expertise is on responsible resource management for wellbeing in the realms of health, food and nutrition, money management, time management, consumer issues and all within the context of families, households and communities. Her research interests include family and couple relationships, food security, poverty and reference budgets, sustainable consumption, as well as education for food literacy and sustainable development, and she has multiple publications and has presented internationally in these areas. She is also the Academic Coordinator of a national community education project focusing on sustainable living. Suzanne is a Registered Nutritionist, Registered European Health Promotion Practitioner and Registered Professional Home Economist. She has been a member of the team working on the Malta Couple Relationship studies and now Blended Families study since 2014.

Sue Vella is an Associate Professor of Social Policy and currently heads the Department of Social Policy and Social Work at the University of Malta.  Sue lectures in social policy, covering the origins and development of the welfare state; social policy analysis; European social policy; and the politics and philosophy of welfare.  She currently supervises three doctoral candidates on welfare attitudes; NGO governance; and the doctoral student experience. Prior to joining University, Sue had almost twenty years’ experience in senior positions in the public sector, including the public employment service and the agency responsible for trade and investment. She was a member of the EU’s Employment Committee for seven years and chaired its technical group and has had broad experience in the governance of various public and non-governmental organisations. Sue was a board director of HSBC Malta for six years, and coordinates the national team on the European Social Policy Analysis Network.  Her research and publication interests include families; poverty, employment and social security; migration; and the voluntary sector.  Sue has been a member of the team working on the Malta Couple Relationship studies and now the Blended Families study since 2014.

Allison is a registered clinical psychologist and family therapist. She has experience in various capacities through nongovernmental organisations and state agencies. She holds clinical experience in the public Education and Health sectors within school-based psychological services and child and adolescent mental health services, where she worked largely with children and adolescents presenting with a range of psychological and relational difficulties. Her current practice within the private sector is particularly focused on working therapeutically with children, adolescents and families, with a special interest in attachment, anxiety, mood disorders, and behavioural difficulties. She is also trained in psychometric testing and devotes part of her practice to assessment and intervention to support children with neurodevelopmental needs. She has been engaged as a supervisor in student research and practice within the Department of Psychology and as a visiting lecturer within the Department of Child and Family Studies at the University of Malta. She has also contributed as a research officer in several projects carried out by the National Centre for Family Research.