Today we’d like to introduce you to Katie Becker.
Hi Katie, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I was born and raised in northwestern Pennsylvania and was fortunate to grow up in a loving, supportive family. For the most part, I had a wonderful childhood, a foundation of safety, love, and stability that I didn’t fully appreciate at the time. Looking back, I see how much it shaped the way I parent my own son and drives my passion for helping other families provide the same sense of security and care for their children.
I met my wife at the one gay bar in my hometown, one of the few safe spaces for people like us at the time. We dated briefly before life took us in different directions. After college, I moved to San Francisco determined to work, explore, and experience everything the world had to offer. Ironically, while I was imagining a future partner somewhere in that bustling city, the right person was already living across the country. By then, she had moved to Bradenton to be closer to her family.
We reconnected online, and something clicked that neither of us expected. She visited me over Christmas, and the spark that started years earlier became the beginning of our life together.
Eventually, I moved from San Francisco to Bradenton to join her. It wasn’t easy. I left behind my friends, my professional network, and the vibrant LGBTQ+ community that had become my home. But I found my place in the nonprofit sector, spending nearly a decade at United Way. That chapter grounded me in community work, partnership-building, and a belief that strengthening families strengthens everything around them.
During that time, we also began trying for a child. I had always known I wanted to be a mom; she was unsure at first. But our story unfolded beautifully, and we were fortunate to welcome our son, who continues to be the brightest and best part of our world.
Then came the pandemic. In 2020, with a three-year-old who had respiratory vulnerabilities, my wife and I were juggling two full-time jobs from home while trying to keep him safe. Like so many parents, we quickly realized we couldn’t do it all. I stepped back from my career to become a stay-at-home mom. To help financially, I also watched our neighbor’s child, who was the same age.
That year and a half, beautiful, exhausting, isolating, and intense, reshaped everything I understood about parenting.
During that time, I joined the Board of Directors at Parenting Matters to stay connected to the community. The organization’s mission resonated deeply with what I was living every day. When the Executive Director position opened, the Board launched a national search, and my name rose to the top. By then, our son was safer, and our family was ready for me to return to work.
Stepping into the Executive Director role at Parenting Matters wasn’t just a career move, it was a calling rooted in my childhood, my values, and my own journey as a mom.
Today, I lead Parenting Matters with the belief that every parent deserves support, every child deserves a loving foundation, and every family, of every shape and story, deserves the opportunity to thrive.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
My most formative parenting moment happened at a literal crossroads.
One morning during the pandemic, I planned an outing at Robinson Preserve for the two boys. They raced happily down the trail on their balance bikes until they reached a fork in the path. One insisted on going left; the other was determined to go right. What followed was a classic parenting disaster: two screaming toddlers, two tiny bikes, one overwhelmed mom, and a trail full of onlookers pretending not to stare as I carried both children, and both bikes, back to the car.
That moment humbled me. It was exhausting, chaotic, and a little embarrassing, but it also gave me a deeper understanding of how parenting can overwhelm even the most prepared parents. And while that day stands out in my memory, it was just one of many moments like this, small and big, stressful and hilarious, that we experienced, and that countless parents navigate every single day.
Shortly after, I reached out to a friend, who happened to be a Parenting Educator at Parenting Matters, for help. I needed real tools: strategies to manage tantrums, build listening skills, reduce power struggles, encourage potty training, and create more calm at home.
Her guidance was life changing. She reassured me that I wasn’t failing—that what I was experiencing was developmentally typical, and that many parents simply don’t know what appropriate expectations look like at different ages. That understanding brought me peace, confidence, and a new perspective on what it means to support parents.
It also illuminated a truth that guides me every day in my work now:
Parents aren’t struggling because they’re doing something wrong.
Parents are struggling because parenting is hard—
and too many families don’t have anyone walking beside them.
That’s why Parenting Matters exists.
Through programs like Parent Partner, Chosen Families, and Musical Motion, we offer judgment-free, research-based tools and support to parents of all kinds, birth parents, adoptive families, blended families, chosen families, grandparents raising grandchildren, and anyone who loves and raises a child.
Our work strengthens parent-child relationships, supports emotional and early learning development, increases safety and stability, and builds homes filled with more joy and less stress.
Wherever parents are on their journey, whether confidently navigating, white-knuckling through, or somewhere in between—we’re here to walk that road with them.
Because every child deserves the kind of childhood that allows them to grow, thrive, and feel deeply loved.
And every parent deserves the support they need to make that possible.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
Parenting Matters was founded in 1994 by a group of dedicated professionals from child welfare, education, and a local Exchange Club who recognized the critical role parents play in ensuring the well-being of children. Partnering with the National Exchange Club (NEC), they established an organization focused on parenting education and child abuse prevention. Originally known as the Family Partnership Center, the organization began by serving just three families through its Parent Partner Program (PPP), an evidence-based, in-home program based on the NEC’s “Parent Aide” model.
Over three decades later, we have grown into one of only 67 Accredited Child Abuse Prevention Centers nationwide, and one of just three in Florida. We continue to maintain the highest level of accreditation (AAA) for excellence in both programming and professional operations, most recently earning reaccreditation in September 2025.
Today, Parenting Matters serves over 2,500 parents and children annually through a continuum of services that build family strengths and ensure families have what they need to thrive. Programs include home visiting, early-learning groups, classes, workshops, and post-adoption services, many of which are court-approved and available in both English and Spanish.
In 2018, Parenting Matters expanded by opening a second location at the Glasser-Schoenbaum Campus of Caring in Sarasota, broadening its impact in the region. The launch of the Musical Motion program in 2021 further strengthened early childhood support through play-based learning for parents and young children.
As a long-standing accredited Child Abuse Prevention Center, Parenting Matters remains committed to strengthening families and helping children grow up safe, healthy, and resilient. The organization is strategically working to expand access in Sarasota County, with the goal of achieving equity in services between Manatee and Sarasota Counties. Through the support of foundations, government partners, and individual donors, Parenting Matters is focused on increasing access to parenting education and support for Sarasota families, ensuring every parent has the tools and resources needed for success.
Parenting Matters’ mission is to advance the lives of children, together with their parents. We believe parenting is the single most powerful way to change the future. All parents should be supported in this most important role and deserve the opportunity to learn and grow. With a few positive changes and the right tools and strategies, we can help parents transform their families for generations.
Are there any books, apps, podcasts or blogs that help you do your best?
Dare to Lead by Brené Brown – on courage, vulnerability, and leadership
Strange Animals Podcast (my son’s fav)
All the Light We Cannot See, Anthony Doerr
Contact Info:
- Website: https://parentingmattersfl.org/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/parentingmattersfl/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ParentingMattersFL/
