Laura Carroll, Panel Chair, is a nonfiction writer, and her books include Families of Two: Interviews With Happily Married Couples Without Children by Choice (with its 2nd edition in development) and The Baby Matrix. Families of Two received global recognition and paved the way for her to be internationally known as an expert on the childfree choice since the year 2000. She has a MS in Psychology, and has conducted qualitative research on the childfree choice since the late 1990s. Laura ran the popular blog, La Vie Childfree, now a childfree writings library at lauracarroll.com. Her current research also includes a 10-year study on childfree women. Her books have been used in college curriculum, and she is also a contributor to the textbook, Voluntary and Involuntary Childlessness: The Joys of Otherhood?. Laura has appeared on network television, including ABC’s Good Morning America and CBS’ The Early Show, and has been a guest on many radio talk shows, US and Canadian public radio. She and her work have been in a wide range of print/digital media, including Fortune, The Wall Street Journal and New York Magazine.
Amy Blackstone, Ph.D. is author of Childfree by Choice: The Movement Redefining Family and Creating a New Age of Independence (Dutton, 2019). She a sociologist whose areas of expertise include the childfree choice and childfree families, research methods, workplace harassment, and civic engagement. She is a professor in Sociology and the Margaret Chase Smith Policy Center at the University of Maine. Dr. Blackstone’s research has appeared in a variety of academic and media sources including the New York Times, public radio, NBC, Fox, TODAY, Ms., Time, Marie Claire, and other national, regional, and international outlets. Lance Blackstone’s day job involves business analysis — and wishing he didn’t have a day job. Lance is a tropical fish and scuba enthusiast and he blogs and guest blogs on being childfree from a guy’s perspective. Amy and Lance have been married since 1995 and are happily childfree. Together, they run the blog we’re {not} having a baby!.
Jessica Wade Jessica Wade works in IT for the University of Maine. She is the creator of the widely followed Facebook page The Childfree Choice and its corresponding website and social media pages. She does guest speaking at events throughout the year and talks about being childfree and what that means in the world today. In her free time, she enjoys hanging out with her husband of eleven years and their plethora of pets, traveling, reading, and gardening.
George Davis is part of the team that runs Why No Kids website, facebook and twitter community catalyzing constructive conversation about the childfree choice. He has a Master’s in Humanities, taught at Santa 
Fe Preparatory School and The American School of Paris, co-founded Maison Margaux in Paris’ Faubourg Saint-Germain and Adobe Oasis in Santa Fe. His current ventures include Essex Editions (co-founder and publisher), The Rewilding Institute (board), the Depot Theatre (advisory council), and the Saranac Review (advisory board). One day George will sail around the world. Until then he lives with his bride and dog in the Adirondacks, in New Mexico’s high desert, and online at virtualdavis.com.
Chelsey Wren is a Canadian-based communications professional and the founder of Childfree is Not a Dirty Word, a website and social media community of over 30,000 people. Chelsey founded Childfree is Not a Dirty Word after facing repeated backlash for her decision not to have children. Knowing she couldn’t be alone out there, she has created an ever-growing community of like-minded individuals who share the stories of their diverse lives. Chelsey hopes to help to bring the term ‘childfree’ into the mainstream and, in doing so, let young women know motherhood is a choice.