Meet the Trainers

The Dibble Institute’s expert authors and Outreach Educators are available as speakers, trainers and workshop presenters. To find out more about booking a Dibble Institute speaker for an engagement, contact us via email at relationshipskills@dibbleinstitute.org
or call 1.800-695-7975.

Marline Pearson, Author of Love U2^®

Char Kamper, Author of Connections

Nancy McLaren, Author of The Art of Loving Well

Kay Reed, President of the Dibble Institute

Marline Pearson has taught social science and criminology for 25 years. Inspired by on a long-standing interest in high-risk kids, she has created innovative relationship programs for young adults, as well as trained teachers, school counselors, and other social service professionals.

Ms. Pearson authored “Can Kids Get Smart About Marriage: A Veteran Teacher Reviews Some of the Leading Relationship and Marriage Programs”, published by the National Marriage Project of Rutgers University and “Reaching for Higher Ground: New Approaches to Teen Sexuality,” published in the Journal of Council on Family Relations.

Most recently, Ms. Pearson’s work has been featured in Time Magazine (November 24, 2003). Her work was also highlighted in a national PBS special and its companion book, Marriage: Just A Piece of Paper?

Charlene R. Kamper is a full-time instructor of Introductory and Advance Placement Psychology at Redlands High School, Redlands, CA. She is a fully credentialed teacher and has taught at both the elementary and secondary levels throughout her teaching career. Ms. Kamper taught science and health at the secondary level for eight years and, while chairperson of the Health Department at Redlands High School, co-authored the health  curriculum being taught there. She holds a master’s degree in Family Studies from Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, and CA. She is also a Certified Family Life Educator (CFLE). As an educator, Ms. Kamper is active in student and parent training classes at local schools and is a frequent lecturer on student issues at national conferences and organizations.

Nancy McLaren, who earned her degrees at Smith College and Harvard University, began her career in education at Newton South High School in Newton, MA, where she taught English to students who ranged from at-risk to advanced placement. She also served as a master teacher for Middlebury College’s Breadloaf School of English. 

Since 1985, McLaren has been at Boston University’s School of Education where her primary interest is literature-based curriculum.  Supported by grants from the U.S. Departments of Education and Health and Human Services, she has been the principal developer and coordinator of both The Character Project and The Art of Loving Well curriculum for secondary school students.  She is an eight-time presenter at Smart Marriages conferences and has lectured and conducted workshops throughout the United States and in Europe.

Kay Reed, President of the Dibble Institute, Mrs. Kay Reed helped pioneer the field of youth marriage education by co-founding The Dibble Institute for Marriage Education over fifteen tears ago. Since then, the Dibble Institute programs, CONNECTIONS (Relationships and Marriage Dating and Emotions) and Love U2^® (Relationship Smarts, Communication Smarts, Sex Smarts and Baby Smarts) have spread to all states, involving hundreds of schools, youth agencies and churches, reaching over 50,000 young people.

Mrs. Reed has consulted with the Brookings Institute on best practices for youth relationship and marriage education delivery methods. Professionally, she has spent over 25 years in the fields of youth development and non-profit management with the March of Dimes, YMCA, and secondary education.

Educated in Psychology at Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Oregon, she has published on the relationship between children's perceived locus of control and their academic performance.