Speaking

Invite Dr. Richard Freed to Speak at Your Event

Dr. Freed is a sought-after speaker on parenting in the age of digital technology as well as the educational and health effects of children’s tech use. He speaks regularly to groups of parents, teachers, health care providers, and preteen/teen students. His entertaining and informative talks focus on overcoming digital-age challenges to promote our children’s and teens’ connection with family, foster their emotional health, encourage their academic success, limit the risk of tech addiction, and promote the constructive use of technology.

Topics for parents include:

  • Promoting the strong family children and teens need in the digital age
  • Fostering kids’ emotional health and academic success amid technological distractions
  • Protecting kids from the ravages of video game/Internet addiction
  • Parenting with love and limits in a digital age
  • Helping kids learn to use tech productively

For educators: Dr. Freed talks to groups of educators about how to promote children’s and teens’ school success, emotional well-being, and productive tech use in this age of machines.

For students: Middle- and high-school-age students learn how profound changes in the adolescent brain provide remarkable opportunity, yet also risk in this digital age. Students learn strategies to foster their health and success amid today’s many distractions.

For health care professionals: Dr. Freed talks with groups of pediatricians, mental health providers, and other health care professionals on fostering kids’ physical health and well-being in this digital age.   

Endorsements                                                                      


“Dr. Freed’s dynamic presentations are always among the most popular and best-received at our national summits on media and marketing to kids. Engaging and interactive with his audience, he is great not only at diagnosing our media-related ills, but also at offering clear advice and solutions.”
—Josh Golin, Executive Director, Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood   

“Dear Richard–Thank you again for providing such a thought-provoking and informative talk for our parent community. We hope to keep this conversation going and thank you for getting it started.”
—Traci Huahn, Parent and Parent Education Representative, Green Valley Elementary School, Danville, CA

“Dr. Freed’s presentation at our school was right on target! He provided information in a way that struck a balance between how to use technology educationally and responsibly compared with the dangers and unhealthy habits that can develop from misuse or overuse. The parents and teachers in attendance walked away with a clear perspective about how to foster children’s healthy development and technology use. Dr. Freed is a very open and engaging speaker and adjusted his presentation to the needs of our school.”
Douglas Gostlin, MS, LMFT, Counselor, Ecole Bilingue de Berkeley

“Your talk stimulated a lot of good discussion among us. The first patient I saw after your talk was a 16-year-old teen girl for a well teen check. Perfectly healthy, but ‘sad.’ The more I asked her about her symptoms, the more I found cyberbullying to really be a big part of her symptoms. Thanks for opening my eyes and giving me ways to ask the right questions.”
—Melissa Carucci, MD, Family Medicine, Kaiser Permanente

Selected Prior Speaking Engagements

  • Princeton Common Ground, Princeton, NJ
  • Screen Time Action Network Conference, Brookline, MA
  • Youth4Youth Summit by LookUp and The Social Dilemma Virtual Conference
  • Children and Screens-The Power of Persuasion & Emerging Technologies
  • Becca Schmill Foundation-Social Media and Our Youth Virtual Forum
  • Kaiser Permanente-National Alliance on Mental Illness Conference, Oakland, CA
  • The Athenian School, Danville, CA
  • UC Berkeley Work/Life Parenting Speaker Series, Berkeley, CA
  • Palo Alto Schools, Palo Alto, CA
  • Waldorf School of Lexington, Lexington, MA
  • Helping Girls Navigate Adolescence, Downers Grove, IL
  • Danville Schools, Danville, CA
  • Campaign for Commercial-Free Childhood Summit, Boston, MA
  • Halton Waldorf School, Burlington, Ontario, Canada
  • 2019 Regional ADHD Conference, Kaiser Permanente, Berkeley, CA
  • Crossroads Academy, Lyme, NH
  • Crane Country Day School, Santa Barbara, CA
  • Kids and Screens Conference, Screen Strong, Charlotte, NC
  • San Diego Unified Schools, San Diego, CA
  • Physician Wellness, Kaiser Permanente, Yosemite, CA
  • Orchard Valley Waldorf School, Montpelier, VT
  • Lafayette Schools, Lafayette, CA
  • Albany Library and Schools, Albany, CA
  • Princeton Common Ground Educators, Princeton Academy of the Sacred Heart, Princeton, NJ
  • Escuela Bilingue Internacional, Emeryville, CA
  • Frederick County Schools, Frederick, MD
  • San Ramon Valley Mental Health Advisory Council, San Ramon, CA
  • Duveneck Elementary, Palo Alto, CA
  • Subject panel, Screenagers, Stanley Middle School, Lafayette, CA
  • St. Philip Neri School, Alameda, CA
  • Saratoga High School, Saratoga, CA
  • Upper Valley Waldorf School, Quechee, VT
  • Jordan Middle School, Palo Alto, CA
  • San Francisco Waldorf School, San Francisco, CA
  • ADHD Champions Conference, Kaiser Permanente, Fremont, CA
  • Las Lomitas School District, Atherton, CA
  • Bentley School, Lafayette, CA
  • Waldorf School of Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA
  • Suncoast Waldorf School, Palm Harbor, FL
  • The Classical Academies, San Diego, CA
  • Santa Cruz Waldorf School, Santa Cruz, CA
  • Ecole Bilingue, Elementary and Middle Schools, Berkeley, CA
  • Kaiser Permanente Mental Health, Roseville, CA
  • Seven Hills School, Walnut Creek, CA
  • Grand Rounds, Kaiser Permanente, Oakland Medical Center, Oakland, CA
  • Children’s Hospital & Research Center, Oakland, CA
  • The Saklan School, Moraga, CA
  • Stanley Middle School, Lafayette, CA
  • Archdiocese of San Francisco Conference, San Mateo, CA
  • John F. Kennedy University, Pleasant Hill, CA