SHARED PARENTING HALL OF FAME

Dr. Edwin "Ned" Holstein is a prominent figure in American family law and the family law reform movement. A physician by training, his personal experience with divorce sparked a decades-long mission to advocate for shared parenting and change the prevalent notion of maternal preference in child custody cases. In 1998, he founded National Parents Organization (NPO) (then called ‘Fathers and Families’), the nation’s leading shared parenting advocacy organization, which has led the successful effort to reform child custody laws to ensure that, even after parental separation, children continue to benefit from the active and equal involvement by both parents.

Karen DeCrow was a prominent American attorney, author, activist, and feminist who championed gender equality throughout her remarkable career. Born on December 18, 1937, in Chicago, Illinois, DeCrow pursued a passion for journalism, earning a bachelor's degree from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism in 1959. After working as a journalist for several years, she embarked on a legal career, attending Syracuse University's College of Law and graduating in 1972.

In the 1970s, California, like most states, strongly favored mothers in child custody cases. And sole legal custody was the only option available to courts. Even if both parents wanted to share custody, courts had to determine a sole custodial parent of the child. “As late as 1971, the Minnesota State Bar Association's handbook advised lawyers and judges that "except in very rare cases, the father should not have custody of the minor children. He is usually unqualified psychologically and emotionally." (Margot Roosevelt, “Families: Father Makes Two,” Time Magazine, 11/19/2001)

David L. Levy was a pioneer in the field of children's rights, particularly within the area of family law. His lifelong dedication to giving children a voice amidst the turmoil of divorce transformed the way we view post-separation parenting in the United States. Levy's founding of the Children's Rights Council (CRC) was a watershed moment; this organization relentlessly championed legislative reforms favoring joint custody, mediation, and equal consideration for both parents in the complex and painful process of family breakdown.