Erin is a parent, speaker, and author. She has worked with communities across the country who want to better understand child and adolescent development and cut through conflicting information about kids and technology. She is committed to bringing an equity lens and asset-based approach to our understanding of, and response to, youth and media. Her signature down-to-earth approach and sense of humor helps families and educators engage in complicated topics and leave feeling capable and motivated.
Erin has enjoyed bringing science and strategies to families and educators alongside her father Dr. David Walsh for nearly 20 years. They started together at the National Institute on Media and the Family before creating Spark & Stitch Institute in 2019. She co-authored the 10th Anniversary Edition of the national bestseller Why Do They Act That Way? A Survival Guide to the Adolescent Brain for You and Your Teen. Her newest book, It’s Their World: Teens, Screens, and the Science of Adolescence (Free Spirit Publishing) will be published May 2025.
Before creating Spark & Stitch Institute in 2019, Erin taught undergraduate students for nine years with the Higher Education Consortium for Urban Affairs and was a Lead Program Facilitator for Youth Frontiers. Her work and writing has been featured in local publications across the country as well as The Washington Post, Parents.com, Psychology Today, and Yahoo News. Erin has served on a number of community boards, including as board chair of YMCA Camp Widjiwagan, a wilderness-based youth development program. She has consulted with schools, school districts, parent groups and other youth serving organizations throughout North America on issues related to digital media, children, youth.
