Des Moines - May 11, 2017

Parenthood

Featuring Appearances by

Teri Johnson

Teri Johnson

Teri Johnson of West Des Moines was introduced to the world as the mother of Shawn Johnson (now Shawn Johnson East), the gymnast and 2008 Olympic gold medalist who also won season eight of “Dancing With the Stars.” In her everyday life Johnson oversees bills and payroll for Orthopaedic Outpatient Surgery Center in West Des Moines. She and her husband, Doug, will celebrate their 40th wedding anniversary in June. Johnson is a voracious reader and a loyal supporter of animal protection and rights groups.

Britney Brown

Britney Brown

Britney Brown is a professional photographer in Des Moines. She studied creative design at Iowa State University in Ames and worked in Texas and Germany while her husband, Jake, served in the Army. Back in Iowa, she and Jake now spend the majority of their time wrangling their four children, renovating an 80-year-old home and enjoying everything the Midwest has to offer their young family.

Lizzie White

Lizzie White

Lizzie White is a Behavioral Health Intervention Services counselor for at-risk youth at Youth Emergency Services & Shelter (YESS) of Iowa, where her “kids” are the young women who rely on her leadership. She also has worked as a counselor and speech and drama director. She graduated in 2012 from the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls with a degree in theater. She’s a member of the Des Moines Girl Gang, a collective of women dedicated to empowering each other for personal and professional development. White and her husband, Jonathan Hudspeth, live in West Des Moines.

Clint Curtis

Clint Curtis

Clint Curtis is an actor, real estate agent and bartender for hire in Des Moines. You might have seen him in the movies “Blade,” “Deep Rising” and “Good Burger.” Or maybe you've been greeted by him at the Vaudeville Mews, the Lift or Noce. He chronicles some of his adventures in his lively blog, “From the Bar." This spring he portrayed a detective in a TV show to air on the History Channel. Curtis lives with his wife, Carole, and their two sons, Liam, 10, and Henry, 6, and their old yellow Labrador, Kaden.

Theresa Walton

Theresa Walton

Theresa Walton grew up in Marion, lives in Marshalltown and works as the school nurse at South Tama Middle School in Toledo. She’s also involved in community theater. Both of her own children have traveled the globe, including her son’s tours of duty with the U.S. military as a combat medic in Afghanistan and Iraq. But Walton and her husband, Kenneth, also have been hosts — almost like parents — to at least a dozen foreign exchange students.

Agenda

May 11, 2017

Parenthood: Teri Johnson - 'Olympic gold through the eyes of a spectator mom'

Teri was introduced to a global TV audience as the weeping mom in the stands at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, just after her gymnast daughter, Shawn, had clinched a gold medal and finished competition. Shawn’s talent began to sweep her away from her parents at age 11, and Teri still can’t wait to get her back.

May 11, 2017

Parenthood: Britney Brown - 'From zero to four kids in nine months'

Britney and her husband struggled with infertility. They found their way to adoption through their experience as foster parents. And then within the space of a single frantic year, Britney got more of a family than she ever bargained for.

May 11, 2017

Parenthood: Lizzie White - 'Meaning of motherhood found in a youth shelter'

Lizzie was unsure about whether she even wanted to become a biological mom. Then she began working with teenage girls in an emergency shelter – young women who relied on her compassion and guidance. Lizzie began to realize a profound new meaning of motherhood.

May 11, 2017

Parenthood: Clint Curtis - ‘Dad, is Santa Claus real?’

Just as he’s ready to enjoy his first sip of morning coffee, Clint’s 10-year-old son asks him whether Santa is a lie – with his 6-year-old brother sitting next to them. Hilarity ensues, as well as a conversation that father and son will remember for the rest of their lives.

May 11, 2017

Parenthood: Theresa Walton - 'How a Catholic nurse arranged a Muslim burial'

Theresa and her husband were seasoned hosts of foreign exchange students. But nothing prepared her for how deeply involved she would become in the lives of a young man and his family from Azerbaijan.