Parenting coaching for multiracial and interfaith families whose identities live beyond boxes
Your family's path is unlike any other — it's yours, and yours alone. When you let go of fitting in, you'll discover what it means to stand proud in your story and truly belong.
Ready to reclaim your identity?
BRAND PARTNERSHIPS
Create new spaces and experiences for your family to show up unapologetically and authentically together
We're not meant to check boxes, fit in boxes, or listen to others question why we don't want anything to do with their boxes at all.
I’m on a mission to help families raise children who are confident and proud of who they are.
I'm continually creating spaces that don’t exist for me and my family and want to help other families like mine that don’t see themselves in books, media, or in parenting spaces.
Your space is your own.
You belong.
Multiracial parenting coaching rooted in community
What would it feel like to truly own your identity, how you show up as a parent, and how you hold space for others?
My digital coaching program is an inwards-out approach to reclaiming identity. It's designed for for parents, caregivers and educators looking to support the identity development of multiracial children and transracial adoptees.
The community we create — our bayanihan — shares the desire to make the world a better place for our future descendants.
Be a part of an empowered community of others who embrace race while examining the different parts of their family's identity.
So how does it work?
Together we'll explore what it means to support children in their journey to understanding and owning their identities, which starts with reclaiming your own identity.
You'll learn how to model and teach allyship to children, and how to make space for conversations around race and other intersections of one’s identity.
Topics include:
Parenting with intention
Building community
Lifelong learning
Changing habits vs. making change
Activating your activism
...and more
_ “Working with Ria gave me perspective, the ability to find camaraderie, and comfortability in talking through the uncomfortable. I was rarely the type of person to share my experiences because I thought they didn’t matter or they wouldn't create impact. Now, I'm more comfortable discussing race, religion, and identity with my family and am proud of the open and honest conversations I’ve been able to have within my personal and professional life." _
MARIA J.
_ "Ria is truly remarkable. She is a wonderful and welcoming coach and facilitator, inviting her friends, colleagues and clients to come to understanding in an open and non-judgmental way. She recognizes where people are and helps them identify steps they need to take to grow in owning their voice, identity and ability to champion themselves and others. I love her focus on belonging and she truly creates community wherever she goes. Both my work as a school leader and parent have been enriched and enlightened by working with Ria and participating in forums and community building efforts she has organized." _
NATALIE M.
_ “Ria has been critical in my exploration of how I fit into the world. She has supported my journey around the idea that I have to reckon with my own expectations and assumptions about myself and my identity. Ria is compassionate, thoughtful and openminded, while standing steadfast in what she believes is just and in the best interest of communities. It's often hard to hold space and grace for all things, but she accomplishes it well, even in emotional conversations. " _
SAMANTHA C.
Raising the next generation of changemakers
**Coaching packages include:**
MY OFFERINGS
PUBLIC SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS
Chicago Women in Philanthropy Envisioning a Better Future, Panelist, 2020
Storyteller for A Kids Book About: A Kids Book About Anti Asian Hate, 2021
Hey Mama: Anti-Asian Racism and Violence, Moderator, 2021
Not Safe for Moms Group: Moms Speak Out: AAPI Hate Crime and How You Can Help, 2019
Raising Cultural Awareness & Discussing Race with Children, Panelist, 2019
Business Without the Buts, Podcast Guest, 2020
The Filipino American Woman Project, Podcast Guest, 2019
HI THERE, I'M RIA!
**What are you? Where are you from? Where are you really from? **These are questions I inevitably get when encountering someone random and new.
I am a Filipina American mother of two in a multicultural, interfaith, multigenerational family, and I imagine that as my children grow up, they will hear these questions, too.
As an educator, equity coach, and parenting coach, I help families like mine who want support in identity building and fully owning their traditions and rituals.
I see parenting as a form of activism and believe that as parents we have the responsibility to raise the next generation of changemakers for a better and more just world.
Our families and children are whole — not half anything, fractions of, or less than — and when we gain confidence in how we talk about our identities and our stories, we can truly belong.
Our families and children are whole — not half anything, fractions of, or less than — and when we gain confidence in how we talk about our identities and our stories, we can truly belong.
I look forward to learning about your family's story and where you're headed. Let's connect!
MY FEATURED CONTRIBUTIONS
Chicago Parent & Detroit Metro Parent Magazine, Parenting Asian American Children during AAPI
Hate, 2021
The Chaotic Commute on Balancing Work and Mom Life, 2020
Hava World Feature on Family Traditions, 2019
Kaya Essentials, Kaya Riveter Spotlight on Building Community, 2019
Voyage Chicago – Trailblazers Rewriting the Narrative, 2018
Mommy in Los Angeles Magazine, Featured Wow Mom Blogger, 2017
University of Southern California, Rossier Magazine, Featured Alumni, 2016
TODAY SHOW: AMERICAN GIRL INTRODUCES
FIRST ASIAN AMERICAN GIRL OF THE YEAR DOLL
DECEMBER 2021
"An iconic American Girl is more than blonde hair and blue eyes, " Ria Pretekin, 40, a Filipino-American mom of two living in Illinois, tells TODAY Parents. "An Asian American girl is also American, and in the wake of anti-Asian hate it would help to dispel the otherness. I’d love for Asian American children to feel the pride of their identities."
Pretekin says that as a daughter of immigrants she wasn't exposed to the American Girl brand when she was a little girl, and never saw herself represented in any of the dolls.
"It would have meant so much to me to have a doll that looked like me. It would have helped shape my idea of beauty to know that brown skin and black hair was also beautiful, " Pretekin adds. "Growing up in the 80s and 90s, whiteness was and is still very much centered and it didn’t allow me to see Asian Americans in any toys, shows, movies, or books."
FAHM FESTIVAL OCTOBER 2019
120+ ATTENDEES HOSTED AT BUBBLES ACADEMY IN CHICAGO
FUNDRAISING EVENT TO RAISE FUNDS FOR AFIRE, AN ORGANIZATION FOUNDED BY FILIPINO IMMIGRANTS, WE
CARRY WITH US THE LEGACY OF PEOPLE POWER. WE BELIEVE THAT THE PEOPLE MOST AFFECTED BY STRUCTURAL
INJUSTICE SHOULD BE AT THE FOREFRONT OF OUR MOVEMENTS. WE SEEK TO AMPLIFY THE VOICES OF THOSE
MOST SILENCED IN OUR COMMUNITY: UNDOCUMENTED FAMILIES, NEW IMMIGRANTS, DOMESTIC WORKERS, LOWWAGE WORKERS, SENIORS, AND YOUTH.
RAISED AWARENESS OF NOTABLE FILIPINO AMERICANS AND MOMENTS IN AMERICAN HISTORY
EXPOSURE TO BAYBAYIN - FILIPINO SCRIPT BY FILIPINO HISTORIAN
CULTURAL FOLK DANCES BY THE YOUNG PEOPLE OF WHITNEY YOUNG ASIAN AMERICAN CLUB
About Ria Pretekin
Ria Pretekin is a Filipina American, born and raised in Los Angeles currently living in Chicago with her husband, two children, parents, and goldendoodle.
She's an educator, coach, facilitator, and has spent much of her career as a school counselor in public high schools from Santa Ana, CA to Chicago. Currently, she serves as Lead Postsecondary Coach at the Network for College Success at the University of Chicago.
Ria provides coaching and professional development to educators to help build the capacity of school leaders to understand adolescent development as it relates to improving postsecondary outcomes. The team she leads is focused on decolonizing education and centering postsecondary supports to align with BBIPOC (Black, Brown, Indigenous People of Color) student values and offering spaces to empower students to tell their stories.
Ria earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology and social behavior in 2003 from the University of California, Irvine, and earned a master’s degree in counseling psychology from the University of Southern California.
In preparing to be a mother, Ria read countless books, joined new mom groups, yet never felt like she fit the mold of what a family should look like. That experience gave Ria a purpose in making sure no other parent ever felt that way.
She works with clients to co-create spaces for families who want to disrupt the white American standard of parenthood.
Instead of conforming to fit in, Ria coaches and inspires others to have the confidence to create spaces where they belong.
Follow along as Ria creates community through reclaiming culture, and reach out to connect!