About Dr. Robyn
Dr. Robyn Silverman is a leading Child and Adolescent Development Specialist with a focus on character education and body/self esteem development during childhood, adolescence, and young adulthood. As a strong believer that children are assets to be developed not deficits to be managed, her work reflects a positive approach that shows that with the right tools, all young people have the ability to thrive and succeed.
“Dr. Robyn,” as she is affectionately called by those with whom she works, is the creator and founder of the POWerful Words Character System, a complete teaching system that provides instructors with “word of the month” lesson plans, age-appropriate student character projects, and resources for parents. Due to this comprehensive multi-faceted character program along with her tips-based parenting and teaching advice, she has been pegged “The Character Queen.”
Once an after-school program owner herself Dr. Robyn has hands-on experience when it comes to what instructors, students, and parents need and want when it comes to character education. Dr. Robyn’s program, featuring words such as respect, discipline, confidence, and even nutrition, is currently being used in 12 countries by over 500 of the most progressive, student-centered academies who understand the importance of personal development throughout the lifespan.
The sister program, POWerful Family, allows parents to expand on these lessons at home and includes tools such as conversation starters, character book lists, family meeting guides, and tips to further integrate the POWerful Word of the Month into the family’s daily life. The overall aim of both POWerful Words and POWerful Family is to help young people, their mentors, and their families develop and set an example of positive character that will allow them to flourish intellectually, socially, and interpersonally in all areas of their lives. We believe that focusing on character will not only create leaders but also a better community.
Dr. Robyn is a columnist and parenting expert for Bay State Parent Magazine, a highly praised magazine for parents that was named the Best Parenting Publication by Suburban Newspapers of America (SNA) in January 2008. She is known for her straight-forward parenting tips aimed to combat common problems such as lying, back-to-school fears, bullying, poor sportsmanship, poor body image and quitting. Her column has been reprinted in other parenting magazines across the United States. Her articles can also be seen in various business and trade magazines for professionals who work with children. There, she provides tips on how to better practices when working with young people.
A sought-out speaker, Dr. Robyn is known for both entertaining the crowd with great stories as well as giving practical tips that can be put into action immediately. She presents at national and international conferences for after-school activity programs as well as at schools, universities, parenting groups and businesses. Some of her best known presentations are: That Kid is Driving Me Nuts: Strategies for Dealing with Distracting Students; Raising the Bar: How to Transform your School into a Personal Development Center; I Wanna Quit: How to Help Children Commit; Beyond Me: Raising POWerful Children in the 21st Century and Lead to Succeed: 50 Ways to Help Children become Leaders in Life.
As a body image expert, Dr. Robyn’s groundbreaking research at Tufts University demonstrates that those girls who deviate from the Western ideal of thinness can find a way to thrive. Dr. Robyn was published in the Applied Developmental Science Encyclopedia, a handbook for psychologists, as the expert in body esteem development in young people. She is also a reviewer for top psychology journals, Developmental Psychology and Applied Developmental Science and the body image expert for Elegant Plus, a magazine for girls and women. Her expertise has been channeled into the creation of a girls’ empowerment group called Sassy Sisterhood in which she works with girls on developing a positive sense of self.
Dr. Robyn is an international success coach for entrepreneurs, parents and educators and coaches people over the phone, in person and in retreat settings. POWerday Retreat allows motivated people to set goals for the year and get clear on their values, needs, relationships, and desired outcomes for their family, work-life, and themselves.
Dr. Robyn received her PhD from Tufts University’s Eliot Pearson Department of Child Development in Massachusetts after receiving her BA from Washington University in St. Louis and spending a year abroad studying at Oxford University of England. She is continuing her studies at MentorCoach, a coaching program for helping professionals. She resides in South Weymouth, Massachusetts with her family.
Interested in learning about Powerful Words of Dr. Robyn’s other programs?
Please write to me directly at drrobynsblog at gmail dot com


