Gwenn Schurgin O’Keeffe, M.D., J.D., is one of today’s leading voices in digital media and internet safety. Her active engagement with parents, community and medical groups globally helps raise awareness on the multitude of health and legal issues facing our digital kids and teens. Her website, Pediatrics Now (www.pediatricsnow.com), provides up-to-date digital health and legal information and resources for all groups invested in the digital well being of kids and teens.
Dr. Gwenn has dedicated the vast majority of her career to child advocacy, mostly in the intersection of technology and health. Dr. Gwenn was one of the first pediatricians to have a major online presence initially with a website and blog, which today is comprised of her website www.pediatricsnow.com, and social media presence on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. As a result, Dr. Gwenn quickly became a “go to person” for local, national and international groups and media on the many issues kids and teens face when using digital media and engaging with social media.
Some of Dr. Gwenn’s media appearances include The Today Show, Good Morning America, Nancy Grace, NECN, and FoxNews Boston. Her expertise has also been featured in Parents, Parenting, USA Today, Reuters, Chicago Sun Times, Livestrong.org, iVillage, and MomLogic.
Because of her expertise on the evolving digital world and its impact on kids and families, Dr. Gwenn is a popular and highly sought after corporate spokesperson and keynote speaker. She has been an invited speaker to a multitude of groups across the country including local parenting groups, bookstores, libraries, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the National Association of Medical Communicators, and the Family Online Safety Institute.
Dr. Gwenn’s book, CyberSafe: Protecting and Empowering Kids in the Digital World of Texting, Gaming, and Social Media (2010, AAP Publishing), continues her journey to help parents keep their kids safe online. The first of its kind on the market by a media-pediatrician, CyberSafe empowers parents to participate with their digital kids and teens by understanding how and why they use the digital world, and to help their kids find the off switch so they have some unplugged time in their lives.
Dr. Gwenn received her medical degree from the Tufts University School of Medicine and her law degree from the Massachusetts School of Law. She completed her pediatrics training at New England Medical Center/Floating Hospital for Infants and Children. She lives in Massachusetts with her husband and has two very digital college age daughters who have taught her more about the online world of kids than any study ever could.