Our nation is facing an epidemic: hours lost to devices, attention scattered, and real-world connection slipping away at school, work, and play. We believe West Michigan has the competitive edge to solve this issue, being one of the most nature-rich places in the Midwest.
ODC Network’s Unplugged: Disconnect to Reconnect Speaker Series brings top national experts to West Michigan for four free, can’t-miss evenings. Learn the science, gain practical tools, and join others in taking real steps to reconnect with nature, each other, and our community.
Free events. Transformative ideas. A movement helping West Michigan create balance and thrive outdoors.
Save the dates, bring a friend, and join the movement.
Stay tuned—registration opens soon, and you won’t want to miss it!
About the Speakers
Catherine Price
- January 14, 2026
- Free
- Ridgepoint Community Church
Award-winning science journalist, speaker, and author Catherine Price is a leading voice in the national conversation about digital devices and how to create healthy relationships with technology. Her books include her bestsellers, How to Break Up With Your Phone and The Power of Fun: How to Feel Alive Again, and Catherine and her work have been featured in outlets including, The Best American Science Writing, NPR, The New York Times, Good Morning America, The Wall Street Journal, Popular Science, The Los Angeles Times, and TIME Magazine, among many others. She is also a former middle school teacher, the parent of a young child, and a core member of the team behind Jonathan Haidt’s #1 NYT-bestselling book, The Anxious Generation. She writes the popular Substack newsletter, “How to Feel Alive,” and her TED talk on fun has been viewed more than 5M times.
In all of her work, Catherine’s ultimate goal is to help people of all ages scroll less, live more, and have fun.
Katherine Martinko
- February 14, 2026
- Free
- Holland Civic Center
Katherine Martinko is a writer, editor, and speaker. She is the author of Childhood Unplugged: Practical Advice to Get Kids Off Screens and Find Balance (2023) and creator of a fast-growing Substack newsletter called The Analog Family.
As a public speaker, Katherine strives to empower parents, teens, and other adults to limit screen time using the philosophy of “digital minimalism.” Her approach is not anti-tech, but strives to put digital media in its rightful place—as a tool, not a toy. She offers smart guidance on tough topics like when to give a kid a smartphone, how to handle social media, how to say no and deal with a teen’s FOMO, how to get comfortable with giving kids more independent play, and why we all have a responsibility to help solve this collection action problem.
A former senior editor at Dotdash Meredith, Katherine is a speaker on behalf of Jonathan Haidt’s Anxious Generation campaign. She is a regular contributor to the Globe and Mail, Canada’s largest newspaper, and appears regularly on national radio, TV, talk shows, and podcasts, including CBC The National and Global TV. Her editorial experience spans notable brands such as Martha Stewart, Allrecipes, Angi, Discovery, Treehugger, Huffington Post, Motherly, and the Toronto Star.
A graduate of the University of Toronto, Katherine lives with her family in southwestern Ontario, Canada, on the edge of beautiful Lake Huron.
Dr. Scott Sampson
- March 3, 2026
- Free
- West Ottawa High School PAC
Renowned paleontologist, PBS Dinosaur Train host, and Executive Director of the California Academy of Sciences, Dr. Scott Sampson is the author of How to Raise a Wild Child, inspiring families to foster deeper connections with nature for the sake of children’s health, learning, and the future of our planet.
Lenore Skenazy
- March 17, 2026
- Free
- Ridgepoint Community Church
As the founder of the Free-Range Kids movement and president of Let Grow, Lenore Skenazy empowers parents and educators to raise resilient, independent kids by challenging fear-based parenting and encouraging freedom and responsibility.