Edda Collins Coleman, Orinda mom and vice president of communications at Common Sense Media, was named 2026 Woman of the Year by Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan for her leadership in championing children’s digital safety and shaping tech policy.
“As a mom of three in Orinda,” said Edda Collins Coleman, “I see every day how much the digital world shapes our children’s lives.”
But Collins Coleman, a former member of the Orinda Union School District (OUSD) board, does more than just worry. She’s vice president of communications for Common Sense Media, an on-line resource for parents and educators that offers age-based guidelines on Internet content. The goal is to ensure that the well-being of children is prioritized in today’s media-heavy world.
And all her work has resulted in Collins Coleman being named the Contra Costa County Woman of the Year by Assemblywoman Rebecca Bauer-Kahan (D-Orinda).
Collins Coleman serves on the executive leadership team for Common Sense Media and leads the organization’s global communications strategy on ethical AI, tech policy and children’s safety. She’s also working to further the nonprofit’s family-based mission to supply trustworthy information to help navigate media and technology confidently. In addition, Common Sense Media works with teachers and policymakers to make sure they are up to date with the constantly changing digital world and its impact on children.
To that end, Common Sense Media provides independent, age-based ratings and reviews for movies, shows, books, apps and websites, as well as publishing original research on children’s media habits and mental health, and advocates at every level of government for kids’ digital rights and safety.
“That is what drives this work,” said Collins Coleman, “not policy for policy’s sake, but the real kids behind the screens, in our schools, in our neighborhoods, in our homes.”
“We know that parenting in the age of apps, algorithms and AI can feel like putting out a wildfire with a watering can,” said Collins Coleman. “Families should not have to figure this out alone, and we are here to make sure they do not have to.”
Australia’s ban on social media for children under 16 is seen as a landmark moment, and Collins Coleman noted it reflects something Common Sense Media has been saying for years: Tech companies must be held accountable.
She cited the nonprofit’s own research shows that nearly half of teens say social media makes them feel anxious, yet these platforms continue to deploy recommendation algorithms specifically designed to maximize engagement among young users.
“Parents are trying their best, but we are up against product design built by some of the world’s most sophisticated engineers,” she said.
The push now is for federal legislation with real teeth, including age-appropriate design standards, data privacy protections and meaningful enforcement. The latest iteration of a bill seen as a critical step in that direction is dubbed the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) that has made it through the U.S. Senate.
But competing legislative text for the KIDS Act and a children’s privacy bill update, COPPA 2.0, recently released, stands in its way. So conversations are forthcoming with legislators in the House of Representatives to make KOSA more bipartisan, and place greater onus on the tech companies and reduce some of the burden placed on parents.
“This is tech’s Big Tobacco moment,” said Collins Coleman. “Delaying social media access gives kids the time they need to develop the emotional and critical thinking skills to navigate these platforms safely.”
But for the foreseeable future, it’s the parents and caregivers who need to step into the fray as the watchdogs for young users of social media. And, she noted a proactive step is the adults acknowledging how much their own device use affects their children.
“Kids notice. They feel it. When a parent is physically present but mentally somewhere else on their phone, children register that absence,” said Collins Coleman. “It’s hard to enforce ‘no phones at the dinner table’ when mom or dad is constantly checking their email!”
This is a challenge for every household – including her own. That means phone-free dinners, device-free bedrooms and making real space for face-to-face connection. It also means parents doing the honest self-reflection that Common Sense Media’s Family Tech Checkup tool is designed to prompt.
“Modeling healthy media habits is not about being perfect. It is about being intentional and showing your children that the people and moments right in front of you are worth your full attention,” she said.
An additional challenges looming on the horizon is Generative AI. UCollins Coleman believes AI chatbots and recommendation systems can create deeply personal experiences that reinforce harmful behaviors and beliefs in kids.
“When a child cannot tell the difference between a friend’s recommendation and a paid promotion, that is a media literacy crisis,” she said.
But despite her focus on creating a safer digital landscape, Collins Coleman also recognizes the virtues of the outdoors, and the value of regular offline activities as essential for resilience when youngsters are engaging with digital media.
During her time as a member of the OUSD board, she worked to ensure that the Wagner Ranch Nature Area would be preserved and remain accessible for children.
She said that when children are exploring a creek or climbing a tree, they are building attention, curiosity and emotional regulation in ways that screens simply cannot replicate.
“Unstructured time outdoors is not a quaint idea from another era. It is a critical counterbalance to the hyper-stimulating, always-on digital environment children are living in,” said Collins Coleman. “Protecting spaces like Wagner Ranch is inextricably linked to protecting children’s healthy development. These are not separate conversations.”
