Parent Support

Parenting comes with big questions, and the Office of Child Care and Family Resources (OCCFR) is here to help. Our free fall parenting class series offers UW families the chance to learn from experts, connect with other parents, and gain confidence in supporting children’s growth and development.

Meet Our Fall 2025 Parenting Class Instructors

This fall’s series is led by three outstanding experts who bring deep professional knowledge and a genuine passion for supporting families.

You may recognize Dr. Laura Froyen, a human development and family studies scholar and former therapist, from previous semesters of OCCFR’s parenting classes or baby play group! Dr. Laura helps parents restore balance, compassion, and joy to family life. Drawing on both research and her own experiences as a parent, she empowers caregivers to connect more deeply with themselves, their children, and their partners.

Dr. Dipesh Navsaria, a pediatrician and public health advocate, blends medicine, children’s librarianship, and education to promote child well-being. In addition to his teaching roles at UW–Madison, he leads initiatives like Reach Out and Read, emphasizing the power of shared book reading in early development.

Dr. Amber Evenson, a child development specialist and certified lactation counselor, brings expertise in infant mental health, early childhood development, and sleep science. With both professional and personal insight into the challenges of family sleep, she provides practical, compassionate strategies to help families thrive.

Together, these instructors offer UW families evidence-based guidance paired with real-world understanding—ensuring every class is both informative and supportive.

What This Series Covers

The Fall 2025 Parenting Class Series addresses some of the most common (and often the most stressful) challenges families face during the early years. Whether you’re navigating big changes, puzzling over sleep routines, or seeking calm in the face of tough behaviors, these classes offer guidance that is both research-based and practical.

Parents and caregivers will find support in a wide range of topics:

• Transitions back to care or school with Dr. Laura, including strategies for easing anxieties and helping children adapt confidently to new routines.

• Sleep solutions with Dr. Evenson, tailored to two age groups: infants in the first nine months, and older babies and toddlers up to age four. These classes provide flexible approaches to reduce night wakings, establish healthy routines, and create more restful nights for the whole family.

• Managing parenting triggers and challenging behaviors with Dr. Laura, through two separate two-part series. These sessions equip parents with tools to stay calm during difficult moments, discipline without yelling, and address the underlying causes of children’s behaviors with compassion.

• Understanding children’s immune systems with Dr. Navsaria, who breaks down how immunity develops in early childhood and what parents can do to support health and reduce illness risk.

This series is designed to meet parents where they are. Whether you’re a new parent adjusting to life with a baby, a caregiver juggling multiple children, or simply someone who wants to parent with more confidence and connection, you will learn something valuable from these classes. Each session combines professional expertise with real-world insight, giving you actionable strategies you can use right away.

By offering these classes free of charge, OCCFR ensures that every member of the UW–Madison community—students, employees, and their families—can access tools that promote healthier children, stronger family relationships, and greater well-being at home and on campus.

Register Today!

Parenting is challenging, but you don’t have to face it alone. These free classes are designed to give you the knowledge, tools, and community support you need to feel more confident in your parenting journey.

View the full schedule and register here!

Spots fill quickly, so we encourage you to sign up early and share the link with colleagues, classmates, or friends who may benefit.

Student parent success is about more than grades and graduation. It’s about having the support to balance two full-time roles: student and caregiver. At times, that balancing act can be overwhelming. Support may come through financial assistance, peer community, or — as many students have shared — simple empathy and flexibility from professors and supervisors.

At UW–Madison, we’re lucky to have faculty and staff who recognize the unique challenges faced by parenting students and offer compassion and encouragement alongside academic guidance.

Each spring, the Office of Child Care and Family Resources (OCCFR) invites nominations for the OCCFR Award for Outstanding Student Parent Support, honoring a faculty or staff member who has gone above and beyond to support student parents. The award celebrates employees who have made a meaningful impact on the academic success and well-being of students raising children, helping them thrive both in the classroom and at home.

This year, we received an inspiring group of nominations from parenting students who took the time to recognize someone who made a difference in their lives—so inspiring, in fact, that the selection committee named two recipients of the 2025 award.

We are proud to announce that the 2025 OCCFR Award for Outstanding Student Parent Support goes to Amanda Zuehlke, Clinical Assistant Professor in the Sandra Rosenbaum School of Social Work, and Susan Thibeault, Professor in the Department of Surgery at the School of Medicine and Public Health.

Amanda Zuehlke: Building a Welcoming Space for Student Parents

In their nomination, one student wrote:

“Her support has not only helped me navigate the challenges of being a student and a mother—it has transformed my entire experience here.”

Amanda’s support for parenting students doesn’t just stop at encouraging words. She is patient and flexible with classwork and deadlines, allows students to bring their children to class when needed, and connects students to child care options near campus. Her understanding and nonjudgmental presence have allowed student parents to succeed in both their academic and caregiving roles.

Creating this type of inclusive environment is critical to the academic and personal success of parenting students, and Amanda demonstrates that every day.

 

Susan Thibeault: Creating a Culture of Trust, Support, and Inclusion

The student who nominated Susan shared:

“Susan has made me feel invincible as a student parent… She truly embodies what it means to provide outstanding support.”

Susan has built a lab culture where parenting students feel not just supported, but fully respected and included. From the beginning, she directed her student to OCCFR resources and helped them access NIH-funded child care benefits. She recognizes that parenting responsibilities can affect a student’s daily schedule, and she responds with trust, flexibility, and understanding.

Her support goes beyond academics: she brought lunch to a new parent, welcomed students’ children at lab staff social gatherings, and talked candidly about work-life balance and career planning. Through her support, Susan has helped this student — and others like her — succeed as both scholars and parents.

 

At UW-Madison, this kind of support is not uncommon. In fact, choosing just one recipient this year proved impossible! We received nominations for faculty and staff across campus, including Wisconsin Law School, School of Human Ecology, School of Social Work, Wisconsin School of Business, College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, School of Medicine and Public Health, School of Education, and College of Letters and Science.

We want to extend our deepest appreciation to all the other faculty and staff members who were nominated. Your efforts do not go unnoticed—you’ve earned a place on the OCCFR Award Roll of Honor and the lasting gratitude of the parents you’ve supported.

 

OCCFR Award 2025 Roll of Honor

Julie Baldwin, Director of Bar Success, Wisconsin School of Law

Silvia Cavagnero, Professor, Departments of Biochemistry and Chemistry, College of Letters & Science

Kaiping Chen, Assistant Professor, Life Sciences Communication, College of Agricultural & Life Sciences

Kristin Pape, Early Childhood Teacher, Eagle’s Wing Child Care and Education Programs

Julie Poehlmann, Professor, Human Development & Family Studies, School of Human Ecology

Aireale Rodgers, Assistant Professor, Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis, School of Education

Sean Schoville, Professor, Department of Entomology, College of Agricultural & Life Sciences

Andrew Turner, Assistant Dean for Academic Enhancement; Teaching Professor, Wisconsin School of Law

Dayin Zhang, Assistant Professor, Real Estate and Urban Land Economics, Wisconsin School of Business