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Collab Lab 66: Engaging Families

What’s possible when we fold caregivers into the mix?

You could think of it as customer discovery. Caregivers know more about the lives of students than we ever can.  What can we learn from them about where students are coming from and what their lives are like outside of school. They are also the only good source of information about the caregiver’s own relationship to school and the confidence, comfort, time they have to help support their student.  How might we engage families differently if our goal is not simply to get support for what we’re tying to do in school, but working towards a shared goal of helping students become all that they might.

Come share your experience, questions, and ideas. As always, you’ll be joined by peers and collaborators from K-12 higher education, industry, and the nonprofit community. If you are, work with or know of a caregiver or student (7th grade and above) who would like to join the discussion, please extend the invitation.

Agenda

5:30 to 6:00 pm Grab something to eat, meet some interesting, passionate people
6:00 to 6:15 pm Welcome and introductions
6:15 to 8:00 pm Let’s talk through some ideas
8:00 to 8:30 pm Wrap up and next steps

Food and non-alcoholic beverages will be provided. There is no charge for participation but space is limited!

Featured Participants

Among others, you’ll have a chance to talk with:

Amber DuChateau — Art Teacher at the Milwaukee Academy of Science

Amber is the Founding Art Teacher at the Milwaukee Academy of Science’s 24th Street campus location teaching K4-5th grade. She is a long-time art enthusiast and has been working part-time for the Milwaukee Art Museum (MAM) for the last 11 years. In her work with MAM, she leads process-based art projects for children and families at offsite events like Summerfest, State Fair, and other local festivals. These art-making experiences provide an entry point for adults and children to access information about all the family-friendly programming that MAM has to offer.

Amber holds a Master of Arts in Adult Education- Organizational Development and Instructional Design (double-major) from Alverno College, and a Bachelors of Fine Arts in Graphic Design from Savannah College of Art & Design.

Prior to her roles in art education, Amber had 15+ years of marketing experience, working in retail advertising and proposal and business development. In her transition from marketing to education, she developed training collateral, how-to guides, an associate onboarding program, online courses and program curricula for a global professional development thought-leadership program. Amber brings a unique skill of being able to easily transform complex concepts into more palatable learning solutions that resonate with an audience.

Aubrey (Ellickson) Fulsaas — Environmental Educator, Schlitz Audubon Nature Center

Aubrey is the Family Programs Lead at Schlitz Audubon Nature Center. She grew up in Decorah, Iowa far from the big city in the beautiful Driftless Region. Her passion for nature started at a young age, spending days kayaking and watching bald eagles along the river. She graduated from Carroll University in 2017 with a B.S. in Biology with an emphasis in Animal Behavior. She started at Schlitz Audubon as a Land Steward and Raptor Volunteer, where she fell in love with the organization and environmental education. Aubrey’s current role at Schlitz Audubon involves the development and management of the public family program offerings, allowing people of all ages to enjoy the wonder of nature. Her education specialties also include behavioral ecology and freshwater mussels. She is also a Certified Forest Therapy Guide and developed the Guided Forest Bathing program at Schlitz Audubon.

Bernie Traversari — Director of Operations and Programs, Society for Conservation Biology North America & STEM Education Consultant

Bernie has been involved in developing STEM-based, family-centric programming for the last three years, most recently as a STEM Education Consultant for the Wisconsin Out-of-School Time Alliance (WOSTA). In that role, Bernie provides Technical Assistance support for K-12 educators and informal educators on how to establish their own family-centric programs, and regularly gives workshops and presentations to out-of-school time organizations across SE Wisconsin (e.g., MKE REC & the Waukesha YMCA). Prior to that, Bernie was the Director of Science Outreach at Edgewood College in Madison, where he led the Resources & Opportunities in Science Education (ROSE) Project and its affiliated STEM Fellows Program, the latter of which had – at its core – the development of caregivers and family members as advocates for STEM education in their communities.

2024-25 Collab Labs

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