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In this issue:
- WI-AIMH's 2025 Annual Report
- Call for Proposals
- Voices From the Field: Meet a WI-AIMH Member
- Cheers to ECE Conference: Well Done
- In Case You Missed It
- Reflective Supervision
- Pyramid Model News
- Endorsement News
- WI-AIMH Celebrates Women's History Month
- Community News & Events
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| WI-AIMH'S 2025 Annual Report is Here! | |
| | WI-AIMH is excited to share our 2025 Annual Report. We're also delighted to share our special cover that is a visual testament to the work done by our staff to promote infant mental health awareness while uplifting all of the professionals who work with, or on behalf of, babies, young children and their families. | | | | Call for Proposals: WI-AIMH'S Conference | | |
You could be one of the conference presenters at the 2026 Wisconsin Infant & Early Childhood Mental Health Conference!
We are currently accepting requests for proposals (RFPs) for three sessions at our upcoming fall conference. Learn more here, or click below for the RFP!
DEADLINE: Monday, April 6th
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Voices from the Field:
Meet a WI-AIMH Member
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Across Wisconsin, WI-AIMH members support babies, young children, families and the professionals who serve them in powerful and meaningful ways. We want to uplift and celebrate this important work with a newsletter feature: “Meet a WI-AIMH Member,” which will highlight one member and the impact they’re making in their community. We hope these stories help us learn from one another, and stay connected across disciplines and county lines.
Want to be featured in a future issue? We’d love to hear from you! Complete this short form to share your story.
| | Meet WI-AIMH Member Cigdem Unal | | |
Cigdem leads child care and education initiatives at UW–Madison, building collaborative systems that support children, families and the workforce. She champions child care as essential infrastructure and values WI-AIM’s focus on relationships and reflection.
What led you to this field? I have known I was meant to be an educator since I was five years old. For more than 25 years—and since 2015 as Director of the UW–Madison Office of Child Care and Family Resources—I have devoted my life’s work to strengthening the systems that uplift young children, their families and teachers. From teaching in early learning classrooms across every age group to leading at the systems level as a director, NAEYC assessor, trainer, writer, consultant and instructor, my mission has never changed: to advance early learning as essential infrastructure that supports resilient families, strengthens institutions and cultivates thriving communities.
What is something meaningful you're working on right now? I am strengthening a coordinated Child Care and Education System at UW–Madison that positions early childhood education as essential workforce infrastructure while advancing parenting students’ enrollment, persistence and graduation success. My work focuses on building durable, collaborative ecosystems—aligning university leadership, community partners and shared quality standards to expand access, invest in educators, and ensure families have the consistent, high-quality support they need to succeed academically and professionally.
What does being part of WI-AIMH mean to you? Being part of WI-AIMH connects me with a community that champions the social and emotional well-being of young children through nurturing, relationship-based practice—the same values that shape my work. WI-AIMH’s commitment to strengthening professionals, partnerships and policies that support infants, families and caregivers continually inspires me. It reinforces my belief that meaningful systems-level change begins with reflection, collaboration and deep respect for the relationships that sustain flourishing children and communities.
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Inspired by the work of our members? Join a community of passionate, like-minded professionals committed to advancing infant and early childhood mental health across Wisconsin. Become a WI-AIMH member today at wiaimh.org/membership.
| | Cheers to ECE Conference -- Well Done! | | |
The 2026 Early Childhood Education Conference on February 28th in Wausau, WI was a smash hit! Hear from Micki Krueger, Assistant Director at Childcaring Central WI Early Education Resources, on what she had to say about the success of the conference and WI-AIMH staff who presented:
"The conference was amazing! This was our largest number of participants in a few years, and I attribute that to our amazing presenters. Delechia rocked the house! She is funny, entertaining and so smart. People can relate to her fantastic stories. Perfect Keynote presenter! Julie and Martha did amazing too! They are easy to listen to, presenting in a calm and relaxing way. Such wonderful staff you have."
(Pictured Above: Top Left - Micki and Delechia; Top Right - a table of programs; Bottom Left - Martha and Julie presenting; Bottom Right - a room of conference attendees)
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As we continue to promote the importance of Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health awareness and understanding, we've added three new videos to our micro-learning series. Watch our new videos on YouTube! Click on the titles below to visit each individual video:
| | | In February, WI-AIMH launched its 8th cohort of the Reflective Supervision Learning Collaborative (RSLC) with two full days of training! We were lucky to experience early spring weather, sunshine and, of course, great food and wonderful in-person connections. 🌞 | | Midwest Pyramid Model: Call for Proposals | | We are pleased to invite the WI-AIMH community to present at the Midwest Pyramid Model Summit. It will be held November 18 - 19, 2026 at the Hyatt Regency Coralville Hotel & Conference Center in Coralville, IA. | Proposals are due by May 15th, and presenters will be notified by June 5th. | | |
The Midwest Pyramid Model Summit will explore the integration of the Pyramid Model framework at a systems level across various early childhood sectors. Aimed at advancing high-impact, sustainable implementation strategies, this event will focus on how the Pyramid Model, an evidence-based approach to promoting social and emotional development and positive behavior, can be effectively adapted and scaled in early childhood settings.
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Want to run your proposal past someone first? Connect with your Regional Lead at wiaimh.org/connect-with-your-regional-lead.
| | Program Site Acknowledgement | | |
The programs listed on our Implementation webpage are being acknowledged for their diligent work on implementing key elements of program-wide implementation of the Pyramid Model.
Each program listed received decals indicating acknowledgement of sharing data on their program-wide implementation milestone(s) in either the Spring and/or Fall of 2025.
The criteria for having received a decal are:
1) Self-rated Benchmarks of Quality at Fidelity
2) Completed a TPOT or TPITOS Observation
3) Provided Practice Based Coaching.
WI-AIMH also acknowledged programs that are a member of Community-Wide Implementation. Congratulations to all of our program-wide implementing sites on their commitment to implementing Pyramid Model practices in their classrooms and programs on a daily basis.
| | | | Wisconsin Pyramid Model is launching its 24th Cohort of Program-Wide Implementation (Team Launch) in August 2026! If you, or a program you know, are interested in becoming a Pyramid Model program-wide implementation site, please contact your regional lead for more information. | | |
Please join us in celebrating the following professionals who have earned Infant/Early Childhood Mental Health Endorsement®:
Infant Family Associate
Nathan Margrett
Early Childhood Family Associate
Delechia Johnson
Infant Mental Health Specialist
Jordyn Wavrunek
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Your work matters. Let it be recognized.
Endorsement® is more than a credential, it’s a reflection of your commitment to babies, young children, families and the professionals who support them. By becoming endorsed through WI-AIMH, you join thousands of IECMH professionals nationwide (and an expanding global network) who share a common standard of excellence.
If you’ve been thinking about applying, this is your nudge!
2026 submission deadlines:
March 15 | June 15 | September 15 | December 15
The next Endorsement application submission deadline is March 15.
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WI-AIMH Celebrates
Women's History Month
| | How to Talk to Children About ICE, Violence | | Opportunities at Thrive Center, Georgetown University | | Capstone Certificate Program: Infant, Early Childhood and Family Mental Health | | |
Now accepting applications for the 2026-2027 UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN Infant, Early Childhood and Family Mental Health Capstone Certificate Program!
The UW Capstone Certificate Program is an interdisciplinary one-year academic program for designed for professionals who provide relationship-based services to families in the perinatal period and/or families of children ages birth through five years, supervisors and consultants. This program is for licensed mental health clinicians; health care practitioners in nursing, pediatrics, family medicine and psychiatry; and professionals from Home Visiting, Birth to 3, Child Welfare, Early Care and Education, Early Head Start and Head Start.
Application & Scholarships: Participation is by application and enrollment is limited. Apply by April 14, 2026 for early consideration for admission and scholarships. Applications will continue to be accepted as space allows. Information about the UW Capstone Certificate Program, the Application Form, application guidance and program dates are available at this website under the Capstone Certificate Program tab: https://ifmh.psychiatry.wisc.edu.
Download the full description and document here.
Questions:
For questions about the application process, please contact:
Bryn Abramson, BS | Administrative Assistant | babramson3@wisc.edu
For questions about whether the UW Capstone Certificate Program is right for you, please contact: Sarah Strong, LCS at sstrong@wisc.edu.
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