Parenting often requires balancing hope, resilience, and perseverance through both everyday challenges and life’s most difficult moments. Elizabeth Wilberg joins Hans and Cristina on the Parent Confidence Lab podcast to share her journey as a mother, nonprofit leader, and advocate for children and families. As Executive Director of Episcopal Community Services in San Diego, Elizabeth oversees programs that support early childhood education, children’s mental health, homelessness prevention, substance use recovery, and family stability.

Elizabeth discusses how her own path to motherhood through adoption and IVF shaped her perspective on parenting, leadership, and community service. She explains why supporting children early in life can change the trajectory of entire families and how compassion, connection, and belonging are at the heart of effective family support programs. The conversation also explores grief, infertility, resilience, optimism, and the importance of showing up for people during life’s hardest seasons.

• Why early childhood intervention can create lifelong positive outcomes
• How strong family support helps children thrive
• The role compassion plays in effective social services
• Why optimism and an abundance mindset can strengthen resilience
• How adoption and IVF shaped Elizabeth’s parenting journey
• The importance of supporting parents alongside their children
• Why showing up matters when loved ones are experiencing grief or loss
• How Head Start programs help children develop academically and emotionally
• The value of inclusion, belonging, and community in child development
• Why trusting your instincts is one of the most important parenting skills

Elizabeth Wilberg is a nonprofit executive, writer, mother, and community advocate. She serves as Executive Director of Episcopal Community Services in San Diego, where she leads programs that support thousands of children, adults, and families each year. Through her work and writing, Elizabeth focuses on creating opportunities for families to build stability, resilience, and brighter futures.

• LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/elizabethwilberg
• Blog: https://substack.com/@elizabethwilberg

Listen & Subscribe

• Apple Podcasts
• Spotify
• Amazon Music
• YouTube
• iHeart Radio
• Captivate

Parent Confidence Lab by Avocado Health, your parenting partner in your pocket.

Enjoying the show? Subscribe to our newsletter for weekly parenting insights, episode updates, and expert tips straight to your inbox.

Sign up here: https://avo-little-more-confidence.beehiiv.com/

Rare diseases often leave families searching for answers in a system that doesn’t always recognize what’s happening. On this episode of Parent Confidence Lab, Hans and Cristina sit down with Dr. Andrea Gropman, pediatric neurologist, researcher, and leader in neurometabolic medicine, to discuss how patient stories, family advocacy, and scientific innovation are changing the future of rare disease diagnosis and treatment.

Drawing from more than two decades of research in urea cycle disorders and other rare metabolic conditions, Dr. Gropman explains how listening closely to families has led to groundbreaking discoveries, improved diagnostic approaches, and new therapies that are helping patients live not only longer, but better. She shares insights into genetic testing, personalized medicine, postpartum presentations of rare disorders, and why parents should trust their instincts when something feels wrong.

This conversation is both an educational deep dive into rare disease medicine and a powerful reminder of the role parents play in driving medical progress.

• How a single patient inspired Dr. Gropman’s career in rare disease research
• What urea cycle disorders are and how they affect the brain
• Why many rare disease symptoms are missed or misdiagnosed
• How patient advocacy groups have accelerated treatment development
• The role of MRI imaging in understanding rare neurologic disorders
• Why some women previously considered “carriers” actually experience symptoms
• How genetic testing and whole genome sequencing are transforming diagnosis
• Why parent observations are often critical diagnostic data
• The challenges families face accessing rare disease treatments and testing
• How personalized medicine and gene-editing therapies are changing the future of care
• Why parents should continue advocating when they know something isn’t right
• How family stories often reveal what medical tests cannot

Dr. Andrea Gropman is a pediatric neurologist, physician-scientist, and internationally recognized expert in neurometabolic and rare genetic disorders. She serves as Director of the Neurometabolic Translational Research Program and holds the Mark Tamer Endowed Chair for Pediatric Neurology at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Her research focuses on understanding how rare metabolic diseases affect the brain and developing innovative approaches to improve diagnosis, treatment, and quality of life for patients and families.

For more than 20 years, Dr. Gropman has worked alongside patient advocacy organizations, researchers, and clinicians to advance therapies for rare diseases, including urea cycle disorders. Her work has helped redefine disease understanding, improve patient outcomes, and support the development of emerging precision medicine approaches.

• LinkedIn: Dr. Andrea Gropman

Listen & Subscribe

• Apple Podcasts
• Spotify
• Amazon Music
• YouTube
• iHeart Radio
• Captivate

Parent Confidence Lab by Avocado Health, your parenting partner in your pocket.

Enjoying the show? Subscribe to our newsletter for weekly parenting insights, episode updates, and expert tips straight to your inbox.

Sign up here: https://avo-little-more-confidence.beehiiv.com/

Episode Summary

Parenting can be overwhelming, especially when stress, anxiety, grief, and emotional challenges affect the entire family system. David Washington joins Hans and Cristina on the Parent Confidence Lab podcast to discuss how nature, connection, and nervous system regulation can support healthier relationships between parents and children. As a licensed clinical social worker and CEO and co-founder of The Planted Brain, David combines traditional mental health practices with horticultural therapy and trauma-informed care to help individuals and families heal.

From the science behind nature's impact on the nervous system to the importance of parental regulation, attachment, and fatherhood mental health, David shares practical strategies parents can use to create stronger connections with themselves, their children, and their communities. The conversation also explores postpartum depression in both mothers and fathers, the role of neuroplasticity in changing behaviors, and how simple shared experiences can strengthen family bonds.

• How nature and horticulture can support emotional regulation and mental health
• Why nervous system safety is essential for healing and connection
• The role of polyvagal theory in understanding stress, anxiety, and trauma
• How parents' emotional states influence their children's behavior
• What mirror neurons teach us about connection and co-regulation
• Why parental self-regulation is one of the greatest gifts you can give your child
• How neuroplasticity helps parents create healthier behavioral patterns
• The importance of attachment and connection in early childhood development
• Why fathers can experience postpartum depression and emotional challenges
• Practical ways parents can connect with children through shared experiences and everyday activities
• How nature-based activities can strengthen family relationships and emotional well-being
• Why prioritizing self-care helps parents better support their children

David Washington is a licensed clinical social worker, therapist, and the CEO and co-founder of The Planted Brain, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit mental health organization dedicated to increasing access to culturally responsive mental health services for historically marginalized and under-resourced communities. Through a unique combination of trauma-informed care, psychotherapy, horticultural therapy, and nature-based healing practices, David helps individuals and families build resilience, strengthen relationships, and improve emotional well-being.

• Headway: https://care.headway.co/providers/david-washington
• The Planted Brain: theplantedbrain.org

Listen & Subscribe

• Apple Podcasts
• Spotify
• Amazon Music
• YouTube
• iHeart Radio
• Captivate

Parent Confidence Lab by Avocado Health, your parenting partner in your pocket.

Enjoying the show? Subscribe to our newsletter for weekly parenting insights, episode updates, and expert tips straight to your inbox.

Sign up here: https://avo-little-more-confidence.beehiiv.com/