Author

Estelle Slootmaker

A working writer since 1992, Estelle Slootmaker currently is a book editor, solutions journalist, Issue Media Group series editor, and children's book author. She released her new children’s book, Places Where The Sun Don’t Shine in August 2025.

An unashamed tree-hugger, Estelle chairs The Tree Amigos, City of Wyoming Tree Commission. She and her hubby—artist and guitarist Eddie Killowatts—love dancing to new wave, Michigan's outdoors, going to book and record stores, growing and cooking healthy food, and hanging out with their terrible terriers, Bindipaws Bowie McCrykie and Skipper D. Doodog.

Estelle's Latest Articles

Alison Arnold gives a presentation on trauma-informed care to CMU's Association for the Education of Young Children.
Here’s how educators are learning to empathetically foster resilience in children affected by trauma

Traumatic events are sadly common in childhood, but the practice of trauma-informed education is helping to better understand and support the children who experience them.

Christina Pavlak.
Michigan’s home visiting programs bring support to new parents

A wide range of perinatal home visiting programs bring professional support to Michigan's new moms and moms-to-be, helping to fill the void of community support and develop vital skills. 

Mel Trombley.
For new moms, mood disorders are more common than you think – but here’s how we can help

20% to 25% of women are at risk for first-time onset of mental illness after they give birth. But proactive interventions, support systems for moms who suffer, and more open-minded discourse can make a difference.

Christina Pavlak.
Michigan’s home visiting programs bring support to new parents

A wide range of perinatal home visiting programs bring professional support to Michigan's new moms and moms-to-be, helping to fill the void of community support and develop vital skills. 

Julie Ribaudo.
Infant mental health programs create better futures for little Michiganders and their parents

Most people don’t really think about infant mental health until they notice its absence – but the difference can be stark to the observer and life-changing for the infant.

Dr. David Sova and Megan Sova.
Michigan providers seek to improve whole communities by integrating behavioral and physical health

Primary and behavioral health often feel like different worlds, but the idea of combining the two disciplines has become a commonly discussed solution that can have broad impacts.  

Members of Cherry Health's integrated care team confer. The team includes nurses, medical assistants, pharmacists, and physicians.
Michigan providers pursue holistic model for more affordable and effective healthcare

Integrated care involves not just physical co-location of services that are often isolated from one another, but also broader community-based solutions that promote good health.

Here’s how we can address rural Michigan’s alarmingly high infant mortality and poor maternal health

Substance abuse, lack of access to healthy food, and dwindling birthing hospitals and OB-GYNs all contribute to poor health outcomes for mothers and infants. These organizations and individuals are working to change that.

Urban Michigan initiatives recognize racism as major factor in infant and maternal mortality

Statewide, black babies are three times more likely to die in their first year of life than white babies. But those statistics are even more alarming in many of Michigan's urban centers.

Yoga in the park in Dexter.
How Michigan’s place-based initiatives are addressing health equity at a regional level

These initiatives forge private-public collaborations to create systemic improvements in health and wellness across multiple counties.

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