The mission of the Student Success Team is to support and empower each learner in their journey towards professional and personal wellbeing. To accomplish this objective, team members provide holistic, personalized guidance to students, referring to UW and community resources as needed.
> Current PharmD Students: See the Student Success Team page in Canvas (requires UW NetID login) for information about how to access advising, coaching, and counseling support.
> Prospective PharmD Students: contact our Admissions and Recruitment Team at uwpharmd@uw.edu.
Advising Team
Topics students can contact their advisor about include:
- Academic and/or personal challenges (e.g., concerns about failing a course, ability to pay tuition, health/well-being concerns, etc.)
- Enrollment verifications (for intern registration, etc.)
- Degree requirements and progress (e.g., choosing elective courses, making sure you’re on track to graduate, etc.)
- Any questions or concerns you have throughout your time in the program
Caitlin Blomquist
Director of Student Success
Serves students with last names P-Z and all international students
Mike Spielman
Director of Admissions and Recruitment
Serves students with last names I-O
Emily Schump
Associate Director of Admissions and Recruitment
Serves students with last names A-H
Academic Coaching Team
Academic coaches work with students to navigate common topics like…
- Time Management
- Procrastination
- Motivation
- Exam preparation & anxiety
- Writing
- Reading & note-taking strategies
- Communicating effectively with advisors/mentors
Dr. Rebekah Freed
Academic Skills Counselor/Learning Specialist
Book time with Rebekah Freed

Dr. Rachel Firebaugh
Clinical Assistant Professor & Department Academic Support Coach
Book time with Rachel G Firebaugh
Mental Health Counselor
Emma Buchanan
Health Sciences Liaison and Counselor
Serves all SOP students
Emma is a Licensed Clinical Social Work from the Counseling Center serving the School of Pharmacy and Foster School of Business. She has experience providing counseling in community mental health and inpatient care.
Depending on your specific needs, Emma can work with you to build on your strengths and accomplish your goals. This may include:
- Finding ways to manage academic, career, and/or relationship stressors
- Understanding your values
- Increasing and developing skills around emotion regulation, distress tolerance, mindfulness, interpersonal effectiveness, and/or processing difficult experiences
- Building practices of awareness and advocacy
Emma’s services are free and completely confidential. You can connect with her at a Let’s Talk virtual event if you would like to learn more about counseling, want to get connected to services, or if you have any other questions.
Experiential Education Team
Noah Fredstrom
Program Manager, Early Experiences
- First-year Wednesdays in Practice, Health System IPPE
- Second-year Wednesdays in Practice, Community IPPE
Mona Jalili, PharmD
Program Manager, Advanced Experiences (APPE)
Emily Jensen
Program Manager of Onboarding and Compliance