NCFR Recognizes Helyne Frederick for Outstanding Contributions to CFLE Program

Helyne Frederick

The National Council on Family Relations (NCFR) is proud to recognize Helyne Frederick, Ph.D., CFLE, is the recipient of the 2020 Certified Family Life Educator (CFLE) Special Recognition Award. Each year, the NCFR recognizes a CFLE who has demonstrated exceptional effort in promoting, supporting, or improving the CFLE credential or program. The recipient is recognized at the CFLE Reception at the NCFR Annual Conference.

Dr. Frederick is a clinical associate professor and director of the Human Development and Family Studies (HDFS) program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC). She has been a member of NCFR since 2009 and a CFLE since 2013. She earned her master's and doctorate degrees in HDFS from Texas Tech University.

Dr. Frederick is being honored for a myriad of efforts to promote the CFLE credential and Family Life Education across multiple institutions. She has led multiple programs in the process of becoming CFLE-approved by NCFR.

At Winthrop University and UNC, Dr. Frederick developed new programs and concentrations, and as the only faculty member in either department with a Family Science background, helped to educate faculty and administrators about the value of the CFLE credential. 

Furthermore, Dr. Frederick served as a reviewer for the CFLE program approval from 2016-2019. She reviewed a minimum of two programs each year. Her enthusiasm for the CFLE credential is evident and her passion for Family Life Education has brought awareness to the CFLE credential at multiple universities. As such, it is difficult to assess how many students became certified via her work in these programs.

More recently, Dr. Frederick is promoting Family Life Education as an option in birthing centers, neonatal and pediatric units, disabilities services, and other areas that are underserved by the knowledge base of Family Life Education.

In her current role, she places approximately 100 students annually in internship sites and requires students to develop a FLE program for the organization. In her roles at Winthrop and UNC, she created student affiliate councils of NCFR and involved groups in service areas related to CFLE.

Apart from her teaching and service, Dr. Frederick makes time to write about Family Science and Family Life Education. She recently co-authored a book chapter exploring the use and value of Family Life Education in three Caribbean Countries. She also made contributions both to CFLE Network (e.g., disability) and NCFR Report (i.e., child development and teaching diversity) by contributing discussion on improving teaching and engagement in Family Science (and by extension Family Life Education).