Upcoming engagement · October 22, 2026
Weinberg Institute for Cognitive ScienceThriveEF workshop with the University of Michigan College of LSA
Winter semester
PlanArc institutional pilotPlanning support situated in students’ real academic routines
40 yearsCombined educational experience across the ThriveEF team
Backed by U-MUniversity of Michigan Innovation Partnerships
Built in Ann ArborSupported by Ann Arbor SPARK
A skills problem
Students need more than reminders.
Knowing what to do is different from being able to organize, start, and complete it. ThriveEF helps institutions respond to executive-functioning challenges as skills that can be taught and supported.
Our work connects what educators understand, what students practice, and the tools that help a plan survive contact with a real week.
Ways to work together
Start with the support your community needs.
Each engagement is shaped around the institution, its students, and the people responsible for supporting them.
01
Professional learning
Customized workshops for teachers, counselors, administrators, therapists, and student-support teams.
02
Student workshops
Practical executive-functioning instruction that gives students language and strategies they can use immediately.
03
Pilots & partnerships
Collaborative ways to explore adaptive planning support with students in the context of a real academic term.
Product preview based on the current PlanArc prototype.
PlanArc for institutions
Let students practice the skills between meetings, classes, and advising sessions.
PlanArc gives students a place to turn coursework and commitments into a visible week, make choices about their time, and return to the plan as circumstances change.
- Planning built around coursework and real-life commitments
- Student ownership of what enters the plan
- Reflection that supports adjustment without judgment
Education and technology
Expertise on both sides of the work.
ThriveEF is founded by University of Michigan lecturers who combine executive-functioning practice with experience building adaptive student technology.
Diane Aretz
Co-founder · Executive functioning
Lecturer at the U-M School of Education with nearly two decades working alongside neurodivergent young people.
Bobby Madamanchi
Co-founder · Technology
Lecturer at the U-M School of Information who builds the planning and scheduling technology behind PlanArc.
Partner with ThriveEF
We’re looking for institutions ready to build better executive-functioning support with us.
Tell us about your students, your support model, and whether you are considering a workshop, training series, PlanArc pilot, or longer-term collaboration.