Day in and day out the author invests her energy in keeping students safe by reducing alcohol consumption on campus, developing innovative alcohol and drug educational programming, collecting and analyzing data to better understand the drinking culture of the campus, and scouring the literature for best practices and evidence-based success. Day in and day out she also invests her energy in listening to, communicating with, responding to, and calming parents. It is true. The author has the privilege and challenge of wearing two unique hats--two hats that, at face value, appear to be potentially in direct conflict with each other. This can be a particular concern when a student is involved in an alcohol-related incident and a parent believes the student conduct system has not been just, or that their student "never drinks" so the college must be mistaken in its documentation. Of the many things the author has learned in her 25-year history in higher education, two key elements are prominent; understanding how to effectively change students' risky decision making and understanding what makes parents of college students tick. Both help to reach the critical goals of student success by way of student development and the use of long-term critical thinking skills. The fact of the matter is that wearing these two discrete hats has served as an asset to the students, the parents of the students, and the campus community as a whole. In this article, the author introduces the "prevention specialist" philosophy and discusses how including parents in addressing college alcohol abuse is paying off in fewer student alcohol-related incidents at The College of Saint Rose.