Find Your Act Early Ambassador

Act Early Ambassadors expand the reach of the “Learn the Signs. Act Early.” program and support their respective state’s work toward improving early identification of developmental delays and disabilities, including autism.

Since 2011, professionals with medical, child development, developmental disability, special education, and early intervention expertise have been selected to

• Serve as a state or territorial point-of-contact for the national “Learn the Signs. Act Early.” program;
• Support the work of Act Early Teams and other state/territorial or national initiatives to improve early identification of developmental delay and disability; and
•  Promote the adoption and integration of “Learn the Signs. Act Early.” resources into systems that serve young children and their families.

See how Ambassadors and others across the nation are promoting early identification of delays and disabilities using LTSAE.

Ambassador Bios [32 Pages, 13 MB, Print Only]

 

Alabama

Tish MacInnis
Alabama Strengthening Families Coordinator
Alabama Partnership for Children (APC)
Email: tmacinnis@apcteam.org

Alaska

Carmen Wenger
Director of Programs
All Alaska Pediatric Partnership
Email: carmen@a2p2.org

Jessica Davis (Tribal Ambassador)
Manager, Child and Family Developmental Services Organization
Southcentral Foundation
Email: jdavis@southcentralfoundation.com

Arizona

Megan Wills
Chief Community Programs Officer
Easterseals Blake Foundation
Email: Mwills@blake.easterseals.com

Arkansas

Katie Clark
Project Director
Arkansas Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics
arkansasaap.org
Email: katie@arkansasaap.org

California

Patricia Moore
Director, Help Me Grow Santa Barbara County
Family Resource Centers Network of CA
Family Voices of California
Help Me Grow
Email: PJmoore@alphasb.org

Michele Rogers, PhD
Executive Director, Community Trainer, Certified Childbirth Educator, Lactation Specialist
California Early Learning Institute
Email: Michelerogerseli@gmail.com

Colorado

Eileen Auer Bennett
Executive Director
Assuring Better Child Health & Development
Email: Eileen@coloradoabcd.org

Connecticut

Bethanne Vergean
Research Associate
University of Connecticut Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities
Email: Vergean@uchc.edu

DC

Yetta Myrick
Executive Director/President
DC Autism Parents
Email: Ymyrick@dcautismparents.org

Delaware

Ashley Steinbrecher
Health Promotion Implementation Coach
University of Delaware
Email: ashstein@udel.edu

Florida

Sarah Fabrizi
Associate Professor, Occupational Therapy Program
Florida Gulf Coast University
Email: sfabrizi@fgcu.edu

Liz Randall
Senior Director
Help Me Grow Florida
Email: lrandall@thechildrensforum.com

Georgia

Bridget Ratajczak
Child and Family Development Supervisor
GA Department of Early Care and Learning
Email: bridget.ratajczak@decal.ga.gov

Guam

Elaine Eclavea
Guam Early Learning Chairperson
Guam Early Learning Council
Email: eeclavea@gmail.com

Hawaii

Jeffrey Okamoto
Chapter President
American Academy of Pediatrics, Hawaii Chapter Inc.
https://health.hawaii.gov/cshcn/hiileihawaii/
https://health.hawaii.gov/cshcn/files/2013/12/Hiileiwebsitelist4_10_14.pdf
Email: Jokamoto@hawaii.edu

Idaho

Melissa Crist
Director of Early Childhood Programs
University of Idaho Center on Disabilities and Human Development
Email: mcrist@uidaho.edu

Illinois

Courtney Hill
Team Lead
DeKalb County Regional Office of Education
Email: chill@dekalbcounty.org

Shannon Dault
Early Childhood Navigator
Early Childhood Forum of Central Illinois
Email: sdault@peoriaroe.org

Indiana

Stephan Viehweg
Associate Director of Indiana LEND
Indiana University School of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics
Email: sviehweg@iu.edu

Iowa

Michelle Holst
Wellness & Preventative Health Strategic Initiatives Coordinator
Department of Health and Human Services
Email: michelle.s.holst@hhs.iowa.gov

Kansas

Peggy Kemp
Director
Kansas Inservice Training System
Email: pkemp@ku.edu

Kentucky

Christine Hausman
Content Coordinator of Training
University of Kentucky
Email: christine.hausman@uky.edu

Louisiana

Julie Emory
EPSDT Coordinator
Bureau of Family Health
Email: Julie.emory@la.gov

Maine

Nancy Cronin
Executive Director
Maine Developmental Disabilities Council
Email: nancy.e.cronin@maine.gov

Maryland

Kristen Paul
Director of Early Childhood Programs
The Parent’s Place of Maryland
Email: kristen@ppmd.org

Massachusetts

Danielle Thibodeau
Clinical Supervisor
Meeting Street Massachusetts, Inc
Email: dthibodeau@meetingstreet.org

Michigan

Jennifer Kay Koenigsknecht
Public Awareness Supervisor
Clinton County RESA, Early On Michigan
Email: jkoenigsknecht@ccresa.org

Minnesota

Jennifer Hall-Lande
Researcher/Principal investigator on MN ADDM (Autism and Developmental
University of Minnesota Institute on Community Integration (ICI) and Minnesota LEND
Email: Hall0440@umn.edu

Mississippi

Leslie LaVergne
Interim Associate Director
The University of Southern Mississippi, Institute on Disability Studies
Email: Leslie.lavergne@usm.edu

Missouri

Alicia Brewer Curran
Instruction and Research Specialist Lead
University of Missouri School of Medicine
Email: CurranA@health.missouri.edu

Montana

Lora Cowee
Healthy Montana Families Home Visiting Program Specialist
Montana Department of Health and Human Services-Early Childhood and Family Support Division
Email: lora.cowee@mt.gov

Nebraska

Rachel Schumacher
Licensed Psychologist and Assistant Professor
Munroe-Meyer Institute, University of Nebraska Medical Center
Email: rachel.schumacher@unmc.edu

Nevada

Swetha Wolfson
Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist
University of Nevada, Reno
Email: ssirisinaha@med.unr.edu

New Hampshire

Jennifer Pineo
Lead Trainer/Family Leader
NH Family Voices
Email: jsp@nhfv.org

New Jersey

Deepa Srinivasavaradan
State Parent Lead & Director of Early Childhood Initiatives
SPAN Parent Advocacy Network
Email: deepas@spanadvocacy.org

New Mexico

Alyx Medlock
LEND training director/speech-language pathologist
New Mexico UCEDD/LEND
Email: almedlock@salud.unm.edu

Nicole Loveless (Tribal Ambassador)
Parent Leader for Indigenous Community, New Mexico
Early Relational Health
Email: nloveley50@gmail.com

New York

Liz Isakson
Executive Director
New York Docs for Tots
Email: liz@docsfortots.org

Romina Barros
Chief, Division of Developmental Behavioral Pediatrics
NYU Long Island School of Medicine
Email: Romina.barros@nyulangone.org

North Carolina

Amanda Berry
Program Director
FIRSTwnc
Email: amanda@firstwncorg

Laura Hiruma
Psychologist, Clinical Assistant Professor
UNC Carolina Institute for Developmental Disabilities
Email: laura.hiruma@cidd.unc.edu

North Dakota

Brooke Lynn Rosenau
Early Interventionist, North Dakota Region 2 Assistant Program Director
Minot State University
Email: brooke.l.rosenau@minotstateu.edu

Ohio

Steph Weber
Clinical Psychologist; LEND/UCCEDD Training
Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center
Email: Stephanie.Weber@cchmc.org

Dawn Greathouse
Clinical Psychologist and Clinical Assistant Professor of Pediatrics
Nationwide Children’s Hospital & The Ohio State University
Email: dawn.greathouse@nationwidechildrens.org

Oklahoma

Bonnie McBride
Associate Professor of Pediatrics
University of OK Health Sciences Center
Email: bonnie-mcbride@ouhsc.edu

Oregon

Sherri Alderman
Developmental Behavioral Pediatrician
Alderman Boreal Consulting, LLC
Email: actearlyoregon@gmail.com

Palau

Francesca Morei-Misech
Executive Director
Palau Parents Empowered
Email: moreimisech@gmail.com

Pennsylvania

Angela Caldwell
Assistant Professor
University of Pittsburgh
Email: arl78@pitt.edu

Shelley Chapin
Consultant for Early Intervention Technical Assistance
Early Intervention Technical Assistance (EITA)
Email: schapin@pattan.net

Puerto Rico

Giannina López-Pérez
Associate Director
PR-UCEDD
Email: Giannina.lopez@upr.edu

Rhode Island

Jennifer Sanchez
Early Intervention Technical Assistance Specialist
Rhode Island College
Email: jsanchez@ric.edu

South Carolina

Tiffany Howard
Pediatric Support Network Manager, Help Me Grow SC
SC Infant Mental Health Association
Email: thoward@scimha.org

South Dakota

Lisa Sanderson
MCHB Family to family Health Information Center Project Director and Grants Coordinator
South Dakota Parent Connect Inc.
Email: lsanderson@sdparent.org

Tennessee

Toni Whitaker
Division Chief Developmental Pediatrics
University of TN Health Science Center, Department of Pediatrics
Email: twhitak1@uthsc.edu

Texas

Andria Horton
Executive Director
Champions for Children
Email: andria@championsforchildren.org

Alison Queralt
Pediatric Physical Therapist
MGA Homecare
Email: alisonqueralt@gmail.com

Utah

Janel Preston
Program Coordinator
Institute for Disability Research, Policy, and Practice – USU
Email: Janel.preston@usu.edu

Vermont

Janet Kilburn
Early Childhood Director
Vermont Department of Health
Email: Janet.Kilburn@vermont.gov

Virginia

Deana Buck
Early Childhood Consultant
Early Childhood Consultant and Affiliate Faculty Member VCU, Retired
Email: deanabuck@gmail.com

Washington

Azucena Salazar
Early Care and Education Partnership Manager
WithinReach
Email: azucenas@withinreachwa.org

West Virginia

Jackie Newson
Division Director
West Virginia Office of Maternal, Child and Family Health
Email: jackie.j.newson@wv.gov

Wisconsin

Morgan Conti
Program Manager- Medial Home Initiative
Children’s Health Alliance of Wisconsin
Email: mconti@childrenswi.org

Wyoming

Cari Glantz
Senior Project Coordinator
Wyoming Institute for Disabilities (WIND), University of Wyoming
Email: cglantz@uwyo.edu

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