Shayla Collins and her husband Marcus are the parents of two young children with special healthcare needs. That "assignment" eventually lead her to the UW LEND Program, where she is a second year Family Fellow.

In addition to her participation in the LEND Program, she is a consultant on a research project at Seattle Children's Hospital about mindfulness and its benefits for parents of children with special healthcare needs. She also recently completed a fellowship at the WA State Developmental Disabilities Council and is a trained National Alliance on Mental Illness "Family 2 Family" Program instructor.

When Shayla can carve out some spare time, she enjoys sleeping, eating, partaking in outdoor adventures with her family, reading and of course thrifting...in that order.