Life After LEND Panel: Engaging Families, Self-Advocates, Former Trainees and Faculty in Collaborative Efforts

Friday, May 13, 2022

Webinar Description:

Join us for an interactive discussion exploring alumni trainee engagement strategies. The panel will feature former trainees currently serving as LEND program faculty/staff.

This event is sponsored by AUCD's National Training Directors Council (NTDC). and the Interdisciplinary Technical Assistance Center (ITAC) on Autism and Developmental Disabilities.

Learning Objectives:

• Learn the benefits of engaging former LEND trainees, including family and self-advocate trainees
• Identify the macro and micro strategies for engagement
• Discuss solutions to challenges in engaging former trainees
• Discuss evaluation methods for current engagement efforts 

Moderators:

Mark Crenshaw, MTS | Assistant Director, Georgia LEND, Center for Leadership in Disability, Georgia State University

Mark Crenshaw joined Georgia State University in June of 2011 as the Director of Interdisciplinary Training. Mr. Crenshaw has a career interest in community capacity building and inclusion.  Mark graduated with a BA in Religion from Oklahoma City University and a Masters in Theological Studies from the Candler School of Theology at Emory University. Prior to coming to Georgia State, Mr. Crenshaw was the Executive Director of Interfaith Disability Network, a program that seeks to identify and share the gifts of individuals with disability labels in congregational and community settings.

J. Alyx Medlock, MS, CCC-SLP |Training Director, New Mexico LEND, Center for Development and Disability, University of New Mexico

Alyx is a speech-language pathologist who has worked with interdisciplinary, family-centered teams throughout her career. She is a life-long New Mexican with deep family and cultural ties to the state. She was the director of the Early Childhood Evaluation Program (ECEP) and continues to work clinically, providing interdisciplinary, developmental, and diagnostic evaluations for children under three. Her previous experience in running a private practice fostered varied professional and personal experiences throughout the state and across the lifespan. She has experience working with families of children with prenatal drug and alcohol exposure, individuals with ASD, children, and adults with feeding and swallowing difficulties, and many other populations. Alyx has also worked internationally in Tanzania and India, providing training and consultation. 

Panelists:

Anjali Rao, MD

Anjali has over twenty years of experience as a faculty pediatrician at Northwestern University, where she provided care to multiple pediatric communities and taught medical trainees at the Feinberg School of Medicine. She is currently at the University of Chicago, where she is sub-specializing in developmental and behavioral pediatrics and serves a patient population that disproportionately faces a myriad of health disparities. Her advocacy and research interests focus on increasing access to care for vulnerable youths and fostering system-wide change to increase care delivery for children and teens with developmental differences. Dr. Rao is currently the academic/clinical vice chair of AUCD’s Autism Special Interest Group. Dr. Rao is also a developmental and behavioral pediatrics (DBP) fellow at the University of Chicago and was the 2020-2021 AUCD trainee liaison for the Illinois LEND. 

Brandon Eddy, MA, CCC-SLP

Brandon Eddy is a speech-language pathologist and Assistant Clinical Professor at Portland State University’s Speech and Hearing Sciences Department. He completed training in both the Iowa LEND program (2014-2015) and the Oregon LEND program (2015-2016). He previously served as an Assistant Virtual Trainee to AUCD in 2015-2016 and currently serves on the AUCD Emerging Leaders Advisory Board. Brandon is passionate about family-centered interdisciplinary clinical practice and research, particularly in augmentative and alternative communication and cleft/craniofacial differences.

Donna Morgan Johnson, MHS
Donna Johnson is the Development and Partnerships Director for Georgia’s childcare subsidy program, Childcare and Parent Services (CAPS), at the Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning. She also serves as Family Faculty for the GaLEND program in the Center for Leadership in Disability at Georgia State University. Ms. Morgan Johnson's previous roles include serving as the Director of the Children and Youth with Special Needs program (Title V), Director of Child Health Programs, and Director of Georgia’s Early Intervention Program (IDEA: Part C), Babies Can’t Wait in the Maternal and Child Health Section of the Georgia Department of Public Health. Ms. Morgan Johnson was also the coordinator and co-author of the Autism Plan for Georgia and a member of the 2011-2012 inaugural GaLEND cohort (Family Discipline). She has 3 young adult daughters, one of whom is living with autism. Ms. Morgan Johnson has a master's degree from Walden University in Human and Social Services.

Maggie Winston

Maggie Winston is a disability advocate from Kenai, Alaska. She is a full-time Program Director for a local Center for Independent Living and Adjunct Faculty for Alaska's LEND Without Walls. She has a fiery passion for disability policy and advocacy and is the author of the blog “Pretty Wheelchair Girl.”

Please Note:

• There is no cost for this webinar.
• CEUs are not offered for this webinar.
• This webinar will be held on the Zoom Platform. You can test your connection with Zoom before joining the meeting here.
• CART captioning will be available for this webinar. For additional accommodations, email [email protected]. 
• This webinar will be archived.