Year Three
Participants
From Left to Right: Cindy Grace, Heather Hallett, Melisa Gries, Crystal Roberts
Cindy Grace
“Cynthia Klauer-Grace, Chief of Operations at the Andrews Center, Behavioral Healthcare System with a Master's Degree in Social Work. Cindy has served over 37 years in the Community Mental Health and Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities field. Starting her career as the Social Work on the D&E Team, Division Director over IDD services and since 2007 as the Chief of Operations with oversight of Mental Health and intellectual and developmental disabilities programs in East Texas. Cindy has gained an understanding of the challenges faced by individuals and families with disabilities drawing from her experiences as a parent of an adult with special needs and knowledge of resources and services in Texas.”
Heather Hallett
“I am eager to participate in Project Leadership Challenge to grow my leadership skills professionally and personally. Participating in Project Leadership will help our agency become more creative in problem-solving, working together as a team, training future leaders and improving services for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.”
Crystal Roberts
“I am interested in participating in the Project Leadership Challenge because I want to have a positive impact on those around me and improve the environment for my team. I am looking forward to gaining more in-depth leadership knowledge to build a strong team within my organization. I want to grow and build my skills to positively influence others.”
Melisa Gries
“Fifteen years ago, I began my journey working with individuals who have intellectual and developmental disabilities. When I took those first steps, I never would have imagined how impacted I would be by this community. I desire to promote growth, understanding and positive change not only for those with a diagnosis, but for their families and their entire support team. Additionally, I hope to educate those who have very little understanding of the ABILITIES of our IDD population. I am interested in the Project Leadership Challenge because I want to learn how to build my leadership skills to guide not only myself, but others, towards providing purposeful work in every encounter, every moment, every interaction with our clients. I hope to learn new perspectives on ‘leading the charge' while continuing to practice empathy, advocacy, and empowerment for those I serve. “
From Left to Right: Pamela Gutierrez, Maria Edmonson, Nicole Ramirez, Chris McMullen
Maria Edmonson
“I am looking forward to participating in the project leadership challenge training because when it comes to leadership there is always room for growth. This will give me the opportunity to learn skills that I can bring back to my team, clients and community. Collaborating with other leaders in the community who all serve IDD clients in some type of capacity will help me learn from other professionals and expand my knowledge in the field.”
Nicole Ramirez
“I am interested in participating in the Project Leadership Challenge with my team at Denton County MHMR so that we can creatively work through our challenges together. I believe that at the conclusion of this process we will be a stronger team, and we will be able to bring new skills and stronger leadership to our Center as a whole. I am looking forward to improving my own personal leaderships skills and linking it with my passion for serving our community.”
Chris McMullen
“I am really looking forward to participating in the upcoming Project Leadership Challenge. I anticipate it being a great learning experience, as well as an excellent opportunity to meet, collaborate and gain knowledge from others in our field. The opportunity to be a part of this program will most certainly provide me and my colleagues with a chance to gain insight and possibly find new ways to deal with complications we encounter in our daily work lives. Although I have been involved in the Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities services field for many years, I believe this challenge will offer some fresh perspectives on how our organization might be able to better serve the individuals in our care.”
From Left to Right: Brandi Hazelwood, Sandra Nalley, Michael Dunn, Juan Morales
Brandi Hazelwood
“I am excited to participate in the Project Leadership Challenge because I believe this will offer the opportunity to create stronger leaders in this ever changing field. We need to accept that we will lead in all different situations ensuring that the outcome of being person-centered is our top priority. I believe that this program will assist to provide us important information and direction to keep our paths open to be able to adapt to the changes that occur while building stronger leaders. I look forward to gaining the skills and knowledge to continue to be successful in this field and to be able to expand that knowledge to others that are interested in becoming leaders themselves.”
Sandra Nalley
“I am interested in participating in the Project Leadership Challenge Training so that I am strengthened in my capacity to lead and in turn; develop strong advocates within my team making a positive impact on the community we serve. I am eager to learn new ways to empower those with whom I work as well as those with whom I serve in the community. We strive to ensure that our work is person-centered in hopes of transforming lives; therefore, I am excited to learn more creative ways to lead and enhance the lives of those we serve.”
Michael Dunn
“I am interested in the Leadership project as I wish to better myself as a leader for both my team and I. The outlook of our division starts at the front line and mimics the one who leads that team. If I am growing as a leader, so is my team which improves the outlook of our division and organization.”
Juan Morales
“I am excited to participate in the Project Leadership Challenge to not only continue my own professional growth and improvement as a leader, but also to become a better coworker, partner and participant in the IDD community we serve.”
From Left to Right: Chrystal Davis, Diana Lara, Georgina Valadez, Cristina Maese
Georgina Valadez
“I am a teacher by trade with ten years of experience teaching children with learning disabilities as well as regular ed. students. I left teaching and had a new challenge as a Fully Qualified Early Childhood Interventionist (ECI) at Emergence Health Network. After 5 years I was afforded an opportunity to join the Compliance team due to the closing of the ECI program. This division supports different programs throughout the agency with compliance of regulatory standards ensuring the best quality care is afforded to Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities, Mental Health, Jail Transition, Housing and Homeless, and SUD Substance Abuse in the community of El Paso.
Although, I was enrolled in this Project Leadership Challenge by my Chief, I hope to learn as much as possible to continue growing as an individual as well as a leader in my division and branch out to the next level in the Management field.”
From Left to Right: Janet Vega, Maria A. Sanchez, Elizabeth Vasquez, Diana Salazar
“As a team we have decided to challenge both a new service and change of philosophy for our challenge. We would like to see a new service and change our philosophy as in having a set curriculum for our client. This set curriculum would be required to ensure that the clients are taking full advantage of the services provided. Changing our philosophy would include going back to client centered.”
Mentors
From Left to Right: Brook Magers - Summerhouse Houston, Craig Russell - Down Home Ranch, Mary VanHaneghan - The Arc of the Capital Area, Joanna Willis - East Texas Center for Independent Living, Amy Wilson - East Texas Center for Independent Living
Follow-Up Conference
Webinar Video
(We apologize for the audio quality during the last presentation.)
Keynote Speaker
Cathy Terrill
Cathy Ficker Terrill, MS, has recently been appointed the Executive Director of Wheels for Humanity, a nonprofit that provides wheelchairs to people with disabilities in 70 countries. Previously, she was the court monitor for the Oregon Department of Justice settlement agreement on employment, Lane v. Brown. In this capacity, she designed quality metrics for statewide implementation. Ms. Terrill was the CEO of the Council on Quality and Leadership (CQL), an international nonprofit that measures quality outcomes in long-term care for people with disabilities and elder care. Her career has included working in leadership positions in government, non-profit organizations, university teaching, advocacy, and supporting and mentoring self-advocates. Before joining CQL, she was the CEO of The Institute on Public Policy for People with Disabilities, an organization dedicated to providing leadership and technical assistance to drive public policy and promote best practices for individuals with disabilities. She is a past Bureau Chief for the Illinois Department of Public Aid Bureau of Long-Term Care, where she was responsible for all of the elderly and disability long-term care beds and a staff of hundreds of nurses. In this capacity, she designed seven different Medicaid waivers and new quality metrics for long-term care.
Previously, Ms. Terrill served as CEO of the Ray Graham Association, where she used the CQL Personal Outcome Measures® to reinvent a provider agency to become a more community-based, person-centered organization. She was the Past President of the American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (AAIDD), as well as a former President of Illinois TASH. She has authored a manual on Consent Issues for Self-Advocates and Direct-Care Staff. She is a past two-term White House Appointee to the President's Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities (PCPID). For the past 30 years, Ms. Terrill has volunteered internationally, helping to create services and define quality metrics for people with disabilities in South Korea, Kosovo, Poland, Russia, Cyprus, Lithuania, Japan, Saudi Arabia and China.
The Virginia Murray Sowell Center for Research and Education in Sensory Disabilities
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