Board, Staff and Partners

Family SHADE Advisory Board

• Chair: Val Budischak, Epilepsy Foundation Delaware
• Vice-Chair:  Jacky Saez-Rosario, Self-Advocate
• Secretary: Olga Goncharova-Zapata, Parent
• Heather Colantuono, Mary Campbell Center, Children and Youth Programs
• Erica Davis, Ronald McDonald House of Delaware
• Lauren Gillespie, AI duPont Nemours Planning for Life After Nemours (PLAN) Program
• Jody Hougentogler, Parent
• Kaytra MacDonald, Champions for Children’s Mental Health
• Diana Mitchell, Parent
• Vanessa Rodriquez, Delaware Family Voices
• Nancy Ranalli, Easter Seals Delaware and Maryland’s Eastern Shore
• Meedra Surratte, Parent Information Center

Family SHADE Staff

• Bhavana Viswanathan, Project Coordinator
  University of Delaware Center for Disabilities Studies, bhavana@udel.edu, 302.831.8374 (office)

Family SHADE Partnerships

Family SHADE Partners work closely with Family SHADE and use their specific areas of expertise to advance Family SHADE’s mission. The Partners include the Coordinating Council for Children with DisAbilities, the Division of Public Health/Maternal Child Health Bureau, Delaware Family Voices and the Parent Information Center of Delaware.

Delaware Division of Public Health, Maternal Child Health Bureau

Maternal Child Health Bureau’s Maternal and Child Health Block Grant program, Title V of the Social Security Act funding, is intended to improve the health of all mothers and children and provides or ensures prevention and primary care services for children, pregnant women, mothers and infants and children with special health care needs. The Office of Children with Special Health Care Needs provides statewide leadership through partnerships with key stakeholders including families, children and youth with special health care needs (CYSHCN), as well as state and community organizations to improve the well being of CYSHCN.

The Division of Public Health, Maternal Child Health Bureau funds Family SHADE as part of its efforts to improve the health and support for CYSHCN and their families in Delaware.

Website: http://www.dhss.delaware.gov
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Center for Disabilities Studies at the University of Delaware

The Center for Disabilities Studies at the University of Delaware serves as the administrative home, fiduciary agent and convening agency for Family SHADE. The mission of the Center for Disabilities Studies is to enhance the lives of individuals and families through education, prevention, service, and research related to disabilities. They promote independence and productivity so individuals and their families can fully participate in the life of their communities in Delaware and beyond.

Website: http://www.udel.edu/cds
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