Maeve Barttiss

Maeve Bartiss is Pediatric Chief Resident at MSU/Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital. Her primary  discipline is Pediatric Medicine and she is applying to complete a Hospice and Palliative Medicine Fellowship Experience with disability. In her career, Maeve plans to work in both palliative care and complex care primary care – these fields encompass the medical care of many children with a variety of disabilities. Maeve hopes to learn in MI-LEND how best to care for them and advocate for them on a local, state, and federal basis.

Zoe Broadus

Zoe is a second-year graduate student at Northern Michigan University, studying psychology and applied behavior analysis. Zoe grew up in a neurodiverse household and witnessed the barriers to access for those with disabilities across multiple contexts throughout her childhood. She previously worked as support staff for neurodiverse college students and as a behavior technician with teenagers and young adults. Zoe is currently both a registered behavior technician and graduate research assistant at Northern Michigan University’s Behavior Education Assessment & Research (BEAR) Center where she works to support skill development in children diagnosed with autism. Through MI-LEND, she hopes to further develop her own clinical skill set to better serve her clients, gain a deeper understanding of other fields, and learn about the public health policies and support services that families are navigating.

Megan Burke

Megan is currently a Developmental Behavioral Pediatrics Fellow at The University of Michigan Medicine. She has worked with patients with developmental delays and disabilities throughout her residency, and subsequently went into fellowship in Developmental Behavioral Pediatrics to continue working with children with developmental delays and their families. Through her participation in MI-LEND, Megan hopes to gain a broader understanding of how best to collaborate with the community to support children with disabilities and their families.

Jacqueline Cuevas

Jacqueline Cuevas is a certified and licensed massage therapist, graduate of Irene’s Myomassology Institute. Her late diagnosis of Epilepsy and a seizure disorder have greatly affected her ability to function in everyday life the way that others do. For years she has advocated  for her neurological and mobility needs with her providers in the medical field.  Her firm belief that in life there is always a solution motivated her to become a self-advocate. She is fascinated with the knowledge that our cells and nervous systems hold traumas and memories that subconsciously impact our everyday abilities and decisions.  She hopes to gain a better understanding of her disabilities and learn if and how generational, pre-gestational and childhood trauma play a role in some neurodevelopmental disabilities.

Katie Giustino

Katie Giustino is a second-year speech language pathology (SLP) graduate student at Western Michigan University. She completed her speech pathology and audiology Bachelor of Science in 2022 also at Western Michigan. Katie worked as a registered behavior technician servicing ages 2-17 with ASD, ADHD, ODD, and various other behavioral support needs. She is an active advocate for hearing accessibility as she is completing a master’s thesis focusing on increasing SLP confidence working with the hard of hearing community. Her goals for the MI-LEND experience are to develop and strengthen interdisciplinary collaboration, learn to be a better advocate for all, and be part of a well-educated, understanding, inclusive, and supportive professional community.

Tonnieo Graves

Tonnieo Graves is 42 years old and is the oldest of three siblings. He graduated from Ferris State University and is currently working on a master’s degree at Capella University. Tonnieo was diagnosed with a learning disability at the age of five. He loves hanging out with his friends and family.

Tyler James

Tyler G. James, PhD, MCHES, is an Assistant Professor of Family Medicine at the University of Michigan. As a health services researcher with a disability, he is interested in exploring the impact of ableism (and its sub-forms) on the health and quality of life of people with and without disabilities. Although Dr. James is interested in the breadth of disability health topics, he has a particular interest in the health outcomes of people with developmental sensory disabilities (i.e., deaf, hard-of-hearing, blind, low vision, and DeafBlind) and rare diseases (e.g., CHARGE syndrome). He has been working with the d/Deaf, blind, and DeafBlind communities for eight years in varying capacities including as an ASL interpreter, advocate in healthcare and educational settings, and researcher collaborator. His research is in social and legal epidemiology, community-engaged research, psychometrics, and research methodology. In his free time, Tyler serves as a special education advocate for parents of school-aged children and as an educational surrogate for homeless youth with disabilities. He is excited to participate in MI-LEND to broaden his experiences working with youth with disabilities and their families, and to network with other people passionate about improving the quality of life of people with disabilities.  

Emily Jensen

Emily Jensen (she/they) is a fourth-year doctoral candidate at Michigan State University in Human Development and Family Studies with a concentration in Child Development. Her research focuses on supporting the psychosocial and developmental needs of children with disabilities and their families in medical settings. She uses both quantitative and qualitative methodologies to investigate the issue of healthcare inequity for this population, guided by various developmental, family systems, and family stress theories, as well as the desire to create inclusive and healing spaces for all children. Through the MI-LEND experience, Emily hopes to gain skills in policy advocacy, effective interdisciplinary team management, and referral processes in order to better support children with disabilities and their families.

BethEllen Johnson

BethEllen Johnson, B.S. is a doctoral student at Central Michigan University studying audiology. They obtained their bachelor’s degree at Miami University majoring in Speech Pathology and Audiology with a minor in Disability Studies. Prior to graduate school, BethEllen was part of Swimming with Autism, a program that focused on water safety for children and young adults with autism, and it was there that they discovered a passion for working with those with neurodevelopmental disabilities. Following graduation, BethEllen would like to become a pediatric audiologist. Through the MI-LEND program, BethEllen hopes to gain a deeper understanding of the unique needs of children with hearing loss in addition to neurodevelopmental disabilities.

Jennifer Kerns

Jennifer Kerns, BS, RDH is currently the Director of Health Initiatives for the United Way of Northwest Michigan and an Adjunct Clinical Instructor in the University of Michigan School of Dentistry. She is the founder of United We Smile - a free dental center/teaching facility. Jennifer lives with Ehlers Danlos Syndrome. She hopes to learn more about developmental disabilities so she can better identify with those patients as well as more adequately provide services to improve their quality of life.

Sam Klunejko

Laura Muggio

Laura graduated from University of Michigan-Dearborn in August 2023 with a Masters of Science in Applied Behavior Analysis. She received her undergraduate degree in Elementary Education with a focus on Language Arts and a minor in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) from Michigan State University in 2021. During this time, she began working at Next Gen Therapy, an Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) clinic in East Lansing. It was while working there that she realized she wanted to go back to school to become a Board-Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) and began the program at UMD. Laura continues to work at Next Gen Therapy as a Qualified Behavioral Health Professional (QBHP) and hopes to sit for her board exam to be a BCBA later this year. Laura has experience with disabilities both professionally and personally. She was diagnosed with ADHD after becoming an adult. At work, her clients are between the ages of 2 - 20 and they all have diagnoses in ASD, with some having comorbid diagnoses of Down syndrome or OCD. Through MI-LEND, Laura hopes to gain further knowledge and understanding of how other professionals support individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities as well as to gain insight in how to collaborate with professionals from other fields.

Brittany Sullivan

Brittany Sullivan is currently studying at the Western Michigan University Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine (WMed). Although she had initially intended to pursue a specialty in med/peds, Brittany has since realized a passion for child psychiatry, and will be applying for a combination of triple board and psychiatry residency programs this fall. Her experiences with neurodevelopmental disorders primarily center around what she has learned through her medical training, and her experiences with a very young niece, who has been diagnosed with ASD and has significant communication difficulties as well as difficulties with socialization and activities of daily living. Brittany hopes to become more informed regarding neurodevelopmental disorders, both in their clinical presentation and in the ways in which these disorders can impact patients and families. She hopes to personally use this education and experience to understand how to optimize her ability to participate in cross-functional care teams involved in caring for these populations, as well as to better understand how she may best be of service to, and a better advocate for, her patients.

Jessica Tan

Jessica Tan is studying medicine at the Wayne State University School of Medicine (WSUSOM). She was a co-coordinator for WSUSOM’s ARIE Program, a student-led program that facilitates interactions between medical students and children with neurodevelopmental disabilities and their families to improve medical education on disability health. Jessica also works with the local blind and low vision community in Detroit to develop innovative solutions for navigation. Jessica hopes to gain a better understanding of the status of healthcare being delivered to children with neurodevelopmental disabilities and the ways that it can be improved on local, regional, or national levels. She hopes to gain skills to be an advocate and leader for this population so that it can better-inform my own clinical practices and the practices of those around me when caring for patients with neurodevelopmental disabilities in the future.

Monique Zantop

Monique brings a personal touch to her work as both a professional and a parent of a disabled child. Through this journey, she has directly witnessed the incredible strength and determination of individuals and families when confronting adversity. Monique’s lived experience fuels her unwavering dedication to advocating for inclusive and equitable opportunities for all. By participating in the MI-LEND program, she hopes to deepen her knowledge and expertise in the field of disability and inclusive practices; Collaborate with a diverse community of professionals, researchers, and advocates; Broaden her network and learn from others with lived experience; Develop innovative strategies and solutions to address the unique needs of individuals with disabilities; and gain insights on research and evidence-based practices that can drive positive change. Together, we have the power to shape a more inclusive, compassionate future for everyone.

Taylor Zeller-Gerten

Taylor Zeller-Gerten is a Doctor of Audiology student at Central Michigan University. She obtained her bachelor’s degree at Bowling Green State University majoring in Communication Sciences and Disorders with a minor in Gerontology.  Taylor works with people who experience challenges with their hearing and/or balance.  She has three younger brothers, who all had speech and language delays growing up, and they are the reason she became interested in communication disorders. During her experience with Mi-LEND, Taylor hopes to learn how to work with the pediatric population with disabilities, especially children with Autism. She is excited to work with an interdisciplinary team and wants to learn how to advocate for people with disabilities and translate her skills to her other passions.