The Boggs Center Celebrates the Graduation of the 2019-2020 NJLEND Fellows at the 4th Annual Maternal and Child Health Leadership Symposium

Friday, May 1, 2020
Image of a group of NJLEND graduates

On May 8th, 2020, The Boggs Center celebrated the graduation of the 2019-2020 NJLEND Fellows at the New Jersey Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities (NJLEND) program’s 4th annual Maternal and Child Health Leadership Symposium. Held virtually this year in response to COVID-19, the event featured a keynote address, “A Leadership Journey: Working Towards Equity, Inclusion, and Cultural and Linguistic Competence,” by Wendy Jones, MEd, MSW, Research Instructor, Georgetown University Center for Child & Human Development, UCEDD, and was attended by those from the Rutgers community, New Jersey’s Department of Children and Families and Department of Health, SPAN Parent Advocacy Network, and other state and community organizations. The 12 graduating NJLEND Fellows presented their definitions of leadership.

NJLEND Fellows presented their Leadership Project Posters at a separate virtual session on Friday, May 1, sharing the culmination of their year-long projects with each other and the NJLEND Faculty. To learn more about the 2019-2020 NJLEND Fellows, as well as their faculty Mentors, visit the NJLEND Fellow Leadership Project Poster page(link to student/NJLEND/2020 poster page) on The Boggs Center website.

Congratulations to the 2019-2020 NJLEND Fellows and Boggs Center Interdisciplinary Trainees: Aimee Ascolese, MSW, Carol Dinnocenzio, BSN, RN, APN, Kasey Dudley, Anne Lyle, APN, CPNP-AC, Jessica Middleberg, PsyD, Madison Perry, PsyD, Rachel Shafrir, BA, Jacqueline Shinall, MS, Deirdre Sumski, MGC, Lily Yip, Angie Hernandez, BA, Kelly McGrath, BSW, Morgan Neumann, and Patricia Shelton, BS.

Part of a national network, The Boggs Center’s NJLEND program provides graduate-level interdisciplinary training aimed at preparing the next generation of health and allied health leaders to address the needs of children and young adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), related developmental disabilities, and other maternal and child health populations. Funding for LEND programs is authorized by the Autism CARES Act and is administered through the federal Health Resources and Services Administration’s Maternal and Child Health Bureau.