The mission of the Advisory Council is three-fold:

• To help establish a working relationship between START programs and Learning Communities across the nation;

• To review outcomes associated with the model and associated approaches, and help transition START from evidence-informed practice to evidence-based practice; and

• To explore plans for long-term financial sustainability of the START model by working with Managed Care Organizations, CMS, and other federal agencies, state authorities, and important partners. 

START National Advisory Council Members

• Joan B Beasley, PhD (Co-Chair), Research Professor, University of New Hampshire, Director, National Research Consortium on MHIDD

• Karen Weigle, PhD (Co-Chair), Associate Director, Director of Program Services, National Center for START Services

• Jill Hinton, PhD, Clinical Director, National Center for START Services

• Andrea Caoili, LCSW, Director of Quality Assurance & Research, National Center for START Services

Current Members

• Dan Baker, PhD, Internal Reviewer and Positive Support Lead with the Jensen/Olmstead Quality Assurance and Compliance Office, Department of Human Services, Minnesota

• Bruce Davis, PhD, BCBA-D, Sr. LPE, LPC, Director of Behavioral and Psychological Services, Department of Intellectual & Developmental Disabilities Office of Civil Rights, Tennessee

• Meg DePasquale, LCSW-C, Director of Clinical Services, Maryland Department of Health Development Disabilities Administration, Maryland

• Novella Evans, Program Specialist, Health and Human Services Commission, Texas

• Alan Galgana, PhD, Phychologist, NY State Office for People with Developmental Disabilities, New York

• Tawara Goode, Director of UCEDD/Director of CCLC, Center for Cultural and Linguistic Competence, Georgetown University, Washington DC

• Alexis Harrington, MSW, Deputy Director of Program Implementation, Regional Offices, NY State Office for Persons with Development Disabilities

• Kelly Hartman,  President & CEO, Insights Consulting, Indianapolis, Indiana

• Brenda Jackson, Consultant/Principal, Brenda Jackson Consulting, LLC

• Diane Jacobstein, PhD, Clinical Psychologist/Senior Policy Associate, Georgetown University Center for Child and Human Development/UCEDD, Washington DC

• Dorota Kearney, LMHC, CSIDD Statewide Coordinator, Division of Service Delivery-Regional Offices, NY State Office for Persons with Development Disabilities

• Susan Klick, Family Member

• Eric Kurtz, PhD, Executive Director, Center for Disabilities UCEDD, University of South Dakota Sanford School of Medicine, Sioux Falls, SD

• Tracy Levesque, Administrator, Division of Developmental Disabilities , Rhode Island Department of Behavioral Healthcare, Developmental Disabilities and Hospitals

• Lauren Libero, PhD, Autism Specialist, California Developmental Disabilities Services System

• Bob Lincoln, LMSW, MBA, Project Director, Elevate/I-START, Iowa

• Mark Lutte, Chief Operating Officer, Maine Department of Health and Human Services

• Allyson Mead, Assistant CSIDD Statewide Coordinator, NY State Office of People WIth Developmental Disabilities, New York

• Lorrie Mitchell, Crisis Program Administrator, Maine DHHS Office of Aging and Disability Services, Maine

• Angela Munoz, Safety Net Manager, California Developmental Disabilities Services System

• Pat Nobbie, PhD, Disability Policy Engagement Director, Elevance Health - Washington DC

• Lauren Spencer, IDD/Program Manager; DHHS NC START Liaison, Department of Health and Human Services, North Carolina

• Gail Paysour, Parent Advocate, Virginia

• Jill Pettinger, PsyD, Deputy Commissioner, Statewide Services, New York State Office for People With Developmental Disabilities

• Crystal Porter, MBA, Denver IDDEAS Program Manager, Denver Human Services, City and County of Denver, CO

• Ann Potoczak, Executive Director, Community Bridges, Concord, New Hampshire

• Cordelia Robinson Rosenburg, PhD, RN, Director, JFK Partners; Professor of Pediatrics and Psychiatry, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, Colorado

• Leslie Rubin, MD, Associate Professor, Department of Pediatrics, Morehouse School of Medicine; Adjunct Associate Professor, Department of Pediatrics, Emory University School of Medicine; Director, Break the Cycle Program, Southeast Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Unit, Emory University; President and Founder, Break the Cycle of Health Disparities, Inc.; Medical Director, The Rubin Center for Autism and Developmental Pediatrics

• Paul Saucier, Director, Office of Aging and Disability Services, Maine Department of Health and Human Services

• Larry Stang, Executive Director, Developmental Disabilities Providers Association, Little Rock, Arkansas

• Haley Turner, Associate Commissioner of IDD Services, IDD and Behavioral Health Services, Austin, Texas

• Wanda Willis, M.Ed, Executive Director, Council on Developmental Disabilities, Tennessee

• Louisa Wren, Senior Community Programs Leader – Government Programs, Rocky Mountain Health Plans, Colorado