With the start of a new year just around the corner, we want to take this opportunity to share a heartfelt thank you to everyone in our community and to those who have supported PWSA | USA. We have several accomplishments to celebrate from this past year, including:
- Hosting our firstย Volunteer Summit and giving 30 volunteers the opportunity to brainstorm, connect, and provide PWSA | USA with ideas for the future
- Bringing more than 50 advocates to Capitol Hill for PWSA | USAโs first-ever D.C. Fly-In
- Launching our Peer-to-Peer fundraising platform - PWS Hope United
- Welcoming several experts on sleep issues to offer a free Virtual Sleep Summit
- Offering support to families more than 1,500 times in all 50 states and multiple countries
- Generating new educational resources, including social stories, financial literacy, a health care webinar series, and so much more!
We are grateful to have a community that is full of hope, passion, and commitment. We look forward to serving our families through our advocacy, family support, and research initiatives in 2023, and gathering together again in-person for PWSA | USA's 37th National Convention. We hope to see you there!
May this holiday season and the coming year bring joy, health, and happiness to you and your family.
Warm regards,
Paige Rivard, MBA | CEO
PWSA | USA Staff
PWSA | USA Board of Directors
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Perry A. Zirkel has written more than 1,500 publications on variousย aspects of school law, with an emphasis on legal issues in special education.ย He writes a regular column for NAESPโsย Principalย magazine and NASPโsย Communiquรฉย newsletter, and he did so previously forย Phi Delta Kappanย andย Teaching Exceptional Children.
Jennifer Bolander has been serving as a Special Education Specialist for PWSA (USA) since October of 2015. She is a graduate of John Carroll University and lives in Ohio with her husband Brad and daughters Kate (17), and Sophia (13) who was born with PWS.
Dr. Amy McTighe is the PWS Program Manager and Inpatient Teacher at the Center for Prader-Willi Syndrome at the Childrenโs Institute of Pittsburgh. She graduated fromย Duquesne University receiving her Bachelorโs and Masterโs degree in Education with a focus on elementary education, special education, and language arts.
Evan has worked with the Prader-Willi Syndrome Association (USA) since 2007 primarily as a Crisis Intervention and Family Support Counselor. Evans works with parents and schools to foster strong collaborative relationships and appropriate educational environments for students with PWS.
Staci Zimmerman works for Prader-Willi Syndrome Association of Colorado as an Individualized Education Programย (IEP) consultant. Staci collaborates with the PWS multi-disciplinary clinic at the Childrenโs Hospital in Denverย supporting families and school districts around the United Statesย with their childโs Individual Educational Plan.
Founded in 2001, SDLC is a non-profit legal services organization dedicated to protecting and advancing the legal rights of people with disabilities throughout the South. It partners with the Southern Poverty Law Center, Protection and Advocacy (P&A) programs, Legal Services Corporations (LSC) and disability organizations on major, systemic disability rights issues involving the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and the federal Medicaid Act. Recently in November 2014, Jim retired.