SPEAKERS
Jessica Duis, MD, Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Genetics, Children’s Hospital Colorado, University of Colorado
Dr. Jessica Duis is an Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Genetics at Children’s Hospital Colorado, University of Colorado. She did her medical training at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore, MD. She completed a post-doctoral fellowship in the Johns Hopkins Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. She is a board-certified pediatrician and medical geneticist who practices in the area of genetics and complex/special care pediatrics and primarily performs diagnostic work up and management for individuals with rare disorders focused on neurogenetic conditions and rare genetic causes of obesity and metabolic conditions. She has focused her career on chromosome 15 disorders including Angelman Syndrome, Duplication 15q, and Prader-Willi syndrome. She has founded and built Centers of Excellence for Angelman, Prader-Willi, duplication 15q, and Pitt Hopkins Syndromes.
Dr. Duis’ career has spanned translational, clinical and bench research. She is passionate about establishing standards of care and personalized therapeutic interventions for individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders to improve quality of life and equity of care. She recently published guidelines on the diagnostic work up and management of sleep concerns for individuals with PWS.
Shawn McCandless, MD, Chair, Department of Genetics and Metabolism, Children's Hospital Colorado
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.
Perry A. Zirkel has written more than 1,500 publications on various aspects of school law, with an emphasis on legal issues in special education. He writes a regular column for NAESP’s Principal magazine and NASP’s Communiqué newsletter, and he did so previously for Phi Delta Kappan and Teaching Exceptional Children.
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.
Dr. Amy McTighe is the PWS Program Manager and Inpatient Teacher at the Center for Prader-Willi Syndrome at the Children’s Institute of Pittsburgh. She graduated from Duquesne University receiving her Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Education with a focus on elementary education, special education, and language arts.
Staci Zimmerman works for Prader-Willi Syndrome Association of Colorado as an Individualized Education Program (IEP) consultant. Staci collaborates with the PWS multi-disciplinary clinic at the Children’s Hospital in Denver supporting families and school districts around the United States with their child’s 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.