Lockwood Elementary and Lockwood PTA
Invite you to :
I motivate. I inspire. I teach.
A Panel of Autism Awareness Ambassadors
Join Us
April 4th, 7P.M.
In the Lockwood Elementary Cafeteria
For an evening of learning about autism and how it impacts families within our
community.
Hear how autism impacts the lives of students and their family members. Learn about
resources available for families, and how you can connect with other community
members. The panel will also answer your questions about autism and how we, as a
community, can support those around us.
The panel will be moderated by Shannon Phanhthavilay.
Shannon has been in the field of special education for 16 years. She is a board
certified behavior analyst and currently works as a teacher on special assignment
while completing her special education administrator certification.
See the reverse side of this flyer for more information on the panel members.
This is an important discussion that affects many in our community. The school and
PTA hope to see you all there.
Jesse Lipe
Lily Giroux
Jesse is the mother of a wonderful 12-year-old boy who has a
diagnosis of ASD. She graduated from Evergreen State College with
a degree in visual communications and has worked at Microsoft
since moving to Woodinville from California in 2008. Jesse is the
PTSA Special Education Representative at Leota Jr. High and has
been active in running SEPAC (Special Education Parent Advisory
Council) for the past number of years. In her free time, she enjoys
tennis, swimming and playing guitar.
Lily is an 11th grade student at Woodinville High School where her
favorite class is Spanish. Lily wants to attend WWU to study how
the brain responds to adversity so that she can improve the lives
of adolescence. Lily attempted writing a book about her life
experiences but hasn’t had the heart to finish it. She is a regular
volunteer at the Pet Smart cat shelter. In her limited free time she
enjoys Zumba at the YMCA, writing, board games and attending
Habitat Restoration work parties.
Michele Holowachuk
Melissa Lane
In a previous life, Michele had a very rewarding practice as a Clinical
Pharmacist in Intensive Care and ER. She has discovered that raising a
child with special needs and epilepsy is more intense and can also be
joyful! The challenges in navigating the education system and working to
create compassionate and inclusive communities are complex and have
immersed her in advocacy. Michele has enjoyed volunteering in the NSD
where she has worked with a broad spectrum of learners, teachers,
dedicated parents and administrators at six schools. She served for six
years in PACE at Lockwood logging an average of 400 hours/year, worked
as an Art Docent for 11 years, served on Boosters, and coached string
ensembles and Science Olympiad. She helps with health screenings, and is
the Special Ed Rep on the KJH and Northshore Council PTSAs. Passionate
about helping people with special needs reach their full potential, she has
served on the NSD’s Task Force on Inclusion as well as on SEPAC for many
years. She coaches a local Special Olympics swim team and is involved in
social justice issues in the community. Other interests include playing the
piano, singing, canoeing/kayaking, backpacking, painting, reading, and
texting her daughter at college.
Melissa is a wife and mother to two wonderful daughters. Her youngest
daughter was diagnosed on the autism spectrum in February 2013. At
that time, Melissa left her job in corporate America as a marketing
director and has since dedicated her life to her family; raising both her
daughters, creating opportunities for their success, and educating herself
to become a successful parent advocate. As the years have passed,
Melissa's passions for life and career have grown and changed. With her
two daughters in school full-time, she continues to be a stay-at-home
mother and wife, but recently started working for the district as a
substitute para-educator, primarily in special education settings. This
decision was founded on her personal experience. This personal
experience has given Melissa a unique perspective, which enables her to
understand special needs children and their parents.
Melissa wants you to know that autism may be different than you think.
Raising a child on the spectrum can change your life. It helps in
understanding that true love is accepting someone exactly for who they
are, no matter how they compare to what people think they "should be."
It puts love and understanding at the core of everything.
Barb Chessler
Dr. Paul Mullan
Barb Chessler has been an occupational therapist with the
Northshore School District for 20 years. She graduated from
Carnegie Mellon University with a B.S. in Applied
Mathematics/Computer Science. After working for IBM for several
years, Barb realized that her path in life was to help people so she
returned to school to get an M.S. in occupational therapy. Barb
loves school OT and it's focus to improve students' functioning in
school! It gives her great joy working directly with students to
improve their motor skills and working with teachers to support
the students, including their sensory needs. In addition, Barb is a
member of the NSD Special Education Assistive Technology Team
providing support to IEP teams and doing on-site consultations for
students' technology needs. Barb has a 19-year-old daughter who
is a freshman in college. In her free time, she enjoys reading,
walking, doing social justice projects with her Unitarian
Universalist Congregation and learning how to sing.
Dr. Mullan has a PhD from the UW and is a BCBA-D. His interests
lay in professional development, applied behavior
analysis, instructional design, and professional learning
communities. He has been working with students with autism
since 1984, as a para-professional, teacher, itinerant teacher,
specialist, and consultant in the field of special education. Dr.
Mullan owns 50% of Connections Behavior (a Behavioral Health
Agency), they have 3 centers and collaborate with 5 local school
districts to provide services to children with autism and other
disabilities. In his spare time he enjoys gardening and quiz nights.
Tiffany Waddington
Tiffany Waddington is the mother of two kids on the autism
spectrum, and has been involved with the autism community for
the past few years. She currently works in an auditory
neuroscience research lab while pursuing her master's degree in
communication disorders.
Victoria Topacio
Victoria is a Lockwood parent with three sons. Her youngest child was diagnosed with autism in March of 2016. Her older children
have been diagnosed with ADHD/ADD, dyslexia and developmental delays. She is a passionate advocate for parents in the special needs
community and is determined to help other families find resources and understand the IEP process.
Ian
Funny, creative, kind and brave
Brother of a noisy sister who gets to drive
Lover of people, family movie night and Spiderman
Who feels happy but tired a lot
Who needs more electronic time, more food, and more sleep
Who gets overwhelmed by people who talk too fast and too much, text that is too crowded, jobs with too many steps
Who finds happiness in Lego, hanging with friends and walking to school
Who gives laughter, love to my cat, and a headache to mom when I lose my stuff
Who fears getting embarrassed, being made fun of, and taking tests on stuff I haven’t learned
Who would like to see peace in the world and Principal Sanchez dressed like a Wookie
Who enjoys swimming, cooking, joking, and singing
Who has worn size 12 shoes since 7th grade
Who wishes everyone had a home and there was no homework on weekends
Who likes math and science and hopes to be a paramedic someday