The Northern California Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities (LEND) program

Program Overview

The Northern California Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities (LEND) program is a graduate and post-graduate interdisciplinary leadership and service training program which is federally funded through the Health Resources and Services Administration’s Maternal Child Health Bureau.

There are 52 LEND programs across the country. Funding for Northern California LEND program was obtained by the UC Davis MIND Institute in 2016 and renewed in 2021. The program is a collaboration between UC Davis and Sacramento State. Faculty at the MIND Institute and affiliated faculty at Sacramento State provide the training for LEND, which occurs in clinical settings at both institutions, as well as in other clinical and community settings.

Long-term and advanced medium trainees in LEND can receive a stipend during the year-long program, which culminates in a leadership project focused on research, patient care, and/or community service.

Awards

Below are the names and titles of the leadership projects of five LEND graduates who have a connection to Sacramento State. Congratulations to these stellar LEND graduates!

2021/2022 Kimberly Marrs, Speech-Language Pathology, Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders graduate, class of 2021)

Survey of Communication, Swallowing, and Hearing of Individuals with NF1: A Pilot Project

2019/2020: Shannon Hoffman, PT, DPT (Former lecturer in the Department of Physical Therapy)

Interdisciplinary telehealth assessment of gross motor development in infants at high-risk for Autism Spectrum Disorder

2018/2019: Hillery Swanson, PT, DPT (Department of Physical Therapy graduate, class of 2016)

Making Progress by Walking in Place (data analysis from the Supported Treadmill Exercise Program Sacramento State/Easter Seals)

2018/2019: Meredith Stawicki, MS, CCC-SLP (Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders graduate, class of 2015)

Pediatric Feeding Disorders – Identifying Common Themes Regarding Barriers to Intervention

2017/2018: Sonia Milan Switters, PT, DPT (Department of Physical Therapy graduate, class of 2016)

Group-based treadmill training in a young, pre-ambulatory child status post failure to thrive with weakness and ataxia: A Case report

2016/2017: Stephanie Summers, BS (Speech-Language Pathology, Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders graduate, class of 2017)

Development of a Student-Run Resource Center at CSUS Clinics