Marissa E. Ku’uipo Baptista is a kanaka maoli education advocate raised in the Washington DC area. Marissa is the newly elected Central Oahu District Director for the Hawai’i State PTSA and President of her local PTSA unit, Red Hill ES (for her youngest two kids). Marissa also serves as the Parent Co-Chair of the Central District Community Children’s Council working to represent the needs of HI parents of children with special needs and bringing services awareness to the community. In her spare time, Marissa likes to spend time relaxing at the beach with her 3 kids: Isabella (diagnosed with SLD/dyslexia in 3rd grade), TJ, and Karolina or finding new foodie faves around the island with her husband, Thomas.
Dr. Michael Ching is Chief of Developmental Behavioral Pediatrics at Kaiser Permanente Hawaiʻi. He completed his fellowship at Boston Children’s Hospital. Prior to his current position, he worked at Tripler Army Medical Center. He serves as president of the American Academy of Pediatrics, Hawaiʻi Chapter. In his spare time, Dr. Ching loves running, listening to music, and cheering for his favorite sports teams.
Benjamin Chu is a doctoral student in the Department of Economics at the University of Hawaii. His fields of study include health economics, health policy, labor economics, and econometrics (we’ll have to ask him what this last one is). Benjamin is also a beloved member of the SPIN Ohana who has returned to our conference each year for the past five years to share his incredible wisdom and personal insights as an eloquent speaker with autism who was non-verbal as a child. Ask around. Ben has his own personal fan club of SPIN parents.
Lisa Craig is an Education Specialist and State Special Education Resource Teacher for the Visually Impaired for the State of Hawaii Department of Education (HIDOE). She has been working within HIDOE since 1999 with students with disabilities. Throughout her time in HIDOE, she encourages the families that she has worked with to participate in lessons and will provide suggestions on how those lessons can be used at home.
Joshua Fouts is the Director of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) at Kaiser Permanente Hawaii, where he oversees ABA treatment and helps children and adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder and other neurodevelopmental disorders to improve their symptoms, maximize treatment outcomes, and make on-going progress with their therapy to help them reach their full potential and beyond.
Jackie Jackson is the mother of two adult sons and loves reading in her spare time. She has been with Hawaii Families as Allies (HFAA) for almost 7 years and enjoys working with youth and families. Jackie is also a valued member of the SPIN Advisory Committee where she contributes creative ideas and smooth moves during our annual SPIN Advisory Opening Dance.
Annie Kalama is the State Director of Special Education and the Exceptional Support Branch for the Hawaii State Department of Education. Annie has over 30 years of experience teaching and supervising special education programs. In her role as director she leads a team of educational specialists and resource teachers in providing support and resources to complex area District Educational Specialists and their staff.
Aloha! My name is Tyfinny Keliiaa, and I am the new State 619 Coordinator for the Department of Education. I am a mother of 2 amazing children, La‘akea (14) and Makamae (12), both of which attend public schools. I love being a special education teacher and youth ministry leader. I also enjoy reading, writing, and staying physically fit.
Alysha Kim is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) with over a decade of professional experience working with individuals with ASD and other disabilities. She has experience providing Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) services in home, clinic, community, and school settings and is currently an Educational Specialist in the Office of Student Support Services at the Hawaii State Department of Education. Alysha is a lover of all things Disney and enjoys cooking and traveling during her free time.
Nanea Lo, a Community Care Worker at Leadership in Disabilities & Achievement of Hawai`i (LDAH) has been employed with LDAH for over 3 years. In her position, Nanea’s experience has her working alongside community preschool providers, their staff and families to ensure young learners are offered screening in developmental, social emotional, autism, hearing and vision. Parent training and case management is where Nanea shares resources, information and support to families who are preparing their children for Kindergarten. Born and raised on O`ahu, Nanea is aware of our island’s culture and the importance of `ohana. She combines her experience and knowledge into her meaningful work at LDAH. When she is not working, Nanea enjoys the simple hobbies of baking, gardening, and fishing.
Sarah Man is a parent, teacher and autism advocate. She has three teenage children and her daughter, Zoe 15, has ASD. She has worked for UH Center on Disability Studies training people with disabilities to train community members for emergency preparedness (Train the Trainer Program). She was a trainee in the LEND program (Leadership in Education of Neurodevelopmental Disabilities) She was State Director of Best Buddies Hawaii, Executive Director of Autism Society of Hawaii and Director of Development for Hawaii Autism foundation. She lives in Mānoa with her family.
Dr. Jeffrey Okamoto is a Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrician who sees patients at Kapiolani Medical Center for Women and Children as a Hawaii Pacific Health subspecialist in a clinic at Hale Pawaa. He loves supporting families and children in the clinic, and also teaches the next generation of pediatricians and family practitioners about autism spectrum disorders, learning disabilities, intellectual disabilities, genetic and other conditions. He was a Joseph P Kennedy Foundation public policy fellow in Washington DC, and greatly involved in the American Academy of Pediatrics Council on School Health, especially around areas of special education, and children with special health care needs in schools.
Aloha, my name is Lineè Reeves, I am the Education & Training Manager for Leadership in Disabilities and Achievement of Hawai’i and the Pacific Islands. I am the proud mother of 5 wonderful children, 3 who have ADHD and 1 who has Autism. My children inspire me to help other parents who have children with a disability or who are at risk. I stay fit and healthy by working out, meditation, hikes, and cooking healthy meals.
Cynthia J. (C.J.) Rice, M. Ed. is a member of the State Prevent Suicide Hawaii Task Force and has been the Crisis Prevention Specialist and Coordinator for Youth Mental Health First Aid for the Hawaii Department of Education. Along with being a parent of two sons, she has been an educator and counselor with over thirty years of experience at preK-12 schools and at the university undergraduate and graduate level. Education is her life’s mission and helping children is her life’s work.
Born and raised in Japan, Dr. Mari Uehara is a board certified pediatrician in both countries. She has been a part of NIH funded studies on children who were prenatally exposed to methamphetamine, as well as on children who are born preterm. She believes a safe and supportive environment is crucial for every child reaching his/her potential.
Mia Wibberley is a Community Care Worker for Leadership in Disabilities & Achievement of Hawai`i’s (LDAH), School Readiness Project. She was born on the east side of the island of Hawaii. Mia is also the mother to a clever little boy named Brighton. While at LDAH, she became aware of early signs of a speech delay in Brighton at 16 months old. Mia sought out and established speech therapy for Brighton through early intervention services.
Aloha, my name is Jasmine Williams. I am a member of the Special Education Advisory Council and a parent/grandparent of children with disabilities. I have advocated for child with disabilities and assisted their parents through the Special Education maze for 30+ years.