Project ACT

Laurie Moran, M.Ed. - Director of Project ACT

Laurie is a certified teacher in the State of Maryland with dual certification in Early Childhood Education and Elementary Special Education. She received her Masters of Education in Curriculum and Instruction from McDaniel College. Prior to joining Abilities Network's Project ACT, Laurie worked as a Franchise Operations Manager for a child care chain and assisted child care franchisees with managing their child care centers. She was the Education Coordinator for the YMCA Baltimore County Head Start program and a Baltimore City Public School teacher. Laurie continues to work as an educational consultant for various nonprofit organizations on curriculum development and on center accreditation.

Kori Bardige, MS. Ed. - Curriculum Coordinator

Kori is an Early Childhood Special Educator who graduated from Simmons College with a Masters in Intensive Special Needs. She is certified in Intensive Special Needs PreK-12 in Massachusetts.

Kori has spent the past 10 years teaching children with special needs, particularly children with autism and other developmental disabilities, in childcare settings and public school programs. Prior to joining Abilities Network’s Project ACT, she taught preschoolers in both inclusive and self-contained preschool classrooms in Massachusetts. Since moving to Maryland, she has been working with children and families through the autism waiver.

Melissa Kane, M.Ed. (in process) - Curriculum Coordinator

Melissa graduated from Bridgewater College with a Bachelors of Science in Psychology and is working towards a Masters in Special Education of Children with Severe Disabilities at Johns Hopkins University. Melissa serves as a board member for Kupenda for the Children, a non-profit organization based in Kenya, Africa dedicated to meeting the physical and emotional needs of children with disabilities, their families, and communities. Prior to joining Abilities Network’s Project ACT, Melissa worked as an early childhood interventionist supporting childcare educators, families and children with the goal of retaining children in their childcare placement. Melissa enjoys working to create an environment that promotes healthy social and emotional competency in all children.

Sharon Huffman, M.S., L.C.P.C. - Project ACT Training Consultant

Sharon Huffman is a licensed clinical counselor with extensive experience providing behavioral health services to children, adolescents and families.  She has provided services in school settings, community mental health centers, Head Start programs, a primary care clinic, and private practice in Baltimore City and the surrounding counties.  In addition to providing psychotherapeutic services, Sharon has developed and taught workshops and trainings for teachers around issues of healthy social emotional development and working with challenging children in the classroom.  She has also developed and taught a Family Nurturing program to strengthen caregiver/child bonds and encourage healthy parenting practices as well as led groups for children and teens around a variety of concerns.  Her work as a Human Services Planner involved collaborating with communities to develop strategic plans and strategies for development and grant writing and reporting responsibilities.  Sharon graduated Magna Cum Laude from St. Andrews College with a degree in Political Science in 1985 and then earned a Master’s in Urban Planning from the University of Wisconsin in 1988 and a Master’s in Counseling Psychology from Loyola College in 1998.  Sharon continues to focus on working with and advocating for children with special needs and assisting caregivers in meeting their needs in the home and in childcare and school settings.

Louise A. Chan, M.A. - Project ACT Consultant

Louise Chan worked as a clinical psychotherapist and counselor for the past twenty years, gaining specialized experience as a mobile crisis team therapist for over three years in Baltimore City. She has extensive experience working with children, adolescents and their families and has developed and taught innovative strategies that promote growth, integration, and positive family functioning. Throughout the years, Louise provided services in school settings, social service agencies, a hospital pediatric setting, and private practice, both in Maryland and in Pennsylvania. She lectured throughout several states within the continental United States as well as Hawaii, teaching the strategies that were most successful in her work with individuals and families.

Louise graduated magna cum laude from Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania with a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology in 1984. She then became the charter recipient of the Perkins’ Fellowship at the University of Maryland, College Park, where she earned her Master’s Degree in Human Development Education from the Institute of Child Study in 1986. She also trained as a clinical hypnotherapist and received certificates in basic and advanced mediation skills from the Baltimore Mediation Center.

Louise C. Silver, Ph.D. - Project ACT Training Consultant

Louise Cohen Silver has a Master's Degree in Deaf Education and her Doctoral degree in Counseling and Student Development in Education. She is a Certified Professional Counselor and a certified teacher in the state of Maryland. She has extensive experience in the field of elementary and post-secondary Deaf Education. Before her Doctoral studies, Louise was a teacher for deaf students (K-12) and started a birth - three hearing impaired program in Owensboro, KY. She completed her Doctoral research on the effectiveness of a faculty training workshop designed to promote sex equitable and effective classroom interactions between teacher and students at Gallaudet University. She taught education courses at both The American University and Gallaudet University while completing her doctoral thesis. Before joining Project ACT, Dr. Silver worked for a non-profit organization for ten years providing mental health services to hearing impaired people and their families. After relocating to Anne Arundel County, she continues to work with children in the public school system.

Yvonne Bell, M.Ed. - Project ACT Training Consultant

Yvonne Bell is a specialist in the areas of Early Childhood and Special Education. She has had extensive experience working with children 6 weeks to 18 years of age, which includes 10 years as a Licensed Family Daycare Provider, as well as 6 years as a Special Education Teacher for Emotionally Disturbed Students. In addition, she served as principal for 2 ½ years at Laurel Hall School; a non-public school for emotionally disturbed students, located in Washington County, Maryland.

Yvonne holds a Master of Education in Elementary Studies from Wilmington College, as well as a Master of Education in Special education from Frostburg State University.

Gwen Mahoney, M.Ed. - Project ACT Training Consultant

Gwen Mahoney has a Masters in Education from Bank Street College. In addition to her work with Project ACT, she supervises interns from Towson University’s Early Childhood Education Department in their placements in Baltimore County Public Schools. Gwen worked as a classroom teacher in New York State public and private schools. She has also held various education-related positions, including researching the effects of class size on special education classes in New York City schools, and acting as an advisory teacher with Calvert Education Services. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in liberal arts from Williams College, MA.

Desiree Cephas, M.Ed. - Project ACT Training Consultant

Desiree is currently the Disability Coordinator for the YMCA of Baltimore County Head Start. In this capacity, she trains and mentors teachers, advocates for children and parents with special needs while building collaborative relationships in and around the community. Desiree received her dual Masters of Education degree in Leadership in Teaching and Special Education at The College of Notre Dame. Desiree continues to spend her career highlights teaching and advocating for children with special needs in public, private, and non-profit agencies.

Mary Coster, LCSW-C -Program Director, PACT's Inclusive Child Care Training Project

Ms. Coster has worked for the past 14 years with children who have special needs and with their families. Ms. Coster received her Masters from the University Of Maryland School Of Social Work in Baltimore, Maryland. She was formerly the Director of PACT’s World of Care Child Care Center. From 1996 to 2003 Ms. Coster worked throughout Europe and Turkey with the Army, Air Force and Navy Early Intervention and Child Development programs.

LAURA ARMSTRONG, PT, DPT - PACT Training Consultant

Ms. Armstrong has worked at PACT since 2004, providing therapy in outpatient, home, and daycare settings.  She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Biology from Longwood University and a Doctorate of Physical Therapy from Duke University.  Ms. Armstrong is a Certified Instructor of Infant Massage and has taken continuing education courses in NDT Handling, Myofascial Release, Orthotic Intervention, Down syndrome, and Respiratory/Breathing Techniques.

MANDY BARISH, M.Ed - PACT Training Consultant

Ms. Barish has worked with children with special needs for 12 years in the home environment, childcare environment and classroom environment. She has been with PACT since 2004 providing special education services for the World of Care Child Care Center and as a service coordinator for children receiving outpatient therapy services at PACT.  She has a Master’s Degree in Early Childhood Special Education from Loyola College of Maryland and a Bachelor’s Degree in Human Growth and Development from Hofstra University. Ms. Barish recently became a certified Local Program Mentor for the Devereux Early Childhood Assessment Program  (DECA).

BARBARA DOWNING, RN -Nursing Coordinator, PACT's World of Care Child Care Center

Ms. Downing participated in the design and implementation of this comprehensive child care and has provided oversight of the medical portion of this program since its inception in 1996. She has over 23 years of pediatric nursing experience, with the past 18 years being devoted to the pediatric special needs population. Ms. Downing received her nursing degree from Essex Community College.

KIM COSGROVE, LCSW-C - Program Director, PACT's Therapeutic Nursery

Ms. Cosgrove has worked for the past 20 years in the home-based family therapy and child therapy at the Kennedy Krieger Institute. For the past nine years she has been the Director of PACT’s Therapeutic Nursery and has been instrumental in developing an attachment-based therapeutic child care program for very young homeless children and their families. She is a certified instructor in both NCAST Teaching and Feeding Scales and in Infant Massage.

BERNADETTE IRWIN, MS - Program Director, PACT's Growing Together Program

Ms.Irwin has been the Program Director of PACT’s Growing Together Supported Parenting Program (for parents who have Intellectual Disabilities) for over 9 years. Ms. Irwin has a BA in Individual and Family Studies from The Pennsylvania State University, with an emphasis on working with families.  She also has a Master’s Degree from McDaniel College in Special Education.   Ms. Irwin co-authored two Curriculum Guides. The New Vision Curriculum Guide was completed in 1993. The New Vision Guide was a train-the-trainer model for training parents of children with special needs (veteran parents) to function as Early Intervention Service Coordinators for families whose children were receiving early intervention services under Part C of the IDEA. The Building Foundations Curriculum Guide was completed in 2001.

CAROLE NORRIS-SHORTLE, LCSW-C - PACT Training Consultant

Ms. Norris-Shortle has worked for the past 25 years in Infant Mental Health. She is a Clinical Assistant Professor at the University of Maryland, Taghi Modarressi Center for Infant Studies. She is currently providing infant mental health consultation at PACT’s Therapeutic Nursery. She is trained as a Family Therapist and is a Registered Play Therapy Supervisor. She is a certified instruction in both NCAST Teaching and Feeding Scales and in Infant Massage.

LORI TOLEN, OT - Program Director, PACT's Comprehensive Therapy Center

Ms.Tolen is the Program Director of PACT’s Comprehensive Therapy Center. She has worked for PACT for the past fifteen years. Ms. Tolen has 23 years of experience in pediatrics. She received her degree from Syracuse University. Ms. Tolen holds specialty certifications in both NeuroDevelopmental Treatment Techniques and in Sensory Integration. She is active on local and state Autism task forces. In 2006, Ms. Tolen was honored as one of Therapy Times 25 Most Influential Therapists.

RACHEL TRACY, SLP - PACT Training Consultant

Ms. Tracy, M.S., CCC-SLP is a speech-language pathologist with the PACT and Child and Family Support Programs at the Kennedy Krieger Institute. Ms. Tracy received her master’s degree in Speech-Language Pathology at Towson University in 2005. Ms. Tracy has experience in working with children with a variety of diagnoses including language delay, oral-motor and feeding disorders, autism, Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, mental retardation and traumatic brain injury.  Her research on the language development of children adopted from Eastern Europe was published in Seminars in Speech and Language in 2005. Her areas of expertise include working with infants and toddlers and treating children in their natural environments.

SARA WILSON, MS, OTR/L - PACT Training Consultant

Ms. Wilson has worked as an Occupational Therapist with PACT for the past two years. Ms. Wilson has a Bachelor’s degree in Exercise Science from University of Delaware and a Masters in Occupational Therapy from Thomas Jefferson University.  She is currently working towards a Certificate in Advanced Practice in Hand and Upper Quarter Rehabilitation and has taken coursework and continuing education classes in sensory integration and feeding/mealtime challenges. She is a certified instructor in Infant Massage.

CAROLINA BIEBEL, M.A., CCC-SLP - PACT Training Consultant

Ms. Biebel, M.A., CCC-SLP, is a licensed speech-language pathologist with the PACT and Child and Family Support Programs at the Kennedy Krieger Institute.  Ms. Biebel has a bachelor’s degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders from Towson University and a master’s degree in Speech-Language Pathology from New York University.  Ms. Biebel’s previous work experiences include school and home-based SLP throughout the city of New York.  She has experience in working with children with varying types and degrees of communication challenges.  Ms. Biebel was recently certified in the Beckman Oral Motor Program and the Phono-graphix Reading Program.  Further coursework and continuing education classes have also included intervention for children with Autism Spectrum Disorders, feeding and oral motor difficulties, and Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS).  Ms. Biebel is a native of Brazil and fluent speaker of Portuguese. 

Sharon Holloway, PhD, LCSW-C - Program Director, PACT's World of Care Program

Ms. Holloway is a clinical social worker with 15 years experience working with young children and their parents.  She received her PhD in social work from The Clinical Social Work Institute and conducted research on the bonding process between parents and their visually impaired children.  Dr. Holloway has worked at the PACT medical child care program for 10 years as the social worker and recently became their program director.