Iowa LEND Trainees Receive 2014 Alfred Healy Leadership Award in Developmental Disabilities
June 24, 2014
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The Center for Disabilities and Development (CDD), a part of the University of Iowa Children's Hospital, is proud to announce that Kelly Schieltz, Ph.D. and Rachel Nash, MPH are the 2014 recipients of The Alfred Healy Leadership Award in Developmental Disabilities. The purpose of the Alfred Healy Leadership Award in Developmental Disabilities is to nurture in recipients a life-long commitment to leadership in developmental disabilities that will carry on Dr. Healy's legacy for future generations. Dr. Healy, who passed away in April of 2012, was a world-renowned pediatrician and educator who devoted his life to caring for children with developmental disabilities. He served as the director of the Center for Disabilities and Development, Iowa's nationally designated University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities, from 1977 until he retired in 1998.
Dr. Schieltz, a December 2013 graduate of the University of Iowa School Psychology program, will be joining the University of Missouri-Columbia School Psychology faculty as an Assistant Clinical Professor this coming fall. Kelly has been affiliated with CDD's biobehavioral outpatient service in various clinical, teaching and research roles for the past 10 years. In 2009-2010 and 2013-2014, she participated in the Iowa Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities program at CDD-one of the many federally funded programs that Dr. Healy launched. As an early career professional, she has authored or co-authored nine articles and book chapters on severe challenging behavior. She has received several academic awards including the Ballard Seashore Dissertation Award for 2012-2013, the Sandra H. Barkan Graduate Student Mentor Award in 2009 and 2012, and the T. Anne Cleary Psychological Research Scholarship in 2012. Her commitment to increasing the knowledge and practice of professionals evaluating severe challenging behaviors mirrors the spirit of Dr. Healy's commitment to improving the quality of life of individuals with significant disabilities.
Ms. Nash graduated with a Masters in Public Health in May, 2014. This coming fall, she will be attending the Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine in Rochester, Michigan on a full tuition scholarship. Her goal is to either do a Pediatric Residency and a fellowship in Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, a Psychiatry Residency and a Child Psychiatry Fellowship, or an Obstetrics and Gynecology Residency. Rachel participated in the Iowa Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities program in 2013-2014. She has already authored or co-authored several journal articles and poster presentations. This past January, she gave a presentation at the Association of Maternal and Child Health Programs in Washington, DC based on a project conducted with the Iowa Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics. Her final practicum project for her MPH degree involved collaborating with the Iowa Primary Care Association on a quality improvement initiative working with Iowa's community health centers on supporting the transition from pediatric to adult care. Like Dr. Healy, Rachel intends to be involved in advocacy work for children with disabilities and mental health disorders at both the state and federal level.
Kelly and Rachel received their awards on May 30, 2014 at a luncheon hosted by the Center for Disabilities and Development.
