The 2020 Emerging Leaders Map has now launched! Check out what emerging leaders across the country are doing to enhance access for and with people with disabilities. This interactive map highlights Emerging Leaders from across the country. You will be able to learn more about them, their center and the amazing projects that they are doing.

Delaney Owen is currently a speech language pathology graduate student and a long term LEND Trainee at the University of Kansas Medical Center. She was selected for the Robinson International Scholar Studies Award. The Robinson International Studies Award honors former KUMC Professor, Vice Chancellor for Clinical Affairs, and Chief of Staff, Dr. David W. Robinson, and his commitment to cross-cultural education.

For over 20 years Family Mentorship Experience (FME) has been an integral part of Va-LEND. The goal of FME is for the mentoring families to teach the students about their life as a parent of a child with special healthcare needs. Trainees schedule at least five face-to- face visits during the academic year with their family and maintain an activity log. Mentoring families often participate over a period of years, and can choose to be part of Va-LEND for many reasons.

The following AUCD 360 submission discusses a current LEND trainee's personal reflections when participating in an international service learning trip. The purpose of this AUCD 360 article is to create a larger conversation about one of MCH competencies and ways we can be global partners.

Every 15 minutes a baby in the United States is born diagnoses with Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS). However, a new Indiana program targeted at improving outcomes for mothers struggling with Substance Use Disorder (SUD) and their newborns is showing strong, early results. The program, named CHOICES, which assists mothers and is attempting to combat (NAS) has been showing promise since its inception in 2016.

In 2017, the Michigan Developmental Disabilities Institute (MI-DDI) participated in an Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) International Inclusion Fellowship offered by the Association of University Centers on Disabilities (AUCD). The fellowship featured both "inbound" and "outbound" visits, where professionals from the United States and Peru traveled to their colleague's respective countries. During her inbound visit, Fiorella Guerrero who works with WarmaKuna Hope in Lima spent five weeks collaborating with MI-DDI staff and other disability professionals from across Michigan.

Two former NJLEND Family Fellows partnered with Family Voices NJ recently to highlight parent-professional partnerships in training programs in the Exceptional Parent Guide 2020: Navigating Special Needs Resources. Their article on matching future healthcare professionals with families of children with special needs highlights the NJLEND Mentor Family Experience as well as other opportunities for parents to serve as educators of future health care professionals.

On December 6, 2019, the New Jersey Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities (NJLEND) program at The Boggs Center on Developmental Disabilities held a didactic seminar focused on cultural competency. The didactic seminar session included a family panel comprised of three parents representing the following cultural backgrounds: West African, Hispanic/Latino, and South Asian.

AUCD has made available six (6) scholarships of up to $500 each to support LEND audiology trainees in attending the in Early Hearing Detect8-10, 2020 in Kansas City, MO. All current LEND audiology trainees, including those in their externship year, are eligible to apply. However, priority will be given to trainees from programs that do not currently receive supplemental funding and trainees that have not attended the EHDI Meeting in previous years. Application deadline: February 14, 2020.