Dr. Nettles appointed by TN Governor Haslam as Chair of DIDD Advisory Council (TN UCEDD, IDDRC, LEND)

January 30, 2018

Arie Nettles, Ph.D., associate professor of Clinical Pediatrics and Vanderbilt Kennedy Center (TN UCEDD, IDDRC, LEND) member, has been appointed by Governor Haslam as chair of the Statewide Planning and Policy Council of the Tennessee Department of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (DIDD). Dr. Nettles has served as a member of the Council since 2014.

The announcement of Dr. Nettles' appointment in the Jan. 12, 2018, issue of DIDD's Open Line newsletter, indicated, "Her historical expertise, her knowledge of the challenges and opportunities that face our service delivery system, and her commitment to the representation of cultural diversity will serve the Council, the Department, service providers, and Tennesseans with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families well."

A psychologist, Nettles serves school-age children to young adults with autism and other developmental disabilities and autism in the Division of Developmental Medicine. As founding director, she leads the Office of Inclusion and Health Equity in the Department of Pediatrics and the Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt. This flagship diversity program that educates and trains employees on cultural awareness and elimination of health care disparities has now expanded to the Vanderbilt University Hospital adult and medical enterprise.