The Wyoming Institute for Disabilities Wins 2023 ECHO Excellence Award

September 29, 2023

Dr. Sanjeev Arora, Project ECHO Founder and Executive Director, presents award to Canyon Hardesty, WIND Associate Director, with Dr. Karla Thornton, Senior Associate Director of Project ECHO

The Wyoming Institute for Disabilities (WIND), an academic unit of the College of Health Sciences at the University of Wyoming, is honored to have been awarded an inaugural ECHO Excellence Award for the University of Wyoming Project ECHO. WIND was recognized in September at the 2023 global MetaECHO Conference held at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque. The ECHO Excellence Awards recognize outstanding ECHO teams from around the world for their contributions to the ECHO global community.

Dr. Sanjeev Arora, founder and executive director of Project ECHO, recognized Executive Director Sandy Root-Elledge’s leadership and WIND for their innovation in applying the ECHO model beyond healthcare. Dr. Arora commented on WIND’s adaptation of the model, “They were the first to move ECHO beyond health into childhood education, recognizing both its connection to health and the need to expand professional development opportunities for educators in isolated rural areas. They provided the proof point that ECHO not only works for education but has the potential to transform it.”

Project ECHO® is an innovative model of professional development, used to build connections and expand best practices for professionals and families on improving outcomes in healthcare, education, and daily living. ECHO participants meet for 75-minute sessions via Zoom, each consisting of a professional development presentation, followed by a unique case presentation or success story. Using a social learning, collaborative model, participants can receive input and guidance from a multi-disciplinary team of professionals, as well as other session participants.

In 2014, WIND launched ECHO networks to support educators, including ECHO in Assistive Technology and ECHO in Autism. WIND has since expanded UW Project ECHO over the last 10 years launching a total of 20 unique networks in education, health, and family support, focusing on broad systems of community support that impact people with disabilities and their families in Wyoming.

Canyon Hardesty, WIND Associate Director, accepted the award on behalf of the WIND Project ECHO team noting, "This award is representative of the organizational, national, and international influence of University Centers on Disabilities like WIND who work alongside communities to co-create accessible and inclusive systems. The ECHO model embodies the spirit of inclusivity and collaboration, transcending geographic barriers and bringing best practices to the doorstep of those who need them. The ECHO model has changed the conversation in health, education and family supports across the globe, and WIND is honored to have been recognized for our contribution."