MA ICI LEND Program Graduation, 2012

June 5, 2012

  http://www.lendboston.org/

The ICI/LEND program at Children's Hospital Boston celebrated its end-of-year graduation on May 11th. The LEND fellows participated in a series of presentations reflecting on their year. The highlights included visiting families, meeting Title V program directors, working with community-based organizations, conducting research and clinical services and attending the annual Disability Policy Seminar in Washington DC late in April. The convocation featured a talk by Dr. Kass Braden, the Director of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver Center's LEND program on cross cultural collaborations. She emphasized things to remember by reviewing her experiences in South Africa over years working to set up HIV/AIDS awareness programs and how these collaborations can work well and some of the pitfalls that one inevitable finds. Her theme of "finding the boundaries between what I believe is right and what others have the right to believe" resonated well with the LEND fellows and faculty.

The fellows ended the day by presenting the LEND faculty with a beautifully framed poster that along with a brightly colored image notes that "disability is not a brave struggle or courage in the face of adversity. Disability is an art. It's an ingenious way to live."

FRONT: Lindsay Robinson, Stephanie Cassone, Leah Wildenger, Hailey Love, Allison Boris, Tania Maceda, Martha Kwasnik. BACK: Sara Kaplan-Levy, Amy Heberle, Becca McNalley Keehn, Cristin Lind, Kara Stock-Guild, Dani Saba, Miriam Tillinger, Kendra Liljenquist. MISSING: Amanda Griffin, Katherine Walbam
David Helm, Ph.D., with graduation speaker: Dr. Kass Braden	CBO representatives attending LEND graduation	Cristin Lind, Becca McNally Keehn, Leah Wildenger, David Helm: "Thanks David."