CSN Board of Directors

Chairman Amy Goldman

Amy S. Goldman, MS, CCC-Speech is an associate director of the Institute on Disabilities, Pennsylvania’s University Center of Excellence in Developmental Disabilities at Temple University.  She is the project director of Pennsylvania’s Initiative on Assistive Technology (PIAT), a federally funded, statewide program that works to improve access to assistive technology for all Pennsylvanians with disabilities.  She also directs a large state funded “lending library” for assistive devises, as well as a multi-state consortium on accessible electronic and information technology.  A speech-language pathologist and augmentative and alternate (AAC) communication specialist with extensive experience, she has written, testified and presented nationally on AAC and related topics.  A past-president of the Pennsylvania Speech-Language-Hearing Association, Ms. Goldman is a member of the steering committee for the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association’s special interest division on AAC.  Ms. Goldman currently serves as a member of the Board of Examiners in Speech-Language-Hearing (Licensure Board) in Pennsylvania.  Ms. Goldman is a member of the Board of Directors of Community Services Network of West Tennessee, Inc.

David Coulter, MD

David L. Coulter, M.D. is a pediatric neurologist at Children’s Hospital in Boston.  He is Associate Professor of Neurology at Harvard Medical School and is affiliated with the Institute for Community Inclusion in Boston.  Dr. Coulter is the Co-Editor of the Journal of Religion, Disability and Health and was President of the American Association on Mental Retardation from 2004-2005.

Robert J. Pary, MD

Dr. Robert J. Pary is a Professor of Psychiatry with the SIU School of Medicine in Springfield, Illinois.  Dr. Pary received his M.D. from Loyola University in Chicago.  He did his psychiatric residencies in Columbia, South Carolina and Boston, Massachusetts and his psychopharmacology fellowship at Tufts in Boston.  He is Board Certified in general Psychiatry with added qualifications in Geriatric Psychiatry.  He also serves as an Examiner for the American Board of Psychiatry, Inc.  Dr. Pary has been a consultant for Columbus Medical Services, Inc. in a number of states and has been a Court Monitor for the State of Washington and New Jersey.  He is editor of the book “Psychiatric Problems in Older Persons with Developmental Disabilities.”

Debra Beckman

Debra Beckman, MS, CCC-SLP, has provided services as a speech language pathologist since 1975, focusing on the areas of oral motor, feeding, motor speech, and language.  She has worked in a variety of settings including hospitals, universities, state facilities, clinics, ICF-MRs, schools, foster homes, and home bound.  She has served as a court appointed expert or resource for seven federal court cases regarding care for individuals with developmental disabilities.  She has written training materials currently used in Tennessee.  She has authored or co-authored books and articles, and has been awarded a United State Patent.  She designed the E-Z spoon  and Tri Chew for individuals with feeding difficulties.  Ms. Beckman has presented at numerous local, state, national, and international conferences and has trained over 10,000 therapists in the use of the Beckman Oral Motor Protocol and Interventions.  She is president of Beckman & Associates, Inc. (www.beckmanoralmotor.com), a multidisciplinary clinic in Winter Park, Florida.

Ruthie-Marie Beckwith

Ruthie-Marie Beckwith holds a Ph.D in Special Education from George Peabody College of Vanderbilt University.  She is a nationally recognized expert in advocacy, self-advocacy, self-determination and community services for persons with significant disabilities.  She is the Executive Director of the Tennessee Microboards Association and President of Blue Fire Consulting.  She assists individuals and their families with the creation of consumer directed services and provides expert analysis of programs and systems that affect people with disabilities of all ages.

Judith Favell

Judith E. Favell, Ph.D. is a behavioral psychologist specializing in developmental disabilities and the understanding and amelioration of challenging behavior disorders.  She has authored numerous articles, monographs, chapters and books, such as The Power of Positive Reinforcement, edited a leading journal and several newsletters in developmental disabilities, and served on the editorial boards of many others.  She has chaired several national Task Forces such as “Self-Injurious Behavior” for the Association for Advancement of Behavior Therapy, and has spoken nationally and internationally on issues ranging from clinical advances to policy development.  Dr. Favell’s offices have included President of the American Psychological Association’s Division on Developmental Disabilities and Mental Retardation, and President of The International Association for Behavior Analysis.  She is currently Chief Executive Officer of AdvoServ, a multi-state network of services specializing in supports for individuals with challenging behavior.

Sandra Lowery

Sandra Lowery is the President of CCMI Associates, a case management firm, based in New Hampshire.  She has consulted locally and nationally for over 250 health care organizations in case management planning and operations for the past 20 years while also managing an independent case management practice and company.  Ms. Lowery is the past President of the Case Management Society of America (CMSA).  In 1995, Sandi received the “Case Manager of the Year Award” from  CMSA.  She is an adjunct faculty memberat Granite State College Case Management, is frequently an invited speaker, and is on the advisory board for two national case management journals.

Ray Lyons, DDS, FADPD, DABSCD

Dr. Lyons is the Chief of Dental Services of the Specialty Needs Dental Clinic at Los Lunas Community Program in Los Lunas, New Mexico.  Dr. Lyons is a past President of the Academy of Dentistry for Persons with Disabilities and of ‘Special Care Dentistry’, an organization dedicated to the support of professional providers of care and oral health advocacy for patients with disabilities, geriatric needs, and those with medical concerns requiring hospital dental care.  He is a nationally known lecturer.  He currently serves on the faculty of the University of New Mexico Health Science Center and acts as a consultant to public and private agencies on oral health for persons with developmental disabilities.

Treva Maitland

Mrs. Maitland is the proud parent of National Coalition on Self-Determination.  She works as the West Tennessee Project Specialist for The Arc of Tennessee.  Her responsibilities include working with people with disabilities, their families, educators, and service providers.  She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Pre-Law/Political Science and is currently pursuing a Master’s degree.

Robert B. Nicholas, Ph.D.

Bob Nicholas is currently on the staff of the University of Tennessee Center on Disability and Employment. He provides technical assistance on funding strategies and coordination with disability specific service systems to the Tennessee Customized Employment Partnership, the Tennessee Olmstead Workforce Action Grant and the National Center on Workforce and Disability. He is also a consultant to the Tennessee Division of Mental Retardation Services on its Employment First Initiative. He was employed for 27 years by the New Jersey Department of Human Services serving for three years as Deputy Commissioner for Operations and for nine years as Director of the Division of Developmental Disabilities.  He resides in Corryton, Tennessee with his wife Beth.

Steven Parker, MD

Steven Parker, M.D. is a pediatrician with Board Certification in Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics.   He is an Associate Professor of Pediatrics at the Boston University of Medicine and Director of the Division of Developmental and Behavior Pediatrics at Boston Medical Center.  Dr. Parker runs a holistic pediatric primary care program for 175 children with special needs, as well as a developmental and behavioral assessment clinic in Boston Medical Center.  He also directs the Developmental Pediatrics Fellowship Training program at Boston University.

Dr. Parker received his BA from Cornell University and his M.D. from the University of Michigan Medical School.  Following his three-year pediatric training at Stanford University Medical Center, he completed a two-year fellowship in Behavioral and Developmental Pediatrics with T. Berry Brazelton, M.D. at Boston Children’s Hospital.  Dr. Parker was in private practice, primary care pediatrics in Boston for five years before working full time at Boston University.

Dr. Parker has written more than 50 professional articles.  In 2005, Lippincott published the 2nd edition of his book Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics: A Handbook for Primary Care.  Dr. Parker was also the co-author with Dr. Spock of the 1998 edition of Dr. Spock’s Baby and Child Care.

Damien Stewart--Class Advisor

Damien moved into a community home in Cordova, TN, in May of 2002.  In February of 2007, he moved to a new home in midtown with his roommate.  Damien stays very busy with work and activities.  He is employed by Captain D’s and Crump Insurance, in addition to serving as the current CSN Class Advisor.    Damien attends classes at the Shelby County Literacy Council and is enrolled in computer instruction at the Center of Independent Living.  Damien is a member of the West Tennessee Family Solutions Agency Advisory Council, and is President of the local People First Chapter.   He enjoys a very active social life, and likes playing basketball and watching football.  His favorite football team is the Tennessee Titans, but he also likes the Pittsburgh Steelers and he says you can’t forget the Memphis Tigers either.  On weekends, he frequents the Skinner Center, where he loves good music and dancing, and he says he also hangs out at Jillian’s (arcade) downtown.

Legal Counsel

Thomas Prewitt, Jr.

Mr. Prewitt is a partner with the law firm of Adams and Reese, LLP, which maintains offices in Memphis, Nashville, Baton Rouge and New Orleans, Louisiana, Houston, Texas, Jackson, Mississippi, and Washington, D.C.  He is a member of the American Hospital Association, the American Academy of Hospital Attorneys, the National Health Lawyers Association, and the Tennessee Academy of Hospital Attorneys.  Mr. Prewitt has served on the State of Tennessee’s Medical Malpractice Review Board.  He is included in the publication The Best Lawyers in the United States in the categories of Business Litigation and Health Law.