GUCEDD NEWSLETTER

Summer 2026

With Gratitude: Recognizing Retiring Faculty

The Georgetown University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (GUCEDD) announces the retirement of four extraordinary faculty members whose decades of dedication have profoundly shaped landscape of intellectual and developmental disability in the District of Columbia, impacting the lives of countless individuals, families, and communities. Tawara Goode, Director of the GUCEDD and Director of the National Center for Cultural Competence, leaves behind a transformative legacy of advancing cultural and linguistic competence, equity, and inclusion at the national and international level. Toby Long, Professor in the Department of Pediatrics at Georgetown University and Director of Professional Development at the Thrive Center, has been an unwavering champion for children and families through her pioneering contributions to research, education, and clinical practice. Rachel Brady, Assistant Professor and Director of the Georgetown University Certificate in Early Intervention Program, has dedicated her career to preparing the next generation of early intervention professionals with compassion, rigor, and purpose. Robin Shaffert, Adjunct Instructor and Senior Policy Associate, has been a tireless and thoughtful advocate whose policy expertise has helped shape systems that support people with disabilities across the lifespan. We are deeply grateful for the wisdom, passion, and commitment each of these remarkable individuals has brought to the GUCEDD community, and we wish them all the very best in this well-earned next chapter.

Thank you!

Food, Family and Learning:

GUCEDD's Health and Nutrition Initiative

The GUCEDD has launched a Health and Nutrition Initiative led by Dr. Kim Bullock, Physician Educator at GUCEDD and Associate Professor in the Department of Family Medicine at Georgetown University. The program brings together families of children with and without disabilities in underserved communities in Washington, D.C. with Georgetown undergraduate and medical students. Through hands-on cooking sessions and culturally relevant nutrition guidance, families build healthier eating habits while students develop practical skills in patient-centered care. The Initiative was developed in partnership with the National Children's Center Early Learning and Early Intervention Center and Georgetown University School of Medicine.

A key feature of the program is its focus on engaging children as active participants, not just caregivers. Activities like smoothie-making and small-scale gardening give children meaningful ways to explore food, build healthy habits, and develop everyday skills. Early observations show stronger caregiver-child interactions and children who are more willing to try new foods. The Initiative has been presented at national venues including Harvard Medical School and continues to grow through new community partnerships, including with the Edward C. Mazique Center.

Building the Infrastructure for Inclusion: 
Georgetown and University of Thessaly Announce Joint Executive Master’s Program

The Joint Executive Master’s in Global Leadership in Disability and Systems Transformation (LEADS)—a collaboration between Georgetown University and the University of Thessaly—will launch in the 2026-2027 school year. Development of this new academic program was funded by the Hellenic Ministry of Education, Religion, and Sports in Greece as part of a nationally selected cohort of U.S.-based Joint Master’s programs. It is designed for mid-career professionals who are already leaders in the fields of health, behavioral health, education, law, public policy, and technology and innovation. The program recognizes that its students lead full professional and personal lives, often balancing caregiving roles and their own access needs. Through a flexible hybrid structure that combines asynchronous coursework, virtual study weekends, and applied experiential learning, LEADS supports deep engagement with faculty, peers, and community partners. This design allows students to remain connected to their professional and family commitments while pursuing the program. Its interdisciplinary, international curriculum is grounded in the lived experience of how disability unfolds across global sociocultural contexts, preparing graduates to lead systems transformation that advances inclusion.

Pamala Trivedi, Ph.D., who directs this work for Georgetown University and serves as Associate Director of the Georgetown University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (GUCEDD), shared that she is “most excited about building the infrastructure for inclusion—both in Greece and in the other countries from which we will recruit future students. LEADS will bring together leaders who are ready to reimagine systems by translating research into practice through collaboration and human-centered approaches."

On May 18th, we gathered at our building on Wisconsin Avenue for two events that together said something important: inclusion matters at every age, from the very beginning of life all the way through.

In the morning, researchers and clinicians from the Thrive Center came together with Early Intervention directors from DC, Maryland, and Virginia to talk about what it means to support babies, toddlers, and their families. We also celebrated our graduating GULEND and GUCEI students. So proud of this group of emerging leaders!

In the afternoon, Project ACTION! brought generations of self-advocates, family members, and partners into the same room to share stories, speak honestly about the challenges happening right now in DC, and imagine what the next chapter of disability rights can look like. The Making a Difference Awards honored people who have given so much to this community. And then we danced.

Thank you to everyone who showed up, shared their story, and reminded us why this work matters. Thank you to our panelists, presenters, moderators, planning committee, and partners including Disability Rights DC, the DC

Developmental Disabilities Council, Georgetown LEND, and Project ACTION! Inclusion is not a destination. It is something we build together, every single day.

Project ACTION! meetings are Saturdays from

10:00 AM - 12:00 PM.



To join the mailing list, contact Tiffany Yuille at tyuille@dcqualitytrust.org or call her at:

202-448-1459.

Thank you to DJ Showout!

aka Joshua Blassingame

Email: joshuablass23@gmail.com

🎶 Afrobeats, Go-Go, R&B,

and Old School 🎶

GUCEDD Pays Tribute to Robert Kennedy, Jr.

The Georgetown University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (GUCEDD) joins the disability community in mourning the loss of Robert Kennedy, a member of the GUCEDD Advisory Council (GAC), a longtime community partner, and a passionate advocate for disability rights.


For decades, Mr. Kennedy was a steadfast presence in the work of the GUCEDD, lending his time, his expertise, and his dedication to countless projects that touched the lives of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) in Washington, D.C. He was far more than a community partner; he was a friend to many of us here at the GUCEDD, and his warmth and commitment will be deeply missed.


Mr. Kennedy used his voice consistently and courageously to champion the causes that matter most to people with IDD in our community. His legacy lives on in the work he helped shape and in the countless lives he touched. To his family and loved ones, we extend our deepest condolences. We are honored to have called him a partner, and are grateful for his legacy of advocacy.

Please see the details for Mr. Kennedy's memorial service below:

Wednesday, July 22, 2026

Doors Open: 9:45 a.m.

Funeral Mass: 10:00 a.m.

Assumption Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary

3401 Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue, SE

Washington, DC 20032

Memorial Program: 11:15 a.m.

Repast: 12:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.

National Children's Center

3400 Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue, SE

Washington, DC 20024

(Directly across the street from the church.)

In lieu of flowers, Robert's family welcomes tributes through the planting of a tree or donations to one of the organizations that were meaningful to him:

• Project ACTION!
• Lifeline Partnership
• Special Olympics DC
• National Children's Center (NCC)
• Quality Trust

Accessibility & Parking

The church is accessible via the Anacostia Metro Station and the C11 Metrobus. Street parking is available, with additional parking behind the building. Please enter through the front center doors.



GUCEDD Researchers Receive ECo Impact Award to Study Disability and Climate Emergency Preparedness

A Georgetown research team has received the 2026-2027 ECo Impact Award from the Earth Commons at Georgetown University, along with $20,000 in funding, for a pilot study on how families of children and youth with disabilities experience climate emergencies. The project, "Centering Families of Children and Youth with Disabilities in Climate Adaptation: A Cross-National Environmental Justice Pilot," is led by Dr. Pamala Trivedi and Dr. Libbie Rifkin of Georgetown University, Dr. Antonios Christou of the University of Thessaly in Greece, and Nathalie Moschou of Life is for All (LIFA), a Greek family advocacy organization, with Dr. Joan Lombardi of the Georgetown University Thrive Center for Children, Families and Communities serving as senior advisor.

The project brings together researchers, students, and disability advocates from the United States and Greece to learn directly from families about the barriers they face during emergencies. For many children with disabilities, evacuation and crisis situations involve real challenges around communication, sensory needs, mobility, medical care, and disrupted routines. The team will use what they learn to help shape how emergency responders are trained and how communities prepare. Findings will connect to programs at both Georgetown and the University of Thessaly, including Disability Studies, GULEND, and the LEADS Joint Executive Master's in Global Disability Leadership and Systems Transformation, and will be shared through academic and community channels.

Congratulations to The Ride Ahead for Winning an Emmy® Award!

This past April, the GUCEDD, GULEND, the Georgetown University Disability Cultural Center, and the Georgetown University Program in Disability Studies hosted a movie screening of The Ride Ahead, a documentary created by Samuel Habib and his father, Dan, about Samuel and his transition to young adulthood and independence.

Since then, The Ride Ahead has won the Emmy® for Outstanding Social Issue Documentary! Congratulations, Samuel, Dan, and to everyone who played a part in the film!