The Maryland Center for Developmental Disabilities is pleased to announce the addition of two staff members who joined the team in March: Mirian Ofonedu, PhD, joins MCDD as its new director of training, and Alyssa Navarrete comes onboard as a new staff attorney for Project HEAL (Health, Education, Advocacy and Law).
As MCDD’s director of training, Dr. Ofonedu will lead all training efforts, including the development, implementation and evaluation of training systems and resources for personnel and consumers involved in work with children and adults with developmental disabilities and their families. Dr. Ofonedu most recently served as a research manager for Kennedy Krieger Institute’s Center for Diversity in Public Health Leadership Training and Center for Child and Family Traumatic Stress. She’s been with the Institute for 14 years and has a license in clinical social work and a doctorate in clinical psychology. Her dissertation focused on the experiences of black youth living with depression. In addition, she serves as an adjunct professor and continuing professional education clinical instructor at the University of Maryland School of Social Work, where she teaches graduate students and professionals.
As a staff attorney for Project HEAL, Navarrete will work with Maureen van Stone and Mallory Finn to provide legal services to Kennedy Krieger patients and their families. Navarrete completed her undergraduate degree at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, where she studied communications and Spanish. She earned her law degree from the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law in 2013. She most recently served as a staff attorney in the mental health unit of Disability Rights Maryland. In addition to clerking for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland in 2013, she brings experience representing clients in special education cases. Navarrete is bilingual and will provide services to Kennedy Krieger’s Spanish-speaking families.
Welcome, Mirian and Alyssa!