Every semester, trainees come to the Maryland Center for Developmental Disabilities (MCDD) to gain practical skills and knowledge that inform their work about the needs, strengths and perspectives of people with disabilities. We are pleased to introduce our spring 2020 trainees.
Brooke Clippinger is a graduate student studying healthcare administration at The Johns Hopkins University. She developed an interest in working with individuals with disabilities while supporting provider organizations through her management consulting practice.
As a Wendy Klag Center for Autism and Developmental Disabilities scholar at the MCDD, Clippinger conducted research and translated scientific evidence into practice, with the aim of impacting health policy and decision-making. She is looking forward to applying her experience to incorporate disability advocacy as a lens in her future role as a healthcare administrator.
Rebecca Hill just completed her senior year at Towson University, where she majored in health education and promotion, with a minor in applied adult disabilities studies. Her interest in people with disabilities stems from working on her minor, as well as from having a neurocognitive disability. During her internship at the MCDD, Hill learned about translating scientific evidence into practice and effectively advocating for individuals with disabilities while building on her knowledge of health education.
Hill plans to work in the health education and promotion field, serving individuals with disabilities, and to attend graduate school in the near future, so she can continue her advocacy efforts with this population.
Aaron Owusu just completed his senior year at Towson University, where he majored in health education and promotion, with a minor in healthcare management. He developed his interest in the disability field while working with people with developmental disabilities at St. Joseph’s Hospital and in his community.
Owusu has enjoyed learning how to develop, implement and evaluate training programs and advocate for individuals with disabilities while building on his knowledge of healthcare management and education. He plans to attend graduate school to obtain a master’s degree in business administration, so he can better play a leadership role in the healthcare and disability field.
Youni Wang is a Master of Health Science student at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and is studying genetic epidemiology. Passionate about pediatrics, Wang developed an interest in working with people with disabilities during a volunteer experience with children with autism spectrum disorder in college.
As a Wendy Klag Center for Autism and Developmental Disabilities scholar at the MCDD, Wang has enjoyed having an interdisciplinary experience in which she can learn about medical-legal partnerships, rights advocacy and policymaking regarding individuals with developmental and intellectual disabilities. Wang hopes that her involvement with Project HEAL (Health, Education, Advocacy, and Law) at the MCDD will help her integrate those themes into her future research and health education. She is also interested in the successful transition of children with intellectual and developmental disabilities into adulthood and hopes to get involved in research projects on improving the transition planning process.
After completing her master’s program, Wang plans to attend medical school to continue her work in pediatric health and to empower people with disabilities.
