Special Needs United Advisory Board


Jessica Adams, M.S. OTR/L

          A graduate of the University of Scranton with a Masters Degree in Occupational Therapist, Jessica has worked with children with a variety of special needs including cerebral palsy, developmental delays, orthopedic injuries, autism, ADHD, sensory processing disorder, traumatic brain injuries, and spinal cord injuries. She enjoys spreading the word of occupational therapy through conferences and volunteer work and looks forward to assisting families in accessing occupational therapy services for children. Jessica has worked in a variety of settings including schools, daycare centers,  homes, psychiatric facilities, and currently works with children in a pediatric hospitals in the areas of outpatient, acute inpatient and rehabilitation.  

Jamie Bergstein, OTR/L

          Jamie Bergstein graduated from Quinnipiac University in 2001 with a Bachelors Degree in Occupational Therapy. She has worked in a variety of settings which include inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation, schools, early intervention, and skilled nursing facilities. She has specialized in Pediatrics and Sensory Integration since 2002. She is an experienced aquatic therapist working with children that have a variety of different diagnosis including ASD, ADHD, sensory dysfunction, neurological disorders, and developmental delays. She is also a certified Listening Program provider. She is currently employed at JFK Pediatric Rehabilitation Center in Edison, New Jersey where she provides early intervention services to children age’s birth to three and leads the sensory integration and feeding family support group.

Bobby Collin

              A USC graduate, Bobby Collin began his career in the entertainment industry at United Talent Agency. He moved to Morey Management in 1998, where he remains today. Morey Management recently became a Front Line Company housing such artist as Miley Cyrus and Billy Ray Cyrus, Vanessa Williams, Chase Johnson, Clint Black, Kenny Chesney and many more. Bobby has been an active participant with the Richstone Family Center since his college days, organizing fundraisers for the organization's REACH (Richstone Educating, Assisting, Counseling, and Healing) program; a comprehensive child abuse treatment and prevention program for the entire family in English and Spanish that includes individual, group, family and couples counseling, parenting and anger management classes, case management and 24 hour crisis response for current clients. Another organization that Bobby supports is the National Head Start Association, a school readiness program for low-income children and their families. Nearly 25 million pre-school aged children have benefited from Head Start. When Mr. Collin is not traveling the world with his musician clients, he resides in Southern California with his beautiful and smart wife and their adorable daughter.

Blanca DeCosta, Spanish Speaking Community Representative

          Born and raised in Sinaloa, Mexico, Blanca DeCosta now resides in Southern California with her husband and two daughters. Her first daughter, Lara, was born severely premature and less than one pound. During the next eleven months, Lara remained in the hospital with a number of medical issues (tracheotomy and ventilator), yet grew to be almost nine pounds. Upon bringing her miracle baby home, Lara took Blanca on a roller coaster ride with 24 hour nurse care and over the years they have overcome several medical emergencies such as a brain bleed and have spent a large amount of time in and out of the hospital. Mrs. DeCosta has taken her daughter to numerous OT sessions as well as many other types of specialist. Now in the fourth grade, Lara, still feeds through a G-tube, but continues to grow and make vast improvements. We’re honored to have this courageous mother on our advisory board because her journey and experience in the special needs community is one that mother’s can relate too and be inspired by. Blanca is eager to lend an ear as well as her personal expertise. 

Michael Dutra, B.F.A./M.S. Ed.

          Michael Dutra has been working with special needs children for 8 years as a teacher. He is currently earning his Masters in Autism Spectrum Disorder. Michael is co-owner of the firm, HEA, which provides patient sensitivity/advocacy training to many medical venues in Southern California. He is also a consultant on the hit TRPwellness OT DVD series and is featured on “OT in the School” with Britt Collins, M.S.,OTR/L. Michael’s passion for the inclusion of all children into as typical a life as possible is the fuel he uses to continually look for and develop approaches that can be used by all. “The key is understanding the needs of the children and building upon that. I know that the more we treat our loved ones with disabilities as the unique and dynamic individuals they are, the strides and progress we will see in them will be enriching on so many levels” Michael Dutra.

Dr. Angela N. Hissong, OTR/L, CAPS


          Dr. Angela N. Hissong is a community-based occupational therapist and faculty in the occupational therapy programs at Pennsylvania State University & Chatham University. She received a doctoral degree from Pennsylvania State University in adult education with an emphasis on feminist studies and women's wellness. Prior to her doctoral studies, she earned a baccalaureate degree in occupational therapy from the Medical College of Virginia. She also holds a baccalaureate degree in biology focusing on health sciences and a master’s degree in special education from Shippensburg University.

     Dr. Hissong sincerely attempts to facilitate ways of knowing & learning in the areas of everyday living issues for children and youth, rural women's health and well-being, and agriculture-related disabilities. Her primary areas of research and evidence-based practice involve gleaning a better understanding of the occupational performance, challenges, and adaptations of children and youth, mothers living in rural communities, and farmers with disabilities. She resides on a small farm in south central PA with her husband, two sons, and a host of animals.

Andrea Lee

          As a mother of a child with special needs, Andrea is dedicated to spreading awareness and making a difference in the autism and special needs community. Having graduated with a Bachelors in Comparative Literature at U.C. Irvine and a Masters in Linguistics from Cal State Long Beach, Andrea taught English, writing and ESL for over eight years at the high school and college levels. Now a full time mother, she is actively involved as a fundraiser and advocate for Autism Speaks, among other autism related organizations and programs. Since Andrea and her husband started supporting Autism Speaks back in 2006, “Team Greenbean” (using their son's nickname) has raised over $350,000 for this cause. Last year they once again led the pack in Los Angeles with over $150,000 in donations. In 2008, Team Greenbean was made up of over 400 individual donors and nearly 125 people who showed up to the Rose Bowl for the yearly Los Angeles walk. Andrea’s presence in the special needs community is prominent and respected. Andrea resides in Southern California with her son, daughter (future OT), and husband.

Gretchen Lindholm, M.A., CCC-SLP

           Gretchen has worked as a Speech Language Pathologist in the public school setting for 17 years. She has worked with children who experience autism, cerebral palsy, language delays, articulation delays and Downs Syndrome. Working in the public schools has afforded Gretchen the opportunity to work with children with communication challenges as young as 1 year old and up through the high school years. This has provided her with a depth and breadth of experience that helps her to continually fine tune her skills. Gretchen completed her undergraduate work in Speech Pathology at Western Washington University in 1990. She received her Master's Degree in Speech Pathology from Kansas State University in 1992. Gretchen believes that the power of communication is available to all children regardless of their challenges. She understands that progress can be made quickly but that most progress happens in small steps and that each step is a celebration of achievement.

Tara Mercurio


          Tara Mercurio prides herself by volunteering and fundraising for a variety of charities, enrichment programs, and organizations that concentrate on helping those in need of medical and financial assistance. She is actively involved the All Stars Talent Show Network, a performance based enrichment program that opens up the world of stage performing to inner city youth. Tara also gives her time to the Cedars-Sinai Volunteer Department, who collectively donate nearly a quarter-million hours annually by serving the community or performing various assignments throughout the medical center. When not volunteering, Tara gathers her resources to seek donations for charities such as The Sports Spectacular, who has donated over $18 million to benefit the Cedars-Sinai Medical Genetics Institute focusing on seeking improved methods of diagnosis, prevention, and treatment for genetic disorders. Tara currently resides in New York where she continues to volunteer in addition to now serving as a board member for Special Needs United. 

Shanna Musick, DPT

          Shanna Musick received her Bachelor of Exercise Science and Master of Physical Therapy degrees from St. Louis University in St. Louis, Missouri. She is currently completing course work through St. Louis University towards a Doctorate in Physical Therapy. Since graduating, Shanna has worked at an outpatient pediatric clinic which provides physical, occupational, and speech therapy. She has been a dynamic part of this interdisciplinary team, working closely with occupational and speech therapists to coordinate patient care. Shanna has experience treating many diagnoses including, developmental delay, drug affected, down syndrome, cerebral palsy, torticollis, and orthopedic injuries. She also works on call at a local children's hospital in the acute and rehab settings.

Emily Sylvester, OTR/L

          Emily graduated from University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee with a Bachelors Degree in Occupational Therapy and is now recognized by the AOTA as a licensed occupational therapist. She has also taken courses in sensory integration for children, and is currently becoming certified with administering and interpreting the Sensory Integration Praxis Test (SIPT). Emily currently lives in the Los Angeles area and works with children in an outpatient clinical setting, and in the school based setting. Emily has had a strong focus on sensory integration through occupational therapy which led her to work with children with various special needs, such as autism, ADHD, and cerebral palsy. Emily and SNU co-founder Britt Collins worked together in a pediatric outpatient setting and school based setting were their work was essential for helping families and children. 

Steven J. Vande Vegte

          Mr. Vande Vegte has planted a firm foot in our countries real estate industry, having founded several successful real estate companies, including Marston Appraisal. Steve actively seeks new ways to save our environment, partnering with Clean Earth Solutions, Inc. (CES), which is dedicated to producing new sources of energy from the vast amounts of waste generated in modern society using advanced applications of cutting-edge, clean technologies. In the process, CES provides solutions to the world’s most compelling environmental problems by: 1) reducing the amount of harmful greenhouse gases released into the environment 2) Recovering valuable resources that would otherwise be land filled or incinerated 3) Reusing waste as alternate energy sources. Mr. VandeVegte became involved with families with special needs through TRPwellness, a division of his production company TRP. He now advocates for all children and does his part in creating a brighter future. Steve resides in San Diego County with his wife and two daughters.