Joseph H. Donnelly, MD
Medical Director

Dr. Donnelly is a pediatric neurologist who received his B.A. from Harvard College, M.D. from Georgetown University and completed his training in pediatrics and neurology at Boston City Hospital. He was a practicing clinician and educator for 25 years in Massachusetts at Baystate Medical Center which was affiliated with the University of Massachusetts and is the western campus of Tufts University School of Medicine. He was the chief of developmental-behavioral pediatrics, director of the developmental evaluation clinic, pervasive developmental disorders clinic and the Pediatric Muscular Dystrophy Association Clinic, and consultant for the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, Shriner’s Hospital for Children and numerous schools and community organizations. He has a special clinical interest in providing support to families and caring for children with autism, ADHD and other developmental disorders.

He joined the University of CA, Irvine in 2002 as a Clinical Professor of Pediatrics and has been a clinician and the medical director of an autism program entitled For OC Kids. He is now the Director of the CHOC-UCI Neurodevelopmental Programs. This collaboration involves programs for autism, ADHD and other developmental disorders (For OC Kids), high risk infant follow-up (EDAC) parent training for disruptive behaviors (CUIDAR) and Help Me Grow Orange County. He is the co-chair of the AAP Chapter 4 Committee on Children with Special Needs and was recently the AAP state representative to the CA ABCD leadership team.

Dr. Donnelly is also the Vice Chair for Clinical Affairs in the Department of Pediatrics at UC Irvine. He is board certified in Pediatrics, Neurology with Special Qualification in Child Neurology and Neurodevelopmental Disabilities.

Lacey Ginter
Developmental Screening Coordinator

In November of 2006 Lacey was one of the original Community Liaisons to join the Help Me Grow team. As one of the first members to join the team she has been able to participate in the growth of Help Me Grow from the very beginning. As of January 2010 Lacey started her current role as the Developmental Screening Coordinator. Lacey earned her Bachelors degree in Family and Consumer Sciences at California State University, Long Beach with an emphasis in Child Development.

She brings experience in working with families and children along with a passion to help meet the needs of each individual family. Prior to joining Help Me Grow, Lacey was an Intake Service Coordinator for Regional Center of Orange County. In this role she gained working knowledge of family dynamics and used these skills to help determine RCOC eligibility and link families with vendored services best suited to fit their needs. Throughout this experience, Lacey quickly realized the need many families had for support and resources and also the unfortunate disconnect between these families and the resources available to them. The passion that she has to help families overcome this disconnect is what led her to join the Help Me Grow team.

As a Developmental Screening Coordinator, Lacey works closely with families to screen each child's development and then connect them with the resources they need. Enhancing the development of every child is a goal Lacey strives for each day. With her passion, Lacey continues to make a difference in the lives of the families she serves.

Rebecca Hernandez, MSEd
Manager

Rebecca Hernandez led the effort to establish Help Me Grow, a program connecting families to developmental services in Orange County. With the support of the Children and Families Commission of Orange County (CFCOC) and the CHOC/UCI Neurodevelopmental Programs, she began the process of building the infrastructure and team of Help Me Grow in September of 2006. She participated on the Developmental & Behavioral Pathways Committee led by the CFCOC with the goal of addressing the developmental needs of all children in Orange County. Rebecca is also working as a consultant for the Connecticut Children's Medical Center and the Commonwealth Fund to support in the National Replication Project of Help Me Grow. Having worked as an Autism Coordinator at Long Beach Unified School District, a Program Manager at Harbor Regional Center and a Child Development Specialist at Kaiser Permanente, Rebecca brings a wealth of experience to her role as Manager of Help Me Grow.

Rebecca is an alumna of Stanford University where she studied Human Biology with an emphasis in Child Development. Rebecca also holds a M.S.Ed. degree from Wheelock College in Boston having specialized in Working with Children in Health Care Settings. During her time at Wheelock College, she completed internships at Boston Children's Hospital and University of Massachusetts Medical Center in Worcester.

Carol Montoya
Child Development Community Liaison

Carol Montoya is a Child Development Liaison for the East Central Region of Orange County. She received her BS in Education from Southern Illinois at Carbondale. Carol's past career life has included services in Child Development and Social Services with most recent agencies as Head Start and the Regional Center of Orange County. Carol states she has always had a passion in helping all families with their children. Carol is bilingual in Spanish.

Tiffany Kaaiakamanu, MA
Child Development Community Liaison

Tiffany Kaaiakamanu joined the Help Me Grow team in March 2007 as the Child Development Community Liaison for West Orange County. Tiffany earned her Bachelors and Masters degrees in Sociology at Cal State Fullerton with an emphasis in family studies.

Prior to coming to Help Me Grow, Tiffany worked as a Senior Social Worker for Children and Family Services. Working with Family Reunification, she learned to establish and maintain effecting working relationships with families while learning the complex social services system. She also spent time in a home visitation program working with women and child who experienced domestic violence. Her desire to work with children and families as an advocate led her to work for Help Me Grow.

As a bi-lingual Vietnamese liaison, Tiffany works closely with agencies in her region to provide resources to families. Her involvement in the community includes working with the Vietnamese Forum, Early Childhood Collaborative and Family Resource Centers.

Deanna Parga, MSEd
Child Development Community Liaison

Deanna joined the Help Me Grow team in March 2009 as the Child Development Community Liaison for South Orange County. Deanna earned a Bachelors Degree in Child Development with a minor in Sociology and Masters Degree in Education with an emphasis in Early Childhood Special Education from California State University, Fullerton. Deanna also completed coursework toward a Teaching Credential in Early Childhood Special Education.

Deanna brings years of experience working directly with children birth through five years of age and their families. She has worked as the Assistant Director of a child care center and an Early Intervention Teacher both in a center based and in-home settings. Deanna also worked as the Director of an Early Intervention Program for over 10½ years. She worked closely with many Orange County agencies that offer services to children and their families. These experiences provided her with opportunities to become familiar with the systems, agencies and resources available to families and their children, especially those experiencing developmental delays.

Stephanie Martin
Child Development Care Coordinator

Stephanie joined the Help Me Grow team in September 2007. She currently works as a Child Development Care Coordinator and is passionate about helping families and professionals find resources to address their needs. She describes her job as a being a "detective" for families on resources in Orange County.

Stephanie has a Bachelors of Art in Child Development and a minor in Pre-therapeutic Psychology from Point Loma Nazarene University. Her experience in the child development field includes past employment at a speech and language clinic where she gained hands-on experience working with young children with special needs or developmental delay. Stephanie also completed an internship at the Polinksy Child Abuse Center in San Diego, California where she logged over 160 hours in the Infant Cottage assisting the staff and teen moms with the care of newborns to two years olds. Stephanie has a heart for helping others--she has traveled to New Orleans to help with Hurricane Katrina victims and Romania to work at a camp with children. Simply dial our toll free number to speak with Stephanie who is eagerly awaiting your call.

Sue Yockelson, PhD
EPIC Coordinator

Suzanne Yockelson, Ph.D., received her doctoral degree in Early Intervention at the University of Oregon after having taught both regular and early childhood/special education in the public school system. While in Oregon, she worked as a research assistant and outreach coordinator for the Ages and Stages Developmental Screening project. In addition, she assisted with the development of the Ages and Stages Social Emotional screening assessment, a developmental screening tool to assess the social and emotional development of infants and young children from 3 months through 6 years. Sue has taught numerous courses in her field at the University of Oregon, Pacific University, Portland State University, and the University of British Columbia. She also directed the Educational Studies major at the University of Oregon. Sue has been a consultant with Brookes Publishing and trains on developmental screening and on family centered practices with a variety of educational, health, and social service agencies throughout the United States and Canada. Currently, Sue is the Educating Providers in the Community (EPIC) Coordinator at Help Me Grow and is implementing one of Orange County's developmental screening pilots.

Claudia Estrada
Child Development Care Coordinator

Claudia joined the Help Me Grow team in September 2009, as a bilingual Child Development Care Coordinator. She received her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Social Behavior, with a minor in Educational Studies from the University of California, Irvine.

Prior to Help Me Grow, Claudia worked as an Early Intervention Teacher, working with children who were at risk for delays or children with an established diagnosis, in an in-home and center-based setting. Through creative activities and play, she focused on enhancing and promoting developmental growth in children. Claudia completed assessments, determined appropriate goals and helped children acquire important skills in hopes to improve their quality of life. Claudia also completed an internship at the Orange County Head Start in Costa Mesa, California, where she assisted the teaching staff in classroom activities and curriculum development. Claudia understands the importance of early intervention and stimulating development in young children. She is committed in providing appropriate referrals to families and professionals, in hopes to stimulate and support a child’s development.

Erica Duarte
Family Services Care Coordinator

Erica received her Bachelors degree in Psychology & a Minor in Human Services from California State University, Fullerton. She has a passion for educating and connecting families to Orange County resources. She has been part of well recognized agencies in Orange County, such as Regional Center of Orange County, Children’s Bureau of Southern California, and Olive Crest Treatment Centers.

Prior to coming to Help Me Grow, Erica worked as a Care Coordinator for Wraparound Services in Orange County. As a Care Coordinator she learned the importance of strengthening families by connecting them to the right resources. She has also been a volunteer for the Probation Department.

Erica joined the Help Me Grow team in March 2010. She continues to fulfill her passion of educating and linking families and their children to resources as a Family Services Care Coordinator for the Early Head Start program.

Jacqueline Martinez
Family Service Care Coordinator

Jackie Martinez joined the Help Me Grow team in March 2010 as a Family Service Care Coordinator. Jackie earned her Bachelors degree in Psychology from California State University, Long Beach. Prior to coming to Help Me Grow, Jackie volunteered at YMCA as a group facilitator. She also volunteered at the Women’s and Children’s Crisis Shelter helping women with self help skills and caring for the children. Jackie’s prior job was as a Family Support Worker at the Tustin Family Resource Center. She would monitor and evaluate referrals to case management, youth and child development and family counseling. She would coordinate parent workshops to encourage parent involvement in their child’s development. Jackie has love and dedication for helping children and families. Jackie is bilingual, has lots of experience and is here to help the community.

Nydia Saenz
Department Assistant

Nydia joined the Help Me Grow Team in March 2010 as the Department Assistant. Prior to joining the Help Me Grow Team she gained experience working at the Health Care Agency of Orange County. She is bilingual in Spanish and has extensive knowledge in office procedures and support. Nydia has a passion for helping children and families. By joining the Help Me Grow Team she knows she will help make a difference!

Susan Shepardson, MS
EPIC Coordinator

Susan Shepardson brings to Help Me Grow Orange County over 30 years of broad-range experience in the field of child development and early education. As EPIC (Educating Providers In the Community) Coordinator, Susan provides physician outreach and engagement to pediatric and family practices. Through the use of academic detailing presentations, she educates practices on the importance of developmental surveillance and screening, and use of the Help Me Grow system to connect families to appropriate resources. She provides technical assistance to physicians who are currently using developmental screening tools or considering implementing screening into their practice. In June of 2012, Susan attended the Brookes ASQ-3™ and ASQ:SE Training Institute and has conducted numerous ASQ-3™, ASQ:SE and PEDS trainings. Susan worked with the Help Me Grow National Center to develop the Help Me Grow Orange County, Maintenance of Certification (MOC), Quality Improvement Project and is working with the American Academy of Pediatrics, California Chapter 4 on implementation of the MOC project.

Her previous positions include Regional Manager for a national child care corporation, Educational Sales Representative, and Adjunct Faculty with College of the Desert, Mt. San Jacinto Community College and UC Riverside Extension Center. For nearly a decade, Susan worked for Riverside County Department of Social Service as a Child Development Specialist. She was charged with capacity building and quality improvement training and technical assistance. She oversaw a large scale accreditation project and worked with city and county electeds to build community support for child development programs. Most recently, Susan worked for Anaheim City School District as a School Readiness Coordinator. She was instrumental in the establishment of an early intervention program and coordinated a multidisciplinary team. She collaborated with the special education department and established a pilot preschool inclusion program that became a countywide model.

Susan received a BS degree in Social Science from Chapman University and a MS degree in Child Development from University of La Verne.