Our Staff

 
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Gail Godwin

Gail Godwin is the Founder of Shared Support Maryland, Inc. Gail’s MA is from the University of Pittsburgh, School of Education, Program in Severe Disabilities – educational, employment & community inclusion. For over 29 years, she has been an advocate in collaboration with people with disabilities and has worked in service provider organizations as a direct support staff, middle manager, administrator, and in training and development. She served 10 years as a member of the Maryland Developmental Disabilities Council on the Executive and Cross-Cutting Issues Committee. She also served 10 years as a board member of The Maryland Association of Community Services and is a graduate and faculty member of the Leadership Institute Consortium on Developmental Disabilities. She is the co-founder of the New York Downstate Person-Centered Consortium and a Founder of the Alliance for Citizen Directed Supports. Gail has extensive experience is in self-directed service provision, positive supports, training, development, person-directed planning, individualized supports, and organizational development.

gail@sharedsupportmd.org

Julia Raia

York College Intern and Support Broker

Julia is from Wantaugh, NY and just graduated with a BA in Human Services and minor in Sociology.

julia@sharedsupportmd.org

Mona Gomaa

Support Broker

Mona received her Bachelors and Masters degrees from the University of Maryland in special education. She has been in the education field for two decades. Her career started with her working with students who have mild to moderate disabilities, as well as general education students in several settings as a special education teacher. Later in her career, she became an IEP facilitator assisting schools in meeting federal and state timelines as well as supporting teachers to provide well written IEPs and services for their students. Her journey with special education led her to become a support broker for adults with special needs accessing waivers through DDA. Most recently in 2018, she became a special education advocate for families and students with Hayah Education Services, LLC. As an advocate, she works with families to secure appropriate IEP services for their children, as well as access resources in the community.

mona@sharedsupportmd.org

Jessica Holman

Support Broker Consultant

Cheryl Gottlieb began her career in disability advocacy in 2000 as a high school student involved in a county-wide self-advocacy program offered by her school system. She completed an Associate’s Degree in General Studies in 2006, and then completed additional coursework in Family Studies & Community Development. Over the decades, Cheryl has explored many avenues to express her passion for disability rights, including coordinating awareness events for youth, training community professionals, and regularly participating in non-violent civil disobedience as a former member of the cross-disability rights group ADAPT. She regularly advocates for state and federal legislation that would help disabled people to live in their own homes, both in a professional capacity and as a grassroots activist. Prior to becoming a Support Broker, Cheryl worked as a trainer for People on the GO, as a Regional Advocacy Specialist for the Developmental Disabilities Administration, as a Research Assistant for Johns Hopkins Bloomsberg School of Public Health, and as a Peer Supporter for On Our Own Inc, Baltimore. Cheryl is most frustrated by the lack of coordination between Maryland’s Developmental Disabilities and Behavioral Health support systems, and is excited to bring mental health targeted trainings to individuals receiving DDA funded supports through SSMD’s Training & Development Institute! Stay tuned!

Cheryl Gottlieb

Joseph F. Anastasio, (LCSW-C) Licensed Clinical Social Worker in Delaware and Maryland.

Joseph is currently a psychotherapist providing clinical services to children, adults, couples and families in Delaware.  He is also a trained facilitator with the “Alternatives to Violence Project” (AVP) in the Delaware prison system.   Joseph recently completed a position as the “Transition Coordinator – School to Work” for Baltimore City Schools, working with older youth with disabilities and IEPs.  Before assuming this role, Joseph worked for The Arc Baltimore as Assistant Executive Director of Family & Children Services and also as the Director of Residential Services.   During this time, Joseph has also provided psychotherapeutic services to youth, adults and couples.  He has taught courses in special education at various local colleges in Baltimore and volunteered in Baltimore City as a trained mediator.    He has facilitated workshops on grief and bereavement, informed consent and working with families.  During 2020 and beyond, Joseph has co-facilitated workshops on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility (DEIA).  Joseph heralds from New York City, where he received his MS in Special Education from Hunter College, and also holds an MSW from the University of Maryland School Of Social Work.  Being raised in Brooklyn, he is always on the look-out for the quintessential slice of pizza.

joseph@sharedsupportmd.org

Joseph Anastasio

Expectations Matter Trainer

Giselle Guest

Giselle Guest is a Maryland Certified Support Broker working with Shared Support Maryland, Inc. who has 11 years of experience as a direct support professional in the role of job coach and a former bookkeeper. This combination of experience makes one of the most sought after types of Support Broker and gives Giselle the exact platform knowing just why everyone should be at the table planning together. Giselle is learning Spanish and traveling in her spare time.

giselle@sharedsupportmd.org

Kelly Hoffman

Kelly is a New Yorker transplanted to Maryland about 20 years ago. Since moving to Maryland, she has worked in case management to children and adults with disabilities, with a passion for managing contracts, grants, and budgets. Kelly was also a part of starting a new committee for fundraising. She is passionate about helping individuals with disabilities and has extensive training in using people-first language and the importance of inclusion and autonomy for people with disabilities. Kelly has also always wanted to own her own business, so she now has a Realtors License in Maryland and New York. She enjoys meeting new people, helping them through the process of home ownership, and also advising people on choosing a home where they can age in place. She has now joined Shared Support Maryland part-time to get back into supporting people with disabilities along with her realty business. She lives with her two young adult children and dog Ginger. She is very involved at her church, loves to read and cook, and has recently taken up knitting.

Our Board