Who We Are — Shared Support Maryland, Inc.

Our Staff

Gail Godwin

**Gail Godwin** is the Founder of Shared Support Maryland, Inc. and holds a Training Associate position at the Institute for Community Inclusion UMass. Gail’s MA is from the University of Pittsburgh, School of Education, Program in Severe Disabilities – educational, employment & community inclusion. For over 30 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 in self-directed service provision, positive supports, training, development, person-directed planning, individualized supports, and organizational development. Gail has co-authored articles and presented testimonies on topics in support of the advancement of disability rights. Gail will share information on support to live in your own home and Employment Supports.
gail@sharedsupportmd.org

Julia Raia

Support Broker

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

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