Cohort 2 Ambassadors
States and Territories Represented by Cohort 2:
Eliot Carter
Eliot Carter (they/he) is a macro social worker employed at Disability Network Washtenaw Monroe Livingston in Ann Arbor, Michigan. They are a current MI-LEND trainee and an alum of University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and Wayne State University in Detroit. They have worked in many areas within Disability Advocacy and Services, including policy analysis with self-advocates, assistive technology, community outreach, strategic planning, and evaluation. They're excited to learn about leveraging data to advocate for a future where all people with disabilities live dignified and self-directed lives.
Constance Alphonse
Constance Alphonse is a Louisiana Autism Spectrum and Related Disabilities Project Facilitator at the Human Development Center at LSU Health New Orleans. She received her bachelor's degree in psychology and sociology from Loyola University New Orleans and her master’s degree from Xavier University of Louisiana. Constance has served as a special education teacher, instructional facilitator, and administrator. She is National Board Certified as an Exceptional Needs Specialist. She is passionate about creating equitable, high-quality learning opportunities for ALL students. Constance's goal is to build the capacity of educators to help students reach their maximum potential by developing respectful, diverse, and inclusive environments. She is currently a scholar in the Louisiana Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities (LA LEND) program. Constance is excited to use the knowledge she gains as a Data Ambassador to further her understanding of national and state ID/DD data to drive systems change.
Autumn Cuellar
Autumn Cuellar is a third-year doctoral student in Engineering Education at Utah State University. Her undergraduate and master's careers were both in Computer Science. She is researching accessible teaching methods for classrooms and helps STEM students with disabilities by mentoring them on their academic journeys. Autumn was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy as a baby. This causes tremors and speech difficulties, but not her determination to succeed. She believes that everyone can achieve their goals, regardless of physical ability. This is why Autumn strives to make engineering accessible for everyone, especially students with disabilities.
Katie Kostin
Katie Kostin, M.S.T, is an ASPIRE scholar and certified Teacher of Students with Disabilities, (PA, NJ). After earning her bachelor’s degree in History at Rutgers University, she began her teaching career in South Korea. Upon return to the United States, Katie attended SUNY, Potsdam where she was awarded the Graduate Diversity Fellowship, and earned a Master’s in the Science of Teaching. While teaching, Katie obtained graduate certifications in Special Education (Rutgers University) and Supervision (Rowan University). Katie has a decade of experience in self-contained classrooms for students with complex support needs. This experience informs her current research. Katie is currently working on multiple projects in collaboration with an interdisciplinary team of researchers through the NSF Future of Work Grant. In addition to her current research in Speech Generating Device design, Katie is a Data Ambassador for the State of the States Longitudinal Data Project of National Significance.
Cindy Hart
Cindy Purdy Hart is a social worker at The University of Tennessee Health Science Center on Developmental Disabilities currently working as a LEND trainee. Cindy has attended Emory University for a Master of Divinity, and also earned a Master of Sociology and a Master of Social Work. She has worked in residential treatment with juvenile sex offenders providing individual and family therapy and was trained in forensic testing. However, Cindy’s heart and passion is about orphans. She adopted her son from an orphanage in China and has been on a challenging journey with his complicated health issues and profound autism. Cindy brings to the table not only experience and maturity but the perspective of a parent. Cindy hopes to help develop programming for mental health treatment for the caregivers and siblings of individuals with disabilities. She is particularly interested in being an advocate for individuals with disabilities that have severe behavioral issues that lack access to resources.
Denisha Joseph
Denisha Joseph serves as an Administrative Specialist II and is currently participating as a trainee in the Emerging Leaders Program at the Virgin Islands University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCEDD). She possesses a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the University of the Virgin Islands. In her role as a State of the States Data Ambassador, Ms. Joseph values the opportunity to collaborate with fellow professionals and is committed to acquiring extensive knowledge in the area of intellectual and developmental disabilities (ID/DD) data locally and internationally.
Krista Opstedal
Krista Opstedal, MPA, is a Research Associate and Principal Investigator at the North Dakota Center for Persons with Disabilities (NDCPD). She leads the implementation of several Project ECHO® curricula addressing critical needs in the disability field, all with a focus on enhancing inclusivity and promoting disability justice. Krista earned her Master of Public Administration from the University of North Dakota and is currently a trainee in the Utah Regional Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities (URLEND). As a State of the State Data Ambassador, she is excited to network with passionate disability advocates and explore new ways to leverage data to close service gaps for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Nicholas Ramazon
Nicholas Ramazon, MA, MPS, is a doctoral candidate in the School Psychology PhD program within the Department of Counseling, Educational Psychology, and Special Education at Michigan State University. His research centers on the assessment and treatment of neurodevelopmental disorders, with a particular emphasis on enhancing service accessibility and advancing equitable, neurodiversity-affirming care for children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) in underserved populations. Nicholas is currently completing his predoctoral internship at the Kennedy Krieger Institute and Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. As a State of the States Data Ambassador, he is enthusiastic about collaborating with the AUCD network to explore innovative strategies to enhance clinical practice.
Xueting Sun
Xueting Sun is a postdoctoral research associate in the Advanced Rehabilitation Research Training on Employment Program at the University of New Hampshire’s Institute on Disability. She holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of New Hampshire. Her primary research interests focus on disability policy and the employment of people with disabilities. Through her research, she aims to enhance employment opportunities for people with disabilities and deepen our understanding of their experiences.
Cassie Webb
Cassie Webb, MPH is the Director of Health Equity at the Institute for Human Development at the University of Missouri-Kansas City (UCEDD). She is currently a doctoral student working on her dissertation in Biomedical and Health Informatics at the University of Missouri Kansas City and holds a Masters of Public Health in Epidemiology and Biostatistics from Tufts University. Her background is in health equity research and evaluation with a specific focus on community-based participatory research and quantitative data analysis. Cassie’s research often highlights and includes the voice of communities often left out of research (including those from historically marginalized backgrounds). As a State of the States Data Ambassador, Cassie is excited to collaborate and network with other individuals passionate about data and data accessibility.
Jessica Cruz
Jessica Cruz is a senior year undergraduate student studying Social Science, and will be going into their Master’s program in Data Science in the spring of 2025. Cruz is completing their program at Roger Williams University in Rhode Island, with a specified area of interest in data. Cruz currently works at the Rhode Island Commission of Ethics, a state agency whose job is to enforce the state's code of ethics. In this role, Cruz helps provide education and training to public officials, government employees, and citizens. In the Data Ambassador program Cruz is looking forward to more opportunities to promote data accessibility, especially for those who have developmental and intellectual disabilities.
Cullen Pinaula
Cullen Pinaula is a current candidate for the Master of Public Administration (MPA) program at the University of Guam and is currently employed as a Research Associate at the University of Guam Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities Education, Research, and Service (UOG CEDDERS). Mr. Pinaula has taken on a variety of roles aimed at supporting individuals across all age groups in Guam. His work spans key areas such as early childhood, assistive technology, and services for senior citizens. As a State of the States Data Ambassador, he is eager to leverage the knowledge from the program to drive meaningful change, using data to address service gaps, and to assist in making a lasting impact in the community.
