About DCHRP

Faculty Biographies

Marisa C. Brown, MSN, RN, is a research instructor in the Department of Pediatrics, Georgetown University Medical Center in Washington, D.C., and the director of the D.C. Health Resources Partnerships, Georgetown University Center for Child and Human Development, University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCDD). She has been associated with Georgetown University for the past 23 years serving in many capacities. She is a registered nurse specializing in the health care of individuals with developmental disabilities, and has over 20 years of experience in this area. Her professional interests include cultural and linguistic competence and community collaborative strategies.

Ms. Brown has served on numerous task forces and advisory groups at the local and state level related to children and adults with developmental disabilities. She serves on several community-based committees and is a member of the Human Rights Committee of the D.C. Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities Administration, the Arc of DC and the National Children’s Center.

Lisa Mustone Alexander, EdD, MPH, PA-C, has been a faculty member in the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences for 21 years. She began her career as a physician assistant, after graduating from the George Washington University PA program in 1979. She has practiced clinically in surgery and medicine and is currently a volunteer clinician at Bread for the City clinic in Washington.

In addition to clinical practice, Dr. Alexander serves as Assistant Dean for Community-Based Partnerships at GWU Medical School. In this capacity, she oversees all of the training initiatives for health professional students in community-based settings in Washington, DC. She is actively engaged in teaching and research and serves on numerous advisory boards.

Her areas of interest and expertise are community-based primary care, cardio-vascular disease prevention and management, cultural competency, and health disparities research. In May of 2003, she was awarded a doctoral degree in Education.

Clare Dunne, M.S.W., graduated from the College of William and Mary (B.A., 1988) and completed the graduate program in Social Work Planning & Administration at Virginia Commonwealth University (2000). Since 2001, she has worked at Georgetown University Center for Child and Human Development. Currently, she serves as the Project Director for the Division of Research, Training and Education at the National Center for Cultural Competence as well as Information Manager for DC HRP. She has experience in conducting literature review, data analysis, information management, and developing products, including a range of training materials. Ms. Dunne’s clinical experience includes work with adults with serious mental illness, substance abuse, and homelessness; and children with development disabilities.

Antonia Brathwaite-Fisher, M.A., Ms. Fisher is a research instructor in the Department of Pediatrics, Georgetown University Center for Child and Human Development (GUCCHD) and the Director of Community Services and Supports for the past five years. As Director of Community Services and Supports for the GUCCHD, University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities, Ms. Fisher has oversight responsibilities for short-term and ongoing programs in support of individuals who experience disabilities from birth throughout the life span and their families; planning and implementing training, technical assistance and community services programs. She has degrees in secondary education and rehabilitation counseling with over 27 years working with and on behalf of individuals with developmental and other disabilities and their families in the District of Columbia.

Ms. Fisher was the Executive Director of the District of Columbia Developmental Disabilities Council, and worked for the DC Protection and Advocacy Agency for over twelve years in a variety of capacities including the deputy director of the agency. She was also the Acting Director of the State Assistive Technology grant – DC partnership for Assistive Technology. Ms. Fisher is also the Associate Project Director for the Health Resources Partnership project at the GUCCHD and is responsible for managing and coordinating administrative and support functions of the project. Ms. Fisher serves on numerous advisory councils and committees (both federally mandated and local committees) related to children and adults with developmental and other disabilities. She is a member of the L’ARCHE Human Rights Committee.

Diane M. Jacobstein, PhD, is Clinical Psychologist and Senior Policy Associate in the Georgetown University Center for Child and Human Development, where she has been a faculty member since 1977. She is also a Research Associate Professor in the Department of Pediatrics.

Dr. Jacobstein has worked in several capacities related to developmental disabilities. Her current work at Georgetown includes the D.C. Health Resource Partnership and a national initiative concerning federal and state policy for children with co-occurring developmental disabilities and mental health needs. She also serves on the National Policy Committee of the National Association for the Dually Diagnosed. Her interest in dual diagnosis stems from her past service as Psychologist and then Director of the Georgetown University Diagnostic and Treatment Team, an outreach clinic in Northeast D.C. for adults and children with co-occurring intellectual disability and serious mental health needs. Dr. Jacobstein has been involved with numerous Georgetown projects that served individuals with developmental disabilities and/or mental health needs in the community through center-city Catholic schools, the Pediatric Mobile Clinic in SE Washington and homeless shelters. Her current work includes evaluation of young children with Georgetown’s Autism and Communication Disorders Clinic and consultation to Bright Beginnings, a Head Start and Early Head Start Program for children in transitional housing and homeless shelters. Dr. Jacobstein’s current clinical and policy efforts are informed by her long experience on inpatient, intensive care, renal and oncology teams at Georgetown and in a local pediatrics practice.

Toby Long, Ph.D., P.T., is the Director for Training and the Director, Division of Physical Therapy of the Georgetown University Center for Child and Human Development and Associate Professor in the Department of Pediatrics, Georgetown University. She is an adjunct physical therapy faculty member at the University of Indianapolis, Rocky Mountain University of Health Sciences, and at the University of Maryland. She received her degree in physical therapy from Boston University, a master’s degree in special education from George Washington University and her doctoral degree in human development from the University of Maryland. She is a recognized leader in service delivery to individuals with disabilities and their families, and the training of professionals in state of the art service delivery. Dr. Long is the Past President of the Section on Pediatrics of the American Physical Therapy Association and has published extensively. The second edition of her book, Handbook of Pediatric Physical Therapy, is available through Lippincott, Williams and Wilkins.

John Richards, M.A., AITP, is the Director of Information Technology for The MCH Group at Georgetown University and Principal Investigator for several federal and state projects (the Bright Futures MCH/EPSDT distance learning project, the Title V/Title XIX coordination project, and the HealthCheck Provider Education System). He is author of State MCH-Medicaid Coordination (2005) and coauthor of the District of Columbia HealthCheck Provider training curriculum (2003).

Mr. Richards has experience working with the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), beginning in 1998 with the National Center for Education in Maternal and Child Health, funded by the Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB), Health Resources Service Administration (HRSA), DHHS. From 2000 until 2002 he served as technical lead for the Title V Information System, a nationwide data collection system for programmatic and administrative data from state departments funded through Title V of the Social Security Act. He also has worked with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on a variety of projects. As Principal Investigator of the Title V/Title XIX coordination project, Mr. Richards is currently leading the development of an online database and electronic tools for Title V and Medicaid administrators to use in coordinating programmatic efforts. In addition, current work on national and state-specific EPSDT distance learning projects has required integration of CMS and HRSA guidelines.

Janet Thomas, M.Ed., OTR/L, is the coordinator of clinical services at the Georgetown University Center for Child and Human Development. She is director of the Division of Occupational Therapy. Ms. Thomas received her Bachelor of Science in Occupational Therapy with honors in 1979 from the Medical College of Virginia at Virginia Commonwealth. In addition to her occupational therapy degree she has a Masters of Education in Special Education from George Mason University, which she received in 1996. She has an appointment of research assistant in the Department of Pediatrics at the Georgetown University. Ms. Thomas has extensive work in the area of pediatrics and developmental disabilities. She is a credentialed provider of early intervention services for the District of Columbia Early Intervention Program. Her most recent publication includes an Annotated Bibliography of Early Intervention Web Sites.