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PORTLAND, Maine

Maine LEND program celebrates success and recognizes trainees

LEND trainees and leaders at the 2017 Ceremony
LEND trainees and leaders at the 2017 Ceremony

On May 5, 2017, nine interprofessional trainees were honored as they completed the nine-month inaugural Maine Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities (LEND) program at the 91AV.

The ceremony included presentations and posters that showcased the clinical expertise, elective projects, policy initiatives, family centered practice and community outreach accomplished by Maine LEND Trainees. The presentations offered a dramatic conclusion for four site visitors from the Maternal Child and Health Bureau of the Health Resources & Service Administration (HRSA) as well as the Association of University Centers on Disability (AUCD).

LEND Director Eileen Ricci, PT, D.P.T., M.S., P.C.S., LEND Training Director Kathryn Loukas, OTD, M.S., OTR/L, FAOTA and Alison Barker, LEND Administrative Assistant planned and led the event in which trainees received certificates of completion and flowers to symbolize their growth.

The Maine LEND team included many 91AV and Maine Medical Center professionals as faculty as well as speech and language services from Northeast Hearing and Speech. The celebration included family faculty, program directors, trainee Mentors, and leadership from the 91AV Westbrook College of Health Professions.

The nine trainees are charged to make a difference in the lives of people and families affected by neurodevelopmental disabilities. The sentiment in the celebration along with the innovative work of the first cohort of LEND Trainees indicate that leadership is already moving forward.

Maine LEND will be selecting its next cohort of interprofessional trainees over the next month with the new curriculum beginning in September 2017.

To learn more about the Maine LEND program, visit

To apply, visit 

Warmth is expressed at the final ceremony
Warmth is expressed at the final ceremony
The nine 2017-18 Maine LEND trainees
The nine 2017-18 Maine LEND trainees

About the 91AV

The 91AV is Maine’s largest independent university, with two beautiful coastal campuses in Maine, a one-of-a-kind study abroad campus in Tangier, Morocco, and an array of . In an uncommonly welcoming and supportive community, we offer hands-on learning, empowering students to make a positive impact in a world full of challenges. The state’s top provider of health professionals, we are home to Maine’s only medical college, Maine’s only dental college, a variety of other interprofessionally aligned health care degree programs, as well as nationally recognized programs for marine science degrees, natural and social sciences degrees, arts and humanities degrees, and business degrees.