Erin has been a parent advisor since February 2022. Erin has been a Registered Nurse for 16 years this summer. She has always worked with children including 12 years in the Pediatric ICU, several years in the Neonatal ICU as well as a few years as a school nurse, a few years in a pediatric urgent care and currently as a private duty nurse for children with medical needs in their home. In each of these roles, Erin has worked with children with both medical needs as well as intellectual and other disabilities. Erin feels each of these experiences helped her prepare for her son who was born in 2014 with multiple disabilities, as well as to help other families through the complex and frequently frustrating systems of healthcare and/or special education. Erin also learned as a nurse, that the experts can be wrong, like the ones who told her that her son would never walk or talk or feed himself. Erin loves being a nurse, but her true desire is to help children and families live the best life possible through inclusion in all areas of life and access to all the resources that make that possible. Erin believes in the mission of PEAK to ensure inclusion for people with disabilities and believes strongly in empowering parents to advocate for their children through education and training. Erin is grateful for the trail blazers who have taken us from separate schools and institutions to where we are today with children with disabilities included in their neighborhood schools in general education and being contributing members of their communities. Erin believes as far as we’ve come, we have a long way to go, and she is excited to be a part of improving the present and the future for individuals of all abilities. Erin is thrilled to join a team that she instantly feels a part of because we’ve all shared similar journeys as parents to a child with disabilities and share a fierce passion for inclusion.
Erin is a mother to her 8 year old son with a rare genetic condition that leads to many challenges but also the happiest disposition and an intense love of music, as well as two girls, 12 and 13 who are a competitive soccer player and gymnast respectively. She is married to an entomologist which leads to a lot of texts saying, “Can your husband tell me what this bug is?” When she has free time, Erin loves to read, travel, and spend time with her friends and family. The beach is her happy place so travel is a must for this beach lover living in a mountain state!