Faculty & Disclosures

Heidelise Als PhD, born in Germany, is Professor of Psychology in the Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School and Director, Neurobehavioral Infant and Child Studies at Boston Children’s Hospital. She is recognized internationally for her outstanding research and leadership in the developmental assessment and care of preterm and high-risk newborns and young infants. The first to draw attention to the importance of listening to the behavioral language of even the tiniest, earliest-born and other high-risk newborns, she is the originator of the NIDCAP (Newborn Individualized Developmental Care and Assessment Program) approach. She investigated NIDCAP’s effectiveness in a series of research projects with follow-up studies into school age, and demonstrated NIDCAP’s brain protective, preventive and interventive power. She has translated her and others’ research findings into a teaching and training approach and has inspired and equipped others to improve the futures of all newborns and their families around the world.

Amy Basken is the Executive Director and Co-Founder of Conquering CHD. She has been a passionate advocate working in the congenital heart community for over 15 years, constantly inspired by her son with CHD. Amy has a masters in Speech Pathology from the University of Wisconsin Madison which she is thrilled to have the opportunity to apply as we address neurodevelopmental care in CHD.

Jessika Boles PhD CCLS is an Assistant Professor of the Practice in the department of psychology and human development at Vanderbilt University, and a Certified Child Life Specialist at Monroe Carell, Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt. She has more than 13 years of clinical child life experience with expertise in oncology and critical care, much of which has translated into a parallel agenda of psychosocial research and scholarship. She is the Chief Research Fellow of the Association of Child Life Professionals, and is highly involved in clinical initiatives related to bereavement, intensive care liberation, and the care of children with complex healthcare needs.

Jennifer L. Butcher PhD is a Pediatric Psychologist and Clinical Associate Professor at the University of Michigan. Dr. Butcher is the lead psychologist in the Michigan Medicine Congenital Heart Center Neurodevelopmental Follow-Up Program for children age birth to 4. She has been involved in the developmental and psychosocial care of children with CHD for over 10 years. Dr. Butcher currently serves as Co-Vice Chair of CNOC's Research Committee. Her research interests include early interventions to optimize development and promote positive outcomes for all children with complex CHD and their families.

Samantha Butler is an academic pediatric psychologist, whose focus has been directed at improving the quality of hospital care and long-term outcomes for high-risk infants through clinical innovation and investigation. She is the Director of Infant Inpatient Neurodevelopment in the Cardiac Neurodevelopmental Program at Boston Children's Hospital, Assistant Professor at Harvard Medical School, Newborn Individualized Development Care and Assessment Program (NIDCAP) professional, Co-Chair of the NIDCAP Family Committee, and Co-Chair of the Quality Improvement Committee of the Cardiac Neurodevelopmental Outcome Collaborative (CNOC), and co-founder of the Cardiac Newborn Neurodevelopmental Network (CNNN), a SIG of CNOC.

Stephany Cox is a pediatric neuropsychologist and Assistant Clinical Professor at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital. She is the co-director of the cardiac neurodevelopmental program at UCSF, Healthy Hearts and Minds. Dr. Cox also serves as Co-Chair for CNOC's Telehealth Task Force and is a member of the Research Committee.

Hema is a speech pathologist working at CHOC Children's Hospital in inpatient rehab. She is also a clinical lactation educator and has a board certification in swallowing disorders. Hema has been working with infants and families with CHD for the last eight years, working alongside nurses and medical teams to incorporate developmental care principles into the CVICU. She has been a part of publications discussing feeding in infants with CHD and has co-authored webinars on similar topics.

Nicola is a Consultant Clinical Psychologist living and working in Northern Ireland. She has been involved with children and adults living with CHD and their families across her career, both clinically and in research. Nicola is involved in the CHIP (Congenital Heart Disease Programme) study which started in 2000 and is now following up the babies born with CHD between 2000-2004 examining neurodevelopmental and psychosocial outcomes as a result of a prospective intervention study. She gained a Churchill Travel Fellowship in 2017 which afforded her the opportunity to explore best practice for medically fragile babies in Canada and USA. She is a stakeholder and advisor for the Children's Heartbeat Trust in NI and consults to the CHIP programmes replicated in the Netherlands and Sweden.

Jennifer Fogel MS CCC-SLP/L is currently working as a speech language pathologist at Advocate Children’s Hospital in Oak Lawn, Illinois. She provides services in the Pediatric Cardiac Intensive Care Unit, High Risk Single Ventricle Clinic and Neurodevelopmental Follow-Up Clinic. During her more than 20 years in the field, she has specialized in pediatric feeding disorders. Her career focus has been working with infants born with complex congenital heart disease and their families in the pediatric intensive care unit before and after surgery. She has a special interest in feeding and swallowing challenges, neuroprotection interventions and neurodevelopmental support for this specialized population. Jennifer enjoys collaborating with families and medical teams to improve long-term outcomes for these infants. Jennifer has lectured across the nation and contributed to publications providing education to others on the importance of early intervention, family involvement and clinical pathways to improve oral feeding experiences for newborns with CHD. She has been involved in the Nutrition & Growth Committee Initiatives through NPCQIC and Co-Chair for CNOC's Education and Training Committee.

Caren Goldberg is a professor of pediatric cardiology at the University of Michigan. She serves as the medical director for the Cardiac Neurodevelopmental Follow-up program and the co-director of the Michigan Congenital Heart Outcomes Research and Discovery (MCHORD) for the University of Michigan Congenital Heart Center.  She serves as one of the principal investigators at the University of Michigan for the work of the NHLBI-funded Pediatric Heart Network. She was part of the founding steering committee of CNOC and has served as a co-chair over the past two years. Her research interests are focused on methods of improving long-term outcomes, including neurodevelopmental and quality of life outcomes, for children with congenital heart disease. She is extremely enthusiastic about the growth of collaboration in our field and the progress of the Cardiac Neurodevelopmental Outcome Collaborative as this will enable us to more quickly answer questions, understand best practices for optimizing neurodevelopmental outcomes and advancing care for children with congenital heart disease.

Nadine Kasparian is Professor of Pediatrics and Founding Director of the Cincinnati Children’s Center for Heart Disease and the Developing Mind, a partnership between the Heart Institute and Division of Behavioral Medicine & Clinical Psychology at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital. She is also Head of Cardiac Psychology at the Sydney Children’s Hospitals Network (SCHN). Nadine holds a National Heart Foundation of Australia Future Leader Fellowship (2017-2021) and was awarded a Harkness Fellowship in Health Care Policy and Practice based at Harvard Medical School (2018-2019). Her research investigates psychological and neurobiological aspects of chronic illness in children, particularly congenital heart disease (CHD), and she has established one of the largest psychobiological datasets in CHD. Nadine has a PhD in medical psychology from the University of Sydney and serves on the editorial board for Health Psychology Review and Psychology & Health. She is also a practicing clinician and in 2018 her team received the SCHN Innovation Award for Excellence in the Provision of Mental Health Services for Children with Heart Disease and their Families. ​

Scott Leezer is a single ventricle patient and a seasoned strategic public affairs expert with over 10 years of bipartisan government relations and communications consulting experience. Mission-driven to achieve transform health care, Scott strives to make the world a better place for his healthcare clients. Well-connected, passionate, and highly motivated, Scott's commitment, specifically in the areas of congential heart disease and veteran health, earned him PR Week's 2019 "Most Purposeful Agency Professional". Earlier in his career, Scott served as a former health aide to Senator Dick Durbin, who is currently a member of Democratic Senate leadership.

Dr. Newburger is the Commonwealth Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School and Associate Cardiologist-in-Chief for Academic Affairs at Boston Children's Hospital. Over the past 3 decades, she has led clinical trials and prospective cohort studies focused on neurological and developmental function in children with congenital heart disease. She is currently a PI for a number of prospective studies and trials within the NHLBI-supported Pediatric Heart Network (PHN), Pediatric Cardiac Genomics Consortium (PCGC), and a Department of Defense grant. She is an author of more than 450 original peer-reviewed manuscripts, chapters, and reviews. She serves on the editorial boards of Circulation, Cardiology in the Young, Annals of Pediatric Cardiology, and Global Heart.

Dr. Sanz is a board certified neuropsychologist and a member of the Division of Neuropsychology at Children’s National Hospital. She is an Assistant Professor in the departments of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and Pediatrics at the George Washington University School of Medicine. Dr. Sanz also co-directs the Cardiac Neurodevelopmental Outcomes Program (or CANDO Program) at Children’s National, which monitors the development of children with congenital heart disease. Dr. Sanz was one of the first elected co-chairs of the Cardiac Neurodevelopmental Outcome Collaborative, and is the Principal Investigator for the CNOC’s Neurodevelopmental Core Lab. She is actively involved in research, with a particular interest in characterizing cognitive and behavioral problems in children with congenital heart disease, understanding how these problems develop, and how these influence quality of life.