Our Council Members are dedicated and passionate individuals, serving the I/DD Community in the State of Nevada.
Meet the Chair – Christine Riggi
Christine Riggi is a stay-at-home mother of four children. Her middle eldest daughter was born with Down syndrome in 2012. This was the launch of Christine’s journey of trying to educate herself and then other parents to be the best advocates possible for their loved ones. The ultimate goal is to then teach their loved ones to become empowered self-advocates. She has been a member of this Council since January 2022.
Christine was a federal employee for fifteen years. She has served on the board of the Down Syndrome Network of Northern Nevada and the JUSTin Hope Foundation. Christine Graduated from Partners in Policy and NVLend. She served on the Interagency Coordinating Council of Nevada. Through these opportunities, she has had the privilege of learning and understanding the inner workings of multiple systems in the State of Nevada; navigating resources and challenges one may encounter. She is excited to start the journey again by helping others while gaining knowledge and understanding serving on the DD Council.
Meet the Vice-Chair – Max Lowe
Max serves as a person with an I/DD on this Council and resides in Las Vegas, Nevada. He earned his Masters in Social Work from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas in 2018 and is a recent graduate of the NGCDD Partners in Policymaking program. Max’s passion is advocacy and helping others. He loves food, his friends, family, and dog. He likes spending his free time partaking in arts and crafts, while enjoying life. Max states that life for him is an adventure and where it takes him, is where he will go! He has been a member of this Council since April 2022.
Council Member – Stacy Alaribe
Stacy serves as a person with an I/DD on this Council. She was born, raised and currently resides in Reno, Nevada. Stacy is a Nigerian American who attended elementary through high school in the public education system in Washoe County. Stacy is also the Chair of the UNR-NCED Community Advisory Committee. Stacy has her Masters in Social Work from the University of Nevada, Reno and is a recent graduate of the NGCDD Partners in Policymaking program. She has been a member of this Council since July 2020.
Council Member – Lisa Bonie
Lisa is the Executive Director of the Northern Nevada Center for Independent Living. She has been a member of this Council since November 2016 and currently lives in Reno, Nevada.
Council Member – Ashley Price
Ashley is the Low-Incidence Disabilities Program Professional with the Office of Inclusion Education, within the Nevada Department of Education. She has been a member of this Council since January 2022. Ashley resides in Henderson, Nevada but is originally from Erie, Pennsylvania.
She earned her Bachelors degree in Special Education from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania and her Masters degree in Special Education with a concentration in Autism and Intellectual Disabilities from UNLV. She has three children who are all in school and keep her very busy. On her personal time she likes to cook and make craft projects. Ashley also enjoys traveling and finding new places to put her feet in the water. Her professional goals are to ensure that people with disabilities are provided access to the general education curriculum, activities, and employment opportunities from school age to post-secondary.
Council Member – Taylor Gardner Chaney
Taylor Gardner Chaney is a sister of an adult with Down Syndrome and has been a member of this Council since April 2021. She is a driven, passionate and progressive entrepreneur with multifaceted businesses and one common mission; to support and enhance the lives of individuals with disabilities and make our community a more inclusive place. Inspired by her little sister and the lack of resources and opportunities available, Taylor has dedicated her work to filling these gaps.
Taylor is the Founder and CEO of The Garden Foundation; a non-profit organization and facility, serving
adults with different abilities in Las Vegas.
Taylor has also Founded Tribe Inclusive Learning Platform; a national online platform providing classes
and services for individuals with disabilities, as well as Dig it! Coffee Co., a social enterprise coffee shop
in Las Vegas, providing training and competitive wage job opportunities to those with disabilities and
their peers.
Taylor has been recognized by the National Association of Women Business Owners in Southern Nevada as a ‘Woman of Distinction.’ She also sits on advisory boards for Touro University (OTD). Taylor passionately continues to change the scope for those with disabilities and their families by
empowering people to reach their full potential and creating opportunities for a more inclusive
community.
Council Member – Kirsten Coulombe
Kirsten has served on the Council since March 2020 and serves as the representative for Title XIX of the SSA (Medicaid). She has been has a Master’s Degree in Gerontology and a Master’s Degree in Public Administration and has worked 17 years for the State of Nevada. The majority of her tenure has been with the Department of Health and Human Services in various capacities across the Division of Health Care Financing and Policy (DHCFP), Aging and Disability Services and Division of Child and Family Services. She was also at the Legislative Counsel Bureau for five years as the Policy Analyst for the Assembly Committee on Health and Human Services. Most recently her experience is as the Chief of Long Term Services and Supports at DHCFP also known as Medicaid.
Council Member – Stacy Carlston
Stacy is a parent of a child with I/DD and has over 15 years experience working with people with I/DD of all ages and has been a member of this Council since January 2022. Stacy is a graduate from the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce’s Leadership Advance program and was born, raised, and currently resides in Las Vegas. Stacy has a passion for helping people, from all walks of life, access resources within their community and feel supported to success. She loves spending time outdoors in nature with her loves ones and two dogs, as well as traveling, gardening, and the arts.
Council Member – Jennifer Frischmann
Jennifer is the Quality Assurances Manager at the Aging and Disability Services Division and has served on the Council since 2014 in various agency member positions. Jennifer has been with the Department of Health and Human Services since 2003, beginning her career in the Division of Welfare and Supportive Services. Since that time, she has also been with the Division of Health Care Financing and Policy. In 2017, Jennifer was appointed Manager of Quality Assurance for the Aging and Disability Services Division. She is responsible for program and systems improvement to ensure the delivery of quality services through sound, data-driven decisions, and actions.
Council Member – Vickie Ives
Vickie is the Deputy Bureau Chief with the Division of Public and Behavioral Health over the Child, Family, and Community Wellness program and has been a member of the Council since February 2017. She has her MA in Anthropology from Arizona State University and has been a State of Nevada Employee for just over 13 years overall. She works closely with the sections within the CFCW Bureau and supervises the Nevada State Immunization Program and the Maternal, Child, and Adolescent Health (MCAH) Section and is the director for Nevada Title V Maternal and Child Health (MCH) and Children and Youth with Special Health Care Needs; Nevada Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting; Nevada Early Hearing Detection and Intervention; and Nevada Rape Prevention and Education programs. She serves as the Nevada Promoting Innovation in State/Territorial Maternal and Child Health Policymaking Learning Community lead, principle investigator for teen pregnancy prevention grants and Nevada Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System efforts, is a member of the Nevada Statewide Executive Committee to Review Child Fatalities and Washoe County Fetal Infant Mortality Review, Nevada Newborn Screening Advisory Board, Medical Home Portal Advisory Board, co- lead on the Nevada Mountain States Regional Genetics Network, Region IX Board member for AMCHP, the national MCH Workforce Development Council, Nevada Alliance for Innovation on Maternal Health efforts, and supports the state Maternal Mortality Review Committee (MMRC).
Council Member – Diana Davis
Diana is a person with an I/DD, is a parent of a child with I/DD, and resides in Las Vegas, Nevada. Diana is a recent graduate of the NGCDD Partners in Policymaking program. Diana has been a member of this Council since June 2018.
Council Member – Art Reitz
Art has been a member of this Council since April 2018 and is a parent of an adult with Autism and other I/DDs who is unable to advocate for himself. He currently resides in Reno, Nevada. Art has also spent 20 years with the Reno Fire Department as a Fire Equipment Operator.
Art is a Board Member and Founding Member of the Justin Hope Foundation, which is a local non-profit in Northern Nevada that is designed to help families with children/adults affected by I/DDs. The JUSTin Hope Foundation (JHF) provides connections to resources, financial support, job training, and housing. In 2019, alongside the DD Council, the JHF was instrumental in the passing of AB129 in Nevada, which now requires first responders to take a mandatory course on how to recognize and safely interact with a person with I/DD.
Council Member – Randall Owen
Randall Owen is the Executive Director of the Nevada Center for Excellence in Disabilities and is one of the three DD Network Partners.
Randall Owen joined the College of Education & Human Development as the Director of the Nevada Center for Excellence in Disabilities (NCED) and Associate Professor in Special Education. Randall has 15 years of experience conducting research on and with people with disabilities to better understand the impact of policies on their lived experiences. Primarily he has explored healthcare and employment policies across the United States and in Australia and the United Kingdom. Randall has been the Principal Investigator on many grants, including from the federal government, state departments and agencies, and local organizations. He is a mixed-methods researcher, with extensive experience conducting interviews and survey research. Among his areas of interest are disability studies, human rights, inclusion, diversity, leadership, accessibility, family support, and civic engagement.
Originally from West Michigan, Randall completed undergraduate work at Hope College in Holland, Michigan. He earned a Ph.D. in Disability Studies from the University of Illinois at Chicago, and joined the faculty of their Department of Disability and Human Development and served as the Associate Director of the Institute on Disability and Human Development, the University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities for Illinois. For the last year, Randall has conducted research with the University of California, San Francisco.
Council Member – Gabriel Tejada
Gabe is a person with an I/DD and resides in Reno, Nevada and is a student at the University of Nevada, Reno. He has been a member of the Council since December 2021.
Council Member – Brynlin Thornley
Brynlin is a person with an I/DD and resides in Mesquite, Nevada. She is a recent graduate of the NGCDD Partners in Policymaking program and has been a member of the Council since January 2021. She previously served on the Rare Disease Council for Nevada.
Brynlin is a well rounded public speaker known for speaking about various disability related topics and advocating in her community. She recently helped advocate for a new gym for her local high school and was instrumental in getting accessibility buttons put in at the local recreation center. She graduated high school with honors and got a proclamation signed by the City Council that declared March 29 Developmental Disabilities Day for Mesquite, Nevada.
As a child, Brynlin was on the show Good Dog on Nickelodeon that had a segment about her life with her then service dog, Metro. Metro was a partner for many years serving Brynlin and being a part of the many seminars she taught at local schools.
On her personal time, she enjoys reading, writing, watching tv, and spending time with her family outdoors. Her all time favorite pastime is trying new food. She also greatly enjoys going to self-advocacy conferences and meeting new people.
Council Member – Vivian Turner
Vivian is a Rehabilitation Supervisor with the Bureau of Vocational Rehab within the Nevada Department of Employment, Training, and Rehabilitation. Vivian has been a member of the Council since July 2018. Vivian is originally from Michigan and has been a resident of Las Vegas, Nevada since 2008. She received her Bachelor of Science Degree in Psychology and Master of Arts Degree in Rehabilitation Counseling from Michigan State University. Vivian has over 30 years of experience working with Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities in various capacities and has worked as a Rehabilitation Counselor for 27 years.
Council Member – Julie Weismann-Steinbaugh
Julie is a self-advocate that lives in Las Vegas, Nevada with her husband Mike and daughter Jessica since April 2019. Originally from Roslyn, New York, Julie was the eldest of three. In 8th grade, she became the first person with a physical disability to be mainstreamed into the Roslyn Public School District.
In 1984, Julie moved to California and attended the University of California, Berkley to obtain her Bachelors and San Francisco University to obtain her Masters.
In July 2005, Julie gave birth to her daughter and in October 2005 she opened her business, Inclusive Community Resources (ICR). Using her experience as a person with Cerebral Palsy, she provided supports for people with disabilities to live in their own homes. Julie retired as the Executive Director of ICR in July 2021. She is currently working on writing her memoir tentatively titled “OMG, A Disabled Woman is Wandering the World.“
In April 2021, Governor Sisolak appointed Julie to the Nevada Statewide Independent Living Council and in June 2022, she was elected as Vice Chairperson.
Council Member – Anna Binder
Anna is a family member of a person with an I/DD and resides in Mesquite, Nevada. She has been a member of the Council since December 2022.
Council Member – Kathleen Kingston
Kathleen is a family member of a person with an I/DD and resides in Las Vegas, Nevada. She has been a member of the Council since 2016. Kathleen Kingston is a native Nevadan who graduated in 1989 from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) with a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering. She currently has over 26 years of success working for Clark County Public Works as a civil engineer on roadways and flood control projects.
Kathleen is the mother of a wonderful young adult son, Jack, who has a developmental disability due to tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) and autism; thus Kathleen is a volunteer for several organizations so that she can advocate for her son as well as others with developmental disabilities.
In 2007, Kathleen established and became the first chairperson of the TSC Alliance of Nevada, which is a volunteer group that works closely with the national TSC Alliance to support the mission of “finding a cure for TSC while improving the lives of those affected.” In this role, Kathleen helps in supporting Nevada families, increasing awareness, raising revenue and meeting with Nevada Representatives and Senators to advocate for continued medical research funding. Kathleen has chaired six “Step Forward to Cure TSC fundraising walkathons (2007, 2008, 2016-2019). She has coordinated conference calls with experts for the TSC community as well as the autism community.
As a 2015 graduate of the Nevada Partners in Policymaking Class, Kathleen became an appointed volunteer member of the Nevada Government Council for Developmental Disabilities and served two terms from 2015 through 2021. She has been reappointed to begin serving her third term in 2023.
Kathleen became a board member for Families for Effective Autism Treatment in 2020 and is currently serving as secretary for this local nonprofit, which serves our Southern Nevada community.
Kathleen’s participation in Toastmasters helps her bring awareness of TSC to our community, support families, and increase her advocacy skills for her son and for others who have disabilities.
Kathleen feels incredibly fortunate that she enjoys playing the bass guitar for her church’s worship team, almost every Sunday.