About PCVIS

Leadership Team

Francesca Crozier-Fitzgerald, MEd, CTVI

Francesca Crozier-Fitzgerald, MEd, CTVI

Co-President

Teacher of the Visually Impaired and Journalist, CVI Collaborative Center, Miami Lighthouse for the Blind

Bio

Francesca Crozier-Fitzgerald is a certified teacher of students with visual impairments and a journalist. She has worked with students with CVI of all ages, in classroom settings, and after-school programs, designed to focus on all areas of the Expanded Core Curriculum. She is currently working in Miami, FL, providing CVI-specific assessment, intervention, professional development, and support for teams working with students with CVI.

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Christine Roman-Lantzy, PhD

Christine Roman-Lantzy, PhD

Co-President

Director, Pediatric View, The Children's Home of Pittsburgh & Lemieux Family Center

Bio

Christine Roman-Lantzy, PhD, was raised in Michigan and received degrees in Elementary Education and Special Education/Visual Impairment at Michigan State University. She worked as an itinerant teacher of the visually impaired in the greater Pittsburgh, PA,

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Jonathan Graves, MEd, CTVI

Jonathan Graves, MEd, CTVI

Secretary/Treasurer

Certified Teacher of the Visually Impaired and Certified Assistive Technology Specialist, Pediatric View

Bio

Jonathan Graves has supported vision instruction in both itinerant and classroom teaching positions at Foundation for Blind Children in Arizona, where he focused on braille and technology instruction and provided assistive technology assessments for children

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Jessica Marquardt

Jessica Marquardt

Executive Director

Bio

Like many parents of children with CVI, Jessica Marquardt has embraced the mission to advocate for her daughter and the growing population of people with brain-based visual impairments. After spending nearly 14 years in communication roles at a global software technology company, Jessica had the opportunity to make CVI advocacy her professional focus.

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Board of Directors

Lindsay Hillier, MEd

Lindsay Hillier, MEd

Past President

Manager, Training and Quality Assurance, Surrey Place, Ontario Blind-Low Vision Early Intervention Program

Bio

Lindsay Hillier has worked in the field of Early Childhood services (birth to five years) with children who are visually impaired for over 29 years. Her background is in Early Childhood Education and she holds a master’s in Special Education: Visual Impairment. Lindsay has been a speaker at a number of conferences related to CVI and its impact on professional service delivery.

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MaryAnne Roberto, CTVI

MaryAnne Roberto, CTVI

Board Member

Teacher of the Visually Impaired and Perkins-Roman CVI Endorsed Specialist, Envision Consulting LLC

Bio

MaryAnne Roberto has been a teacher of the visually impaired since 1983. She has worked at Overbrook School for the Blind in Philadelphia, PA, as a classroom teacher in the Early Childhood Program, as well as the Early Intervention Program where she was a Teacher Mentor and an Early Intervention Specialist.

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Karen Harpster, PhD

Karen Harpster, PhD

Board Member

Occupational Therapist, Cincinnati Children's Hospital

Bio

Karen Harpster received her Master’s in Occupational Therapy and PhD in Rehabilitation Sciences both from The Ohio State University. She is a clinician scientist and occupational therapist and has been at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital since 2011.

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Sharon S. Lehman, MD

Sharon S. Lehman, MD

Board Member

Attending Pediatric Ophthalmologist, Wills Eye Hospital in Philadelphia

Bio

Dr. Sharon Lehman is an attending pediatric ophthalmologist at Wills Eye Hospital in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania where she practices and teaches ophthalmology fellows, residents, and medical students. Dr. Lehman held the position of Chief of Ophthalmology for 25 years at Nemours Children’s Hospital in Wilmington, Delaware.

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Melinda Chang, MD

Melinda Chang, MD

Board Member

Pediatric Neuro-ophthalmologist, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles

Bio

Dr. Melinda Chang is a Pediatric Neuro-ophthalmologist at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. Dr. Chang’s research includes methods to assess visual function and functional vision in CVI and autism.

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Lynn Elko

Lynn Elko

Board Member

Parent Advocate

Bio

Lynn Elko is Mom to an incredible CVI/AAC user, Emma. By implementing intentional, strategic CVI interventions, Emma progressed from mid-Phase II to high Phase III in just over 3 years showing the power of these adaptations to improve functional vision.

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Kathryne Hart

Kathryne Hart

Board Member

Parent Advocate

Bio

Kathryne Hart is a mother of three children, supply planner in the chemical industry, and a CVI parent advocate. Her oldest child acquired CVI after Infantile Spasms seizures caused by a rare genetic disorder. While he was one of the lucky ones to be diagnosed by the age of 6 months old, Kathryne has struggled to find service providers knowledgeable about CVI to work with him

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Mary Zatta, PhD

Mary Zatta, PhD

Board Member

Director of CVI Training, CVI Center, Perkins School for the Blind

Bio

Mary C. Zatta earned her PhD from Boston College in 2003 in Educational Administration.  She has worked at Perkins for more than 40 years – 30 years as a teacher then administrator in the Deafblind Program and then developing and managing Perkins eLearning.

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Stephanie Steffer, CTVI

Stephanie Steffer, CTVI

Board Member

Director, CViConnect

Bio

Stephanie Steffer is the Business Director of CViConnect and helped to develop the CViConnect platform.  As a teacher of the visually impaired, she has significant experience supporting students with CVI in the classroom and now collaborates with teachers across the country.

Mara LaViola, JD

Mara LaViola, JD

Board Member

Parent Advocate and Special Education Consultant

Bio

Mara, an accomplished graduate of Cornell University and the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, is not only a seasoned advocate for children and youth with disabilities but, more importantly, a devoted mother.

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