About Us
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SECAC Co-Chair, Supreet G. Anand, Ph.D
Dr. Supreet Anand has been working in the field of education for more than 25 years. Currently, she serves as the Deputy Director for the Office of English Language Acquisition in the US Department of Education. Dr. Anand has supervised formula and discretionary grant programs under the Every Student Succeeds Act at the federal, state and local district level. She earned her doctorate in Education from University of Maryland, College Park and MS in Applied Linguistics from Georgetown University, Washington D.C.
Dr. Anand is a proud parent of two sons. Her older is currently enrolled in the computer engineering program at the University of Maryland, College Park and her younger son is a fourth grader at Dayton Oaks elementary School in HCPSS. Dr. Anand has been a lifelong advocate for equity in education for all underserved children. Raising a child on the autism spectrum has brought a unique personal perspective and a resolve to advocate for the right of each child to be fully included in all aspects of schooling. She looks forward to serving as co-chair on the SECAC board and working together to support parents and improve the educational experience of children with special needs.
SECAC Co-Chair, Stephanie Mummert
Stephanie Mummert is a life-long Marylander and has lived in Columbia and Howard county for 18 years. Stephanie is a graduate of Baltimore City and Baltimore County public schools. She has a Bachelor's in Biology from Hood College and a PhD in Molecular Biology from Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. She now works for the USPTO as a patent examiner. Stephanie has a nine year old daughter with ADHD. Learning how to advocate for her daughter as a special education parent and navigating IEP meetings was an eye opening experience beginning when her daughter was three and close to non-verbal when she joined the RECC program. Since then, Stephanie has been a volunteer in elementary school and became involved in advocacy on issues from zoning and APFO to the county budget. While advocating for special education during budge season, Stephanie learned of SECAC and the absolutely essential support this group provides for parents. She got involved and served on a policy review committee for SECAC and then dove more deeply. She approaches this new role as co-Chair from her perspective as a parent who understands how intimidating and stressful the process of navigating IEP and 504 meetings can be, especially without help. Her goal is to work with SECAC to empower and support parents in advocating for what their students need while ensuring the school system supports all of our kids with disabilities.
SECAC Vice Chair, Wendy Balda
Wendy Balda is originally from IL and moved to Howard County 4 years ago. Her background includes Corporate Meeting Planning, Marketing, and Capital Campaign Fund Raising/Grant writing and she received her B.A. degree from the University of Illinois, Champaign. Wendy has been involved with SECAC since moving here and has participated in various committees, including strategic planning and policies. In 2018, Wendy accepted a 3 year position to serve on the SESAC (Special Education State Board as Co-Vice President. She is currently working at home, as mother to Jackson, a 16 year-old with Williams Syndrome. Her older son, Lucas, 20 is attending College at Penn State University.
Wendy's motto in special education is, "Problems become opportunities when the right people join together." She looks forward to the opportunity to serve on the SECAC board and work together to continue improving Special Education services for our community.
About Us
SECAC Secretary, TBD
SECAC Board Member at Large, Heather Walker
Heather Walker is originally from a small town in North Carolina and moved to Maryland 12 years ago. She received a dual BA from Johns Hopkins University in Psychology and Philosophy where she focused her studies on the research and development of well-being in neuro-diversity. She has a wide array of background in sales, administration, instruction, curriculum development, coaching, and various therapeutic techniques. Heather and her husband, Luis, have a 2 year old daughter and a 9 year old son that is twice exceptional with ADHD and is on the Autism Spectrum. She has experience navigating Baltimore City, Baltimore County and Howard County Infants and Toddlers programs and the HCPSS IEP process. She has held positions as an advocate and educator in both public and private special education sectors throughout Maryland. Since her son entered HCPSS in 2017, Heather has been advocating for the neuro-diverse and special education communities, fighting for diversity, equity, and inclusion. When she discovered SECAC's vital role in special education she immediately volunteered her time on policy reviews and meetings. As Member at Large, Heather aims to bring her flexible and unique background and approaches to promote a harmonious relationship with HCPSS by educating, empowering, and advocating for the health and well-being of students and parents. She is grateful for the opportunity to collaborate and support students and parents in advocating for the improvement of educational services for students with special educational needs.
SECAC Past Chair, Stephanie Carr
Stephanie Carr served as the SECAC Co-Chair from 2019-2021. She has numerous years experience in education having taught high school general education and co-taught classes for 9 years in Baltimore City and Anne Arundel County. She holds a bachelor's degree in journalism, a teacher's certification in Secondary Education- Social Studies, and a master's degree in Curriculum and Instruction. Stephanie has spent the last 15 years raising three children, all with various disabilities, and is a founding member of Decoding Dyslexia-Howard County. Stephanie brings a combination of knowledge in general and special education, dyslexia, teaching practices, and advocacy to SECAC in hopes of improving the outcomes for children with special needs in Howard County.