News & Events

A New Chapter for the TNC Community Partnership Program

We are thrilled to share exciting news: the Community Partnership Program (CPP) is entering a new chapter — one built on a strong foundation and carried forward with bold vision and fresh energy under new leadership.

The CPP has always been rooted in a simple but powerful belief: communities don’t just participate in research — they shape it. From engaging children with neurodevelopmental disorders and their caregivers to amplifying the voices too often left out of clinical and research conversations, the CPP has worked tirelessly to ensure that research is not done for communities, but with them. That commitment doesn’t change. It grows.

Under new leadership, the CPP will continue to:

✦ Build and deepen relationships with local community centers and organizations to strengthen connections and bridge gaps in neurodevelopmental clinical research efforts – making them stronger than ever.

✦ Listen — actively and continuously — to the evolving needs of community members, families, and caregivers when it comes to research questions, child and family engagement, and their relationship with clinical science.

✦ Reimagine participation by leading and collaborating on innovative ways to involve community members in research well beyond traditional models.

✦ Expand career access and learning opportunities by creating pathways for students and early-career individuals to engage in clinical and translational research, spotlight opportunities, provide hands-on exposure, and enhance skills through mentorship and presentations.

We remain unwavering in our recognition that equity, belonging, inclusion, and access are not additions to good research — they are the foundation of it. We know that when these values are missing, patients are left behind and health disparities deepen. The CPP exists to change that.

To our community partners, families, scholars, and colleagues: thank you for everything you have contributed to making this program what it is. The best is still ahead.

Please join us in welcoming Eurnestine Brown, PhD, Senior Strategic Advisor-CPP, to the team in collaboration with Stephanie Jo Brewster, MS, CGC, Allyson McCrary, BA, CCRP, Katherine Pawlowski, MS, Elicia Estrella, MS, LCGC, Jess Slater, PhD, Marena Neggers, MPH, CCRP, Marwa Elborki, BA, and Maddie Cedrone, MHA, BS, as they guide the future directions of the TNC Community Partnership Program. We are grateful for their commitment and leadership, and excited about what we will build together.