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Our Staff Nancy Buchanan, Executive Director
Nancy Mayo Buchanan has been an advocate for disabilities rights for over a decade, since her oldest daughter Rachel was born with Down Syndrome. She has sat on the board of the National Association of Down Syndrome (NADS) and was a founding board member of the Belle Center of Chicago. She has established relationships with many schools on the North Side of Chicago that have since partnered with the Belle Center. She graduated with a degree in Finance from Michigan State University and worked for ten years in the Capital Markets. Her financial background, coupled with her advocacy experience, makes her uniquely qualified to be our Executive Director. She currently lives on the North Side with her husband and three children. Suzanne Carr, Program Director and Speech-Language Pathologist
Suzanne has been with the Belle Center of Chicago since its beginning in October of 1998. Prior to working for the Rachel Hirsch, Occupational Therapist
Rachel joined the Belle Center team in February 2007. Her prior work in a pediatric outpatient clinic allowed Rachel to work with children up to the age of 13 with autism, sensory processing impairments and other disabilities. In addition to direct therapies, Rachel assisted in the establishment and facilitation of peer social groups. Rachel has 6 years of experience working with children in the summer camp setting, both day and residential, where she assisted in promoting inclusion through staff training and one-on-one support to campers with disabilities. Rachel received her Doctor of Occupational Therapy from Washington University in St. Louis.
Robin Schroud, Inclusion Educator
Robin joined Belle in November 2002. With an undergraduate background in Early Childhood Care, Robin received B.A. Emily Clark, Speech-Language Pathologist
Emily joined the Belle Center after working in a pediatric clinic where she provided individual and group therapies designed to develop communication and social skills. Emily has experience working with children who have developmental delay, hearing loss, and other disabilities. She has had the opportunity to work closely with families to provide therapy in their children's natural environments. Emily received a Bachelor of Science degree in Speech Pathology/Audiology from Miami University and a Master of Science degree in Communicative Disorders from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Lin Tomlinson, Inclusion Educator
The most recent addition to the Belle Center, Lin brings a variety of skills and experiences to the staff. After earning her undergraduate degree in Education from Vanderbilt University, she began working with Somali refugee students in an effort to break down cultural and language barriers in their public schools. She later moved to St. Louis, MO, where she received her Master of Education in Oral Deaf Education from Washington University School of Medicine. There she gained extensive knowledge and practice working with students who have hearing aids and/or cochlear implants and use oral language to communicate. Many of these students had other learning differences as well. She worked with these children and their families in both public and private settings. Upon receiving her graduate degree, Lin worked for a large public district outside of St. Louis as their Hearing Specialist. She served as case manager and special educator for numerous students with a wide variety of disabilities. Throughout her training and work experience, meaningful inclusion has always been a priority for Lin. She is excited to have this opportunity to continue working with families and children toward this goal with the Belle Center of Chicago. |
uage therapy practice.
degrees in Elementary Education and in Learning Disabilities at the University of Illinois-Chicago. Her teaching experience has spanned pre-school through high school levels. Upon earning her MBA at 
