Happy Valentine’s Day, a little late! But I’m catching up and that seems a good start. I just spoke yesterday at a Diversity and Inclusion lunch for a national corporation’ quarterly event. It was casual and personal and we got a great sense of connection. I drove home thinking about the activity of the last month’s and how 2017 is gaining momentum for me. In December, I was part of the The Brain Injury Alliance Texas Division’s annual conference and was honored to receive the Tom Dean Humanitarian Award for my outreach work. I am hoping to work more with this group through Kelly Ramsey, who heads their work in Austin.

In March, I will be the keynote speaker for the Tennessee Department of Health’ annual conference, celebrating our progress and hopes for continuing work on brain trauma needs and successes.

This is such a personal journey, I was reminded of that yesterday when one of the senior managers shared that much I had to say about our new law and the protections it offers is something she thinks is needed for the autism spectrum, too. She is in Des Moines, so we are continuing to grow.