Hope for HIE’s Peer Mentorship Program acts as a cornerstone of our commitment to fostering connection and support within the HIE community. Under the guidance of our dedicated social worker, Haley Thomas, our program offers 1:1 peer support through a remarkable team of over a dozen trained and experienced mentors. These mentors are diverse and vital members of our community, offering compassionate guidance and understanding to families across all outcomes, impacts, and journeys.
Whether you’re a new parent, a legal guardian, an adoptive parent, a grandparent or extended family member, a non-birthing partner, or anyone in between, our mentors are here, ready to provide a listening ear and extend a helping hand to accompany you on your unique journey.
Let’s meet the mentors!
Megan is a union activist dedicated to raising awareness and actively dismantling systemic racism in the workplace and broader community. She is also a children’s book author and is currently writing a book for her daughter that explores the experiences of being a Black child with cerebral palsy.
Megan knows the importance of unity and reassurance along this unpredictable journey, reminding families that a strong community is always there to provide guidance and solidarity when needed.
Allison is mom to Rob, who is 6 years old. She is a bartender part time and has a passion for connecting with people and providing assistance along the HIE journey.
She is driven by the desire to pay forward the support she received during her own journey and the commitment she feels to connecting families to a sense of hope and support.
Khadijah, known as ‘KB’ by family members and friends, is a veteran, mother, disability advocate, and children’s book author. She dedicates her time to bringing HIE awareness to the world and supporting others to live their own version of a great and fulfilled life.
She wants to assure others that they need not feel isolated on their journey, as there are countless families who have traversed similar paths and are eager to extend their support and compassion.
Suzi is a mother of two beautiful boys, a seeker of wisdom through words, and a woman on a journey of personal evolution and healing. Her passions lie in exploring the many layers of this life through its love, grief, joy and complexity and supporting others doing the same.
Suzi understands how having support on the journey right from the outset can make an immense difference in mitigating feelings of isolation.
Hope is a single mom to her son, Logan, with severe HIE. She loves being an advocate for and helping others. She also loves traveling and going to the beach for fun.
She believes that within this community of shared experiences, there is an abundance of love and guidance waiting to help families through their own unique journey.
Lynn has been a member of the Hope for HIE community for over 9 years. She is the Mom to Kyla, her silly and very sassy daughter who has Cerebral Palsy and CVI and thinks she is the funniest person around!
Lynn says that Hope for HIE has taught her everything she knows on this journey and wants to make sure other parents know that they are not alone!
Nicole is dedicated to offering empathetic support and guidance to the HIE community in a way that emphasizes advocacy and inclusion. When she’s not drinking coffee, her hobbies include photography and reading.
She aims to provide support, reassurance, and a deep sense of understanding to family members as they embark on the process of adjusting to their transformed lives.
After her son’s HIE diagnosis, Kat was worried about another hypoxic event occurring with her second pregnancy. With help from the Pregnancy after HIE group and her family, she found comfort and was able to advocate for herself, her unborn child, and her son all at the same time.
To Kat, grief and growth are not linear, and she aims to help others navigate both the highs and lows of the journey with unwavering empathy and support.
Romm and his family have been part of the HIE community since their son Bodhi’s traumatic birth in 2015. With the support of friends and family in their “village,” connections they’ve made in the HIE community, and guidance from professionals, they have struck a life that has had its challenges but is still very fulfilling.
He is inspired by the hope that he and his family can serve as a positive influence on others’ well-being on this journey.
Brandon’s son was born in 2019, four months before his due date, and within a couple weeks fell ill to a severe infection that caused HIE. Despite significant disabilities, he is joyful and sweet and brightens their lives. They love to be outside together and to spend time with friends and family.
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Stephanie is a technical training specialist for a large healthcare organization in the Midwest. She and her husband adopted their son, Jake, through foster care. He was placed with her family at 5 weeks old and has severe HIE as a result of a birth injury.
Stephanie hopes that, as a peer mentor, she can help others navigate HIE, no matter where their journeys will take them.
Carol is married and has two adult children and a wonderful daughter-in-law. She is also a media specialist at an elementary school. Carol has a precious 9-year-old granddaughter named Isabel Grace, who is diagnosed with HIE, whom she says is the love of all of their lives.
She believes in lending a kind word and a listening ear to others, knowing that hope has the power to mend even the deepest wounds.
In this spirit of inclusivity and accessibility, we are actively working to grow and expand our Peer Mentorship Program to reflect HIE families across all needs, ranges, and outcomes! If you are interested in becoming a Peer Mentor, complete one of the provided forms below.
To request a peer mentor, simply visit our comprehensive support network, Hie.support, where you’ll find the information you need to initiate the matching process.
Alternatively, you can complete one of the provided form below, ensuring that you can connect with a mentor who understands your unique journey and can provide the guidance, comfort, and support you need.
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