Parent Partner, Expert and Faculty Member
NICHQ-led Early Childhood Comprehensive Systems Collaborative Improvement and Innovation Network
Centennial, Colorado
Christy Blakely is Director of Family Voices in Colorado. The Family Voices Chapter advocates on behalf of Children with Special Health Care Needs throughout the state. Previously, Christy worked as a Parent Advocate, Project Participate through JFK Partners working on a grant to bring about inclusion for children with significant disabilities through the use of assistive technology and Easter Seal Colorado and under the Assistive Technology Project. Christy is the parent of a young adult with significant disabilities. Lauren, now 24 years of age, was born prematurely. While Christy had higher education degrees in special education when her daughter was born, she learned far more as a parent. Christy has work nationally with the National Initiative for Child Health Quality (NICHQ) as a faculty on both a Medical Home Learning Collaborative and an Epilepsy Collaborative. She has also worked with the American Academy of Pediatrics on the concept of Medical Home. Whether through her work in health policy or supporting an individual family to navigate today's complex health system, Christy's passion is to build parent leaders for the future.