At the beginning of May, the University of New Hampshire recognized two Institute on Disability employees for their 10 years of service to the IOD and UNH – Mary Ann Allsop and Dr. Tobey Partch-Davies.
Mary Ann Allsop currently serves as the Senior Program Support Assistant for the Center for START Services. Prior to coming to the IOD, Mary Ann worked as a paraprofessional for 13 years. Since then, she has served in many roles including as the Conference Coordinator and as a Training Coordinator for the Assistive Technology in New Hampshire Project. She currently supports START by coordinating meetings and travel for the 15 START staff located throughout the country, and is coordinating the first national START training institute to be held in Atlanta in March 2016.
“Mary Ann is committed to and exemplifies the IOD values in her daily work,” explains Linda Bimbo, Director of Program Operations for the Center for START Services. “She has a great sense of humor and is fun to work with. The IOD is very fortunate to have such a dedicated and enjoyable employee.” Joan Beasley, Director of the Center for START Services added, “Mary Ann’s organizational skills and ability to coordinate activities with multiple projects around the country have helped make START such a success!”
Dr. Tobey Partch-Davies, PhD, is a Project Director with a focus on Poverty and Disability. Tobey is very committed to advancing and sustaining the meaningful inclusion of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities in every aspect of family, school and community life. She serves as lead evaluator on the Maternal Infant and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) Evaluation project, evaluating New Hampshire’s fidelity to the implementation of the Healthy Families America home-visiting model as well as the effect of the model on family outcomes. She also works with the Boston Earned Income Tax Coalition to conduct quantitative analysis of credit advising, financial coaching, and tax refunds for over 12,000 low income families in the city of Boston. Prior to returning to the IOD in 2009, Dr. Partch-Davies served for six years as founding director of the Center for Community Economic Development & Disability at Southern New Hampshire University. . She earned her PhD in Community Economic Development & Policy at Southern New Hampshire University-School of Community Economic Development in May 2011.
“The IOD is lucky to have Dr. Partch-Davies as part of our team,” explains Sue Fox, Associate Director of the IOD. “We are thankful for everything she does for the IOD and the people we serve.”
Both staff members attended a ceremony and lunch along with family members, co-workers, and supervisors to honor their time at UNH.
