Kathleen A. VandenBerg, Ph.D. - Director/Trainer
Kathleen A. VandenBerg, Ph.D. is a Trainer and Infant Development Specialist. She has provided developmental services and training to intensive care nurseries for over thirty years incorporating the Newborn Individualized Developmental Care and Assessment Program (NIDCAP) approach. Dr. VandenBerg trains professionals in a systems-based, relationship and process oriented approach that provides support in individualized developmental family centered care for infants and families. Dr. VandenBerg has consulted and trained professionals throughout Europe, Canada and U.S. in the area of high-risk infant development. She is the Center Director at the West Coast NIDCAP & APIB Training Center where she is a NIDCAP Master Trainer. Dr. VandenBerg is on the Board of Directors of NIDCAP Federation International, the organization which oversees the NIDCAP process in the 17 worldwide training centers. Her research efforts include studies to demonstrate the NIDCAP approach and its effectiveness in providing developmentally supportive care in the NICU environment.
Lindsay Lightbody, M.A. Trainer/ Infant Developmental Specialist
Lindsay Lightbody, M.A. is a Trainer in the Special Start Training Program at UCSF and an Infant Development Specialist, with a Master’s Degree in Child Development. She is a certified NIDCAP Professional (Newborn Individualized Developmental Care and Assessment Program, NIDCAP) and is a NIDCAP Trainer-in-Training. As an Infant Development Specialist, Ms Lightbody worked in the NICU with Heidelise Als, PhD in Boston and also in the intensive care nursery at UCSF. Ms Lightbody provides training to NICU and community professionals regarding the neurodevelopmental needs of medically fragile newborns and their families. Ms Lightbody collaborates in research projects to demonstrate the effectiveness of individualized family centered developmental care in the NICU and in the home.
Amanda Newstetter, M.S.W. - Parent Trainer
Amanda Newstetter MSW is a parent trainer with the Special Start Training Program. She had a daughter who was cared for in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) and her experience became a turning point in her life. Despite being a trained Social Worker and counselor, it was a traumatic experience for her family. As a parent trainer, Ms. Newstetter shares her personal experience and advocates for families who have survived the NICU experience.
Kate Shimshock, M.S.W. - Administrative Assistant/ Program Evaluator
Kate Shimshock, M.S.W. is the Administrative Assistant and Program Evaluator for the Special Start Training Program. She received her MSW from the University of Michigan. Her emphasis was in Community Organization and Social Policy and Evaluation. She received her BA from the University of Minnesota, Morris, in Human Services and Spanish. She has experience in grant writing, program development and program evaluation. She is a member of the American Evaluation Association and the San Francisco Bay Area Evaluators Association.
Contact
The Special Start Training Program
University of California San Francisco
Dept. Pediatrics, Division of Neonatology
533 Parnassus Ave. Box #748
San Francisco, CA 94143-2208
(415) 476-6119
sstp@ucsf.edu