Sheli is the key developer of the Charting the LifeCourse framework and tools and provides overall direction to the LifeCourse Nexus. Her passion, knowledge, and experience comes from growing up as a sibling of a brother with developmental disabilities. She is committed to research, demonstrations and implementation of evidence-based practices that enhance person- and family-centered organizational, policy and systems change. She currently serves as the Associate Director at UMKC Institute for Human Development, where she has worked for over 25 years.

Throughout her career she has had the privilege of advocating alongside, and for, people with disabilities and their families. Sheli has served on the President’s Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities and as the co-director of the National Community of Practice for Supporting Families of Individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. She has her Masters in Occupational Therapy from Rockhurst University and earned her doctorate in Public Administration and Sociology from the University of Missouri, Kansas City with a focus on family support research and policy for families of individuals with disabilities across the lifespan.

Sheli’s good life involves spending time and traveling with family and friends. You can often find her on the sidelines of sporting events watching her two favorite athletes, Preston and Brayden or traveling to St. Louis, MO to visit her extended family. She lives in Leawood, Kansas with her husband, 2 sons and dog, Zoey.

Favorite Color: Hot Pink
Favorite Movie: Moulin Rouge