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RM05 Keynote

Tawara D. Goode

Director, National Center for Cultural Competence
& Associate Director for Community Planning,
Georgetown University Center for Child and Human Development
University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities
Department of Pediatrics, Georgetown University Medical Center

Ms. Goode is an instructor in the Department of Pediatrics, Georgetown University Medical Center in Washington, D.C. She has been on the faculty of the Georgetown University Center for Child and Human Development (GUCCHD), for the past 27 years and has served in many capacities. She has degrees in early childhood, special education and human development and over 26 years of experience in the field.

Ms. Goode is Director of the National Center for Cultural Competence at GUCCHD. (The NCCC has been in existence for the past 10 years during which Ms. Goode was the director for 8 years). The mission of the NCCC is to increase the capacity of health care and mental health programs to design, implement and evaluate culturally and linguistically competent service delivery systems. Ms. Goode has been actively involved in the development and implementation of programs and initiatives in the area of cultural and linguistic competence at local, national and international levels. These efforts address the needs of diverse audiences including health care, mental health, social services, early childhood and special education, community/advocacy organizations, professional societies/organizations, institution of higher education etc.

As Associate Director for Community Planning of the Georgetown University Center for Child and Human Development (GUCCHD), Ms. Goode is responsible for short-term and ongoing programs for individuals at risk for and with developmental and other disabilities and their families. Ms. Goode's duties include program development, administration, and teaching, within the University and community settings. In this capacity, Ms. Goode provided leadership in a multi-year effort to assist the District of Columbia Government to close two institutions for individuals with developmental disabilities and establish residences and services in community settings. Ms. Goode assumes administrative responsibility for the University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities Education, Research & Service at the GUCCHD, funded by the Administration on Developmental Disabilities, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Ms. Goode has a long history of involvement in the provision of training and technical assistance to Head Start, early intervention, and childcare programs locally, regionally, and nationally. These training and technical assistance activities focused on models and approaches for the early identification and inclusion of children with developmental delays and disabilities within home and community settings.

Ms. Goode has and continues to serve on numerous boards, commissions and advisory groups at the local, regional, and national levels that include but not limited to: Association of University Centers on Disability (AUCD), Board of Directors; AUCD Multicultural Committee (Chair); Center for the Study of Diversity in Healthcare, University of Wisconsin; Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Hablamos Juntos: Improving Patient Provider Communication for Latinos Program; HRSA’s Measuring Cultural Competence in Health Care Delivery Settings Project; Association of SIDS and Infant Mortality Programs, member; American Public Health Association, member; Chair, Early Intervention Coordinating Council for Part C; member, District of Columbia Developmental Disabilities State Planning Council; and the Mayor’s Advisory Committee on Early Childhood Development.

Ms. Goode has published articles, monographs and policy papers on such topics as policies that support cultural and linguistic competence, children and families who are homeless, community-based service delivery models and the inclusion of children with disabilities and their families in child care.