Ms. Laurie Marquardt-Westlake, Ph.D.
Department 4298
1000 E. University Ave.
Laramie, WY 82071
307-766-2456
Dr. Marquardt-Westlake is presently Project Director of the Wyoming Lions Early Childhood Vision Project for the Wyoming Institute for Disabilities. Laurie has a Ph.D. degree in Curriculum and Instruction with an emphasis in Early Childhood Special Education and extensive experience screening, assessing, and programming for infants, toddlers, and preschool aged children with disabilities. She has 25 years experience in early childhood, early childhood special education; teaching and administrative positions. In these positions she taught children with visual impairments and other disabilities in inclusive settings, provided inservice training for professionals and parents in the topics of integrated services, transition, positive behavioral supports, and provided training in the use of vision screening instruments used in the Wyoming Lions Early Childhood Vision Project. As Project Director she is responsible for the daily development and direction of the statewide vision screening program. This includes administrative duties accompanying supervisory position of staff and screening personnel. The director is responsible for protocol design and implementation as well as coordination with Developmental Center and Lions Club contact people. The director is the primary source of contact for the Project.
Ken Heinlein, Ph.D.
Department 4298
1000 E. University Ave.
Laramie, WY 82071
307-766- 2766
Dr. Heinlein has been the Director of Research and Program Evaluation at Wyoming Institute for Disabilities since 1995. Dr. Heinlein brings a strong research and management background to the Project. He is former director of the Wyoming Department of Health and its predecessor the Department of Health and Social Services. For eight years, he managed Wyoming's developmental preschool system, providing technical assistance and doing compliance reviews of the early childhood special education programs in the state. Dr. Heinlein has been a photo reader since the Wyoming Lions Early Childhood Vision Project started in 2000.
Ms. Rebecca Allen
Department 4298
1000 E. University Ave.
Laramie, WY 82071
307-766-2441
As Project Assistant, Ms. Allen is responsible implementing daily program activities and for coordinating and organizing follow-up procedures for the vision project. This includes communication with parents of referred children and with eye care professionals throughout the state along with other appropriate agencies and organizing and maintaining program follow-up outcome data. This position also compiles all screening data and maintains an extensive Access Database.
The photo interpretation team is responsible for the interpretation of all screening results. Team members must have the ability to accurately and consistently determine screening results. The Wyoming Lions Early Childhood Vision Screening Project Photo Reading Center is located at the Wyoming Institute for Disabilities (WIND) at the University of Wyoming. The interpretation team was trained by the Tennessee Eye Institute at Vanderbilt University. Upon completion of interpretation training, the Wyoming team accomplished a 96% agreement rate with the Vanderbilt interpretation team. The Wyoming team has read over 74,000 photos.
