Board of Directors

Our Board of Directors

Amanda Martinage OTR/L, M.Ed, President

Amanda Martinage is a school-based occupational therapist. Prior to working at a school, Amanda gained experience in a variety of settings including residential, inpatient rehabilitation, outpatient and early intervention giving her a wide scope of practice as a frame of reference. Amanda is committed to increasing others' understanding and skill when working with students with disabilities. Amanda was voted president of OMPACO in 2015 and is passionate about developing the organization.

Martha Collins, MD, MPH, Vice President

Martha is a board certified child psychiatrist. She first visited Tanzania in 1967. During her stay, she noted many pediatric psychiatric conditions, leading her to a Child Psychiatry Fellowship in The Children's Hospital and The Judge Baker Children's Center in Boston, MA. From 1990-1993 Martha was a member of the Medical Faculty of Muhimbili Medical Center Dar es Salaam, Tanzania as a child psychiatrist in the Department of Psychiatry. During her stay there, she treated many children with epilepsy and autism. She helped to form POCET (Parents Organization for Children with Epilepsy Tanzania) and later created OMPACO. She invited Amanda and Nilofer to be part of the first teacher training by OMPACO in Dar es Salaam in 2011. Martha now works part time in South Boston Behavioral Health Program (NEMC).

Amanda Cannarella, Ph.D., Treasurer

Amanda received her doctorate in Applied Developmental and Educational Psychology from Boston College. Additionally, Amanda is the owner of be.loved., which uses scientific, research-based guidance as the backbone of an informational and empowering support service for families. As an expert in child development, Amanda serves as an educational consultant in addition to her work as a professor in the Lynch School of Education at Boston College. Amanda has been part of the OMPACO team visiting Tanzania since 2013 and, after serving as secretary, has accepted the position of OMPACO treasurer

Deborah Arin, MA, CCC-SLP

Deborah Arin is a Speech and Language Pathologist, specializing in Autism Spectrum Disorders and is one of the original co-founders of OMPACO. She has worked as part of the

Autism Genetics Research Team and the Autism Research Foundation in Boston, Massachusetts. She has several publications related to the etiology and presentation of Autism. Ms. Arin has lectured and run workshops on Autism both locally and internationally. With over 18 years of clinical experience, she is currently working as a Supervisor/Speech and Language Pathologist in the Clark County School District, Las Vegas, Nevada.

Gwendolyn Bertrand, M.Ed., Ed.S., CAGS

Gwen is a special education teacher. She currently works at the CASE Collaborative, a school-based program for children with disabilities. She holds an undergraduate and graduate degree in intensive special needs, a specialist degree in assistive technology and a CAGS in special education administration. Gwen was a part of the OMPACO team that went to Tanzania in the summer of 2014 and 2016 to deliver teaching supplies and provide educational support to the teachers. She continues to collect supplies to deliver yearly.

Nilofer Naqvi, Ph.D.

Nilofer is an assistant professor at Iona College and licensed Psychologist in New York. Dr. Naqvi also consults at the Children's Evaluation and Rehabilitation Center at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine conducting psychological assessments for children referred for developmental concerns. Nilofer has more than 16 years experience working with children with Autism. Her experience includes parent and teacher consultations, in-depth classroom observations and specialized diagnostic assessments. Nilofer was part of the OMPACO team that traveled to Tanzania in the summer 2011 for the Autism Awareness Training and in 2018 was the lead developer on OMPACO's mobile phone training program on autism knowledge.

Andrew D. Racine, M.D., PhD

Andrew Racine is currently System Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer of the Montefiore Health System as well as Professor of Clinical Pediatrics at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx, N.Y. He is a native New Yorker who completed his pediatric training at Boston Children's Hospital after receiving a combined MD and PhD in economics at New York University. His appointment as a Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research allows him to augment his clinical activities with research in health economics. Dr. Racine was fortunate to spend a year in Tanzania working at the Dareda Mission Hospital under the tutelage of Dr. Martha Collins in the mid-1970s and has been involved with a variety of support projects for the hospital ever since.

Karen Levy, MS, CCC-SLP, Secretary

Karen is a speech-language pathologist who, over the past 25 years, has worked with children with a variety of special needs, as well as with brain-injured adults. Currently, she works at CASE Collaborative, a school based program for children with disabilities, where she specializes in evaluation and treatment for children with autism, as well in consultation for children with Alternative-Augmentative Communication (AAC) needs. Karen was grateful to be a part of the OMPACO team that went to Tanzania in the summer of 2018, and hopes to return in the near future.

Marilyn Ritholz, Ph.D.

Marilyn Ritholz, Ph.D. is a clinical psychologist who works with chronic illness. She is a senior psychologist at the Joslin Diabetes Center Boston, MA where she helps patients with type 1 and type 2 diabetes manage their self-care and the psychosocial demands of their illness. She is an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and supervises post-doctoral fellows. In addition, Dr. Ritholz is a experienced qualitative researcher who has published articles on diabetes care, doctor-patient relationship, and psychosocial aspects of diabetes technology. Finally, she has served on the Board of OMPACO since the organization began.