Who We Are

Phil Wilson

LEND Director

Philip (Phil) Wilson is director of the Human Development Center and LEND, and a Professor in the School of Allied Health Professions at LSU Health Sciences Center-New Orleans. Throughout Phil’s career, his focus has been on supporting individuals with developmental disabilities to participate fully in the community and preparing future generations of professionals to continue moving society toward improved quality of life, agency and full participation in the community by persons with disabilities.

Krista James

Co-Director

Krista James has worked with students and teachers for the last 20 years as a special education teacher, autism specialist, administrator, and professor. She has a B.S. and M.Ed. in Special Education from Wilmington University, and an Interdisciplinary Ph.D. in Education, Leadership, & Cross-Cultural Studies from the University of Alaska Fairbanks. She has recently moved back to the United States after living and working in International Schools in Cambodia, Guatemala, and Italy. She lives in Slidell with her children and is happy to be back home, near family, after being away for so long.

Constance Alphonse

Project Coordinator and Clinical Coordinator

Constance Alphonse is the LEND and Clinical and Field Experiences Coordinator at the Human Development Center at LSU Health New Orleans. She also works with staff from school districts, principals, and teachers through the Louisiana Autism Spectrum and Related Disabilities (LASARD) Project. Her work helps schools better support students with autism and other disabilities.

Constance completed the Louisiana LEND program in 2025, where she learned more about leadership and how to support people with disabilities. She also finished the Early Childhood Intervention LEND program, where she gained skills to help young children with developmental delays and disabilities.

She earned her college degrees from Loyola University New Orleans and Xavier University of Louisiana. Constance is certified to teach special education (grades 1–12), elementary education (grades 1–5), and to work in school leadership. She also has certifications in reading and child search. She is a National Board Certified Teacher, which means she has met high national standards for teaching.

Constance cares about fairness and wants all people, especially those with disabilities, to have the chance to succeed. She works to create welcoming and respectful places where everyone can grow. In her role with LEND, she helps scholars learn, build leadership skills, and make a difference in their communities.

Konstance Causey

Policy and Advocacy Coordinator

FME Coordinator

Konstance Causey is the policy and advocacy and family mentor experience (FME) coordinator for the Louisiana Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities (LEND) program. She is no stranger to LEND, however, as she recently participated as a family discipline scholar with the graduating cohort of 2022. Her motivation and tenacity to build the capacity of the developmental disability service system to better serve families and individuals with disabilities has made her an exceptional addition to the LEND team.

For nearly six years, Ms. Causey has worked with Families Helping Families of Northeast LA, a family-directed resource center for people with developmental disabilities and their families where she currently serve as Deputy Director. In her current role, Ms. Causey provides training and peer support to empower parents by connecting them to resources and helping them to understand their rights and responsibilities. She also serve as the Regional Advocacy leader for the 12 parishes of Northeast Louisiana, where she works on behalf of the Louisiana Developmental Disabilities Council to support families and individuals with disabilities to become grassroots legislative advocates for the disability community. Her passion and drive comes from her own unique experiences as a former NICU mom after the premature birth of her daughter Kaidence, a former 24-week micropreemie who experienced developmental challenges.

Ms. Causey holds over a decade of public policy and advocacy experience, beginning with her advocacy efforts during her undergraduate years working on various grassroots environmental and public health policy campaigns. She is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a B.A. in African American studies, and from the University of Louisiana at Monroe with a Master of Public Administration concentrating in Health. She serves on several regional and state committees dedicated to elevating the voice of the “lived experiences” of Louisiana’s citizens in an effort to create and advance more inclusive, equitable programs, services, and services. Her hopes are to continue to channel her unique personal, professional, and academic experiences to contribute to creating lasting, positive change for families.

Julie H. Schiavo, EdD, MLIS, AHIP

LEND Capstone Coordinator

Dental School Article about Julie Schiavo (November 2022)

Chris Champagne

LEND Inclusive Experiences Coordinator

Chris Champagne has a twenty year track record in the UCEDD network. She joined HDC in 2014 and two years ago she became Core Faculty for HDC’s LEND Program. As part of her role with LEND Chris supports trainees and Mentor Faculty in the development and implementation of a Capstone Project, the program component designed to provide trainees with research experience. The Capstone experience affords the opportunity for trainees to incorporate knowledge gained from LEND into their Capstone project to address a real world problem, opportunity or issue that affects people with disabilities and their families. Chris works closely LEND Faculty, campus library staff and consultants from within the UCEDD network to ensure that Capstone is a valuable learning experience for both trainees and faculty. Her favorite part of LEND is the beginning of the school year and getting to select, meet and learn from all the new trainees.