Facing the Facts with FOXG1 Research Foundation

Michelle Dawson, MS, CCC-SLP, CLC, BCS-S, serves as the Director of Clinical Education and Assistant Professor with James Madison University. Additionally, she is the acclaimed host of “First Bite: Fed, Fun, Functional” a weekly Speech Therapy Podcast that addresses “all thangs” Pediatric Speech Therapy, and is presented by SpeechTherapyPD.com. Michelle authored, "Chasing the Swallow: Truth, Science, and Hope for Pediatric Feeding and Swallowing Disorders". She is an accomplished lecturer; traveling across the nation delivering courses on best practices for the evaluation and treatment of the medically complex infant, toddlers, and children with respect to their pediatric oropharyngeal dysphagia, pediatric feeding disorder, as well as language acquisition within the framework of Early Intervention. She has served as the Treasurer for the Council of State Association Presidents (CSAP), is a Past President of the South Carolina Speech, Language, and Hearing Association (SCSHA), a graduate of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association’s Leadership Development Program (ASHA LDP), a recipient of the Pediatric Feeding Disorder Awareness Champion from Feeding Matters, a recipient of the Louis M. DiCarlo Award for Outstanding Clinical Achievement from the SCSHA, a recipient of the State Clinical Achievement Award from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association’s Foundation, recognized as an ASHA Innovator in 2023, and ten-time recipient of ASHA’s ACE Award for continuing education.

Nasha Fitter co-founded the FOXG1 Research Foundation shortly after her daughter Amara was diagnosed with FOXG1 syndrome. She is dedicated to leading our research strategy to find a cure for every child in the world who has FOXG1 syndrome. Nasha heads the rare and neurological disease division for Ciitizen, a technology company that enables fast and seamless access to patient data. She is also on the public board of the ACMG Foundation for Genetic and Genomic Medicine. Formerly, Nasha was the founder and CEO of tech startup Schoolie, which was acquired in 2016 by GreatSchools, as well as a Director at Microsoft Corp. Nasha has an MBA from the Harvard Business School.

Nicole Johnson is the co-founder of the FOXG1 Research Foundation and mother to eight-year-old Josie, who has a severe mutation of the FOXG1 gene. With more than two decades of experience in media and communications, Nicole leads our communications strategy, as well as patient advocacy, and business development. Formerly, Nicole was a co-founder and the Director of Communications of the OTT streaming music service, Qello Concerts that was sold to media conglomerate, Stingray in 2018. Prior to starting Qello in 2007, Nicole worked many years as a producer for CNN and for NBC , and then moved into Corporate Communications for several Fortune 500 companies. Nicole is also a member of the East Lake Consulting team based in New York.