Neurodiversity 2.0: Optimizing the Gift of Neurodiversity
Monday, September 22, 2025
Penn State HUB, 132 Flex Theater
Program Schedule »
Presenter Bios »
History of the Gunter-Gooding Nursing DEI Lecture Series »
Program Schedule
Doors Open at 10:45 a.m. | Program Begins Promptly at 11 a.m.
Opening Remarks and Logistics, Co-Sponsors, Land Acknowledgement
Sheldon D. Fields, PhD, RN, FNP-BC, AACRN, FAANP, FNAP, FADLN, FAAN
Associate Dean for Equity & Inclusion, Ross and Carol Nese College of Nursing
Welcoming Remarks
Laurie Badzek, LLM, JD, RN, FNAP, FAAN
Dean and Professor, Ross and Carol Nese College of Nursing
Performance
Spoken Word Artist: Sir Dominique Jordan
Student Presentation
Multicultural Student Nurses Association Students (MSNA) Experiential Reflection
“2025 Black Nurses Day on Capitol Hill”
Introduced by Pilar White, Co-President of MSNA at Nese College of Nursing at University Park Campus
Gunter-Gooding DEI Lecture Series in Nursing Presents:
12:00–12:30 p.m.
Neurodiversity 2.0: “Optimizing the Gift of Neurodiversity”
Keynote Speaker: Daisy Lara, DNP, CRNP, FNP-BC, PMHNP-BC
“Awareness to Advocacy: Provision 1 and the Call to Inclusive Neurodiverse Care”
Featuring Special Guest Panelists:
Michael Hannon, PhD, LPC (NJ), NCC, BC-TMH
Daisy Lara, DNP, CRNP, FNP-BC, PMHNP-BC
Terry L. Watson, MS
Moderated by:
Sheldon D. Fields, PhD, RN, FNP-BC, AACRN, FAANP, FNAP, FADLN, FAAN
Q&A following the Panel Discussion
Performance
Spoken Word Artist: Sir Dominique Jordan
Closing Remarks
Sheldon D. Fields, PhD, RN, FNP-BC, AACRN, FAANP, FNAP, FADLN, FAAN
Associate Dean for Equity & Inclusion, Ross and Carol Nese College of Nursing
Reception
Hosted by Paul Robeson Cultural Center (PRCC) Immediately Following
RSVP required
Presenter Bios
Daisy Lara, DNP CRNP FNP-BC PMHNP-BC
Dr. Daisy Lara is a dual board-certified Nurse Practitioner specializing in Family Practice and Psychiatric Mental Health. She is the founder and CEO of Resilio Mental Health Solutions LLC, Lara Premier Medical and Psychiatric Services LLC, and The Resilio Institute. She is also an author and mental health content creator. Through these integrated platforms, Dr. Lara provides holistic, patient-centered care while advancing education, mentorship, and professional development.
Dr. Lara earned her Master of Science in Nursing from Wilmington University and completed a post-master’s certificate at Wilkes University. In 2019, she obtained her Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) from Wilmington University. Her DNP project focused on integrating a Spanish-speaking psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner into a primary care setting to enhance patient confidence and improve clinical outcomes.
Practicing from an integrative psychiatry perspective, Dr. Lara tailors treatment plans to meet the unique needs of each patient. Fluent in both Spanish and English, she is dedicated to serving diverse communities and reducing mental health stigma through psychoeducation and culturally responsive care.
A passionate advocate for professional growth, Dr. Lara founded The Resilio Institute to mentor psychiatric nurse practitioner students, new clinicians, and aspiring healthcare entrepreneurs. Her mentorship is grounded in empowerment and cultural relevance, earning her the affectionate title “La Madrina PMHNP” or “The Godmother PMHNP” from many of her former students.
Dr. Lara remains deeply engaged in her community, promoting mental health awareness, improving access to care, and supporting stigma reduction. She has served as a sub-investigator in psychiatric research, contributing to innovative studies in mental health. Additionally, she has been a featured speaker for pharmaceutical and pharmacogenomics companies, offering insights on psychiatric treatment advancements and personalized medicine.
She is an active member of several professional organizations, including the American Association of Nurse Practitioners, American Nurses Association, the Pennsylvania Coalition of Nurse Practitioners (Chesmont Chapter), and Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing. In 2019, she was recognized as a Fellow of the Minority Fellowship Program for her leadership in addressing mental health and substance use disorders. Dr. Lara is also a proud member and immediate past president of the Philadelphia Chapter of the National Association of Hispanic Nurses.
Michael Hannon, PhD, LPC (NJ), NCC, BC-TMH
Michael Hannon is a Black man, husband, and father who also happens to be a counselor, professor, and author. His personal and professional roles inspire his community work to unapologetically advocate for the wellbeing of Black fathers and father figures, particularly fathers of autistic people.
As a counselor educator, Dr. Hannon is an Associate Professor at Montclair State University where he teaches in the counseling program to prepare counselors to serve clients in educational and community settings.
As a researcher, Dr. Hannon’s expertise about the Black fathers’ wellness is frequently requested. He has been featured by outlets including National Public Radio, New York Times, Autism Speaks, Thrive Global, Huffington Post, Waymaker Journal, and Black Enterprise Magazine. His research has been cited over 750 times. He has authored or co-authored 38 publications and made over 150 presentations at professional meetings. His edited book, Black Fathering and Mental Health, was published by Peter Lang Academic Publishers in March 2022 and his second book, Protect, Provide, Prepare: Black Fatherhood Code in Family and Community, will be published in 2025.
As a clinician, Dr. Hannon is a licensed professional counselor in New Jersey. He is also a National Certified Counselor (NCC), and a Board Certified Telemental Health Counselor (BC-TMH). He currently practices at The Center for MARCUS in Trenton, NJ where he serves clients across the lifespan, with a particular emphasis on Black and Latinx boys and men. He co-leads the AJ Drexel Autism Institute’s Fathers’ Autism Support Group. He also has school counseling and student affairs experience.
In community, Michael and his wife, Dr. LaChan Hannon are the co-founders of Greater Expectations Teaching and Advocacy Center, a non-profit organization dedicated to serving professionals that work to support autistic people and their families. Dr. Hannon is also a proud member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc.
Dr. Hannon earned his doctoral degree (Ph.D.) in Counselor Education and Supervision from The Pennsylvania State University, an educational specialist degree (Ed.S.) in Counseling Services from Rider University, and master’s (Student Affairs Practice in Higher Education) and a bachelor’s degrees from the University of Delaware.
Terry Watson, MS
Mr. Terry Watson, MS, is an accomplished professional speaker, trainer, and award-winning author who promotes disability equity in education, racial justice, and community healing. He is the Associate Director for Student Disability Services at Penn State World Campus and is the founder of Strategies for Justice, BWMP LLC.
As the Associate Director, Mr. Watson collaborates closely with faculty, designers, and student-facing units to create an inclusive environment for individuals with disabilities. He helps develop strategies, procedures, and policies to ensure that people with disabilities have equal access to higher education. Since 2011, Mr. Watson has been a valuable resource for college students living with disabilities. His dedication and passion were recognized by his institution, Penn State University, with the Robison Equal Opportunity Award 2024. His interest in advocacy began with his work with children on the autism spectrum in 2001. Mr. Watson has presented on disability equity and justice in higher education at various conferences, including the Association on Higher Education and Disability (AHEAD), the Disability Symposium at UPENN, the Postsecondary Disability Training Institute (PTI), NACADA, and the HighEdWeb Association.
Mr. Watson went on to establish Strategies For Justice (SFJ), a speaking and training bureau that believes unveiling untold narratives of injustice can lead to change. SFJ seeks to help communities build strategies for justice by utilizing the power of stories as a foundation for reform. We look to work with communities, organizations, and institutions of higher education with the mission to engage in civil yet meaningful dialogue.
Mr. Watson is the descendant of the first African American police officers in New York City, Moses P. Cobb and Samuel J. Battle. Although other African American men were hired as patrolmen in New York, Cobb and Battle were known for breaking the racial barrier (in 1892 and 1921, respectively).
Their story became the foundation of training, presenting, and engaging in dialogue around inequities inside and outside law enforcement. From the initial creation of the Battle with Moses People (BWMP), a public benefit corporation, Strategies for Justice was established in 2019 to create a meaningful and effective push for justice within law enforcement.
Working from the foundation set by BWMP, Strategies for Justice now recruits and collaborates with others who are willing to tell their narratives, intersecting race, ability, and gender with law enforcement. These stories come from those currently working in or are retired from law enforcement or who have had a positive, progressive impact on identifying, breaking down, and eliminating injustices and inequalities.
In 2022, Mr. Watson authored his first book, Welcome to the Sick Mind of a Sane Person: Deconstructing Racism and White Supremacy, which won the International Impact Book Award for Personal Growth and Development on Racism and Discrimination, the Literacy Global Book Award for African American Non-Fiction and DEI, and the Regal Summitt Book award for Non-Fiction, Poetry award from the Black Author Association, and as a finalist for poetry at the 21st Annual Best Book Awards.
In addition, Mr. Watson has interviewed law enforcement officers around the country to document their narratives in a book called Police and Race Conversations (pending publication). Mr. Watson also hosts the Moses’ People Speak: Race, Conversations, and Law Enforcement web series.
Locally in State College, PA, Mr. Watson also serves as co-chair of the State College NAACP Educational Planning Committee, chair of Community & Campus In Unity, and Co-Chair of the Pennsylvania State Universities Commission on Racial/Ethnic Diversity (CORED), and serves as a representative for the Center Country Regional Human Relations Commission.
About the Series
The Gunter–Gooding Lecture series is named in honor of two African American women who served as head of the Department of Nursing at Penn State University.
Dr. Laurie Martin Gunter, PhD, RN, FGSA, FAAN served as head of the Department of Nursing from 1971 to 1976, and again as interim department head from 1984 to 1985. She retired as professor emerita in 1987 after 16 years of University service. She was a well-respected researcher with a focus on nursing care of the elderly. She held Fellow status in the Gerontological Society of America and the American Academy of Nursing and was an elected member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences. Gunter held a nursing diploma from Meharry Medical College, a bachelor of science in home economics from Tennessee Agricultural and Industrial University, a master of arts in education from Fisk University and a doctorate in human development from the University of Chicago. She passed away on June 15, 2015.
Dr. Marion Gooding, PhD, RN was the fifth head of the Department of Nursing at Penn State and served from 1985 to 1987 when the department was part of the then College of Human Development. She also served as the dean of the School of Nursing at Tennessee State University prior to her arrival at Penn State. Gooding received her diploma in nursing from Saint Mary’s school of nursing, a bachelors and master’s in nursing from Teachers College – Columbia University, and doctorate in educational administration in higher education from Vanderbilt University.
For information on future events, please visit: nursing.psu.edu/event
