Emily is a public health nurse at Chelan-Douglas Health District, working under the Maternal Child Health Block Grant. As the Children and Youth with Special Healthcare Needs (CYSHCN) Coordinator, she supports families in navigating complex health systems and plays an active role in systems-level efforts to improve access to care. Emily is proud to support the work of the VAST team as part of her role.

She earned her Associate Degree in Nursing in 2022 and her Bachelor of Science in Nursing in 2024, both from Wenatchee Valley College. Before transitioning into public health, Emily worked as a bedside nurse for three years. Her clinical background informs her current work, where she focuses on bridging gaps in care and improving service access for families at both the individual and community levels.

Kevin is an auDHD speech-language pathologist who primarily works with autistic clients. He understands what it is like to grow up autistic in a world with a dominant culture that is not autistic.

He graduated from Western Washington University in 2002 with a BA’s in Communication Sciences and Disorders and Music and from Northeastern University in 2006 with a MS in Speech-Language Pathology. 

Kevin has evenly split his nearly 20 years of experience between the states of California and Washington. He has worked in the acute care, acute rehabilitation, sub-acute rehabilitation, adult outpatient, pediatric outpatient, and home health settings. 

Kevin’s current monotropisms include music, autism advocacy and support, and learning anything new. 

When not thinking about autism, music, or other creative endeavors, Kevin loves spending time with his neurodivergent partner, Jessica, their two dogs George and Otto, and their turtle Sarah.

Dr. Petra Swidler is a Pediatrician providing care for children of all ages in the Wenatchee Valley.

She specializes in children with developmental delays, possible autism spectrum disorder and behavior concerns.

She is trained as a General Pediatrician, in Medical Genetics and Behavior/Developmental Pediatrics.

Dr. Swidler has lived and practiced in multiple countries around the world.

She likes to bring her life and work experience to the care she takes of her patients and families.

In her free time Dr. Swidler enjoys the great outdoors the Wenatchee Valley has to offer.

You can find her walking her two Australian Shephards Willow and Teddy on the canal.

She loves performing arts, explore international cuisines and to travel.