About the Panelists
Barbara Haas-Givler
Barbara Haas-Givler, MEd, BCBA, is a board-certified behavior analyst in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. Ms. Haas-Givler has extensive experience in special education. She has served in many different capacities over the course of her career, including classroom teacher, administrator, educational consultant, behavior analyst, and research associate for clinical pharmaceutical trials.
Ms. Haas-Givler has been a long-time member of the Fragile X community. Her dedication to providing families living with Fragile X strategies for success has greatly impacted over the years. She is also a member of the NFXF Clinical Trials Committee.
Susan Howell
Susan Howell, MS, CGC, MBA, has been the genetic counselor and clinic coordinator for the Denver Fragile X Clinic alongside Dr. Nicole Tartaglia since 2008. She co-authored the genetic counseling consensus document for the NFXF and has worked on numerous clinical trials in Fragile X. She has been an active member of the Fragile X Clinics & Research Consortium and has served as a volunteer board member for the NFXF since 2023.
Rebecca Shaffer
Rebecca Shaffer, PsyD, HSPP, is a professor of pediatrics at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, and she specializes in both clinical care and research with Fragile X syndrome and autism spectrum disorder. She is also the director of psychological services for the Cincinnati Fragile X Center. Her research is primarily focused on emotion dysregulation in both FXS and ASD. She enjoys helping individuals find ways to calm their bodies and minds and fully engage in the world around them. She also enjoys helping caregivers find ways to best support them in this process. “It is truly a pleasure to work with the Fragile X population and their families.”
Nicole Tartaglia
Nicole Tartaglia, MD, attended university and medical school at the University of Colorado. She completed her training in general pediatrics at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, and fellowship training in developmental-behavioral pediatrics at the University of California Davis MIND Institute, where her research focused on children and adults with developmental disabilities, chromosomal abnormalities, Fragile X syndrome, and autism spectrum disorder. She also obtained her master’s in clinical investigation from the University of Colorado Graduate School.
Since 2007, Dr. Tartaglia has worked as faculty for the Colorado School of Medicine at Children’s Hospital Colorado in the Department of Pediatrics Section of Developmental Pediatrics, where she founded and directs the eXtraordinarY Kids Clinic for children and adolescents with sex chromosome disorders, and is also the director of the Denver Fragile X Clinic. In these clinics, she leads multidisciplinary teams that include medical providers, genetic counseling, psychology, speech-language therapy, occupational therapy, nursing, and social work, and collaborates extensively with community providers, therapists, and schools to provide optimal care for these special populations. She also evaluates and treats children with general developmental delays, autism spectrum disorder, ADHD, and other neurogenetic disorders.
Dr. Tartaglia has federally funded research projects evaluating natural history and outcome measures in sex chromosome disorders and Fragile X and collaborates with national networks of clinics to develop best practices for treatments of these conditions. She is also very active in clinical trials of targeted treatment medications for neurobehavioral features and developmental disabilities. Dr. Tartaglia is also a member of the NFXF’s Clinical Trials Committee.
Kristin Bogart
Kristin joined the NFXF team in 2019. She has over 25 years of experience in fundraising and non-profit management, event planning, and board and volunteer development. She earned a bachelor’s degree in economics and a master’s in public administration. Kristin loves spending time with her two adult sons, playing tennis, and hiking in the Santa Cruz mountains on the California coast.
Laurie Bridges
NFXF Houston Chapter Leader, NFXF Board President
Laurie and her husband, Will, are the proud parents of Caroline (full mutation) and Clark. Laurie has worked as an occupational therapist since 1999 and works in the Humble Independent School District near Houston. Not long after her daughter was diagnosed with Fragile X syndrome, Will and Laurie began serving Fragile X families in the Houston area by forming an NFXF Community Support Group in 2011. She has attended five NFXF International Fragile X Conferences and was co-chair of the host committee for the 2016 conference in San Antonio.
Since the beginning of their Fragile X journey, the Bridges are thankful for the National Fragile X Foundation and how it supports families, promotes education and awareness, and puts a priority on research. “We keep moving forward and taking the next step. We are thankful for our Fragile X family because we are not alone!”
Jennifer Barber
National Fragile X Foundation Project Coordinator
Jennifer Barber is a mother of three children, her two oldest have Fragile X syndrome and were diagnosed in 2010. Following their diagnosis, growing their family came to an abrupt stop while they navigated fragile X syndrome and what this meant for their family moving forward. In 2013 Jennifer was a surrogate and was able to see the workings of the PGD/IVF process (preimplantation genetic diagnosis and in vitro fertilization), and in 2015 they decided to use PGD/IVF for themselves to grow their family.
Jennifer continues to be a strong advocate for her family and those on their journey with Fragile X. She has worked with the NFXF since 2014 in various roles, including chapter leader, regional leader, and conference project coordinator. Jennifer has worked as a registered nurse in an emergency department for the past 15 years.
