About this Episode:
Wounded Warrior Project’s Independence Program helps warriors live life to the fullest, on their own terms. It is designed for warriors who rely on their families and/or caregivers because of moderate to severe brain injury, spinal cord injury, or other neurological conditions.
In this episode, we talk with the regional director for the Independence Program and a contracted provider for this program.
Lyndsay Tkach is a Pittsburgh-based, mental health, and brain injury advocate specializing in community supports. Since 2014, she has worked with the Independence Program at Wounded Warrior Project, currently as the Regional Director. In this role, Lyndsay is responsible for the oversight of connecting and evaluating community-based services for wounded warriors and their family support members. Prior to this, Lyndsay worked with the Allegheny County Office of Behavioral Health in evaluating and assigning integrative mental health services for individuals post-discharge from state institutions. While in this role, she also served as the Allegheny County Liaison to the Crisis Intervention Team. Lyndsay received her Bachelor of Science in Rehabilitation and Minor in Sociology from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, as well as a Masters in Abnormal Psychology from the University of Phoenix. In 2016, Lyndsay completed her certification as a Brain Injury Specialist from the Academy of Certified Brain Injury Specialists (ACBIS). When she is not working or volunteering, Lyndsay enjoys spending time with her husband,
children, and dog.
Kristen Harper, MS, CCC-SLP has been a practicing speech-language pathologist for 20 years who graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a BS in Communication Sciences and Disorders and received her MS in Speech Pathology from the Pennsylvania State University. Before joining Neuro Community Care, she provided clinical services primarily in home health as well as in acute care hospitals, schools, and skilled nursing facilities to individuals who have a traumatic brain injury, an acquired brain injury, spinal cord injury as well as swallowing/ feeding disorders and developmental disabilities including Autism. Through her opportunities to conduct in-home assessments for the transition to the home and community after an acute care hospital stay, she discovered her desire to work in-home care. This allowed her to work alongside the interdisciplinary team and families to promote functional gains in the home and community. After living in various locations including Idaho, Texas, Western and Eastern Pennsylvania, she is excited to have Wake Forest, NC as her home. She lives there with her husband and three children. When she isn’t traveling to support her children through various sporting events, she enjoys the outdoors, traveling to the mountains or the beach, and attending theatre / musical events.
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Additional Materials
Wounded Warrior Project Website
Wounded Warriors’ Independence Program Website
This material is based on work supported by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the Office of Military Family Readiness Policy, U.S. Department of Defense Award Number 2015-48770-24368.
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