Meet Our Team

Ms. Wiederlight is the mother of a young adult with autism. She currently serves as the chief performance officer and communications coordinator at the University of Baltimore Center for Drug Policy, where she is responsible for performance management duties for the National High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Program Office and for the Washington/Baltimore HIDTA (W/B HIDTA), and for authoring the W/B HIDTA’s threat assessment and annual report documents. As communications coordinator, she manages media relations, the W/B HIDTA’s social media efforts, and marketing for the organization.

Prior to joining the W/B HIDTA, Ms. Wiederlight led a national autism nonprofit for five years, helping to pass the federal “Kevin and Avonte’s Law Act,” which provides funding to first responders and other community organizations to prevent and address wandering in children with developmental disabilities and people with certain forms of dementia, such as Alzheimer’s disease. She also advocated for passage of a Maryland law that creates a state autism coordinator, annual State Autism Strategy, and an Autism Stakeholder Group, on which she serves as the chair of the Housing and Community Integration Committee, after her appointment by former Governor Larry Hogan.

Ms. Wiederlight has previously worked as a public affairs specialist at the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, a media relations and public education consultant in various Washington, DC-based consulting firms, a development consultant and grant writer for numerous local jurisdictions, and a real estate investor. She serves on the board of the Autism Society of Maryland, and was one of the founders of the Autism-Asperger Association of Calvert County, and has participated in numerous media interviews on the nature and extent of the autism crisis in the United States.

Ms. Wiederlight graduated magna cum laude with a B.A. in government and politics and a Master of Public Policy degree from the University of Maryland at College Park. She was a member of the University Honors Program and the 1987 Division I National Championship field hockey team as an undergraduate, and a finalist in the competitive Presidential Management Internship Program in graduate school.

Thomas H. Carr recently retired as the executive director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy’s (ONDCP) Washington/Baltimore High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (W/B HIDTA) Program, a position he held since 1994. He still manages the National HIDTA Program’s Performance Management Process, and chairs the Performance Management Process Committee, which has established metrics to measure the efficiency and effectiveness of drug control efforts in the fields of drug law enforcement, criminal intelligence, treatment, and prevention for the HIDTA Program. Mr. Carr was awarded the ONDCP Director’s Award for his work in performance management in 2004.

In response to the Nation’s opioid epidemic, Mr. Carr has worked with ONDCP and other HIDTA programs on the Overdose Response Strategy (ORS). This Strategy has resulted in the creation of a public health-public safety partnership supported by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the hiring of drug intelligence officers and public health analysts across the country.

Mr. Carr also spearheaded the development of the Overdose Detection and Mapping Application Program (ODMAP), a real-time overdose syndromic surveillance system used to identify spikes in fatal and non-fatal overdoses. ODMAP was cited in both “Good Morning America” and Roll Call newspaper for identifying a rise in overdoses during the COVID-19 pandemic in May 2020.

Mr. Carr was the lead designer for HIDTA’s Case Explorer system. Case Explorer is both a case management system and an event deconfliction and target coordination system. It is used nationwide by law enforcement agencies at all levels of government. Overdose investigations reported in the system are instantly reported to ODMAP, allowing analysts to explore links to drug trafficking organizations that are likely responsible for spikes in overdoses.

Prior to his work at the W/B HIDTA, Mr. Carr was a Lt. Colonel with the Maryland State Police, and retired as chief of the Bureau of Drug Enforcement. He graduated with honors from Towson University, and was first in his class at the Maryland State Police Academy in 1971. Mr. Carr attended the FBI National Academy, DEA Drug Commanders School, and the Federal Executive Institute; and served as an adjunct instructor with the University of Maryland College Park, Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology for six years.

Aryanna Graf-Jones is a model, singer, actress, and disability advocate focusing on fashion and lifestyle. Her lived experience with cerebral palsy motivates her to increase understanding and acceptance in both the entertainment and typical world. Ms. Graf-Jones has six years of experience working as staff and community group leader for the children and student ministry at Bay Area Community Church. She also works with FlyBrave and A Touch of Understanding, which support neurodiverse adults and educate children on understanding and acceptance of disabilities within the school system. Outside of work, she enjoys dancing, horseback riding, attending concerts, and traveling. Ms. Graf-Jones graduated from Anne Arundel Community College with an A.A in Biochemistry Transfer Studies.

Megan Stewart-Sicking is the former chair of the Special Education Citizens’ Advisory Committee for Baltimore County Public Schools. She has spent years serving as an advocate in all areas of special education, including funding, policy, training, curriculum, and student and family supports. In 2018, she received an Executive Citation and was honored with a volunteer award by the Baltimore County Commission on Disabilities.

Rev. Stewart-Sicking trained for her professional career at the Virginia Theological Seminary, and interned at the Washington National Cathedral with a special interest in spiritual disciplines. She earned her M.Div. with honors after having earned a B.A. in Theology with honors from Xavier University (Cincinnati). In her 20 years of ordained ministry, she has served Episcopal churches in Columbus Ohio, suburban northern Virginia, and Sparks, Maryland. Rev. Stewart-Sicking is passionate about using her time to serve the wider community around issues of equity, awareness, and funding. She is married to Dr. Joseph Stewart-Sicking, professor and chair in the Department of Education Specialities at Loyola University, and together they love spending time with their two fantastic children, one on the Autism Spectrum.

David Vigilante is executive vice president and general counsel for CNN and Turner Sports. Mr. Vigilante’s responsibilities include service as chief counsel for CNN’s worldwide operations as well as legal oversight of all U.S.-based sports brands and programming owned and operated by Warner Bros. Discovery, such as the NBA on TNT, NHL on TNT, MLB, Bleacher Report, March Madness and NCAA.com. Mr. Vigilante occasionally contributes to CNN and in 2013, he was awarded the national Edward R. Murrow Award for writing.

Mr. Vigilante has been a long-time board member of Kenny Leon’s True Colors Theater, an organization founded by Tony Award-winning director Kenny Leon to preserve the African American theater canon and to be a platform for new voices of color. He also serves on the board of the Academe of the Oaks, a 9-12 private high school in Atlanta based on the Waldorf educational model.

Mr. Vigilante served for several years on the board of the Community School, now known as Threshold Community Program, in Decatur, Georgia. Threshold is a program committed to providing resources to teens and adults on the Autism spectrum to ensure they live full and enriching lives to the greatest of their capabilities. He also held the TBS, Inc. seat on the Georgia Chamber of Commerce directorate for several years.
Based in Atlanta, GA., Mr. Vigilante is an elder at Druid Hills Presbyterian Church and has served multiple terms on the church’s Session, the governing council for the congregation.

Mr. Vigilante is a 1989 graduate of the University of Maryland and a 1993 graduate from Emory Law School.

Ms. Crowley brings extensive experience in higher education leadership, coaching, and nonprofit governance, along with a lifelong commitment to advancing human potential and inclusive communities. She currently serves as Associate Director of Student Innovations at the Johns Hopkins Carey Business School, where she designs and leads experiential learning programs that support emerging leaders in developing resilience, purpose, and collaborative leadership. Ms. Crowley also co-chairs the Carey Business School’s Student Veteran Steering Committee, advancing meaningful support, visibility, and leadership recognition for student veterans. Her work is grounded in a strong belief that all people possess immense potential—and that thriving requires not only opportunity, but also stability, guidance, encouragement, and belonging.
Ms. Crowley’s commitment to service is deeply personal, as she is the parent of an adult son with autism, whom she describes as one of her greatest teachers. She brings lived experience and advocacy to issues of dignity, inclusion, and supportive care. Ms. Crowley is also a health and wellness coach in private practice, and a current board member of the Linwood Center.
Additionally, Ms. Crowley has completed the Maryland Ironman Triathlon—an achievement that reflects her belief in human resilience and what becomes possible when individuals are supported in reaching beyond perceived limits.

Harry Topping is the father of three young men: Harry III, Miles, and Liam. Harry III is an honors graduate of the University of Michigan and currently attends the McCourt School of Public Policy at Georgetown University. Miles is a freshman in the Mitch Daniels School of Business at Purdue University, and Liam, diagnosed as autistic at age three, is a senior at Valencia High School
Mr. Topping’s career experiences have focused on architecture, real estate development, and corporate real estate. He currently works as a senior project manager at DPPM LLC, managing health care projects for Cal Optima, a SoCal based health service provider for senior citizens.
Mr. Topping’s career is marked by significant achievements and leadership roles across all of the organizations with whom he worked. From 1996 to 2023, he served as senior vice president and manager of corporate real estate at City National Bank (CNB) in Los Angeles. During his tenure, he played a pivotal role in managing the bank’s extensive expansion of its corporate real estate portfolio, demonstrating significant strategic planning, project design, and execution skills. Additionally, CNB expanded into major markets, such as New York City, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C., while growing by 30 times as measured by assets during his tenure.

Before his longstanding role at CNB, Mr. Topping was vice president of real estate at Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. in Burbank, CA. In this capacity from 1992 to 1996, he was instrumental in overseeing the company’s real estate operations, managing the design and construction of multiple projects, and contributing to its growth during a period of significant expansion. His expertise in real estate development was honed further during his time as vice president of real estate development at Maguire Partners from 1988 to 1993, where he led the development process for high-profile projects, such as the 41-story Two Commerce Square in Philadelphia, PA., and the 52-story Gas Company Tower in Los Angeles.

Mr. Topping’s post design career began in 1985 with a notable achievement at Perini Land and Development Company, where he managed a complex mixed-use development project in San Francisco involving the restoration and modernization of the historic main San Francisco post office. Successfully appealing a Department of Interior ruling safeguarded the project’s financial future resulted in a $30 million Historic Preservation Tax Credit being granted to the project. Additionally, he founded and chaired the Graduate Business School Real Estate Group at The University of Chicago Booth School of Business, advancing the importance of real estate at this elite business school.

Mr. Topping’s contributions to the field have been recognized with several prestigious awards, including the CoreNet Global Southern California Corporate Real Estate Executive of the Year and the CoreNet Global Corporate Real Estate Leadership Excellence award.

In addition to his professional accomplishments, Mr. Topping has been actively involved in civic and non-profit associations. He is a member of Autism Speaks’ Relationship Development Committee, and in 2009, he founded and managed the Topping Brothers Invitational Golf Tournament benefiting Autism Speaks, raising over $1.5 M for the charity over a 14-year period. Additionally, from 2004-2009 he was the chairperson and a member of the board of directors of the Los Angeles Ronald McDonald House.
Mr. Topping’s educational background includes an MBA in finance and marketing from The University of Chicago Booth School of Business, a Master of Architecture degree from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and a Bachelor of Architecture with honors from the same institution. He is a California licensed architect, significantly contributing to his success in both architecture and corporate real estate. Outside of his professional life, he enjoys golf and baseball with his wife and their three sons.

Laura Larson Vaughn worked for 10 years in city parks and recreation departments, and
in youth leagues. In this capacity, she was responsible for fundraising, obtaining various
sponsorships, and completing other tasks for the leagues and athletic departments. Ms.
Vaughn enjoyed working with the children participating in the activities she was
supporting.

While Ms. Vaughn and her husband raised their two sons, Nikolas and Rece, when she
was working in the service industry for 20 years. She is newly retired and lives in
Greensboro, North Carolina. Ms. Vaughn says she is looking forward to bringing new
ideas to the table for My Heart’s Home.

Missy Meharg joined the board of My Heart’s Home in January 2026. Her former Maryland Field Hockey player, My Heart’s Home Board President Lisa Wiederlight, is thrilled to have such a skilled motivator and creative force on the team.
Now in her third decade as head coach of the University of Maryland Field Hockey Team, Ms. Meharg is known for developing top-level Maryland Terrapin scholar athletes. Under Ms. Meharg’s leadership as head coach, Maryland Field Hockey teams have won seven NCAA National Titles. The team also won an NCCA National Title when she was assistant coach. Ms. Meharg’s teams have also won 28 Conference Titles (20 ACC Titles / 8 B1G Titles). She has brought her team to 36 NCAA Tournament appearances—21 in the NCAA Semifinals round, and 13 in the NCAA Finals. Ms. Meharg has an overall record of 665-180-9, which gives her a winning percentage of .784.

Ms. Meharg has earned 9 NCAA National Coach of the Year awards, and 9 Conference Coach of the Year awards. She has coached 73 All-Americans, including seven four-time All-Americans and 17 three-time All-Americans. Additionally, 20 of her players have been named ACC/Big Ten Players of the Year, and 14 of her players have been named ACC/Big Ten Freshman of the Year.

Ms. Meharg and her extraordinary players have also been very active in international field hockey. NBC contracted her to work as a color commentator and analyst for field hockey during coverage of the 2012 Olympic Games in London. Twelve of Ms. Meharg’s former athletes have competed on Olympic teams—and her Terrapin scholar athletes have played on their respective national teams from 10 countries around the world, specifically England, Ireland, Chile, Holland, Germany, Australia, Zimbabwe, Scotland, Italy, and Canada. Ms. Meharg served on the U.S. National Team coaching staff from 1993-1997. She assisted in the 1994 World Cup, 1995 Pan American Games, and the 1996 Olympics.

Before joining Maryland’s field hockey program as an assistant coach, Ms. Meharg was an outstanding, four-year field hockey and lacrosse player at the University of Delaware, where she was named All-American in both sports. Meharg also co-captained each sport, and won Conference Player of the Year two times in field hockey.

Ms. Meharg played for Team USA from 1986 to 1991. She was on the 1986 World Cup Team, an alternate for the 1988 U.S. Olympic Team, and a member of the 1991 Pan Am Games Team.

Ms. Meharg and her partner, Pam Hixon, married in 2015. They are the parents of two young men, and recently became proud grandmothers.

Evelyn Fortier is a public policy professional and lawyer with two decades of experience in fast-paced government, corporate, and nonprofit settings. Her skills include building trusted relationships with federal policymakers, conducting government oversight, public speaking, legal analysis, and developing successful legislation with national visibility.

As head of government affairs and counsel at Sparacino PLLC, Ms. Fortier advocates for national programs and initiatives to benefit service members and their families who are victims of international terrorism. Before that, Ms. Fortier worked on public policy at two of the nation’s largest technology companies.

Ms. Fortier also spent 20 years on Capitol Hill, where she served as one of the chief counsels on the U.S. Senate Judiciary and Finance Committees, during Sen. Charles E. Grassley’s, R-IA, tenure as chairman of both panels. She wrote and shepherded to enactment numerous pieces of legislation, such as the Elder Abuse Prevention and Prosecution Act. Before that, she served as a counsel to U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker, R-MS, and on the staff of the Antitrust Subcommittee of the Judiciary Committee, where she advised Sen. (now Gov.) Mike DeWine, R-OH, who was then the panel’s Republican leader. She also served as a general counsel or legislative director to two other former U.S. Senators (when she successfully wrote and shepherded to enactment legislation to revamp the nation’s child passenger safety laws).

Ms. Fortier also conducted nationally-significant congressional oversight during her 20-year tenure on Capitol Hill. She investigated the FBI’s handling of child abuse allegations against the team doctor for U.S. Olympic gymnasts in 2018, and wrote the initial version of legislation, enacted in 2023, to combat sex tourism. She conducted oversight into the IRS’s handling of identity theft during her tenure with Sen. Wicker. Ms. Fortier also conducted oversight of nursing home quality, the nation’s organ procurement system, and drug abuse treatment scams while on the majority staff of the Finance Committee.

Ms. Fortier also spent half a dozen years in the nonprofit sector, where she served as a vice president for policy at two different national organizations. She first worked as vice president and public policy director for the Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network (RAINN), where she launched a 50-state legal database to assist those who staff the National Sexual Assault Hotline (800-656-HOPE). She testified before Congress and the U.S. Sentencing Commission on RAINN’s behalf and developed a comprehensive lobbying strategy that resulted in the successful passage of federal legislation to fund the national charity’s crisis hotline programs for victims of sexual assault. She also served as Deputy General Counsel and Vice President for Policy at the National Foundation for Credit Counseling.

Ms. Fortier earned her bachelor’s degree, magna cum laude, from Harvard University and her juris doctorate degree at the University of Virginia School of Law.

An advocate for people with disabilities, Rachel created her platform, “The Ability Beyond Disabilities,” to inspire those who have challenges to strive for their dreams, and to educate those who might not understand the challenges they face. As an individual with autism, she faced many social challenges as a child, but now serves as the spokesperson for the Center for Autism and Related Disabilities at the University of South Florida, and as a board member.

Ms. Barcellona also serves as a board member for the Unicorn Children’s Foundation, Els for Autism Center of Excellence, Dyspraxia Foundation USA, and works with The Global Autism Project, Doug Flutie Jr. Foundation for Autism, and Victoria’s Voice foundation, all of which work to impact the lives of families everywhere.

Ms. Barcellona is an actress currently with a lead role in the Broadway production of Tartuffe, a model, and vocalist. She also works with several organizations that provide services to individuals with disabilities, including such therapies as occupational, physical, music, and art. Ms. Barcellona graduated from the University of South Florida with a B.A. in English, and a minor in communication.

Family law specialist David Bulitt has been praised as the lawyer who “epitomizes stability and old-fashioned common sense” by Bethesda Magazine, and routinely makes every top Washington, DC Metro lawyer list.

Mr. Bulitt is a shareholder of Joseph, Greenwald and Laake, PA., one of Maryland’s largest and most prominent law firms. His practice focuses on all areas of family law, and he is often appointed by local courts to serve in one of the most difficult and demanding legal roles, as a best interest attorney for children whose parents are embroiled in high-conflict custody disputes. Mr. Bulitt also has extensive experience working with families that have children with special needs.

Mr. Bulitt has been recognized as one of the “Best Lawyers in America” and as one of Maryland and Washington, D.C.’s “Super Lawyers.” For more than a decade, he has been selected as one of the D.C. area’s “Top Divorce Lawyers” by both Washington and Bethesda magazines.

Mr. Bulitt spends his spare time writing and working on his books. His latest, “The 5 Core Conversations for Couples,” is co-written with his wife of 35 years. Julie Bulitt is a family therapist and their book is filled with relationship insights, often from quite different perspectives. Their book was published by Skyhorse Publishing and Simone & Schuster ebooks on Valentine’s Day, 2020. Mr. Bulitt’s novels, “Card Game,” and “Because I Had To,” were published in 2015 and 2017 respectively.

Mr. DiMayo has enjoyed a prominent career spanning 29 years as the most successful producer in the history of The Hartford Life, until starting his own insurance company, The Affluence Group, LLC in 2008. He joined forces with Kevin Myers, CPA, M.S. Taxation, to form the Oxford Risk Management Group family of companies. Mr. DiMayo is a 30-year member of the Society of Financial Service Professionals, and a member of the Baltimore Estate Planning Council. He also received the Associate in Captive Insurance (ACI) designation in 2016, and received recognition by Captive Review as one of the “Top 20 Influencers for Enterprise Risk Captives” for the past two years.

In his spare time, Mr. DiMayo plays rhythm guitar for High Voltage, one of the nation’s premier AC/DC tribute bands. He serves as board chairman for the Casey Cares Foundation, a non-profit organization providing uplifting programs for critically ill children and their families, and is also an active board member for SafeMinds, a non-profit organization working to resolve the autism epidemic through research, treatment and awareness. A graduate of Franklin and Marshall College, Mike resides in Monkton, Maryland.

Wes Guckert is a certified Professional Transportation Planner (PTP), a fellow with the Institute of Transportation Engineers, and a past instructor in the Office of Executive Education at Harvard University. He served in a leadership position for a National Product Council with Urban Land Institute (ULI) and is a member of the Texas A&M Transportation Technology Advisory Council, RELLIS Campus development for transportation technology research and testing; and Texas A&M Campus Transportation Technology Initiative deployment.

Mr. Guckert is an expert in traffic engineering and transportation planning, and a technical adviser in transit planning, traffic impact analysis, traffic signal design, and traffic circulation and access studies. He has played a major role in urban and suburban area projects in the Mid-Atlantic. and has consulted on projects throughout the United States, Canada, and Mexico, as well as overseas in China, Indonesia, South Africa, Istanbul, and Dubai.

As the president and CEO of The Traffic Group, Inc.—a traffic engineering and transportation planning specialty firm he founded in 1985, Mr. Guckert has championed automated parking solutions in the United States. Working closely with system manufacturers, he and his team provide project pro forma, queuing analysis and conceptual plans.

Mr. Guckert is sought after to provide presentations to various community and government associations, and travels throughout the U.S. speaking on the topics of self-driving vehicles, Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) systems, traffic calming measures and automated/mechanical parking systems. He is also involved in a number of community and philanthropic ventures.

Dr. Lora Peppard is the Deputy Director for Treatment and Prevention for the Washington/Baltimore High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) and the Director of ADAPT, a national training and technical assistance division supporting the integration of evidence-based substance use prevention strategies into HIDTA communities. Prior to her appointment with HIDTA, she was an Associate Professor at George Mason University and Project Director for multiple federally funded substance use and behavioral health prevention initiatives.

As a licensed psychiatric nurse practitioner for almost 20 years, Dr. Peppard has clinical experience in emergency, inpatient, and outpatient settings working with underserved, military, and serious mental illness populations. She has developed system-wide programs to address the unmet substance use and behavioral health needs of youth, caregivers, and adults. She serves as the President-Elect for the American Psychiatric Nurses Association and as a community, state, national, and international consultant on substance use and behavioral health prevention. She has authored several peer-reviewed publications on her work.

Emily Pratt serves as the clinical lead BCBA for Proud Moments ABA, providing clinical support to the board-certified behavior analysts (BCBAs) in Maryland and Virginia. Ms. Pratt has been providing in-home and center-based services as a BCBA since becoming certified in 2017. Prior to this, she worked for the Honolulu District Public Schools as an autism consultant to teachers, helping them build programs for their students with autism. Ms. Pratt also served as a special education teacher for 10 years in a variety of educational environments, such as self-contained, resource, and inclusion.

Ms. Pratt earned a B.A. in elementary and special education from Bloomsburg University. She then earned a Master’s degree in autism, with a specialization in applied behavioral analysis, at the University of Hawaii, and is currently in the dissertation stage of her Ph.D. in psychology with a concentration in ABA. Her passion for working with individuals with autism is evident in her smile, energy, and creativity at work.

Delegate Dr. Michele Guyton, an autism parent herself, has been an active champion for the disability community for years. In addition to sponsoring and passing numerous bills that would protect and serve children and adults with disabilities, she has served on the board of directors for the Kennedy Krieger Institute since 2020, and the board of directors for the Tourette Association of America Mid-Atlantic Chapter since 2006.

Delegate Guyton served as a board member of the Maryland State Department of Education from 2015 to 2019, and a member of the Maryland Adult Learning Access Commission from 2017-2018. She also served as a member of the Maryland School Safety Sub-Cabinet Behavioral Threat Assessment Workgroup in 2018.

As an active member of Maryland’s House Ways and Means Committee, Delegate Guyton served as a member of the subcommittee on early childhood, and a member of the subcommittee on education. She now serves on the Committee on the Environment and Transportation. She was also recently appointed to serve on Maryland Autism Stakeholder Group, which has been charged with creating the State and Nation’s first annual Autism Strategic Plan. Notably, Delegate Guyton sponsored and shepherded the historic legislation through the Maryland General Assembly that created the Maryland Autism Stakeholder Group, mandated the development and evaluation of an annual Autism Strategic Plan, and created the Nation’s first state autism coordinator position—in her first year in Annapolis.

Delegate Guyton also has a distinguished academic career. She earned a B.A. in in psychology/anthropology from Vanderbilt University, and went on to earn an M.A. in psychology/women’s studies from Radcliffe College, and a Ph.D. in developmental and social psychology from Brandeis University. She served as a graduate research assistant at Wellesley College’s Center for Women, and as an adjunct professor/post-doctoral researcher at the University of Iowa Department of Psychology for six years.