Meet the CHADD of Northern Virginia and DC Board of Directors

Pam Thomas has been an academic/life coach, Director of Student Services and CEO for The ADHD College Success Guidance Program for over 11 years. In addition to coaching, Ms. Thomas organizes and co-facilitates the program’s 4-day, residential, ADHD Workshops with Founder and President, Jon Thomas, MEd, LPC. Pam Has been the Chapter Coordinator since 2016.

Kathy Essig, M.Ed., Founder and President of Essig Education Group, has spent 30 years working in special education. In 2022, she was named CHADD’s Educator of the Year at the International Conference on ADHD. Prior to starting her current practice, she worked in public and private schools as an educator and educational diagnostician; in private practice as an executive function coach; as a curriculum consultant to private schools in the Metro DC area; and as an owner and founder of a learning center in McLean, VA. Essig Education Group is an Executive Function coaching group that works with k-12 through adult clients in individual and group sessions.   Kathy has been a member of the CHADD Board of Directors since 2020.

Dr. Teri Bullis is a licensed psychologist who specializes in applying the principles of behavior analysis to solving behavioral challenges in children. After many years of working as a school psychologist conducting evaluations of children with ADHD and other disabilities impacting learning and behavior, she founded Behavior Solutions for Children and Families, LLC. Since then, she has been providing behavior therapy to parents and children, comprehensive evaluations for both parents and schools, and behavior consultation services to school teams. Teri has been a member of CHADD since 2020.

Cheryl Gedzelman joined the CHADD board in 2016. She is the President of Tutoring ForSuccess, a local company that offers subject tutoring, test preparation, and academic coaching for students of all ages, including students with special needs. Previously, Cheryl was an elementary school teacher. She has an MA in Curriculum and Teaching from Columbia University Teachers College and a BA in Anthropology  from The University of Chicago. Cheryl is passionate about helping students reach their full potential.

Irene Ward is an IBCCES Board Certified Cognitive Specialist, Master Cognitive Trainer, and Director of a LearningRx Brain Training Center in northern Virginia. She spent over 30 years working as a business executive, and for the last 12 years has managed a LearningRx center helping individuals to transform the way they learn and think with the power of brain training. LearningRx offers science-backed solutions for individuals of all ages to improve learning struggles, executive function, attention, reading skills, comprehension, weak memory, slow processing, learning disabilities and overall cognitive performance. Irene joined the Chadd NoVA/DC Board in 2017 and enjoys this opportunity to help many families in our communities improve their lives through a strong system of support.