Discovery Evenings

Panelist
As CEO of NDSS, Kandi Pickard provides vision and leadership, working collaboratively with individuals and organizations to support the entire Down syndrome community. Her involvement began as a local volunteer and advocate after her youngest son, Mason, was born with Down syndrome. Thirteen years later, she leads NDSS with a focus on building community and keeping individuals with Down syndrome at the center of everything the organization does. Her vision includes expanding resources, programs, and support from diagnosis through adulthood, with a special focus on caregiving, public health, and aging adults.

Panelist
Michael Rafii is a leading researcher in Alzheimer’s disease and Down syndrome. In addition to his role as Medical Director at ATRI, he is a Professor of Clinical Neurology at Keck School of Medicine. He is also an Associate Director of the NIH-funded Alzheimer’s Clinical Trials Consortium (ACTC), overseeing the safety and conduct of its portfolio of trials. He serves as Co-Director of the Clinical Core of the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI), Co-Principal Investigator of the Alzheimer’s Network for Treatment and Diagnostics (ALZ-NET) and leads the Alzheimer’s Clinical Trials Consortium–Down Syndrome (ACTC-DS).

Panelist
With more than 35 years of experience, Dr. Brian Chicoine has dedicated his career to advancing care for individuals with Down syndrome and other intellectual disabilities. He co-founded the Adult Down Syndrome Center in 1992 and now serves as its Medical Director. The Center has served more than 6,000 adolescents and adults with Down syndrome. He has written and presented extensively on the health and psychosocial needs of individuals with Down syndrome and is a founding partner and clinical leader for NDSS’ CARE Down Syndrome, contributing evidence-based resources for healthcare professionals.

Panelist
Kristi Golden has been a leader in the Down syndrome community for more than 25 years. Following the birth of her son, Benjamin, she became deeply involved with the Down Syndrome Association of Orange County, serving in various roles. Kristi has worked with hundreds of families and individuals with Down syndrome across the lifespan and brings a unique blend of community experience, education, leadership, and systems thinking to her work. She also brings her perspective as a parent and community advocate to national conversations about Down syndrome and Alzheimer’s disease, including the recent NDSS sponsored FDA Patient-Focused Drug Development (PFDD) meeting.

Panelist
Benjamin Golden is a 33-year-old self-advocate, aspiring actor, and multidisciplinary creative artist who lives independently in Irvine, California. He studies acting, ballet, and clogging and is an avid photographer, musician, and sports enthusiast. Benjamin is featured in five Dhar Mann YouTube videos through Changing Lives Productions and is frequently seen with a video camera or his Canon in hand, capturing and recording events for the Down Syndrome Association of Orange County. He was honored as the organization’s Volunteer of the Year in 2022 and later served as a paid intern. He completed a certificate program in Music Production at Coastline College and continues to pursue opportunities in arts and entertainment. Benjamin also participates in the ABC-DS research program at UC Irvine and serves as a co-researcher with the Rubenstein Lab’s DS TO THE MAX study.

Moderator
Dr. Elizabeth Head is the Dean’s Professor and Vice Chair for Research in the Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine. She has dedicated more than 25 years to the study of aging and Alzheimer’s disease, with a focus on individuals with Down syndrome. Her laboratory uses multidisciplinary approaches to identify targets for interventions to slow or prevent the development of Alzheimer’s disease in individuals with Down syndrome. Dr. Head received a Master of Psychology and a PhD in Neuroscience from the University of Toronto, Canada. She completed postdoctoral training at the Institute for Memory Impairments and Neurological Disorders (UCI MIND) at the University of California, Irvine.