Elise McMillan, J.D., received the Mollie Burd Gavigan Service Award from the Down Syndrome Association of Middle Tennessee (DSAMT) in recognition of her “instrumental role in improving the lives of individuals with Down syndrome in Middle Tennessee.” The award was presented recently at the annual DSAMT Buddy Race.
McMillan is co-director of the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCEDD), director of Community Outreach and senior associate within the Department of Psychiatry.
The parent of a young adult with Down syndrome and two other children, McMillan’s “contributions to the Down syndrome community are truthfully too vast to list,” said Alecia Talbott, DSAMT executive director.
“More than 17 years ago, Elise, Sheila Moore and Joanne Drumright saw the needs in our community and created DSAMT. Since then, she has been instrumental in helping to start the Down Syndrome Clinic at Vanderbilt Pediatrics, the first Best Buddies Chapter at Vanderbilt, Down syndrome research at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and Next Steps at Vanderbilt. She has always been a part of everything that has led up to today with regard to Down syndrome in Middle Tennessee and continues to do so much for our community.”
