Who We Are
Dr. Brenda Eagan-Johnson, CBIST-AP
BrainSTEPS Director
Brenda Eagan-Johnson, EdD, CBIST-AP has worked in the field of pediatric brain injury for over two decades. She is the State Director for Pennsylvania’s BrainSTEPS Brain Injury School Consulting Program, which is a nationally recognized model. Since it began in 2007, Dr. Eagan-Johnson has focused on the creation and program development of BrainSTEPS. Her daily work includes program implementation, student/school/team member/healthcare provider consultation and training for over 250 BrainSTEPS brain injury educational consultants serving 31 BrainSTEPS teams across the state. She also serves as a consultant for a Centers for Disease Control (CDC) funded study related to BrainSTEPS student outcomes. The Colorado Department of Education adopted the BrainSTEPS model in 2016.
Dr. Eagan-Johnson received her bachelor’s degree in Education from Wittenberg University in Ohio. She obtained teaching certifications in Elementary Education, Special Education (K-12), and Reading. Dr. Eagan-Johnson obtained her master’s degree in Special Education Transition & Brain Injury from the George Washington University (GWU) in Washington, DC and her doctorate from Johns Hopkins University in Mind, Brain, and Teaching (educational neuroscience) in Maryland. Dr. Eagan-Johnson is also an Instructor at GWU for the Graduate School of Education and Human Development, teaching brain injury coursework.
Dr. Eagan-Johnson serves on the Board of Governors for the Academy of Certified Brain Injury Specialists under the Brain Injury Association of America and the Board of Directors for the International Pediatric Brain Injury Society. She serves on the executive board for the National Collaborative on Children’s Brain Injury. Dr. Eagan-Johnson is a Certified Brain Injury Specialist with Advanced Practice in NeuroRehabilitation (CBIST-AP), is published in pediatric brain injury & special education, regularly presents at the state, national, & international levels, and has received multiple state and national awards for her work. In 2022, she was awarded the prestigious Voogt Award in NYC. Spearheading development and creation of PA’s Return to Learn Concussion Management Team Model, she has trained over 3,000+ school-based teams in PA and CO. Injury Association of America. She serves on the executive board for the National Collaborative on Children’s Brain Injury. She is a Certified Brain Injury Specialist Trainer, is published in pediatric brain injury, regularly presents at the state, national, & international levels, and has received multiple state & national awards for her work. Spearheading development and creation of PA’s Return to Learn Concussion Management Team Model, she has trained over 3,000+ school-based teams. Additionally, Dr. Eagan-Johnson serves on the Board of Governors for the Academy of Certified Brain Injury Specialists under the Brain
Maggie Lockovich, M.A. CCC/SLP-L, CBIST-AP
BrainSTEPS Team Facilitator
Maggie Lockovich, MA CCC/SLP-L, CBIST-AP has been involved with BrainSTEPS for over a decade. She served as a BrainSTEPS Team Lead for the Midwestern Intermediate Unit #4 (IU#4) and then BrainSTEPS Team Lead at Seneca Valley School District. Ms. Lockovich was appointed to the BrainSTEPS State Regional Council from 2016 until it ended in 2022. Her primary areas of focus for BrainSTEPS are program implementation and fidelity, outreach, consultation, and training. Ms. Lockovich is a is a Certified Brain Injury Specialist with Advanced Practice in NeuroRehabilitation (CBIST-AP). She is also a Certified Life Care Planner. Ms. Lockovich earned her master’s degree in Speech Language Pathology from Kent State University. She holds a Pennsylvania Supervisor of Special Education certification. Ms. Lockovich is published in brain injury and special education. She has vast expertise in working with children and adults both medically and educationally who are diagnosed with brain injury, autism, and dysphagia.
Dr. Janice Tucker, CCC-SLP
Regional Team Liaison- Central Pennsylvania
Janice Tucker, SLP.D, CCC-SLP, CBIST-AP was the Lincoln Intermediate Unit #12 (IU#12) BrainSTEPS Team Lead for several years. She has been a Speech Language Pathologist for over 35 years in a variety of settings, but predominantly in public schools. Dr. Tucker obtained her bachelor’s degree from Ashland University in Ohio and her master’s degree from Loyola College in Maryland, both in the field of Speech Language Pathology. She received her doctorate in Speech-Language Pathology from Nova Southeastern University. She obtained a Pennsylvania Supervisory Certificate in Special Education which enabled her to supervise the Speech Language Support Programs at IU#12 from 1999 through 2018. She also led the Feeding and Swallowing Team at IU#12.
Dr. Tucker is an active member of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA). She served on the Executive Board of Pennsylvania Speech-Language-Hearing Association as the Vice President of Public Information and Professional Communications. She is a past President of the Pennsylvania Association of Speech Supervisors (PASS) and received many ACE Awards (Awards for Continuing Education) from ASHA. Two of her articles on public school telepractice have been published in the International Journal of Telerehabilitation.
Anita Heller, MA, CBIST-AP
Regional Team Liaison- Eastern Pennsylvania
Anita Heller, MA, CBIST-AP, has served as the lead for the IU #13 BrainSTEPS team for the past 15 years. She became a Certified Brain Injury Specialist (CBIST-AP) in 2014 and was appointed to the BrainSTEPS State Regional Council from 2016 until it ended in 2022.
Ms. Heller worked for 35 years, initially as a bilingual school psychologist for Reading School District, then later as a school psychologist for Intermediate Unit #13, where she primarily served emotional support programs. Over the past 18 years, Ms. Heller was part of the training and consultation team at IU #13 with a focus on behavioral and mental health needs, PBIS, crisis intervention, and trauma. At the same time, Ms. Heller served as the BrainSTEPS team lead. In addition to being a nationally certified school psychologist, she is a PA-licensed psychologist.
Prior to working as a school psychologist, she was a therapist in community agencies, including Easter Seals Rehabilitation Center, where she participated in multidisciplinary evaluations and initiated a parent support group in addition to counseling. She has also worked as a clinical therapist in both inpatient and outpatient settings.
Ms. Heller is a graduate of the University of Colorado with a master’s degree in Psychology, and she completed her internship at Children’s Hospital in Denver, Colorado. She later completed additional courses in the School Psychology program at Millersville University to obtain her national certification in School Psychology.
Ilsa Loetzbeier
Regional Team Liaison- Eastern Pennsylvania
Email: [email protected]
Dr. Jim Wolf, CBIS
Regional Team Liaison- Eastern Pennsylvania
Email: [email protected]
Kelley Avena
BrainSTEPS Administrative Coordinator
Kelley Avena is the BrainSTEPS Administrative Coordinator. For almost 30 years, Ms. Avena has worked in the field as an administrative assistant for accounting and banking industries. She is skilled at project and team management. Ms. Avena excels at her attention to detail. She brings strong organization and problem-solving skills to BrainSTEPS. Ms. Avena assists the Director in establishing administrative processes to enhance statewide BrainSTEPS program productivity.
Chloe X. Brown
Social Media Manager
