Anne Marie Higgins, R.N., F.N.P., M.A. has extensive experience working in pediatric settings with children who have special needs, and that experience encompasses both clinical care and research activities for over 30 years. She was a nurse in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Crouse-Irving Memorial Hospital in Syracuse, NY from 1976 through 1979. From 1980 to 1997, she was a nurse practitioner in the Division of Pediatric Infectious Disease and Immunology in the Department of Pediatrics at Upstate Medical University in Syracuse. From 1997 through 2011, she was the Clinical and Research Coordinator for the Velo-Cardio-Facial Syndrome International Center at Upstate Medical University. She is also a qualified family therapist and was a Family Therapist in the Department of Psychiatry, Division of Child Psychiatry at Upstate Medical University from 1980 through 2005. Her responsibilities at the VCFS International Center included triaging all patients for the large interdisciplinary team, recording the outcomes of evaluations, counseling patients, and most importantly, running the Distance Care Program for the Center. Patients at the VCFS International Center came from every state in the U.S. and from more than 20 countries in Europe, Asia, South America and Australia. Her position required the review of extensive records for all patients and intimate knowledge of more than 25 separate disciplines. She coordinated numerous interdisciplinary research projects including NIH funded RO1 grants for nearly 15 years. She has 27 peer reviewed publications to her credit, most involving VCFS, as well as four chapters in scholarly texts.