No Superpowers Required: Supporting Families of Little Ones with Disabilities or Delays

Marisa Howard-Karp has spent her career helping families get better access to health care and education. For more than 15 years, she has trained educators, social workers, and health care providers on how to better support children and families. As a parent and caregiver to four children with disabilities, Marisa has spent many hours navigating Special Education and health care services and appreciates how hard it can be to navigate complicated systems that are designed to help. She loves the work of making those systems better and easier for other families to understand and access. Marisa lives with her family in the Boston area.

Christina Kozik works to strengthen partnerships between schools and families of children with disabilities. At Exceptional Lives, she leads outreach efforts in Louisiana by facilitating professional development for educators, supporting schools in building family engagement strategies, and developing resources that make Special Education and healthcare systems easier to navigate. Christina also creates accessible content—including podcasts and guides—that equips both educators and families with practical tools to support student success. She brings both professional expertise and personal perspective as a neurodivergent individual and parent of a child with disabilities. Christina is a sought-after speaker at disability and special education events.