Meet Our Staff
Robyn Weiss joins the NYU Moses Center for Students with Disabilities from Hofstra University where she served as the Founding Director of Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD). Over the last two years, Robyn created a central office designed to meet the needs of all Hofstra University students registered with a disability. She is proud to leave behind a program that successfully affordsstudents with disabilities access to programs, resources, and information that enhances their overall University experience. Before Hofstra, Robyn worked for seven years in the Office of Disability Services at Columbia University. Here she had a similar experience of growing with a young program. She greatly enjoyed working with both Hofstra’s and Columbia’s administrators, faculty and students and looks forward to creating the same wonderful relationships at NYU. Robyn graduated from SUNY Albany with a Bachelor of Arts and holds a Master of Social Work degree from Adelphi University. She is a New York State Certified Social Worker and has ten years of experience working with students with disabilities in higher education. She is a long time member of AHEAD, the Association for Higher Education and Disability and has certification in Alternative Dispute Resolution and Mediation from Columbia Law School.
Lakshmi Clark-McClendon joined CSD as a Coordinator of Services for Students with Learning Disabilities and ADHD in 2002. She has a Bachelor of Arts in English from Hunter College of the City University of New York and a Master of Arts in Learning Disabilities for Teachers College, Columbia University. She is currently pursuing a second Master of Arts in Higher Education/ Student Personnel Administration from NYU. She is a member of the International Honors Society in Education, National Association of Student Affairs Professionals (NASPA), NYU’s National Association of Student Affairs Professionals, and the International Dyslexia Association. She has permanent state teaching certification in special education. She has a number of years of experience working in the area of adult literacy and is interested in issues of access to higher education for students with disabilities. Prior to working at New York University, Lakshmi was the Educational Coordinator in an adult substance abuse and parole program. She currently lives in Manhattan with her husband and daughter.
Maria F. Schiano started working at the NYU Student Health Center in 1999. Her roles have included Pharmacy Technician, Enrollment Coordinator for Student Insurance Services and Supervisor for Administrative Support Services. Maria has now taken her vast experience to the Moses Center for Students with Disabilities where the students she serves include the Deaf and Hard of Hearing community. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Women Studies from Brooklyn College, received her Masters in Social Work from NYU in 2007 and is a licensed New York State Social Worker. She is currently taking classes in American Sign Language and hopes to be conversational by the end of the year. Maria currently lives in Brooklyn where she enjoys spending time cooking for her friends and spending time with her adorable dog.
Daphne Grant currently serves students with Learning Disabilities and ADHD and works to facilitate the Reasonable Housing Accommodations student application process. She holds a B.A. in Psychology from Brown University and an M.A. in Counseling from New York University. Daphne’s previous work has included individual career counseling and internship placement for students at a small proprietary college, creation of a comprehensive internship resource and advisement program at a large community college, and academic advisement for undergraduate pre-professional students at a large, private university. Daphne has maintained a long-standing relationship with the Moses Center, having worked as a Learning Specialist at the Moses Center during her two years as an NYU graduate counseling intern from 2003-2005. Because of her continued interest in both rehabilitation counseling and disabilities management within the higher educational setting, Daphne returned to the Moses Center in 2007 and has since worked as a coordinator. Outside of the office, Daphne enjoys spending time with her toddler and frequent outings with her extended family.
Mary Liz McNamara has over twenty years of experience in the fields of education and rehabilitation, in a variety of positions including coordinator for a cognitive rehabilitation program, vocational rehabilitation counselor, learning specialist and academic coach. She has worked closely with schools and universities to fashion reasonable accommodations for students at all educational levels, and has extensive experience counseling transitioning students with disabilities on career options. In addition to a Bachelor’s Degree in English and Theater from the University of Michigan and a Master’s Degree in Education from Rutgers University, Mary Liz has a number of certifications, including certified rehabilitation counselor, certified teacher of English, certified Wilson Language Method instructor, and BIA brain injury specialist. She is a member of the BMI Musical Theater Workshop as a composer/lyricist, an award-winning songwriter and a frequent New York City performer.