Haylee Denham is a Project Manager and Engagement Specialist with Collective Insight. She has a variety of experiences engaging with youth and adults with disabilities in community settings and school settings through movement practice, research, policy analysis, and teaching assistance. Haylee obtained her Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology and Bachelor of Arts degree in Dance from the University of Massachusetts Amherst while earning two letters of specialization in Developmental Disabilities and Human Services and Civic Engagement and Public Services. Her undergraduate thesis focused on the physical and socioemotional benefits of including dance in the physical education curriculum for autistic youth and young adults at a school in Randolph, Massachusetts.

This culmination informed her path to a Master of Public Policy (MPP) concentrated in child, youth, and family policy from the Heller the School for Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University and a fellowship in Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities (LEND) from the University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School. Her master’s policy brief provided recommendations to the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education for improving professional development and data collection around augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) use in the state to expand nonspeaking students’ participation in schools through AAC and achieve communication equity. Haylee commits to disability justice frameworks and believes in elevating the voices of people with disabilities and complex medical needs in research.