Military Special Needs Network
Proudly Supporting all Military Families with a Special Needs Dependent
Meet our new MSNN Admin Team
We’ve been working really hard here at MSNN lately. With over 6,500+ military families with dependents with special needs, Miranda, Kelly, and I are so fortunate to be have knowledgeable and dedicated volunteers on our awesome team. These incredible women are here to help support our families and groups, and we are so grateful to have them. Without further ado, we want to introduce to you our new Admins:
Ashley Harris has been a military spouse for 22 years and is currently living in the Virginia suburbs of Washington DC. She is mom to three kiddos. If you would have told her 20 years ago that her husband and son, USAF and USMC respectively, would be deployed at the same time (which they currently are), she wouldn’t have believed you. Her special needs parenting journey began 7 years ago when her daughter was hospitalized with a rare medical condition and later even more rare autoimmune diagnosis. Ashley was thrown into her own medical journey when she was diagnosed with a benign brain tumor. She remembered how isolated and alone she felt with her daughter’s diagnoses and so when an opportunity to work for MSNN presented itself, Ashley jumped at the chance to make sure other families never feel alone.
Christina Kotouc has been a Navy wife for 13 years. She has two sons, 10 and 8. Her oldest son is autistic with a variety of co-morbid conditions including dyspraxia, ADHD combined type, and general anxiety disorder. Her husband is currently stationed in Virginia. She joined MSNN because it’s tough to be an advocate for your child and not know the local resources available, if it’s possible to help someone from her own experiences, she will.
Peggy Haun, a Coast Guard spouse, has been married for 11 years. She is a stay at home mom to her two children (ages 2 and 6) and is a full time college student pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice. Peggy joined Military Special Needs Network last year to gain more understanding of EFMP and to assist Coast Guard families. Peggy is also sitting on Tricare for Kids Coalition as a representative for Military Special Needs Network and is fighting for our families and wants what is not only fair but right for them.
Latanya Curtis-Arnold is a Navy spouse of 9 years and the mother of 3 active, outspoken daughters. She joined MSNN a few years ago to get support and to get educated on children with hearing impairments. After learning from other families and getting support from other families, Latanya wanted to be an admin to help other hearing impaired families.
Lisa Gibbner is a mother to 4. She is a former EFMP Coordinator at Fort Leonard Wood, MO, and is a prior Military Spouse and previous Active Duty Army. Lisa is the Executive Director of a national ABA company and works to ensure the Military provides all children the care they need. Lisa joined MSNN as an admin to assist Military Families navigate EFMP, TRICARE and Military Command.
Paula Hawes is a Navy spouse of 16 years and currently lives in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia. Paula has an 8 year old son with Autism and ADHD. She navigated through the EFM program, ECHO, and TRICARE to ensure her son received the therapies he needs. Paula remembers when her son was first diagnosed and feeling overwhelmed with all the information and decisions that needed to be made. It is this reason why she decided to become an Admin for MSNN. It is an invaluable source of support and information.
3 comments on “Meet our new MSNN Admin Team”
Comments, discussion and insight always welcome!
Military Special Needs Network 
Are there any groups with children or adults who use g-tubes? We are a service group located in Tacoma, WA that would like to donate some of the snap shut g-tube covers.
You may want to check with your local ARC, therapy centers, or local hospitals that have feeding therapies. My daughter has a G-tube, and we just love the covers! Best of luck!
Sorry. Should have said we were an embroidery group in our local ASG (American Sewing Guild) that would like to embroider some g-tube pads for children or adults that need them. If we knew names, we could personalize some of them or do them for different holidays.