Doreen Bestolarides, RN

Doreen Bestolarides is a retired active board member and AADMD Executive Board Parent Advocacy, She is on the DDNA Nursing Practice Committee. Doreen is a National speaker on topics related to IDD health equity. Doreen also is a parent and professional advocate with over three decades of hospital nursing experience, with a focus in critical care. She has dedicated the direction of her nursing career, by developing a nursing role, to better serve hospitalized patients with Developmental Disabilities.

She has continued that advocacy in her personal life to not only be a resource and educator in her own community, but to pursue her vision on the national stage through organizations such as DDNA- Developmental Disabilities Nurses Association on the Practice Committee, defining Nursing practice standards; AADMD - American Academy of Developmental Medicine and Dentistry and serving as Board member for ADHCE- Alliance for Disability in Health Care Education. She is the 2021 recipient of the AADMD Family Advocacy Award. She retired from hospital nursing in 2020.