Learn about the IWBMC™

About the Presenters

Megan Finnegan, IWBMC-CE Director of Outreach Megan Finnegan is the Director of Outreach for The Jacob's Ladder Group, where she leads strategic partnerships, professional education, and public engagement initiatives that advance the organization's Interpersonal Whole-Brain Model of Care® (IWBMC™) and its implementation across education, healthcare, and community systems.   With more than 20 years of experience spanning education, disability services, program development, and leadership, Megan is committed to translating research into practical strategies that improve outcomes for individuals, families, schools, and communities. As a Certified IWBMC™ Evaluator, she speaks at regional and national events on the organization's research, interdisciplinary model of care, and evidence-informed approaches to supporting neurodivergent individuals.   Megan holds a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature and began her career in general education. After completing post-graduate coursework at Dominican University, she transitioned into special education, where she spent more than a decade serving as both a teacher and case manager. She is an alumna of the Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities (LEND) Post-Graduate Fellowship at the Center for Leadership in Disability at Georgia State University. She collaborates across education, healthcare, nonprofit, public safety, and policy sectors to strengthen systems of care through interdisciplinary collaboration, evidence-informed practice, and strategic partnerships. Allegra Saunders, IWBMC-CE, CAPT Chief Clinical Operations Officer Allegra Saunders has spent over a decade with The Jacob's Ladder Group, joining as a volunteer in 2010 and as a full-time staff member since 2011. A magna cum laude graduate of Florida State University, she is a Certified Evaluator in the Interpersonal Whole-Brain Model of Care® (IWBMC-CE) and a Certified Adaptive Personal Trainer, with additional training in Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, the Advanced TheraSuit Method, Integrated Listening Systems, and Quantum Reflex Integration. She has co-authored multiple publications on the IWBMC™ methodology, including a peer-reviewed case study in the Technium Social Sciences Journal examining the model's impact on cognition and academic performance in an autistic adolescent, and the Pillar Research Institute white paper Understanding the IWBMC™: The Union of Science & Love. As Chief Clinical Operations Officer, Allegra oversees clinical integrity across Jacob's Ladder's evaluation team, conducts initial evaluations, and helps drive development of the AHAVA software platform and Ascend Training Institute's curriculum. She has trained Jacob's Ladder staff, helped build the organization's accredited online training courses, and delivered trainings and presentations to audiences including Forsyth County Schools, Carroll County Schools, Premier High Schools (TX), and the Ethiopian church community. Allegra has also presented at SXSW EDU (2026) and the Knowledge to Action Conversation hosted by the Child Welfare Training Collaborative in partnership with Georgia State University.