CONTRIBUTORS( CONTINUED)
JACKIE MCNAIR
ELENE TATULASHVILI
and her husband are parents of a 29-year-old daughter living with autism and an intellectual disability, and a 31-year-old son in Gwinnett County, GA. As an experiential consultant, she helps parents create meaningful life plans and establish successful transition plans for school-aged children with disabilities into adulthood. As a parent mentor in the Dept. of Special Ed. for Gwinnett County Public School Sys., she helps families understand the Individual Education Program for special education students navigate support and services in their homes, schools, and communities. A 2000 Partners in Policymaking Program graduate of the Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities, she served as their Regional Advisory Council board member and with the Autism Society of America. A 2016 Gwinnett County Citizens Academy graduate, she was recognized by County Commissioner Charlotte Nash. Jackie is a 2017 Phil Pickens Georgia Parent Mentor Leadership Award recipient. She is on the Sangha Unity Network and Shine Community boards, agencies supporting adults with disabilities, and Travel Light Network. She authors a Substack newsletter, Jackie Mcnair @ BeyondTheIEP. Jackie returns with excellent advice on how to use past year ' s experiences to plan and chart a new routine that establishes a stable, empowering foundation in the new year, in her inspiring story,“ Reflecting on 2025 and Looking Forward to 2026,” in our Empowering Families and Individuals with Disabilities section. is a 13-year-old student living in Tbilisi, Georgia. She attends Green School, a private educational institution with a vision to produce globally minded, active generations through high-quality teaching and learning. Green School ' s mission is to raise a better future generation together with the school community through quality education. Inspired by this, Elene has many friends worldwide through her love of playing Roblox and her creative writing, which has been published by Morocco Pens, thereby extending her global outreach. She enjoys reading, especially comedy books, and spending time with her pet bird Kiki. Her mother, Nino, introduced her to reading at a young age, which sparked her passion for writing. Elene is the youngest contributor to our magazine and intends to inspire everyone by sharing her life experiences living in Tbilisi. As she embarks on her dynamic teenage life’ s journey, she enjoys expressing her ideas, experiences, and, more importantly, what she is learning in and out of the classroom, alongside her friends and family. Elene returns to share the Republic of Georgia’ s Christmas holiday and New Year story, which is very interesting as we learn about other cultures and traditions celebrating the same holidays in her wonderful story,“ Celebrating Christmas and The New Year the Georgian Way!” for her unique“ My Life in Tbilisi” column in our Global Village section.
JACQUIE CRAGGETT is a wife, mother, grandmother, and living well enthusiast. Her studies in business / accounting at Southern Methodist University certainly contributed to her selfempowerment and self-determination. When it comes to being a mother, Jacquie and her husband, Mark, are parents of four biological daughters, two adopted sons, and two adopted daughters. Living her life guided by her Christian beliefs, she exemplifies the power of can-do, which we all can use ourselves every day and in every way, especially as we start this new year. At 70 years young, Jacquie recently won 1st Place in the 2025 IRONMAN Triathlon Arizona competition in the Female 70-74 category. With this victory and accomplishment, she now qualifies for the IRONMAN World Triathlon Championship in Hawaii in 2026 and plans to compete. I am honored and excited to have Jacquie take some time off from her busy schedule to contribute her inspiring and empowering story,“ Staying Strong In The New Year …” to our Nana’ s Wisdom section.
8 | Inspirations for Better Living • January 2026