Featured Speaker Bios
Dr. Al Condeluci
CEO
UCP of Pittsburgh
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Al Condeluci has been an advocate and catalyst for building community capacities and understanding culture since 1970. Born and raised in the steel town of Pittsburgh, PA, still making his home there, Al received his Bachelors Degree in Psychology from Youngstown State University, his Masters in Social Work and Ph.D. in Education from the University of Pittsburgh. Since 1973, he has worked as an attendant, caseworker, advocate, planner, program director and now, CEO of his organization, UCP/CLASS of Pittsburgh. UCP/CLASS has created a family of corporations and is dedicated to its mission - “working towards a community where each belongs.” UCP/CLASS, under Al’s leadership, has grown to become the 3rd largest disability specific agency in Southwestern PA with a budget of $28 million and a staff and payroll complement of 675. UCP/CLASS was listed in the 50 “Best Places to Work” in Allegheny County, PA in 2007.
Along with his work at UCP/CLASS, Al is associated with the University of Pittsburgh’s School of Social Work and School of Health and Rehabilitation Science and Robert Morris University Graduate School of Business. In these academic roles Al teaches, supervises students, and serves as advisor and consultant.
Since 1975 Al has emerged as a national leader and consultant on human services and community issues. He speaks annually to national and international audiences reaching some 15,000 people each year. His books have won praises and awards for their thoughtful approach to culture and community and are now used at many colleges, universities and in-service settings.
Along with his professional activities, Al is involved in a variety of civic volunteer roles. He is on the board of the Southwest PA Partnership for Aging, The Advisory Committee of Hattie Larlham Service System and the immediate past chairman of the PA Statewide TBI Advisory Board.
Al has lived his entire life on the family homestead of “Condeluci Hill.” Settled in 1917 by his grandfather, Antonio and honed by his father, mother, uncles and aunts, “Condeluci Hill” is currently home to 15 families and was featured in LIFE MAGAZINE (Aug, 1996). Al still lives on the “hill” with his wife Liz, children Dante, Gianna and Santino and some 45 other members of the Condeluci family.
Jim Dehem
President/CEO
Community Living Services, Inc
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| Talk Story: Making Self-Determination Real Today |
Jim Dehem is the President/CEO of Community Living Services, Inc (CLS) a non-profit organization primarily serving persons with Developmental Disabilities. He is a Vice Chairperson and Board Officer for the Center for Self-Determination. CLS supports over 3000 people most of whom with housing and personal assistance. It operates with a $140 million budged in addition to individual entitlements. Mr. Dehem has over 33 years working with people with disabilities.
CLS was an original site of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Self-Determination grants, the largest project in the country, developing individual budgets and transferring authority to people with disabilities during that time. CLS is undergoing a major organization transition in the way they support people and Jim is a frequent speaker on system change issues.
Derrick Dufresne, MPA
Senior Partner
Community Resource Alliance
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As founder and senior partner of Community Resource Alliance (CRA), Derrick has been offering insightful training and consultation services since 1982. Over the course of his career, he has delivered conference presentations, trainings, strategic board planning retreats, workshops, and management consultation to over thirty thousand people in forty-nine states.
In 2003, Derrick was named President and CEO of the Institute on Public Policy For People with Disabilities. The Institute is a membership organization that focuses on promoting best practice and quality community supports for people with disabilities throughout Illinois.
Since entering the field in 1974, Derrick's dedication to the community has been demonstrated through his involvement in a variety of leadership positions in both community and institutional settings. His experience in running community residential services included the closing of nine ICF-MRs and eleven group homes and converting them to supported living arrangements based on the personal choice of the individuals served.
Derrick has served two terms on the Board of the American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (AAIID – formerly AAMR). He was co-founder of AAIDD's Community Living Division (now Community Services) and served as chairperson of its Legislative and Social Issues Committee (LASI) from 1988-1990.
His innovative approaches reflect his genuine compassion for helping others. In 2002, he was recognized nationally as recipient of AAMR’s Service Award for “unwavering service to people with developmental disabilities in support of self-determined and inclusive lives in communities across our nation.” That same year, he received the Monsignor Elmer H. Behrman Award for outstanding contributions to the field of mental retardation from the Missouri State Chapter of AAMR.
As a former real estate broker, Derrick possesses a wealth of knowledge in the areas of real estate, financing, tax credits, and subsidies. He uses this knowledge to establish affordable integrated housing throughout the United States for people with disabilities.
Among his many recent projects, he has been involved in the implementation of self-determination in a Medicaid environment. This has included pairing person-centered planning with individual budgets. He is deeply interested in systems change and has presented frequently on “Changing the System One Person at a Time.” He has also devoted increasing time to consultation with parents, school systems, and young people to assist in transition planning for individuals as they move from the educational system to adult services.
He is deeply committed to assisting providers, advocates, state officials and others in the implementation of the principles of full inclusion for all persons with disabilities into the mainstream of community life.
Sue Gabriel PMHNP, APRN-BC
Developmental Enhancement
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Sue Gabriel, PMHNP, APRN-BC is a psychiatric nurse practitioner who has spent the last 2 decades providing expertise in assessment and plans of care for persons who have difficult to manage psychiatric and/or behavior problems in association with their neuro-developmental challenges. As stated in her contract with the Michigan Department of Community Health, “Ms. Gabriel is a nationally recognized, locally based certified psychiatric nurse practitioner specializing in the treatment of persons with co-morbidity of mental illness and developmental disabilities. This highly specialized expertise is quite rare and not available to most community agencies, nor is it often available from the state level. Ms. Gabriel (is) available (to) provide emergent on-site consultation regarding very complex, difficult to manage persons in order to maintain them in their community and avoid hospitalization or institutionalization.”
In addition to direct consumer care, Ms. Gabriel has been involved in local, state-level, and national level groups to create new service delivery options. For example, she helped design temporary units of care to stabilize very medically fragile children for community placement, developed a model mental health clinic for adults with co-occurring developmental disabilities and mental health issues, programs for persons with disabilities and personality disorders, and addressing the complex needs of persons with disabilities as they age. She has a keen interest in assisting in recognizing the needs of those persons with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD).
Currently, Sue is the Director of Clinical Supports for CRA. She continues to provide expertise for the state of Michigan Dept. of Community Health in these areas for the last 10 years and is now part of the state of Michigan “Virtual Team” to assist CMH’s in providing community based supports. She also teaches Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing, Trans-Cultural Care and Promoting Health in Families & Groups, for the University of Michigan, Flint Campus
Sue is a long-term member of NADD, and member of various NADD educational committees for many years. In addition to authoring many articles and 2 books (the most recent is: Quandaries, Understanding Mental Illness in Persons with Developmental Disabilities, (2004), NADD) to assist the general public in understanding the complex needs of persons with developmental disabilities, she was the primary author for one chapter and advisor for 2 other chapters of the new Diagnostic Manual for Persons with Intellectual Disabilities (DM-IM).
To increase the knowledge base of the field, Sue has been active in presenting and developing trainings for staff involved with persons with neuro-developmental challenges. She presents on such topics as mental illness in persons with DD, FASD, aging and dementia in persons with disabilities, understanding the connections between physical illness and mental distress in persons with cognitive challenges, and crisis services for persons with disabilities.
Bob Laux
President
Wild River Consulting Corp
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| This is a two part session |
Bob Laux, President of Wild River Consulting Corp, has over 35 years of experience in the creation of community services and the development of housing options for people with disabilities. As President of Wild River Consulting Corp. (formerly Creative Management Associates of Portsmouth, NH), Bob has become nationally recognized for his creative “home ownership” efforts on behalf of people with disabilities as well as others in need of affordable housing. Under his leadership this management group provided real estate and financial planning consultation, training events and technical assistance in 48 states, Canada, Australia and New Zealand involving over 150 non-profit agencies and state governments. Bob authored a publication by NAPRFMR (currently ANCOR) entitled “The Use of Private Financial Resources To Create Housing Alternatives” (1978) and coauthored a monograph funded by NIMH entitled “In Search of Housing: Creative Approaches To Financing Integrated Housing” (1984). Additionally, Bob and his wife coauthored a nationally recognized manual entitled “Your Place or Mine? – A Handbook For Home Ownership” (1988), a text designed to assist people with disabilities in deciding about home ownership.
Bob is also President of Wild River Realty, Inc., a real estate and property management company, serving New Hampshire and the mountains of Western Maine. He is an active member and Fellow of AAIDD, a Board member of the ANCOR Foundation, a member of ANCOR, the National Association of Realtors and continues to be a featured speaker at national, regional and statewide conferences.
Bob’s academic credentials include a BS from Boston University in secondary education with a concentration in special education and social psychology and a MSSW from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, specializing in mental retardation and behavioral disabilities. Additionally, Bob has taken over 100 graduate level courses in real estate, real estate law, business administration, federal taxation, low income housing tax credits, real estate finance, personnel management, marketing and administration. He has applied these studies in clinical, administrative and executive positions in New Hampshire, Vermont, Virginia, Wisconsin and Maine.
Mike Mayer, Ph.D
Senior Partner
Community Resource Alliance
Prior to joining CRA, Senior Partner, Dr. Michael "Mike" Mayer was the Executive Director of the Institute on Complex Disabilities for 12 years. He also has been providing cutting-edge training and consultation services internationally since 1990. Mike is an internationally known speaker, consultant, and trainer; his unique approach, compassionate drive, and enlightening and dynamic presentations have led over 400 local, state, and national organizations to pursue his penetrating and enriching training. He has trained over 40,000 personnel all over the world, including the United States, Canada, the Middle East, the Pacific Rim, Africa, Asia, and Europe. He has been directly responsible for overseeing the development of community residential, vocational, and other support and treatment services for over 500 people who have disabilities, specializing in individuals with more severe and/or complex disabilities. He has also overseen and/or consulted on the development, modification to, and/or conversion of family and community services and supports for over 5,250 people.
Mike has authored and edited over 50 publications including books, chapters, and articles. He has developed numerous curricula, assessment tools, and protocols that are used throughout the world to assist in the diagnosis, treatment, support planning, service evaluation, and training for people who have complex disabilities. He has served on the faculty of several colleges, universities, institutes, international forums, and boards of directors.
He also organizes and provides program design, development, and management supports for organizations that support people with disabilities. One of his major focuses is to facilitate organizational implementation of systems transformation and service conversions efforts. Mike's dedication to community supports has been a passion of his since he was a young adult, and it clearly shows in his focus on preventing institutionalization and supporting deinstitutionalization. He has a strong desire to help all, especially those previously deemed "too difficult" to support within the community.
Thomas Nerney
Director
The Center for Self-Determination
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Talk Story: Making Self-Determination Real Today
Thomas Nerney is the Director of the Center for Self-Determination--a national effort to work in equal partnership with individuals who experience disability of any kind and at any age, in order to change both the foundation and the practice of long term care in America. The Center works with individuals with disabilities, family members and professionals to create a training and technical assistance capacity to implement the principles of self-determination nationwide. Through the use of innovative approaches to Medicaid and Social Security regulations and laws the Center hopes to reach the goals of redefining quality based on universal aspirations, address the forced impoverishment of most adults with disabilities and create a more flexible and simpler system of supports for all those who experience disability based on a new understanding of freedom and responsibility.
Tom previously served as Co-Director of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Program entitled “Self-Determination for Persons with Developmental Disabilities.” In this role he managed grants and provided technical assistance to states, policymakers, families, and individuals with disabilities. Prior to this, Mr. Nerney was director of the first Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s funded pilot on Self-Determination in 1993.
Tom provides technical assistance on self-determination across the country. Mr. Nerney has been an independent consultant and lecturer on human service reform. He has consulted with a wide variety of public and private groups in the United States, including numerous disability, parent, and advocacy groups. He is a former Kennedy Foundation Fellow in Public Policy and a Mary Switzer Distinguished Fellow, U.S. Department of Education, National Institute of Disability Rehabilitation and Research.
Mr. Nerney has served as an expert consultant to the Federal Office of Special Education and to the United States Civil Rights Commission.
His work with the U.S. Civil Rights Commission resulted in the landmark study: Medical Discrimination against Children with Disabilities (1990).
Mr. Nerney’s work in the field of special education has centered on the disparate treatment of minority students, the unfairness involved in the labeling and placement of students by ethnicity, race and gender, and the high cost associated with segregated special education.
Doreen Rosimos
Income Links LLC
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As a part of the original team that implemented the principles of self determination in New Hampshire, Doreen helped to create true freedom for people with developmental disabilities in her capacity as one of the founding members of the Center for Self Determination, an international organization.
She has helped to implement self determination, and more specifically, micro-enterprises in 48 states and 7 countries, including England, Scotland, Wales, Australia, New Zealand and Singapore and has trained in Italy, New Zealand, Japan and Canada. Doreen believes that all people, regardless of how their bodies work can produce income.
Doreen helps people who have disabilities learn the street level skills of “how to” start and operate small businesses, speaking from experience, as she has successfully started and sold more than 25 businesses and currently owns 9 businesses, including 2 small provider agencies.
Doreen believes that there is no one that cannot be served in the community. As she says, “It’s not always easy, but it is always worth it!”
Darcy Wilson
Income Links LLC
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Darcy Wilson is a dynamic woman dedicated to operationalizing the freedom of individuals, through the creation of income.
She is one of the founding members and consultants for the Center for Self-Determination. The driving force behind their collaboration is their belief in thinking outside the box, and believing that failure is not an option for anyone. Darcy struggled seeing individuals making minimum wage or less. Darcy witnessed the failure of the current system to overcome this discrepancy. Her belief in developing micro enterprises to meet the varying needs of individuals is her underlying motivation. She is working to develop as many income-producing individuals as possible, especially those who are most challenged. Being involved in family businesses for all her life, Darcy has always looked at ways to be creative, inventive and to make income.
Her belief in the power of a personal relationship and commitment to operationalizing individual’s freedoms, guided her.
Sandee Yoro
Executive Director
SECOH
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Sandee is the Executive Director at SECOH, a not for profit agency that provides a variety of services and supports to approximately 225 people with disabilities who reside on the island of Oahu. Sandee has been employed at SECOH for 18 years and has held positions from Direct Support Worker to Program Coordinator to her current position of Executive Director. Prior to her career at SECOH, Sandee worked for Redmond Junior High School in the greater Seattle area as a Resource Teacher for youth-at-risk.
Sandee serves on multiple disability service planning and task force committees developing and implementing statewide policy. Sandee also serves in a leadership role on the Hawaii Direct Support Workers Conference Planning Committee since she co-founded the event in 1997. Sandee also assisted SECOH in the co-founding of the Hawaii Waiver Providers Association (HWPA) and currently serves as the Secretary of HWPA.
Sandee’s community service activities include serving as a personal facilitator at the Hawaii State Council on Developmental Disabilities Partner in Policy Making Academy; a Special Olympics Volunteer & Planner; a Mililani Presbyterian Pre-School Advisory Board Member and Mililani-Waipio Bobby Sox Board of Director.
Sandee is a member of the American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (AAIDD), the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE), and Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). Sandee has a Bachelor of Science in Business Management, a Master of Arts degree in Organizational Management and is a Certified Nonviolent Crisis Intervention Instructor with the Crisis Prevention Institute.
Individual Speaker Bios
Laura Abulafia, MHS
Director of the Environmental Health Initiative
American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities
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Laura Abulafia, MHS, got her Masters degree in Health Sciences at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in the department of Environmental Health Sciences. As Director of the Environmental Health Initiative at the American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, she collaborates with a network of organizations and health professionals to get the Developmental Disabilities community in the US aware of environmental exposures to toxins. The goals of AAIDD are twofold: to bring awareness about the links between environmental exposures and developmental disabilities, and also to promote research showing that people with disabilities are a vulnerable population and may be more “at risk” when exposed to environmental contaminants. Prior to receiving her master’s degree, Ms. Abulafia's interests centered around children's environmental health and public health.
Jordan R. Ackerson
Self-Advocate
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Jordan is a 20-year-old man with ASD who lives in Oregon. A recent graduate from high school, he participated in cross country and track for four years. He was also a member of the audition-only a capella choir. Jordan has presented at numerous national conferences. He loves public speaking and looks forward to being a spokesperson about how it feels to have autism and the importance of not underestimating people with challenges. He is a member of an Oregon teen youth advisory group. Jordan has also been the subject of feature articles, both in his school newspaper and the local newspaper. He has also been interviewed by CNN and two local radio talk shows.
Christopher Ako
Project Coordinator
STRIDE Hawaii
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Christopher Ako is the Project Coordinator for STRIDE Hawaii. He has been working with at-risk and disadvantaged youth and young adults since 2002. He has worked in the YMCA’s Mentoring Program and Hale Kipa’s Hui Malama Ohana and Pregnancy Prevention Programs. He graduated from the University of
Hawaii – Manoa, majoring in Psychology.
Carol Baker
Community Supports Branch Manager
Commonwealth of Kentucky’s Division of Mental Retardation
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Carol Baker is the Community Supports Branch Manager for the Commonwealth of Kentucky’s Division of Mental Retardation. She has been in this role for two years. The focus of this Branch is to regulate provision of supports to individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities by the Commonwealth’s 14 Regional Community Mental Health Centers. In 2007, this Branch collaborated with these regional centers to develop and implement community-based crisis prevention and intervention services for
adults with I/DD.
Carol obtained her B.A. in Psychology from Transylvania University and her M.A. in Clinical Psychology from the University of Louisville. In addition to providing both outpatient and inpatient clinical services, she served as Directory of Psychology for Central State ICF/MR in Louisville, KY for 5 years before becoming Program Director of the unit for the Dually Diagnosed. Carol then served as the Executive Director of a non-profit community-based provider prior to returning to employment with the Commonwealth of Kentucky in her current position.
Elaine Yost Barak
CEO
Optional Rehabilitation Services (OPTIONS) Inc
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Elaine Yost Barak is the CEO of Optional Rehabilitation Services (OPTIONS) Inc, a private company that was initiated on August 7, 1986. It grew out of the desire to develop new, exciting and innovative alternatives for people providing support to people with disabilities. Options is currently providing staffing support to a variety of individuals in their homes, as well as community support, monitoring and outreach services. Mother is also the mother with two adult sons, one of whom has a significant developmental disability
Julia Berle
Mother to Recovered Son Baxter
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Julia Berle is mother to Baxter who recovered from autism three years after receiving the diagnosis through a variety of biomedical and traditional therapies. She and Baxter have shared his success story on Good Morning America, Dateline NBC, numerous local California news stations as well as in a variety of printed publications.
Informing parents and caregivers that autism is reversible is of paramount importance to Julia as it can often be an exhaustive battle with seemingly little hope. Julia is a Founding Parent of Generation Rescue (www.generationrescue.org) and Co-coordinator for Los Angeles TACA (www.tacanow.org). Baxter is currently a joyful, social, 7 year old, that attends a typical classroom with no supports or therapy.
Rhonda Black Ed.D
Professor of Special Education
University of Hawaii at Manoa
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Rhonda Black is a Professor of Special Education at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. Her teaching and research has focused on social competence and cultural considerations in transition. She received Bachelor of Science degrees in Psychology and in Human Development and Family Relations, and a master’s degree in Special Education from the University of Utah. In 1996, she received her doctorate from The University of Georgia in Vocational Special Needs.
She worked for nine years at a community-based program for young adults with disabilities through a cooperative agreement between the Salt Lake City School District and the Division of Rehabilitation in Utah. In that setting she became acutely aware of the importance of sexuality in adult social relationships for individuals with disabilities.
Since accepting a position at the University of Hawaii at Manoa in 1996, much of Dr. Black’s time has been spent giving presentations and workshops on sexuality, consulting with families, and providing training for teachers, parents, and young adults with DD about issues surrounding sexuality including appropriate ways to seek social approval, express affection, and develop intimate relationships.
Keri Bowers
Filmmaker and Mother of a Son with Autism
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Having worked in the disabilities field for over 18 years, Keri’s hands-on work with kids and adults, parenting a child with special needs, and full-time work in the non-profit sector and advocacy have turned Keri into a speaker not to be missed. Keri’s talks have audiences waiting for the key secrets she shares in the arts and other innovational ideas for interventions for disabled individuals. “Normies” – or individuals without disabilities also find the film and talks fascinating and informative.
Jeffrey Bradstreet, MD, FAAFP
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Dr. Bradstreet graduated from the University of South Florida College of Medicine and received his residency training from Wilford Hall USAF Medical Center. As a flight surgeon, he was involved in aerospace medicine research, and has extensive experience and training in environmental medicine and toxicology. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians and a member of the American College of Toxicology. He is involved in autism related outcome studies and environmental research with the University of Washington and UCLA and serves as a adjunct Professor of Child Development and Neuroscience at Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine in Tempe, Arizona. He has offices in Florida and Arizona and he is internationally recognized as a lecturer and researcher in autism. His son, Matthew, is recovering from autism with the combined help of biomedical and behavioral interventions.
Robin Brandt, Ph.D
Picture Coming Soon
Director
Pacific Basin Rehabilitation Research and Training Center
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Dr. Brandt has served as the Director of the Pacific Basin Rehabilitation Research and Training Center (PBRRTC) since 2004. She is currently directing projects or contracts that provide mentors for young adults with disabilities, implementing a peer mentoring project for persons with traumatic brain injury, providing evaluation and technical assistance to Hawaii Vocational Rehabilitation and Services to the Blind Division, and assisting with a Disability Communication Access effort to update the 2007 Interagency Action Plan on Emergency Preparedness for Persons with Disabilities and Special Health Needs
Joel Bynum
Senior Learning Community Coordinator
Kent State University
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Receiving his Master’s in Student Affairs Administration at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana Joel first became interested in disability issues during an internship in the Student Accessibility Services office at Ball State University and then later working with students with accessibility needs as a residence hall director in an accessible building at Western Washington University. In his current professional role as Senior Learning Community Coordinator at Kent State University he has partnered with the Center for Disability Studies to develop an on-campus living-learning community. This community seeks to immerse students with an interest in disability studies certification into a rich learning environment that will foster learning in and outside the classroom.
Linnea Carlson
Research Associate
Center for Disability Studies
Kent State University
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Linnea Carlson is a Research Associate in the Center for Disability Studies at KSU and is a Training Coordinator for the current Access to Quality Higher Education Project, which is funded by the Office of Post Secondary Education. Linnea has worked in a variety of settings within Higher Education, including Student Affairs, Student Programs, Faculty Professional Development and Institutional Research offices. Linnea has an M.Ed. in Evaluation and Measurement and is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Higher Education Administration, focusing on university faculty and student disability issues.
Sheila Cole
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Sheila has been working with children with disabilities for the past 10 years. When she entered the field it became evident that she had a natural ability, creative and supportive vision for the children she works with. She has been a child and youth care worker, residential care worker, teaching assistant in an elementary school and is currently the supervisor for a staffed residential resource and an in home program in a small community in the northwest of British Columbia, Canada. She currently supports the youth in these homes in the development of creative, person-centered supports, and skill development as well as providing direct staff supervision, support and training.
Cissy Coleman, M.Ed.
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Cissy Coleman, M.Ed. has worked in the field of special education for more than 20 years. She has delivered services as an early interventionist in the public school setting and as an elementary classroom teacher. She is an independent autism consultant living outside of Houston, Texas. She offers classroom consultation services and teacher training. She has trained regularly with Division TEACCH in Chapel Hill, NC. Additionally, Ms. Coleman is co-author Task Bonanza, Task Tracker and the Print It – Teach It teaching activities CD’s and has presented internationally at the World Autism Conference and the Autism Europe Conference on reading strategies for students with autism.
Taylor Cross
An Individual with ASD
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“Taylor’s presentations are sometimes odd, very educational, and always entertaining!” At 19 years old, Taylor Cross regularly travels throughout the US, Canada, and abroad promoting his 90 minute documentary film about autism, “Normal People Scare Me”. Conceived by Taylor at age 14, the film was a joint collaboration between Taylor and his mom, Keri Bowers, an advocate and educator in disabilities. A 10 minute student film will be shown.
John Dekkers
Emeritus Professor
Central Queensland University
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Emeritus Professor John Dekkers has been a research professor at Central Queensland University (CQU) since 1998. From1983 to 1997 he was Professor and Head of the Distance Education Centre at CQU. Prior this position he was the Foundation Head of Science and Mathematics Education Centre at Curtin University in Western Australia from 1997 to 1982. Professor Dekkers has a PhD in Bioinorganic Chemistry from the Australian National University. Through his over 40 years career as an academic he has authored/co authored over 300 publications.
Lionel Evans
Ph.D Candidate
Parent to Parent Association Queensland, Inc.
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Lionel has recently completed his PhD titled, Asperger’s Syndrome: An Enabling Model For Individuals Living in Regional Communities. As a parent he has three children, two of whom experience Asperger’s Syndrome. This situation resulted in him starting a journey into the disability field. Lionel started his PhD studies at the age of 40, which coincided with being the first year of his life as a person with an official diagnosis of Asperger’s Syndrome! Currently Lionel works for Parent to Parent as a Family Facilitator and Researcher. Parent to Parent is a peer support group where parents are mentored by other parents whose children experience the same disability. This program is based on the work of John and Connie Lyle O’Brien and also Helen Sanderson. In the realm of community engagement Parent to Parent utilizes Asset Based Community Development.
Tammy Evrard
Independent Consultant
Ontario, California
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Tammy Evrard is an independent consultant residing in Ontario, California. She has worked for people with developmental disabilities for over 17 years. She has experience as a community provider for residential, independent living and supported living services. She has also worked for a non-profit agency as a service coordinator and resource developer.
Her current work is focused on developing programs, training models, and facilitation support that help individuals have self-determined lives and personal choice. This commitment has lead to a variety of projects that support individuals and their families to become active members of the community and leaders of change.
Tammy works in conjunction with the Board Resource Center [BRC] providing best-practice leadership facilitation for non-profit organizations, community advocacy groups and government agencies that advocate for or serve people with developmental disabilities. She is the project liaison and assists in the creation of publications and media materials for advocacy groups in California, Department of Developmental Services, and the California Regional Centers.
Tricia Farnham
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Tricia became part of the disability community during an accidental summer job and never left. She is honored to be an ally in the social struggle to ensure the dignity and equality of every human being. Tricia has been a direct support worker, a job coach, and served as the Executive Director of Georgia Options—a local, not-for-profit organization in Georgia that supports people with significant developmental disabilities to live in their OWN homes and have typical life experiences. She currently gets to work with people in several states and the organizations that support them to develop and sustain creative, person-centered supports. Importantly, Tricia is a fan of big dogs, big sharks, dark chocolate, and low-maintenance haircuts.
Dr. Aileen Wight Felske
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Dr. Aileen Wight Felske is a lecturer and researcher in disability studies. She teaches primarily in the areas of social change and social policy. As an advocate Aileen has served on the boards of the Canadian Center on Disability Studies, and the Canadian Association for Community Living. Her most current work includes the book Making Equality: History of Advocacy and Persons with Disabilities in Canada (2003) and a chapter on Social change Partnerships: advocates, Business and Government in the text by McColl and Jongbloed Disability and Social Policy in Canada (2006).
Jodi Foote
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Jodi is a young woman that thru no fault of her own suffered at the hands of others and from a system that tried diligently but was just never able to meet her individual needs.
Jodi had endured a childhood and teenage years of being held down “for her own good”, went thru every school in her district and all surround districts, 52 foster care families from the age of 2 to 19 all them just not working. All the time creating a reputation that was to follow her everywhere she went.
Then one day, Christmas day, her current home provider “just couldn’t take it anymore” and called the provider agency and said “come get her”. She ended up, as a last resort, going to a person’s house for just 5 days, they have recently celebrated their 2000th day anniversary. Although this is not a forever situation, it has been a successful one. Jodi and those around her have found some things that just plain work for Jodi. People now get who the “real Jodi is” This Jodi has a plan, a future, a job, and a micro-enterprise. This Jodi has found her VOICE, and is surrounded by people who listen, not only to her words but to her heart. This is her story told by her in her way.
David Fray, DDS
Chief Developmental Disabilities Division
Hawaii State Department of Health
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David F. Fray DDS, MBA since December 2002 has been the Chief of the Developmental Disabilities Division in the Department of Health, State of Hawaii. This agency serves more than 3,000 individuals across the State with community-based supports. Dr. Fray serves as adjunct faculty with the Kolua Kalihi Valley dental residency program in Honolulu. He previously served as the Director of Developmental Disabilities Services (DDS) and Children’s Medical Services (CMS) for the State of Arkansas; a Division responsible for the development and guidance of the state's network of developmental disabilities services and the Title V Child and Maternity Program for Arkansas. Other previous positions were Assistant Director of Mental Health in Arkansas as Director of the 400-bed Arkansas Healthcare Center, a psychiatric skilled-nursing and rehab facility. Dr. Fray served as director of the Dementia Center of Arkansas, clinical coordinator of two UN refugee camp relief aid projects, adjunct faculty at the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Honduras, staff dentist for a 120 person community program for adults with mental retardation, and 18 years experience in the private practice of dentistry with an emphasis on special needs patients. He holds degrees in Chemistry, Dentistry, and Healthcare Administration as well as a Nursing Home Administrator's license.
Tisha Gonzalez, M.A.
Independent Autism Consultant
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Tisha Gonzalez, M.A. is an independent autism consultant residing in San Antonio, Texas. She is a licensed speech pathologist and certified special education teacher with over 25 years experience working with students with autism. She performs classroom consultations and has conducted numerous trainings and workshops nationally and internationally. She is a co-presenter on reading strategies at the 2007 Autism Europe conference in Norway. She has also recently presented at the World Autism Conference in Cape Town South Africa. Additionally, Ms. Gonzalez is co-author to Task Bonanza, Task Tracker and the Print It – Teach It teaching activities CD’s and has developed a website to offer teachers teaching ideas and strategies.
Doreen Granpeesheh, Ph.D
Founder and Executive Director
Center for Autism and Related Disorder
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Dr. Doreen Granpeesheh, Founder and Executive Director of The Center for Autism and Related Disorders, has dedicated over 25 years to the study and treatment of Autism Spectrum Disorders.
Through her research, curriculum development and treatment implementation Dr. Granpeesheh helped demonstrate the effectiveness of intensive, early Applied Behavior Analysis intervention. Dr. Granpeesheh earned her Ph.D. in Psychology from UCLA in 1990, and was licensed by the Medical Board of California in 1992. She is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst.
In 1990, Dr. Granpeesheh founded The Center for Autism and Related Disorders CARD), and through its fourteen offices she has helped thousands of children affected by Autism, Asperger’s Syndrome, and PDD-NOS. CARD services include assessments, supervision, parent/teacher training, and one-on-one behavioral therapy. Through Dr. Granpeesheh’s vision of helping as many individuals with autism as possible, CARD has become an industry leader in administering effective multi-disciplinary treatment plans. Dr. Granpeesheh is also on staff at Thoughtful House Center for Children, located in Austin, Texas
Susan Harrell
Senior Program Manager
Technical Assistance
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Susan Harrell has more than twenty years of experience working with and on behalf of people with disabilities through direct services, service agency management, and governmental and agency consulting, with a primary focus of addressing system issues and assisting individuals with disabilities in obtaining and maintaining employment and developing economic self-sufficiency. Susan specializes in the following consultation topics: Job Development; Job Coaching; Social Security and Medical Benefits; Work Incentives; Individual Resource Development; Person-Centered Planning; and Policy and Regulation Issues Related to the Self-Sufficiency of Individuals with Disabilities.
Brian Kajiyama, M.Ed.
Executive Director
Art Enabled™
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Brian Kajiyama is a person with cerebral palsy and an augmentative communication user. He is currently a student at the University of Hawai'i at Manoa pursuing a PhD in the field of Exceptionalities from the special education department. Brian will enter his second season as a graduate assistant for the university's Warrior football team.
Brian has a M.Ed. in Guidance and Counseling with an emphasis on vocational rehabilitation. He serves on the Disability and Communication Access Board for the State of Hawaii (appointed by Governor Linda Lingle). Brian has learned to become a better self-advocate through personal experiences; he has shared his story through national media outlets and has done presentations, both locally and nationally.
His latest endeavor is to spearhead a community event called Art Enabled™, which will serve to promote inclusion in communities by celebrating diversity through the arts. He looks forward to building a model event that other states can adopt and implement.
Jerry Kartzinel, MD, FAAP
Pediatric Partners
Ponte Verde Beach, Florida
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Dr. Kartzinel is on staff at Pediatric Partners in Ponte Verde Beach, Florida. He is Board-Certified in Pediatrics. Dr. Kartzinel received his Medical Doctorate at St. Louis University School of Medicine. He is the Co-Founder of the International Autism Research Center, located in Central Florida. He is well recognized for his pioneering and innovative approaches in the treatment of Autism Spectrum Disorders.
Dr. Kartzinel's practice is solely devoted to the research and treatment of autism and other neurodegenerative disorders. His approach includes a comprehensive history and physical exam, and laboratory investigations that seek to find what is biologically different in a child. Once found, he implements therapeutic interventions and monitors closely how they affect restoration of health and behaviors. He and his wife have 4 children. Their youngest child, Joshua, is recovering from autism.
Kathy Kelchner
President
Autism Society of Dallas
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Kathy Kelchner and works professionally as an Educational Consultant. Kathy co-authored The Arc’s Self-Determination Assessment Scale and Whose Future Is It Anyway and Golden Ideas for Golden Students. Kathy is the sibling of a sister with autism.
Eva Kishimoto DCSW, CSAC, LCSW
Mental Illness and Other Special Populations Service Director
Adult Mental Health Division of Hawaii Department of Health
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She was previously the Project Manager of the SAMHSA National Policy Academy for Dual Diagnosis. She has been in supervisory and therapy positions at Queen’s Medical Center and the Waianae Coast Community Mental Health Center. She is Adjunct Faculty, Department of Psychiatry at the John A. Burns School of Medicine and also for the Graduate School of Social Work, both at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. She received her BA in Psychology and MSW in Social Work at the University of Hawaii at Manoa.
Stan Kurtz
Parent. Researcher. Teacher
Inventor of MB12 Nasal Spray
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Stan Kurtz is dad to 5-year-old Ethan, who recovered from an autism diagnosis. Stan recovered himself from ADHD and IBS while he was working on therapies for his son. Stan has presented at the USAAA 2006 International Conference and the DAN! Conference, and he is one of a few parent-researchers to present and attend the DAN! Think Tank and contribute to the DAN! Physician's and Nurse’s training.
Stan innovated the MB12 Nasal Spray therapy, and his research continues to highlight the collective relationship between viruses, fungus, bacteria and mercury in children with autism. He moderates the Yahoo! autism parent group MB12Valtrex, which focuses on antiviral and Nasal Spray MB12 therapies. Stan has published many recovery videos including a groundbreaking video of a 23 year old with ADHD attached to an EEG showing a lack of brainwave synchronicity that recovers in minutes after taking MB12 Nasal Spray. Stan and Dr. Richard Deth, PhD, are working with UCLA on a study of MB12 Nasal Spray for ADHD.
Stan also has a grant from the Autism Research Institute to study MB12 Nasal Spray. Stan is the radio host of "From the Children’s Corner" on Autism One and is the owner of Children's Corner School in Van Nuys, California, a unique school that includes special needs children in the classroom and focuses on research and health as a foundation for child development. Stan is also the Co-Chairman of Hand in Hand Child and Family Development Center in Encino, California, a Regional Center Provider for Speech, Occupational, Physical, and Behavioral Therapies.
Joel Lakins
President of the Self-Advocate Advisory Council
Honolulu, HI
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Joey is currently the President of the Self-Advocate Advisory Council. He is a graduate of Roosevelt High School in Honolulu, he has attended Kapiolani Community College. He works for the Department of Health where he is an Individual Mentor. He has co-authored a booklet on Person Centered Planning and he develops and conducts trainings and presentations to help self-advocates and the people who are paid to support them. He is also a Courtesy Clerk at Safeway. He likes helping others, sharing his knowledge and finds helping others gives him a better perspective on his own life. He also likes going to movies and University of Hawaii volleyball and basketball games.
Lunetha Lancaster
Founder
AADRI (Access, Advocacy & the Disability Rights Institute)
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Lunetha Lancaster has lived with myasthenia gravis, fibromylagia, and retinitis pigmentosa for over 20 years. A mother with two small children to raise, giving up was not an option. Foundational training from my parents and grandparents who were active in the civil rights movement of the 1960’s prepared me to persevere as well create avenues of opportunities. She found the same push necessary during the civil rights movement was being used as a template by the global disability community.
An easy transition ensued and she entered society now with a different label, a person with a disability. Moving to NYC in the 1990’s, Lunetha returned to college to complete here undergraduate degree. Appalled by the attitudes and treatment of students with disabilities; she immediately became a disability activist. She started the first student disability organization in 1998 which she received a Profiles in Courage Award and a Building Bridges Award from Harlem Hospital and Columbia University. Lunetha introduced the first study abroad program for students with disabilities at City College of New York in 2002, where she paired students with and without disabilities to learn and attend the United Nations Human Rights Conferences in Geneva, Switzerland.
After completing her studies at City College and coordinating the Human Rights Conferences for other organizations, Lunetha started her own company in 2006 to educate the minority population on human and disability rights education.
Lunetha continues to work as a disability consultant and advocate.
Lisa Ackerson Lieberman, MSW, LCSW
Psychotherapist
Private Practice
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Lisa Lieberman is an Oregon psychotherapist in private practice with over 30 years experience. She has published numerous articles and is the author of a book entitled, “A Stranger Among Us,” a comprehensive guide to hiring one-to-one providers for children and young adults with disabilities. (AAPC, 2005) An engaging national speaker, she skillfully and sensitively addresses issues related to “living with disability in the family.” Most importantly, she and her husband of 29 years are blessed with a 20-year-old son, Jordan, who has autism.
Frank Marone Ph.D.
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Dr. Marone has worked in the field of Applied Behavior Analysis since 1974. He has often and repeatedly been responsible for creating innovative opportunities for people considered disabled. Deeply committed to full inclusion, much of his work has emphasized support alternatives that enable people, regardless of obstacles and challenges, to experience everyday aspects of life in similar fashion as do their nondisabled peers.
Dr. Marone has assisted individuals as young as two years old and as old as 70. He has worked in family homes, group homes, schools, community settings, institutions, and more. He has been a case manager, college professor, consultant, foster parent, and employer of individuals assisting others with disabilities. For several years he was a member and the Chairperson of the San Francisco Mayor’s Council on Disability, the only nondisabled individual ever to serve in this capacity. At present, Dr. Marone provides consultation and direct service to families, individuals with disabilities, schools, group homes, and others. He continues to develop creative opportunities for full inclusion of all people regardless disabilities or setting.
Jaquelyn McCandless, MD
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Jaquelyn McCandless, MD is certified by the American Board of Psychiatry & Neurology, Dr. McCandless began pursuing alternative brain, anti-aging, and hormonal issues in 1985. In 1996 upon learning of the autism diagnosis for her 13th grandchild, she began studying, treating, teaching and writing about autism spectrum disorder. Her autism treatment book, see wwwTreatStarvingBrains.com, Children with Starving Brains, a Medical Treatment Guide for Autism Spectrum Disorder” was first published in 2002 and is in its 3rd Edition in 2007 and has been published in Indonesia, Turkey, Poland, and soon Japan. She initiated physicians’ training in bio-medical approaches to autism through the DAN! (Defeat Autism Now!) in 2003, and has trained physicians in US, Israel, the UK, and Hong Kong. She became a member of DAN!s Executive Committee in 2005. LDN (low-dose naltrexone), an immune/mood modulator was introduced to the autism community by Dr. McCandless in 2005; she now conducts research on this drug for HIV+ AIDS in Mali and Africa.
Joseph P. Meadours
Picture Coming Soon
Self Advocate, and Executive Director
Peoples First of California, Inc.
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Joe Meadours has been an advocate in the disability movement since 1992. In 1998, he was selected by the President's Committee on Mental Retardation to be the recipient of the Elizabeth Monroe Boggs award for Young Leadership. Mr. Meadours has worked in several States, including Oklahoma, where he is Past- President of Oklahoma People First. He has also worked in Tennessee and Illinois and in Alabama as Director of Consumer Empowerment, State of Alabama, Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation. He has served on numerous boards in many States. He is a firm believer that "We should fund people and not programs. Everybody can live a Self Determined life with support, if they need it." Mr. Meadours was born in Selma, Alabama. He enjoys all sports especially going to baseball games and riding his bicycle. His goal in life is to go to law school and to become a State Representative in Oklahoma.
Evan Murakami
Individual Mentor - Case Management and Information Services Branch
Hawaii Department of Health
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Evan is an Individual Mentor for the Department of Health, Case Management and Information Services Branch. He is also the current Treasurer for the Self-Advocate Advisory Council. He works with self-advocates to emphasis the importance of taking charge of their lives and to make choices both big and small. He has co-authored a booklet on Person Centered Planning and conducts trainings to help individuals more fully participate in their Individualized Service Plans. He also conducts trainings for staff and provider agencies including new employee orientations, and outreach to high school students planning for their futures. He is glad his work allows him to reach out to people with disabilities to make positive changes in their lives. Evan is an avid sports fan and can often be found at University of Hawaii sporting events. He is currently the Vice Chair of Hawaii’s State Council on Developmental Disabilities
Jani Nayar
Executive Coordinator
SATH (The Society for Accessible Travel & Hospitality)
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Jani Nayar joined in the work of SATH, (The Society for Accessible Travel & Hospitality) since 1995. Having acquired 16 years of travel experience with her own travel agency she wanted to make a difference to the community of people with disabilities. Her long-standing involvement with SATH was at first as a tour operator and now as our Executive Coordinator; She is our primary spokesperson and liaison.
SATH provides speakers for radio and television and contributes articles to numerous publications. In this regard she has been interviewed by CNNfn, CNN HeadLines and several radio stations and newspapers. She has also contributed several articles on disability travel to several publications.
She has conducted training sessions on the internet for organizations such as Career Quest and Rest Ministries. As a representative of SATH, she conducts workshops and seminars at travel trade shows such as; New York Travel Show, Caribbean Tourism Conference (CTC), South Asia Travel and Tourism Expo (SATTE), India, and Rea Tech, Brazil, World Tourism Forum – Destinations 2006.
Her responsibilities also include being a speaker at support group, general public meetings at different types of exhibitions to educate the people about their rights as well as facilities provided for their travel. Jani Nayar’s responsibilities also include nurturing and guiding projects undertaken by SATH from initial set up to completion.
Her responsibilities include acting as liaison with state and international governments and trade bodies planning, organizing and executing sustainable projects on behalf of SATH. These projects help them influence both the public and private sectors, making their nations accessible destinations by helping with the accessibility issues both physical as well as attitudinal.
She received a Bachelor of Science Degree from The University of Kerala, Trivandrum, India. She was ranked 1st among a student body of 1200.
Jeffrey Okamoto M.D., FAAP, FAACPDM
Medical Director, Developmental Disabilities Division
Department of Health, State of Hawaii
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Jeffrey Okamoto is a board certified Developmental Behavioral Pediatrician who is the medical director of the Developmental Disabilities Division of the State of Hawaii. He is a member of the Clinical Interdisciplinary Team and supports case managers and reviews eligibility in that role. He is also a faculty member for the University of Hawaii John A. Burns School of Medicine and the medical director for Rehabilitation Services at Kapiolani Medical Center for Women and Children.
Mike Rhoades
Chief Operating Officer
RHA Behavioral Health
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With over 15 year experience in the MH/DD/SAS services industry, Mike maintains a well-rounded profile including new venture start-ups, turnarounds, M&A, and lobbying and public policy. Mike is currently the Chief Operating Officer for RHA Behavioral Health, which operates multiple Integrated Care practices through North Carolina. Mike serves as a consultant for the NC Secretary of Health and Human Services on Medicaid policy and cost modeling. Mike has been integral in helping NC navigate their complex implementation of the rehabilitation waiver starting in 2006.
Mike launched his own company in 2000 specializing in school based health clinics which grew to over 200 employees by 2005, wherein he sold the company. Prior experience includes senior management in the inpatient, outpatient, and home health care industries.
Mike received his MBA from UNC Wilmington in 2001 and was selected for the prestigious Marshall Memorial Fellowship in 2003 which provided Mike a 2 month professional sabbatical and immersion in European health care policy and financing. Mike is an avid traveler and maintains contacts throughout Europe, Asia, and South America. He serves on the board of the International Affairs Council, NC Provider Council, NC World Trade Association, and Xerosox, Inc. and is a member of the Wilmington Investor Network. For fun, you can catch him playing his tuba with various brass ensembles or flying his plane.
Sally Richards
Writer/Advocate/Parent
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Sally lives in Canberra Australia and is a teacher, trainer, writer and advocate, and represents families on various government and non-governmental reference groups, steering committees and boards. She has presented at national and international conferences, workshops and forums. Sally is the only female in a house of five males; the partner of one and the mother of the other four. Her third son, Jackson, is profoundly intellectually disabled and has autism. She has always believed that no single person in a family is more important than any other. Hence her struggle has been not only for Jackson, but for herself, her husband and her non-disabled sons. She knows that Jackson deserves a life rich in relationships and experiences and thus has created JACKmail to employ him five mornings a week. It is a registered business with an ABN, public liability insurance and workers compensation cover. It has been set up to fully comply with all the requirements of a Sole Trader business operating in the Australian Capital Territory. JACKmail would never have been possible without many mutually beneficial partnerships between JACKmail and organisations and businesses in Canberra and Sally will describe these partnerships as part of her presentation.
Tom Robinson
Owner/Director
Thomas Robinson Consulting Ltd.
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Tom is the Owner/Director of Thomas Robinson Consulting Ltd. which has been providing services to people with developmental disabilities since 1994 in northern British Columbia, Canada. Programs include behaviour consultation for children with autism spectrum disorder, training for families and professionals, Supported Child Development supports, mental health services to individuals with a dual diagnosis and Program evaluation.
He has worked in residential, vocational, educational, institutional, family support, health promotion and college programs for people with developmental disabilities, over the last 35 years, in Ontario, the Northwest Territories and British Columbia. Tom has been a member of developmental disability delegations to both China and Russia.
He received his BA, majoring in psychology, from the University of Guelph.
Ronalyn Rosenberg
Personal Agent
Department of Health, Case Management
Hawaii Department of Health