2023 Speaker Bios

Brian Abery

Brian Abery is the lead Principal Investigator for the National Center for College Students with Disabilities at the University of Minnesota's Institute for Community Integration.

Anna Acha

ORCID iD: 0000-0002-7380-8938

As a multidis/abled, hearing, Black, queer, cisgender woman, Anna (she/her) approaches her scholarship cognizant of her marginalized and privileged identities. She is a current Ph.D. student at the University of California, Riverside (UCR), who completed her M.Ed. at North Carolina State University (NCSU), and her BFA at New York University (NYU). Anna has worked in Student Affairs at New York University (NYU) and Duke University, and the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics (NCSSM). Her current research interests include Black d/Deaf and dis/abled student success and the dis/ruption of ability and violence as property.

John Achter

John Achter serves as Director of Student Behavioral Health for the University of Wisconsin System. In this role he supports student mental health initiatives and disability/accessibility services, working with counseling, health, and disability services professionals at all UW System campuses. He is a licensed psychologist with 25 years of experience in higher education as a mental health practitioner, counseling center director, and student affairs administrator. His other experiences include chairing a behavior intervention team, serving as a Title IX investigator, and supervising directors of counseling, health, and TRIO programs (including Student Support Services-Disability grant). In all his roles, John has prioritized bringing data to bear on developing, evaluating, and improving programs and services to better meet the needs of students.

Rachel Adams

Rachel Adams is a Ph.D. student in Higher Education and the Assistant Director of the Disability Services Office at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst where she mentors disabled undergraduate and graduate students, oversees campus education, and instructs classes. Her research interests are centered around access to and through higher education, inclusive pedagogy, disability identity development, and disability justice in higher education.

Sohail Akhavein

Sohail Akhavein is currently a manager within Student Access at the Disability Resource Center at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities campus, and works directly with an array of Academic Health Center programs. Sohail has been partnering with the U of M community for over 17 years and has used his educational and professional training/experiences to contribute to numerous professional presentations/committees in the fields of higher education and disability, social justice, and access/inclusion. Sohail lives in St. Paul Minnesota, and when he’s not teaching a yoga class, he can be found building furniture and/or enjoying the many gifts mother nature has to offer.

James Albrecht

James Albrecht works as an Accessibility Specialist at Portland Community College (PCC), is a member of the Committee on Accessible College Culture and identifies as a college employee with a disability. James has worked in the accessibility services field for 8 years and is passionate about increasing access to education for students with disabilities through universal design, as well as developing community for fellow disabled college employees.

Amelia-Marie K. Altstadt

Amelia-Marie K. Altstadt (they/she) is the Coordinator for the University Honors Program at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL), where they serve students through advising, teaching, and organizing experiential learning opportunities. They have a Master of Arts in Educational Administration with a specialization in Student Affairs Administration from UNL. In addition to their work as a student affairs professional, they educate on a variety of subjects through the lens of disability culture and were the American College Personnel Association’s (ACPA) Coalition for Disability’s recipient for the 2022 Disability Leadership Award. You can find them on social media @ameliamariewoo.

Jamilah Anderson

Jamilah Anderson is the Associate Director of Disability Services at George Mason University. She received her BA in Music from the University of Richmond and a Master’s degree in Educational Leadership (Administration and Supervision) from Virginia Commonwealth University. In her nearly 20-year career in education, she has spent over 15 years working with and advocating for people with disabilities in the community, K-12 and post-secondary environments. After her K-12 experiences as a special educator, school-based administrator, and then district-level administrator, she made a professional transition to higher education to join Disability Services at George Mason University as the Associate Director of the Mason Autism Support Initiative in 2018. She has been the Associate Director of Disability Services since February 2020.

Kurt Apen

Kurt Apen is the Chief Marketing Officer for Otter.ai. Kurt is a veteran technology marketing leader who has spent the last 20 years building community driven brands at eBay and Disney. Kurt was Coursera.org’s first CMO where he expanded the massive open online learning platform to over 30 million learners and 200 partner universities and institutions. Kurt has an MBA from Harvard Business School and a BS in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School.

Katherine Aquino

Katherine C. Aquino, Ph.D., is an assistant professor in the Department of Administrative and Instructional Leadership for the School of Education at St. John’s University. Katherine’s research interests include the socio-academic transitioning into and within the higher education environment for students with disabilities and post-traditional students. Her work has been published in the Journal of Diversity in Higher Education, Journal of College Student Development, and the Journal of Postsecondary Education and Disability, among others. She can be reached at czadoaqk@stjohns.edu.

Jamie Axelrod

Jamie Axelrod, MS, is the director of disability resources at Northern Arizona University and a past president of AHEAD. He presents regularly on topics related to disability access and higher education, having expertise in disability law and policy, information and communications technology (ICT) access, and the reasonable accommodation process. Axelrod is a respected contributor to professional email lists, having received the Fink-Ryan Award for the quality of his guidance, and is a go-to consultant for complex issues. He has worked for the University of Wisconsin–Madison’s athletic department as a mental health therapist and for Protection and Advocacy Systems, Inc., a disability rights advocacy law firm, where he served as an advocate for individuals with disabilities who were claiming that their civil rights had been violated. He has served as cochair of Northern Arizona University’s Commission on Disability Access and Design and on the board of directors for both AHEAD and the Cooker Coalition for Disability Access in Heath Science Education.

Devin Axtman

Devin Axtman is a Student Services Coordinator for the Office of Disability Access (ODA) at the University of North Texas. Devin is also a Certified Rehabilitation Counselor (CRC). Devin has worked in disability services in higher education since 2013. Devin also proudly serves as advisor for UNT's Alpha Nu chapter of Delta Alpha Pi International Honor Society, an honor society for students with disabilities. Devin is a proud UNT alum receiving a BA in Political Science and a BS in Rehabilitation Studies in 2013 and a Master of Science in Rehabilitation Counseling in 2015.

Emily Babb

Emily Babb is the Associate Vice President for Civil Rights and Title IX Compliance at Northwestern University where she oversees the University’s Office of Civil Rights and Title IX Compliance. Prior to joining Northwestern, Emily served as the Associate Vice Chancellor for Equal Opportunity and Title IX/Title IX Coordinator at the University of Denver and led the University's Office of Equal Opportunity and Title IX, which was responsible for responding to reports of discrimination, harassment, and gender-based violence. Emily was the Assistant Vice President for Title IX Compliance/Title IX Coordinator at the University of Virginia and oversaw the University's compliance with Title IX. While at the University of Virginia, Emily also served as the Interim Associate Vice President for Equal Opportunity and Civil Rights, leading a 15-person team responsible for the University's broad civil rights compliance, including Title IX, the ADA, and employment equity. Prior to joining higher education, Emily was a Senior Attorney at the U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights (OCR) Dallas Regional office and the Program Manager and Acting Regional Director at the Cleveland Regional office. She is a graduate of DePauw University and earned her J.D. from the University of Oklahoma College of Law.

Robyn Bahr

Robyn Bahr is an accessibility advisor and leader with more than 10 years experience in the field. She began her career in disability services at the Perkins School for the Blind, where she coordinated a national program for deaf-blind individuals. From 2012-2016, she also served as a trustee, helpline counselor, and trainer with the Cambridge Women’s Center. She has been with Harvard's Disability Access Office since 2015. She holds a B.A. in English from Amherst College and an Ed.M. in Technology & Innovation from Harvard Graduate School of Education. In addition to her work at Harvard, she writes about film and television for various publications and is a member of the Boston Society of Film Critics and the Critics Choice Association.

Amanda Bailey

Amanda Bailey is an Ontario Certified Teacher (OCT) and a second-year MA student at Brock University in the Applied Disability Studies Program specializing in Applied Behaviour Analysis. Her research interest is the perception and application of the universal design of learning in online higher education.

Martha Bailey

Part-time faculty, Portland Community College (PCC); Associate faculty, Clackamas Community College (CCC). Teaching subject areas: Philosophy, Religious Studies. Casual and new student advising, PCC. Co-Chair, Committee on Accessible College Culture, PCC.

Karly Ball

Karly Ball is a Ph.D. student in Education and Inequality at George Washington University. She’s worked with postsecondary institutions, nonprofits, and patient advocacy groups as an assistant and independent consultant. Her research interests include chronically ill and disabled student development, higher education policy, and transitions.

Kevin Beato

Kevin Beato, Ed.M., is an Accommodated Testing and Adaptive Technology Specialist at Niagara County Community College in Sanborn, New York.

Kimberly Bell

Kimberly Bell, M.S., is a Counselor and Learning Disabilities Specialist at Norco College in Norco, California. She has been actively involved with the 9 Line Project, a disability support program specifically designed to be approachable to student veterans.

Jennifer Biggers

Jennifer Biggers is a disability specialist at the Student Disability Resource Center at University of California-Riverside. Jennifer works with students with psychological disabilities, chronic health conditions, and learning disabilities. Jennifer has ten years of experience of working in the K-12 setting with students with disabilities as a teacher and an administrator. Jennifer’s expertise lies in post-secondary transition readiness and has taken this experience to UC-Riverside to develop programming for first year, transfer students, and students acquire a disability during their college experience. Jennifer currently oversees the SDRC Peer Mentor Program, Time Management Workshop Series, Accountability Study Groups, and SDRC Bootcamp for new transfer students.

Chianti Blackmon

Chianti Blackmon, M.S.(she/her/hers) has over 15 years of experience in higher education and currently serves as the Vice President of Equity, Diversity & Inclusion at AMDA College of the Performing Arts. She is a member of the National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education (NADOHE) and a qualified administrator of the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI). Her work includes, but is not limited to; campus climate assessment, understanding non-inclusive language and conflict, addressing implicit bias in leadership and hiring, strategic planning, as well as facilitating Ally/accomplice and co-conspirator assessments. Chianti earned her undergraduate degree in interpersonal/public and business/organizational communication from the University of Akron (OH) and her master's degree in clinical pastoral counseling from Loyola University, Maryland. She is currently pursuing her Ph.D. in Higher Education at Morgan State University.

Rosalind Blackstar

Rosalind Blackstar, M.Ed, has a rich and diverse experience working within the disability resources field in higher education for close to 16 years. She has had the opportunity to serve as an ADA Exam Coordinator, Program Operations and Student Accommodations Manager and as the Assistant and Associate Director at a large public institution, and as a Director for adult learners at an hybrid/online institution.As of June 2023, Rosalind will be serving as the inaugural Executive Dean of Access and Disability Support at Austin Community College District. Rosalind holds a MA degree in Urban Education with a focus in Social Equity. She is a current member of Association on Higher Education and Disability (AHEAD), a past member of California Association on Postsecondary Education and Disability (CAPED) and has presented at both state and national conferences. Rosalind enjoys collaborating with disability professionals and higher education colleagues to bring best practices, trends, and innovative ways of improving disability resources and increasing access and inclusion for all student learners, and has served as an educational access consultant for disability resources offices at universities across the United States since 2018.

Julie Blakeslee

Experienced Land Use and Environmental Planner with a demonstrated history of working in the higher education and consulting industries. Skilled in land use development strategies and entitlements, major institution master planning, State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA), historic landmarks process, transportation/land use relationships, and feasibility studies.

Morgan Blisard

Morgan Blisard is the Director of the Office of Disability Policy at Educational Testing Service (ETS), overseeing the development and implementation of procedures pertaining to test takers with disabilities requesting accommodations for the GRE, TOEFL, Praxis and GACE standardized assessments. Prior to this role, Morgan began her career at ETS in 2014 as a Disability Policy Consultant and then Assistant Director in the Office of Disability Policy. In earlier years, Morgan worked as a vocational rehabilitation counselor, completing vocational evaluations, work readiness training, job development, and career counseling for adults with disabilities. In addition, she worked at college campuses in New York, directing accommodation policies and procedures for students and employees with disabilities.

Janhavi Bonville

I am a senior administrator at one of the top academic medical centers in the country and an adviser to a public university system in the state, with both professional and personal experience concerning disabilities, climate, inclusion and belonging. I regularly present on the topic of disability inclusion at multiple forums both system-wide and at my campus, and I am seen as an advocate and leader in this area on my campus. I have worked in the area of disability inclusion both as an advocate and as an administrative leader, for over 12 years. As Associate Provost at my campus, I am responsible for critical DEI initiatives, with a focus on disabilities inclusion. I have been appointed as Special Adviser to the 9 campuses systemwide Office of the President on Disabilities Inclusion to assist with developing a strategy for disabilities inclusion system-wide. I am a member of systemwide students with disabilities advisory workgroup, and I’m responsible for making a case for and ensuring the appointment of an inaugural position at our campus, that of a Chief Accessibility and Inclusion Officer, tasked with both ADA compliance and inclusion. As a leader and advocate for physical accessibility improvements on campus, I have deep-lived experience as an individual with a disability.

Dr. Allison, Brewer

Allison Brewer, M.A.T., (they/them), is an advocate and expert in the field of special education, cross-categorical disabilities, and applied accessibility as a community-based practice. Brewer is an openly disabled administrator and identifies as autistic and has narcolepsy with cataplexy. It is the combined lived and professional expertise that led Allison to launch Voice(Is), a disability-led consulting business. As a public speaker and/or educational advocate, they’ve led or attended ~1,500 IEPs and 504-related meetings, trained educators/support staff in 200 schools across 90 districts and 10 different states. Allison began their journey as a special educator across north St. Louis, where partnering with families to build education equity led to building a collective national network of self and community advocates. Gaining an M.A.T. in Cross Categorical Disabilities from Webster University helped ground them as an advocate when they needed it the most—through the protection of their own civil rights after facing disability discrimination in the workplace. As a leader in the field, Allison has served as an expert witness in a number of due process cases, working alongside families and civil rights attorneys holding our learning institutions accountable. Brewer is new to higher education and is excited about applying their experience as a social innovator, advocate, and community organizer to the Jesuit mission of Saint Louis University. Their framework of operating is heavily influenced by the cross-racial disability-justice movement that developed under apartheid in South Africa after a student uprising in Soweto. Brewer hopes to bring the spirit of the disability-justice rally call to their work here at SLU: “Nothing about us, without us.”

Katherine Bromley

Kate Bromley is a Research Associate in the Center on Human Development research unit at the University of Oregon, which includes the university’s University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities. Her research focuses on predictors of postsecondary education outcomes and community-based employment for individuals with disabilities, and the development and influence of social capital. She uses social network analysis to identify how relationships form and how patterns of relationships influence outcomes for individuals with disabilities. Kate is a licensed special education teacher and prior to earning her doctoral degree, she worked directly with transition-age youth with disabilities, including students in postsecondary education, for 10 years.

Emily Brown

Emily Brown is a current undergraduate student at the University of Lynchburg pursuing a Bachelor's in Health Promotion. Upon her graduation in May of 2023 she plans to continue her studies by entering a Master of Public Health program. Her current research focuses on equity and inclusion initiatives, specifically the impact concussions have on an individual's ability for academic success and overall well being. In her graduate program, she plans to continue this work with a focus on advocating for people with invisible disabilities, conducting additional research into the symptoms that can result from mild traumatic brain injury in order to determine how best to accommodate this population of students, and work closely with university administration, faculty, and staff in these efforts. Her long-term goals include earning a Ph.D. and continuing in the fields of concussion research, sports injury prevention and education programs, and policy improvements.

Linda Bryant

Linda Bryant, Ed.D., is the Director of the NTID Learning Consortium and Online Learning Initiatives at Rochester Institute of Technology.

Beth Ann Bryant-Richards

Beth Ann Bryant-Richards has been working in disability services in higher education for over 10 years. Prior to that, she taught First Year writing, composition and rhetoric, research writing, and business and professional writing at the college level. She has presented at regional conferences as well as presenting at the national AHEAD conference in 2018.

Rick Bryck

Dr. Bryck serves as the Senior Director of the Landmark College Institute for Research and Training. Landmark College exclusively serves neurodivergent students, such as those with learning disabilities, like dyslexia, or ADHD, or autism. His work centers on the study of executive function (EF), including understanding disparities in EF, and testing the efficacy of interventions, programs, and strategies aimed at enhancing EF. He has served as an investigator on grants exploring: a cognitive training program for low income children; the well-being and academic effects of resilience training for neurodivergent college students; the effects of metacognitive and EF scaffolds in math problem solving; and as a program evaluator on an NSF funded project providing STEM mentoring for neurodivergent students. Rick regularly presents professional learning workshops on EF and educational techniques for enhancing learning, and regularly teaches an online course for educators: Student Engagement, Self-Regulation, and Motivation.

Jaime Butler

Jaime Butler (she/her) has 7+ years of experience in higher education disability services and currently serves as a counselor for the Center for Access & Disability Services at Chattanooga State Community College. Jaime has presented at the local, national, and international levels on strategies for supporting autistic folks and general neurodiversity education. Her educational background includes a master’s degree in both College Student Development and Clinical Mental Health. Jaime also provides mental health counseling for autistic individuals in the Chattanooga community.

Bree Callahan

Bree Callahan is the ADA Coordinator at the University of Washington and provides leadership, coordination, and oversight to advance the University’s strategic priorities relating to access and accessibility. Prior to this role, she directed disability services offices for fifteen years across three universities and has worked in a variety of higher education areas: admissions, academic advising, and residential life. She has over 20 years’ experience in higher education, determining accommodations and providing consultation on ADA compliance matters of digital, physical, and program access. Bree has presented at local, state, and national conferences on a variety of topics relating to disability and access, transition of students with disabilities to postsecondary education, and systemic change toward more inclusive campuses.

Margaret Camp

Margaret Camp is the Director of Student Accessibility Services at Clemson University. A former School Psychologist, she has spent the past 20+ years working towards social justice for students with disabilities as an ADA Coordinator and disabled student advocate and representative on several campuses. She has served multiple positions with the national Association on Higher Education and Disability (AHEAD) and has mentored many new professionals. Margaret has presented at several national and state conferences and enjoys her personal research in disability in media, inclusion for neurodivergent students, and professional burnout and resilience.

Leslie Casarez

Leslie holds a master’s in social work and bachelor’s in psychology from the University of Houston. She has worked in the social work field for over 10 years. Leslie is currently serving as Senior Access Coordinator in the Department of Disability Resources at Texas A&M University, where she works with students, faculty, and staff to ensure equitable access within the academic community. She primarily works with the College of Engineering and College of Arts and Sciences. Leslie is the primary advisor for the Spectrum Living Learning Community that partners with Residence Life. She collaborates with campus partners providing education and presentations on disability.

Pamela Christopher

Pamela Christopher, M.S. is a Senior Employment Advisor of the Co-op and Career Center at Rochester Institute of Technology’s National Technical Institute for the Deaf (NTID).

Ashley Ciccolini Erickson

Ashley Ciccolini Erickson has a Master of Education in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Florida Atlantic University. She is the Associate Director of Student Accessibility Services (SAS) at Florida Atlantic University and has worked in that department since 2011, starting as a graduate assistant. She received her bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of Central Florida, where she gained experience working with students with Autism and different learning disabilities.

Grace Clifford

Grace Clifford is the Director for Disability Services at UCLA's David Geffen School of Medicine and a current board member for the Coalition for Disability Access in Health Science Education. She has authored and co-authored several publications and pending publications regarding disability accommodation determination and disability access; including chapters in: Principles and Practice of College Health (Vaughn, Viera 2020), Equal Access for Students with Disabilities: The Guide for Health Science and Professional Education, Second Edition (Meeks, Jain, Laird, 2020), and Disability as Diversity (Meeks, Neal-Boylan, 2020).Her current research focuses on developing group models to support students with executive functioning and psychological based disabilities, barriers to seeking accommodations for under-resourced students, and improving disability access in health science and professional education.

Jimmy Cong

Jimmy Cong is currently working for the Office for Students with Disabilities at UC San Diego as a Disability Specialist. His responsibilities include meeting with students to provide disability management counseling, keeping the OSD website up to date, and testing product accessibility around the campus. Legally blind since birth, Jimmy has been pushing for inclusive design in all industry standard products. He graduated from UC San Diego in 2018 with a B.A. in Music and Visual Arts (Media). When he is not working at the OSD, Jimmy can be found DJing weddings, events around the university, and semi-formals as DJCJ.

Lauren Copeland-Glenn

Lauren Copeland-Glenn is and Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action Analyst and Deputy ADA Coordinator at Northern Arizona University. She has served as co-chair of NAU's Commission on Disability Access and Design. She has also written and presented on accessible and universal design, including for the Journal on Postsecondary Education and Disability and at multiple AHEAD conferences. Lauren Copeland-Glenn is currently leading a project to create a fully accessible campus map and associated accessible app. She has received multiple awards for her efforts at NAU to create a more welcoming and inclusive campus.

Lyla Crawford

I have been with the DO-IT program at the University of Washington since 1997. DO-IT works to promote the inclusion of students with disabilities in challenging academic and career programs. I have been involved in developing print and electronic resources for students, educators, parents, career advisors, employers and other support personnel who work with students with disabilities as they pursue educational and career goals. In addition to developing materials and programs for students, parents, educators and employers and conducting research on best practices and strategies. I have served on the National Science Teachers Association Special Education Advisory Board. I also served as the Secretary (for ten years) and later as the President for the Washington Association on Postsecondary Education and Disability (WAPED) Board.

Charlotte Cunningham

Charlotte Cunningham is an attorney with the U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights (OCR), where she investigates complaints alleging discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, disability and age against public school districts, public and private colleges and universities, and other recipients of Federal financial aid and public entities which fall within OCR’s jurisdiction. Prior to joining OCR, Ms. Cunningham was an attorney with a non-profit disability rights advocacy organization where she provided information and technical assistance to individuals with disabilities on a variety of disability discrimination related issues and investigated allegations of abuse and neglect of individuals with disabilities at state psychiatric facilities and residential programs. Ms. Cunningham received her Juris Doctor from Northwestern University, Pritzker School of Law in Chicago, Illinois and her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Laura Czajkowski

Laura Czajkowski is the Director of Disability Support Services (DSS) at Cal State Fullerton. She is responsible for managing the day to day operations of the DSS office and oversees testing, alt format and assistive technology, and the accommodations staff. Laura is a double alumnus of California Lutheran University where she received her undergraduate degree in Psychology (’12) and a Masters in Counseling & Guidance (’15). She has supported students with disabilities for the last 6 years at various institutions including UCLA, Cal State Channel Islands, and Coastal Carolina University. However if you ask, Laura will often say that Housing & Residence Life was her ‘first love’ in Higher Education, as she spent 3 years living and working with students in on-campus housing.

Daynia Daby

Daynia has been a Disability Counselor at Portland Community College for 9 years. During her time at PCC she has worked closely with students and faculty understanding how to develop and effectively utilize a Memory Aid to enhance a student’s memory & retrieval of concepts they have learned. Particular areas of focus include collaboration with faculty & students to integrate accommodations into classes, helping students develop self awareness & self-advocacy skills, transition skills building for HS and recent HS graduates, disability social justice, and disability related counseling. Daynia has presented at the Orahead annual conference, local High Schools, the PCC Andersen Conference, & multiple In-service trainings to PCC Faculty & Staff on topics related to inclusive learning, universal design, and specific accommodations & strategies to enhance student success.

Chris Dallager

Chris Dallager (he/him) is Director of the Disability Resource Center and ACCESS at Mississippi State University. In addition to working at a large land grant institution, he has worked in the higher ed disability field at small private and public colleges and universities. Prior to working in higher ed, he served as a school psychologist, therapist, and program director for group homes for adults with intellectual disabilities. He is a past president of Minnesota AHEAD.

Jenn Dandle

Jenn Dandle is the Web Manager for the UC San Diego Library and focuses on user experience and accessibility for the vast array of users who utilize the tools are vital to research and student support. She champions accessibility across the UC environment by inspiring others through her service on the Electronic Accessibility Oversight Committee. When she is not living out her passions at work you can find her enjoying all the great things San Diego has to offer including sled hockey and surfing.

Alexa Darby

Alexa Darby is a professor in the Department of Psychology at Elon University. She received her M.A. in Educational Psychology, specializing in adults with learning disabilities, from the University of Connecticut. She worked for five years as a Disability Service provider. She earned her Ph.D. in Educational Psychology, specializing in qualitative research, from the University of Georgia. Dr. Darby’s research interests include the lived experiences of neurodiverse individuals (particularly law students, doctoral students, and higher education faculty); service-learning pedagogy; and qualitative research methods.

Dan Darkow

Dan received his BS degree in management information systems from Wright State University and MS in Student Affairs in Higher Education from Miami University. His experience includes working in residence life and serving disabled students in the field of disability services. Ensuring disability access and inclusion is at the forefront of his personal and professional lives. He views disability as a powerful identity and recognizes the sociopolitical nature of claiming disability. Dan values his connection with disabled and non-disabled students, faculty, and staff and actively works to create a culture of access. He is currently Assistant Director of the Miller Center for Student Disability Services and adjunct instructor in the Disability Studies program at Miami University. Outside of work, Dan serves on the board of directors for a nonprofit called NMD United, a peer-led organization supporting adults living with neuromuscular disabilities. His research interests include disability access and disclosure, assistive technology, accommodation usage, and the experiences of disability services professionals and disabled college students. He can be reached by email at: darkowdc@MiamiOH.edu

Cynthia Davalos

I have been working in student affairs for over 22 years with a focus on equity, diversity and inclusion. I am skilled at leading campus-wide and systemwide initiatives in support of student belonging and success. I have worked with senior campus leadership in diversity and inclusion offices helping draft equity-centered policies and frameworks. For the last seven years, I have served as a post-secondary educational leadership instructor.

Kate DeForest

As Web/Digital Content Coordinator, Kate DeForest is one of the primary leaders of SUNY Oswego’s web accessibility efforts. She helps maintain the college's primary website, ensuring information is up-to-date, accurate, and accessible. As a member of the Workgroup on Accessibility Practices, she works with other campus accessibility experts to anticipate, troubleshoot, support, and resolve the practical digital accessibility needs of our campus community. Kate is a Certified Professional in Accessibility Core Competencies (CPACC) through the International Association of Accessibility Professionals. She has given over 20 presentations at local, state, and national conferences, including Accessing Higher Ground, HighEdWeb, the New York State Disability Services Council, and SUNY Technology Conference, among others.

Melanie DeLeon

Melanie DeLeon, M.S.,CI/CT, SC:L, NAD IV, NIC , is the Coordinator of Interpreting and Transcription Services for Accessible Education & Disability Resources at Portland Community College in Oregon.

Antonia DeMichiel

Antonia DeMichiel currently serves as a Disability Specialist in the Student Disability Services office at the University of San Francisco, where she also earned her Master’s in Higher Education and Student Affairs in May 2020. She received her Bachelor’s degree in International Studies from the University of Oregon in 2013 and has since traveled, volunteered or studied abroad in 12 countries as a champion of international education for the disabled community. Antonia has worked in Disability Services for four years at a variety of institution types including a public university and a small, private arts college. Her professional practice is deeply informed by her lived experience as a physical disabled woman and the principles of the social model of disability. She has previously presented at the NASPA Western Regional Conference on disability-related topics. In 2023, her chapter on her lived experience of tokenization among Disability Services will appear in a forthcoming book called DISABLED Faculty and Staff in Higher Education: Intersecting Identities and Everyday Experience, edited by Dr. Mary Lee Vance and Dr. Beth Harrison. Outside of work, Antonia is involved in a number of non-profit organizations, including serving on the Young Professionals Board of the Challenged Athletes Foundation.

Julie Di Biasio

As Associate Director, Julie assists in overseeing the day-to-day operations of the office of Student Accessibility Services (SAS), provides direct leadership to the testing and counseling service areas, meets with and advocates for students with disabilities, and provides educational training to the university community regarding disability services. Julie holds Master of Education in Health Promotion and Education from Kent State University.

Vera Dolan

ORCID iD: 0000-0002-3240-3598

Brazilian-Canadian Vera Dolan is a professor of Education, doctoral dissertation chair/supervisor and volunteer graduate student mentor with a deep interest in understanding situations of oppression. Inspired by her own experience as an educator with an invisible disability, she thrives on gaining insights from the stories shared by university and college stakeholders who, as they fulfill their scholarly responsibilities, have mental or physical differentnesses that may cause them to function in ways that deviate from traditional standards of intelligence and competence. Her skills include e-learning, teaching, coaching and research. She has a Ph.D. in Higher Education from the University of Toronto: Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE). She also holds an MEd with specialization in open, digital and distance education from Athabasca University.

Kyle Droz

Kyle serves as the Director of of the DRC. He oversees the Notetaking Services Coordinator, the Academic Assistant, and the Service Coordinator. In addition, he carries a case load of students who are Deaf, hard of hearing, blind or have low visions. He also provides accessible text materials and digital accessibility support

Emily Dunbar

Emily Dunbar is part of the Student Engagement Team at Hastings College, a private institution with less than 1000 students in south central Nebraska. In her role as Director of Studio 200, she oversees academic support, and disability services--an office of two, including Emily and her co-presenter Megan Launchbaugh. Emily is a former high school English teacher and is currently working on her masters in clinical mental health counseling. When she is not in the office, she is writing songs, performing songs, or podcasting about songwriting.

Teressa Eastman

Teressa Eastman earned an MBA from Wichita State University in 1992 and has served as the Director of Disability Services at Butler Community for 20 years. She has previous experience working in Special Education in the public school system. At Butler Community College, Teressa serves as the chairperson of the college’s CARE Team, as well as, a member of the college’s four person Threat Assessment Team. Teressa also serves on the college’s Inclusion Council and Satisfactory Academic Progress Review Team for Financial Aid. Teressa is also active nationally with the Association of Higher Education and Disability, serving as a co-chair of the Community College Special Interest Group. As a person with a disability, Teressa strongly believes in the value of the Americans with Disabilities Act and advocates for the rights and responsibilities of the disabled population.

Kristen Eccleston

ORCID iD: 0000-0002-8971-3458

Dr. Kristen C. Eccleston (The NeuroDiverse Teacher) is an Education Consultant currently living and working in the DMV (DC, Maryland, Virginia) area. Her areas of focus as an education consultant are K-12 and Corporate mental health and neurodiversity engagement. As an education consultant, she has worked with thousands of students and families in addition to some of the major global management consulting firms. After more than 15 years in the school setting, Dr. Eccleston left classroom teaching to significantly amplify her impact on mental health and neurodiversity approaches in schools and workplace settings. In 2022, Dr. Eccleston was selected as one of WomLEAD Magazine’s Leaders Shaping Women’s Entrepreneurships Future. In August 2022, she participated in season 5 of The Blox- The Largest Competition TV Show on The Planet for Startups. Dr. Eccleston’s education history includes a Doctor of Education in Mind, Brain, & Teaching from Johns Hopkins University, a Master of Science in Special Education from Johns Hopkins University, and a Certificate in Educational Leadership and Administration from Hood College. She is an Adjunct Professor at Towson University in their Secondary and Special Education Graduate Programs. Additionally, she is a National Board-Certified Teacher, Exceptional Needs Specialist and holds an Advanced Professional Educator Certificate.

Jeffrey Alex ("Jae") Edelstein

Jae (he/they) is a Ph.D. student in Higher Education at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and a Research Data Coordinator for the Institute for Community Inclusion at University of Massachusetts Boston. Jae has served as a co-founder and coordinator for disability communities of students, staff, faculty, alumnx, allies, and community members at the University of Michigan Ann Arbor and the University of Massachusetts Amherst. They have provided support for similar communities across the US through their work with the National Center for College Students with Disabilities. Their research interests include disabled community development and disability advocacy in higher education.

Meredith Ehrenberg

Meredith Ehrenberg is an Information Architect at the University of California, Irvine. Her work involves organizing and labeling information and creating user interfaces that are easy and intuitive to navigate. A core focus for her is ensuring her projects and websites are accessible to all. Meredith is an active member of UCI's IT Accessibility Workgroup and champions both accessibility and wellness among her peers.

Charity Embley

Dr. Charity Embley is a Faculty at the Writing Center of Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (TTUHSC). Prior to joining TTUHSC, she was an Associate Professor from Odessa College, Texas. Dr. Embley is also an adjunct professor at the University of Texas of the Permian Basin. Dr. Embley has been an educator for 25 years.

Hannah Enenbach

Hannah Enenbach, M.A. (she/her/hers) serves as the Director of Accessibility Services and ADA Coordinator at AMDA College of the Performing Arts, where she led the creation of AMDA’s Accessibility Services Office in 2018. Hannah has 9 years of experience in higher education and private organizations, where she has provided direct student support and accommodation assessment, built and given campus trainings on disability inclusion and justice, created and instituted campus policies related to accessibility, and more. Hannah earned her undergraduate degree in psychology and anthropology from the University of Colorado at Boulder, and her master’s degree in political psychology from the University of California at Irvine.

Somphone Eno

Somphone Eno is the Assistive Technology Manager at the Disability Services Center. While her main oversight is on direct student accommodations related to assistive technologies, CART/ASL services and alternate media, Somphone joins Fannie and Meredith in the UCI IT Accessibility Workgroup efforts to increase accessibility awareness and inclusion for the entire campus.

Charity Embley

Kate Ervin

Kate Ervin, M.S.; M.U.P., is a seasoned expert in speech-to-text accessibility, specializing in the meaning-for-meaning style of communication access, also known as ""text interpreting"". Kate currently serves as the Director of TypeWell, which has been training skilled transcribers to work in educational settings since 1999.

Buddy Ethridge

Buddy Ethridge serves as the Director of Digital Accessibility at Louisiana State University (LSU). Buddy is responsible for overseeing, coordinating, and implementing accessibility policy, procedures, and remediation plans, including the assessment, recommendation, and procurement of assistive technologies and compliant technologies, software, and content. Buddy oversees the development of institution-wide annual training relating to current and emerging trends in assistive technologies, web and application development trends, and digital accessibility regulatory issues as they relate to higher education. Previously Buddy served as the Director of Academic IT at LSU. Buddy holds a bachelor’s in Studio Arts, a master’s in Art History, and a Ph.D. in Education, with a research focus on faculty members with invisible disabilities.

Dawn Evans

Dawn Evans has been with the Center for Inclusive Design & Innovation (formerly AMAC Accessibility) since 2008. She has been the AccessText Network (ATN) Coordinator since 2016 where she supports publishers and Disability Services Offices in colleges across the country to ensure the seamless request and delivery of publisher files on behalf of college students with disabilities. Prior to her position at ATN, she managed CIDI's E-Text Unit and is well-versed in creating accessible alternative formats. Dawn earned her bachelor's degree in Psychology and master's degree in Social Work from the University of Georgia.

Heather Evans

Heather is a socio-legal scholar who focuses on the ways in which institutions such as the law, higher education, and the medical field interact with marginalized populations. She has conducted statistical analyses, ethnographic fieldwork, and evaluation research. Heather’s current work is in the field of Critical Disability Studies examining disclosure, identity management, and workplace accommodations among people with physical, mental, and sensory differences that are not readily apparent. She is also committed to community based research and does consulting work for local social justice organizations, primarily focusing on disparities within the criminal justice system.

Ricci eX

Ricci eX is a long-time social justice worker with an Interpersonal Neurobiology lens. They are an innovative person-centered curriculum designer, racial justice facilitator/trainer, community college instructor, and recipient of TRIO and Veterans Vocational Rehabilitation support. RicciX has years of experience as a Career Pathways/STEP Coach and is currently a Statewide Pathways to Opportunity Program Manager. In this role, RicciX, in partnership with Oregon’s Department of Human Services’ Vocational Rehabilitation department, Cornell University, and Oregon’s 17 community colleges, supports the college and career Coaches in implementing the US Department of Education funded Inclusive Career Advancement Program (ICAP) consortium.

Christina Fabrey

Christina Fabrey, M.Ed., PCC, BCC (she/her/hers) is the Director of the Student Success Center at Virginia Tech, having previously served as the Associate Dean for Advising and Academic Achievement at Prescott College. With a passion for promoting college student success and retention, Christina has been a higher education administrator for over 15 years, including roles as a disability resource provider and administrator. Christina is a Professional Certified Coach (PCC), a Board-Certified Coach (BCC), and an Appreciative Inquiry Facilitator. As a Coach Trainer and Mentor, Christina has trained hundreds of higher education professionals worldwide in coaching skills. Christina is the co-author of numerous articles and book chapters that focus on holistic student support. Christina is the co-chair of the Coaching Knowledge and Practice Community for the Association for Higher Education and Disability (AHEAD).

Lesley Farmer

Dr. Lesley Farmer, Professor at California State University (CSU) Long Beach, coordinates the Librarianship program, and was named as the university’s Outstanding Professor. She also manages the CSU ICT Literacy Project. She earned her M.S. in Library Science at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, and received her doctorate in Adult Education from Temple University. Dr. Farmer chaired the IFLA’s School Libraries Section, and is a Fulbright scholar. A frequent presenter and writer for the profession, she won several honors, including American Library Association’s Phi Beta Mu Award for library education, the International Association of School Librarianship Commendation Award, and the SLA Education Division Anne Gellar Award. Dr. Farmer’s research interests include digital citizenship, information and media literacy, and data analytics. Her most recent books are Library Improvement through Data Analytics (ALA, 2016), co-authored with Dr. Safer, and Impactful Community-Based Literacy Projects (ALA, 2020).

Amanda Feaster

As the Director of Student Accessibility Services (SAS), Amanda sets strategic priorities for the department and provides leadership and supervision to SAS staff. As an advocate on behalf of students with disabilities, Amanda educates the University community about accessibility through service on a variety of committees and promotes social justice through the inclusion of people with disabilities in the educational environment. Amanda is the co-chair of the university-wide Equal Access Committee and serves as the Past-President of the Ohio Association of Higher Education and Disability. Amanda has a Master of Arts in Education in Higher Education Administration from The University of Akron and is a Ph.D. candidate in Higher Education Administration at Kent State University.

Ana Fierro

Dr. Ana Fierro has been an Access Consultant at the University of Arizona since 2021 and has participated in the AHEAD Start Academy. As a former educator, researcher, and instructional designer, Ana enjoys learning and presenting on accessibility and universal design. Accepted into the Inclusive Leadership Institute within the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, Ana’s Project for Change focused on Universal Design to engage faculty in conversations about designing courses usable to the greatest extent possible by all, including students with disabilities.

Emily Frees-Williams

The University of Illinois is one of the few Disability Resources with its own Career Services offices. We have developed a 4-year plan to prepare students to enter the workforce and be confident in knowing what they need and how to ask for it. This poster will highlight some of the topics we cover each year when working with students that are registered for our services.

Anne Frey

Anne Frey has been in the field of International Education for over 25 years. For the past 7years, Anne has been the Education Abroad Manager at Portland Community College where their focus is on short-term faculty-led programs. She holds a M.A. from University of Oregon in International Studies and did her Master’s research on the participation of students of color on study abroad. Diversifying student participation in education abroad continues to be her professional focus. In her current position, her day to day focus is working with students who predominantly do not see themselves as study abroad participants.

Carol Funckes

Carol Funckes is the recently retired Chief Operating Officer for the Association on Higher Education And Disability (AHEAD). In this position, she designed and oversaw AHEAD’s national professional development agenda, including webinars and in-person and remote workshops and conferences; developed website and print materials on higher education and disability; and consulted individually with members. Prior to assuming this role, Carol worked at the University of Arizona’s Disability Resource Center for over 30 years, leading a staff of access consultants and service coordinators and managing initiatives in faculty development and digital accessibility. Carol is a Past President of AHEAD, has served as a trainer for several disability resource initiatives, and has presented and consulted extensively both nationally and internationally.

Cristela Garcia

Cristela Garcia, LCSW, is the Director of the Student Advocacy Center at Northeast Lakeview College where she provides disability support, basic needs, and mental health services. Cristela has over fifteen years of direct practice experience serving individuals with different abilities. She has developed and implemented programs to provide access to psychoeducational assessments, treatment planning, evidence-based practice interventions, and accommodations. She received her Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology from the California State University Dominguez Hills. She received her Master of Social Work degree from the University of Texas at San Antonio in 2012.

Emily Gaspar

Emily Gaspar serves as the Director of Accessibility & Disability Services and the ADA Compliance Officer at Coastal Carolina University in Conway, South Carolina. Gaspar graduated from CCU with a Ph.D. in Education Sciences in May 2023. Gaspar has nearly two decades of experience in higher education working at Colorado State University, the University of Arizona, and the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill, in addition to CCU.

Yasi Ghanbari

Yasi Ghanbari is an Assistant Professor and the Assistant Chairperson of the Foundation Department at Pratt Institute. She has installation and exhibition credits going back to 2006, and has also taught at Parsons School of Design in Manhattan.

Jess Gibson

Jess Gibson (she/hers) currently serves as Director of Disability & Accessibility Resources at Reed College in Portland, Oregon. Jess brings over 10 years of experience working in higher education. Jess comes to disability services by way of social work, having earned her clinical social work licensure and worked at community non-profit agencies before transitioning to higher education. Within higher education, Jess has served in nearly every capacity within disability services, from note taking and alternative format text coordinator, to intake specialist, to Director. She is well-versed with the joys and challenges of doing this work in the context of a small office within a private, liberal arts college setting.

Courtney Gipson

Courtney Gipson has worked in disability services for three years in a community college level and has started her first year in a university level this year.

Jennifer Gossett

Jennifer Gossett is the ADA/504 Compliance Manager at Portland Community College, leading the effort to establish PCC’s first Comprehensive Transition Plan. She serves as a member of the Accessibility Council and Accessibility Committees, and works collaboratively across the college to ensure access to all of PCC’s programs, services, and activities. She returned to PCC after serving as the Director of the Office for Student Access at Oregon Health and Science University, where she was responsible for determining accommodations and providing equal access to all health science programs at OHSU. Jennifer began her career in disability services in 2008 at Oregon State University, before transitioning to the Assistant Director for Student Support Services at Linfield College, and serving as an Accessibility Specialist at PCC. She currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Coalition for Disability Access in Health Science Education and as a member of two programs for the Docs With Disabilities Initiative.

Bridget Green

ORCID iD: 0000-0002-0049-3576

Dr. Bridget Green is an assistant professor and the Director of the Special Education program in the Department of Educational Foundations & Leadership and the advisor for Kappa Delta Epsilon. Her research focuses on understanding the needs of students who have disabilities transitioning into college and employment, transition assessment, and developing best practices to ensure students with and without disabilities have access to meaningful career-based assessments in the general education classroom. Other interests include disability rights, accessibility for all, and self-advocacy for the disability community.

Mandie Greiwe

Mandie Greiwe (Gry-Vee) joined the Marian University community as the founding director of the Personalized Learning Center in July of 2022. Prior to becoming a Marian Knight, she has had the opportunity to work within disability offices at Purdue University, the University of Notre Dame, and Emory University over the last 10 years. Mandie enjoys having conversations with faculty, staff and students around accessibility being a shared responsibility and is working diligently to ensure that Marian University is a place where access is at the forefront. Over the last year Mandie has worked hard to support change within the campus culture, through building relationships, updating language and processes, writing policy, and getting buy-in from campus faculty, staff, and students alike.

Michelle Gremp

Michelle Gremp completed her Ph.D. in Speech and Hearing Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis and is currently Associate Professor and Coordinator of the Education of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Program at Eastern Kentucky University. Her research areas include the use of teaching and learning strategies to improve language and literacy development in children who are deaf and hard of hearing.

Jewls Griesmeyer-Krentz

Jewls Griesmeyer-Krentz is the new Assistant Director of Accessible Education Services at Willamette University / Pacific Northwest College of Art. Previously, she led disability services, academic coaching, and tutoring at Linfield University School of Nursing. Before joining Linfield in 2022, she had been a Senior Access Counselor and Consultant at the Disability Resource Center (DRC) at Portland State University since 2013. At the DRC, Jewls specialized in working with blind and low vision students and supervised classroom assistants and graduate-level interns at the DRC. Jewls is the President of the Board of Directors of the Oregon Affiliate of the Association of Higher Education and Disability (ORAHEAD) and serves as a mentor for the AHEAD Start Academy for new(er) disability services professionals. Jewls has presented multiple times at regional and national conferences, including AHEAD, ORAHEAD, and the Association for the Study of Higher Education (ASHE), and is actively engaged in ongoing research projects. Jewls is a PhD candidate in Adult and Higher Education at Oregon State University, where her doctoral work focuses on international and immigrant students with disabilities, disability identity, and intersectionality.

Paul Grossman

Paul Grossman, J.D. is the Executive Counsel of AHEAD with over 40 years of service at OCR in Washington and San Francisco, most of them as a Chief Regional Attorney. Paul also taught disability law for over 20 years at Hastings College of Law, University of California. Paul remains a frequent guest lecturer for AHEAD, CAPED, Hastings, UC Berkeley, the California Community College System and the National Association of ADA Coordinators. Paul served multiple terms on AHEAD’s Board of Directors and remains a member of the AHEAD Public Policy Committee as well as the Disability Rights Advocates (DRA) Expert Advisory Board. Through investigation, decision writing, and negotiations, Paul has addressed every form of discrimination in education including race, national origin, sex and disability, often developing new approaches for protecting the civil rights of students. Paul is the author of AHEAD’s publication, The Law of Disability Discrimination for Higher Education Professionals. Paul joins Jamie Axelrod, M.S. and Mary Lee Vance, Ph.D. in two book chapters on analytical tools and procedures for disability professionals when they face their most complex and challenging questions, recently published by AHEAD.

Connie Gutierrez

Connie currently serves in a leadership role at Rio Hondo College and has the privilege to serve as the DSPS Director. She received her Doctor of Education from California State University, Fullerton. She experiences as a professional ASL Interpreter working for over 14 years, serving the DHH community in the greater Los Angeles area. Connie is committed to empowering students of all abilities to develop skills to be independent and successful students and community members.

Courtney Gutierrez, M.A. Courtney graduated from Arizona State University with her Master of Arts in Social Justice and Human Rights, and attended Northern Arizona University where she earned a dual degree in Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and Bachelor of Science in Criminology and Criminal Justice and minors in Latin American Studies and Spanish. Courtney has 10 years of advocacy work experience focusing on the needs of marginalized communities, such as survivors of domestic violence, youth within the foster care system, families facing homelessness, and students with disabilities in higher education. Most recently, Courtney has worked as the student access and support services coordinator at Mills College since 2021 and through its merge to become Mills College at Northeastern University.

David Hagerty

David Hagerty manages the Disability Support Services office at Diablo Valley College. Prior to taking this job, he taught educational assistance classes in math and English to students with Disabilities at Sacramento City College. In total, he has more than 25 years of experience in higher education and adult ed.

Gwynette Hall

Gwynette is the Accessible Learning Technology Manager at McBurney Disability Resource Center, University of Wisconsin – Madison. She has over 20 years of experience in working directly with students with disabilities as an educator and advocate. In her current role, she gets to work directly with students who use a variety of adaptive technologies to access their education. She earned her master’s degree in special education with a focus on learning disabilities and brain development.

Enjie Hall

Enjie Hall, CRC, LPC, MRC, serves as both the Disability Resource Center at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities and the system-wide ADA Coordinator. As a disabled individual, Enjie has passionately advocated for civil rights and full participation of disabled people through inclusive design and practices for 25 years. Enjie previously worked in the disability office at The University of Toledo serving as director and ADA/Rehabilitation Act Compliance Officer, and prior to that, worked in the disability office at The Ohio State University. She served as a director at large on the AHEAD national board from 2018 to 2022 and was a past co-chair for the Blind and Low Vision Knowledge and Practice Community. She has actively mentored for the AHEAD Start program for new/er professionals. Enjie has presented locally and nationally on a variety of topics related to disability access, DEI, leadership/influence, digital accessibility and assistive technology, and navigating the interactive process. Enjie was a co-author for a white paper and articles pertaining to navigating and documenting the interactive process; best practices for emotional support animals; and the role of third-party documentation. She is a Certified Rehabilitation Counselor (CRC) as well as a licensed professional Counselor (PC).

Katrina Hall

Dr. Hall graduated with a Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction with a focus in Literacy in 2004 from the University of Florida. In 2020, she earned a Graduate Dsylexia Certificate from the University of Florida. She taught students in primary and elementary grades from 1993 to 2004, earning her National Board Certification as an Early Childhood Generalist in 2002. Her research interests include children’s literature and how children learn through play, within a literacy framework. Her current research focus involves play and literacy, student choice during independent reading time, nonfiction texts, and undergraduate book buddies.

Kari Hanken

Kari has worked as a Disability Counselor at Portland Community College (PCC) for 24 years. During that time, she has taught College Success and Study Skills classes at Portland Community College (PCC) working with students to both create and use memory improving material for studying and assessments both in the classroom and 1-on-1. She has presented at the local PCC Anderson Conference, the Oregon Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (ORTESOL) Conference and the Oregon regional affiliate ORAHEAD annual conference on a variety of topics including Universal Design, Accessibility for ESOL and Community Partnerships. Her areas of interest include building collaborative faculty relationships, and striving to create and promote an atmosphere of belonging for students both in the digital and physical environment.

Vivian Hardison

Vivian Hardison has worked at the Disability Support Services (DSS) office at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale (SIUC) since 2013. Vivian started attending the AHEAD conferences in 2018 when she became the Assistant Director at DSS after being the Testing Coordinator for 5 years. Vivian was recently nominated as Committee Member for the REDD K&P. Vivian is the disability representative and member of the Diversity Council at SIUC. Vivian serves on the Southern Illinois University Diversity Advisory Council (DAC) for the Southern Illinois University System. Vivian’s research focuses on disabled Latinx students and the cultural implications of receiving services and treatment, cross-cultural and intersecting identities, and critical race theory as it applies to disability. Vivian does presentations throughout the year on SIUC campus.

Justin Harford

Justin (he/him/his) is a Program Coordinator with the National Clearinghouse on Disability and Exchange, working to increase the participation of people with disabilities in international exchange by providing information and resources to both individuals with disabilities and higher education professionals. Previously, Justin worked for two years in disability community organizing and policy in the foothills of Northern California. He received his Bachelor of Arts in Latin American History and Spanish Literature from University of California, Berkeley. He studied abroad at the Pontifical Catholic University in Santiago Chile, where he researched and wrote a thesis on the history of the blind in Chilean society. In 2008, he spent 10 weeks immersing himself in the culture and language of Michoacan, Mexico.

Marilyn Harren

Marilyn Harren earned her M.S. in Disability Services in Higher Education from City University of New York in 2019. This combined her years of working as the Director of a disability services office at an open enrollment technical college in Texas, using her background as a certified special education teacher and licensed social worker. She is currently the past-president of AHEAD in Texas. She serves as a mentor to a small group of AHEAD “new to the field” community college disability staff from Texas and Illinois and assists the community college Knowledge and Skills special interest group. She works as the Director of ACCESS at Collin College in Texas.

Emily Harris

Emily Harris is the Assistant Director of Learning Support Services at Villanova University and has worked in disability/access services and study skills support in higher education for the past 7 years.

Elissa Harris

Elissa Harris is a Student Success Adviser at University of Minnesota Morris. Elissa has worked in the Student Success Center since 2021. Elissa previously taught English as a second language in China and through community education programs.

Paul Harwell

Paul Harwell is currently the Associate Director of ADA/504 Compliance in the Office of Institutional Diversity and Equity at Dartmouth. Paul is nationally recognized for his work in higher education and disability. His work is grounded in the principles of civil rights and barrier removal being shared responsibilities across institutions. A 16-year higher education and disability resource professional, Paul has extensive experience supporting students, faculty, staff and public access and accommodation. He is passionate about supporting the development and growth of others and serves as a mentor to colleagues and students at Dartmouth and around the country. Currently, Paul is responsible for leadership on campus-wide disability access via policies, procedures, and training. Paul is a doctoral candidate in Higher Education Administration at Texas A&M University, with a focus on higher ed law, policy, and finance. His dissertation topic is about university faculty experiences teaching students with disabilities.

Emily Helft

Emily Helft has over a decade of direct Disabled student support experience in both K12 and higher education. Following her undergraduate work at Wheaton College (MA), where she majored in psychology, she embarked on a career focused on supporting children and young adults with disabilities. She earned her M.Ed. and Ed.S. from the College of William & Mary with an intense focus on psychoeducational assessment and evaluation, and worked as a school psychologist in the greater Richmond (VA) area for 3 years. After seeing the impact of regularly incorporating technology into her everyday field work supporting students, she transitioned into higher education as an assistive technology specialist, eventually expanding her skill set into accessible media, accommodation support, faculty consultation, academic skills development, and community education regarding accessibility and the Disabled community. Once she realized her true passion within the field was clearly tied to education and training, she joined Landmark’s College's LCIRT team to both narrow her focus and broaden her outreach. She is particularly interested in learning and cognition strategies, psychoeducational evaluation, and translating research into accessible content for students, teachers, and parents.

Bryan Hilbert

Bryan Hilbert serves as the Director of the Disability Resource Center at the University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV) and the President of the Nevada Association on Higher Education and Disability. During his time at UNLV the program has grown from serving 750 students to over 2700 students. He has found and created a variety of innovative ways to find funding and provide real world experience for graduate students and young professionals who desire to enter the disability services field. Of all his accomplishments he is most proud of the individuals he has been able to train and mentor that are now working across the country as Disability Resource Professionals.

Saara Hirsi

Saara Hirsi works as a community engagement specialist at Portland Community College. She graduated from Portland State University with a BS in Psychology and Master of Social Work (MSW). She participated in the Disability Leadership Academy for the City of Portland and Disability Justice Leaders Collaborative convened by the Northwest Health Foundation.

Matthew Hoekstra

Matthew Hoekstra (he/him) is Associate Director of the Student Success Center and Coordinator of the Disability Resource Center at the University of Minnesota, Morris (UMM). Matthew has been in the Disability Resource Center since 2016. Previously, Matthew worked in Academic Assistance at UMM and at Minnesota State Technical College. He has six years of experience working in academic programming at Minnesota State Community and Technical College and at the University of Minnesota, Morris. Matthew has a unique perspective from his work in these areas to consider the needs of students and to move towards a successful collaboration between the housing and disability offices.

Rachel Holcombe

Rachel Holcombe is the Assistant Director in the Student Accessibility and Educational Opportunity (SAEO) office at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU). In addition to providing academic accommodations and support for our student population, Rachel oversees the Faculty Outreach Program where she develops training and education programs for faculty and staff, and oversees SAEO's captioning and interpretive services. In addition to her work in SAEO, she also co-facilitates the Support Group for Students with Chronic Health Conditions with University Counseling Services. Rachel is also a doctoral student with the Counselor Education and Supervision program within VCU's School of Education.

Joshua Hori

Joshua is the Accessible Technology Coordinator for Information Educational Technologies and Academic Technology Services at the University of California, Davis campus. Prior to this position, he was the Accessible Technology Analyst in which the past 10+ years he has been involved with alternate media, web accessibility, and accessible technology implementations across the campus for students with disabilities, but believes they should be used by all students. He has also served as tech consultant for the UC Davis MIND institute in research on mobile apps and organizational apps for students with learning disabilities and students on the spectrum. Joshua provides support to faculty and staff with disabilities in his new role, and continues to collaborate with the Student Disability Center as he locates new technologies to make the campus community more inclusive for all. Joshua Chairs the campus Disability Issues Awareness Advisory Committee (DIAAC), where he works with the campus community to identify accessibility concerns. He participates in the UC Systemwide Electronic Accessibility Committee (EAC) to address system wide issues and share resources.

Sophia Howard

Sophia is the Associate Director for Virtual Hall, a remote support service empowering college students toward lifelong independence. Sophia graduated with a master’s degree and licensure in Special Education from the University of Oregon. She has held various positions working with neurodivergent communities. Sophia's favorite part of her job is helping her students navigate through the transtheoretical model as they work on building healthy and life-changing behaviors.

Kristin Humphrey

Kristin Humphrey, National Disability Mentoring Coalition Director has been involved with mentoring for over a decade, beginning with her role as a volunteer mentor. She has worked with youth with disabilities for the past fifteen years and founded a club at Connecticut College that facilitated group mentoring for siblings of youth with disabilities. She co-authored the manuscript, “Expanding Horizons: A Pilot Mentoring Program Linking College/Graduate Students and Teens with ASD,” which was published in the Journal of Clinical Pediatrics in 2015. Kristin has presented regionally, nationally and globally on the topics of mentoring and inclusion. Most recently, in January of 2022, she presented a workshop at the National Mentoring Summit: "Disability Inclusion: How Mentoring Programs Implement Change." On February 17, 2022, she co-presented a workshop at the Global Disability Summit titled “Pathways to Inclusive Employment and Livelihoods.” Kristin graduated magna cum laude from Connecticut College with a BA in Psychology and was a selected scholar for the Holleran Center’s Program in Community Action and Public Policy. She holds a Master’s in Public Administration from Clark University and a graduate certificate in Human Service Management from Clark University.

Jessica Hutchinson

Jessica Hutchinson is the Directory of Digital Strategy in University Communications at UC San Diego. In this role, she manages a team of UX designers and developers, project managers and strategists who contribute to the design and development of major digital properties at the university, including core campus websites and large-scale email campaigns. She has spent her career of two decades in higher ed, having worked at both at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD, and at UC San Diego.

Raquel Iber

Raquel has been an Academic Counselor in Higher Education working with Students with Disabilities for four years. She previously taught for seventeen years in both private and public schools serving a wide range of students with disabilities.

Rita Inman

Rita Inman received her Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education and a Master of Arts in Instructional Design from the University of Central Florida. She recently completed a Graduate Certificate in Disabilities in Society from the University of Florida and is currently pursuing her E.d. D also from UF. She serves as the Associate Director of the Disability Resource Center at the University of Florida. This is her fourth year working in higher education disability services. Prior to UF, Rita served over 10 years as a classroom educator in both the public and private sectors. She primarily works with the UF housing department for housing accommodations, serves as the Liaison for UF Levin College of Law, and students with mobility impairments. She has a passion for working with students, conducting faculty outreach, and teaching student advocacy.

Courtney Jarrett

Dr. Courtney Jarrett is the Director of Disability Services at Ball State University (BSU) where she oversees the university’s efforts to provide access and opportunity for over 3500 students with disabilities. A triple alum of BSU, she is involved in several professional organizations, including the Association on Higher Education and Disability (AHEAD) and just finished serving as the past president of Indiana AHEAD. Courtney is Affiliate Faculty in Women’s and Gender Studies, teaching several classes at BSU yearly. She has presented at several national conferences and published multiple articles in peer-reviewed journals. She authored a textbook, Not Your Momma’s Feminism, in 2016 and the 2nd edition was released in August 2020. Dr. Jarrett is an ATHENA Young Professional Award winner and also recently won a LEAP Indiana Award for her work assisting students with disabilities during the pandemic. She is a member of the League of Women Voters and a current precinct committee person for her district in Muncie. Dr. Jarrett also recently accepted a role with Shafer Leadership Academy as a Community Inclusion Ambassador for People with Disabilities. In her never-ending crusade for work-life balance, Courtney enjoys reading for fun, going to the movies, traveling with her husband & sons, and spending quality time with friends and family.

Jane Jarrow

Jane Jarrow was the facilitator for the grassroots Long COVID Task Force that came together in the Fall of 2021 and has continued to develop new resources for use by disability service providers in supporting this emerging population of students with disabilities. Jane has worked in the field of disability services in higher education for more than 40 years, first in her role as Executive Director of AHEAD and (for the last 25+ years) as the President of Disability Access Information and Support. She has provided inservice training and technical support to hundreds of disability service providers over time.

Amy Johnson

Amy Johnson, B.S. is a data analyst with CoreLogic in Dallas, Texas.

Theresa Johnson

Theresa Johnson, M.Ed., is an Educational Consultant in San Antonio, Texas. She is NTID’s Regional Representative for the Southeast and has previously served as one of DeafTEC’s partners.

Christian Jones

Christian Jones (he/him/his) serves as an administrative specialist for Syracuse University’s Information Technology Services department and provides logistical support for the ICT Accessibility Assessment Committee.

Kelsey Jordan

Kelsey Jordan serves as one of the Disability Resource Center's (DRC) Assistant Directors, overseeing the Accommodated Testing Center and its daily operations. In addition to her role as Testing Center Manager, she also serves as the Social Committee Chair for Student Success Programs. Kelsey joined the DRC team in 2015 as a campus transfer from Purdue University Northwest (PNW) where she worked in a supervisory position in the Student Success Center. In 2016, Kelsey earned her Master’s degree in Student Affairs and Higher Education from Indiana State University. Prior to that, she completed her undergraduate education at PNW with a concentration in Natural Sciences. Kelsey enjoys working with students and faculty to help identify and breakdown disability related barriers across campus. Kelsey frequently presents on the topic of testing accommodations at both national and regional conferences.

Adam Kasarda

Adam is the Director of the Disability Services Center at University of California, Irvine. Prior to UCI, Adam served as the Disability Director at California State University Dominguez Hills and Alliant International University. Adam has served college students with disabilities for over 12 years. Adam is an active member in AHEAD and several other Higher Ed. professional organizations. Adam also is the President of the Board of Directors for a Non-public transition high school that serves students with Autism and other developmental disorders.

Norma Kehdi

Norma Kehdi is the Senior Director at the Accessible Education Center at the University of Oregon. She received her doctorate in Clinical Psychology in 2015 from Pacific University School of Professional Psychology and has been a licensed clinical psychologist in the state of California since 2017. Dr. Kehdi has worked at numerous institutions of higher education in various roles since 2013, and has supported students with disabilities since 2014. She also works in private practice primarily conducting psychoeducational evaluations. Dr. Kehdi’s specialties include learning disability and ADHD assessment, diagnostic psychological evaluations, and acculturation and cultural competency. Dr. Kehdi has provided numerous trainings and presentations at various institutions and conferences. She was an adjunct professor at USC, has provided guest lectures in numerous courses, and several publications.

Jacqueline Kendrick

Jacqueline provides disability-related support services to students with learning disabilities and/or AD(H)D, ensuring the student’s equitable participation in the academic experience. She helps students understand their disability, and the impact it has on their academic lives. She offers one-on-one, specialized advising and instruction on academic skills, and other compensatory strategies specific to each student’s needs.

Mei Kennedy

Mei Kennedy, Ph.D., is an Instructional Designer from Austin, Texas with expertise in online learning, telecommunications, and integrating technology to improve the learning experience for deaf students. She consulted with CSD Learns on the development of instructional content for several projects, one of which introduces deaf role models in STEM fields.

Patricia Kepler

Patricia Kepler works as an Accessibility Specialist for Portland Community College. She has personal experience with a disability and can be found exploring Oregon’s trails with her Seeing Eye dog Gus. Other related projects she has worked on include the Access Recreation Project which can be found at http://accesstrails.org

Earlee Kerekes-Mishra

Currently the Assistant Director of Disability Access Services at Oregon State University. Holds a MA degree in Organizational Leadership from Gonzaga University and has a passion for working with student veterans, students on the Autism Spectrum and student athletes.

Amy Kim

Amy Kim has worked for the Office for Civil Rights (OCR), U.S. Dept. of Education since 2003, and has worked extensively in schools, colleges, and universities as a civil rights attorney helping students and families resolve discriminations complaints, including disability-related concerns. Previously, she worked for the Office of the General Counsel, U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services. Amy obtained her B.S. in biochemistry from the University of Washington, and J.D. from the University of Washington, School of Law. Amy enjoys volunteering in her community and has assisted a variety of community and civic organizations, including serving as an officer of the International Community Health Services (a community health center), the Civil Rights Law Section of the Washington State Bar Association, and the Joint Asian Judicial Evaluation Committee. Amy is the child of political refugees from Korea, and grew up in Covington, WA. She currently resides in Seattle, WA.

Sunny Kim

Sunny professional experiences range from working in the non-profit sector to higher education across the spectrum of student support services. Sunny currently works as an Accessibility Advisor at the University of British Columbia (UBC). The two areas that Sunny has spent the most time in include International Education and Student Affairs. At the International department, Sunny has worked in student success services coordinating student mentorship and leadership development programs. In his current role, Sunny works firsthand with students, university support units, and faculty to structure and develop educational content in accessible learning formats. Sunny supports a variety of students experiencing complex crisis situations and others who struggle with adjusting to the university setting due to socio-cultural and economic challenges.

Lauren "Lore" Kinast

Lauren has spent over 25 years addressing accessibility barriers that deaf students face in higher education settings through collaborations with stakeholders, designing accessible opportunities, and implementing systemic benchmarks. She also coordinated interpreting, captioning, and accommodations for deaf college students. Lauren received her Ed.D in Higher Education Administration from Texas Tech University.

Regina Kiperman-Kiselgof

Regina Kiperman-Kiselgof, M.S., is the Assistant Director of the Co-op and Career Center at Rochester Institute of Technology’s National Technical Institute for the Deaf (NTID).

Rebecca Klein

Rebecca Klein is a Content Marketing Specialist at 3Play Media, the industry’s leading provider of video accessibility services. 3Play Media provides premiere closed captioning, transcription, translation, and audio description services to make digital video content more accessible, searchable, and engaging. In her professional life and beyond, Rebecca is passionate about working to create accessible and equitable media products.

Alyssa Klenotich

Alyssa Klenotich (Her/She) serves as an Access Consultant for Student Accessibility and Accommodations at St. Catherine University. She recently graduated with her Master of Science in College Counseling and Student Development at St. Cloud University, which was grounded in social justice teachings, student development theory, and helping skills. During this time she completed her thesis exploring students with disabilities' experiences with faculty, was an intern for the office for students with disabilities at Anoka Ramsey Community College, and a Graduate Assistant for the office of Academic Appeals and Probation where she focused on academic coaching to support students re-enter good academic standing status. Her prior experience stems from her bachelor degree in psychology, where she primarily worked at a Day Training Habilitation site for adults with disabilities as a case manager and direct support professional. Alyssa currently lives in Plymouth, MN, with her partner and three dogs.

Ann Knettler

Ann Knettler, Ed.D. currently Directs the Center for Disability Resources (CDR) and is the ADA & 504 Compliance Officer at Delaware State University, she also teaches in their Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership and Masters of Public Administration Programs. As a member of the Association on Higher Education and Disability (AHEAD), Ann has served on the Standing Committee for Professional Development and currently represents the Association as a member of the Board of Directors for the Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education (CAS) where she has co-authored and updated policy and standards for the entire field of higher education and currently sits on their Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee. She is a published researcher and experienced educator. Ann regularly presents and consults at the national level on topics such as ableism, able-body privilege, assessment and the use of data as an advocacy tool, the high school to college and college to career transition for students with disabilities, disability policy reform, strategic planning, creating and using policy and standards as guidance in the non-profit field, program review, community needs assessment, and the social justice model of disability.

Marcia Kolvitz

Marcia Kolvitz, Ph.D., is an Educational Consultant in Indianapolis, Indiana. She serves as the Chairperson of DeafTEC’s National Visiting Committee.

Kristi Kozma

Kristi has been working in Disability Services for the past 17 years, including time at a 2 year community college and a 4 year advanced degree-granting institution. She has served in the roles of Accessibility Specialist, Accessibility Coordinator, Medical School Accessibility Coordinator, and Director of Accessibility Services, and as an Assistive Technology Coordinator.

Amanda Kraus

Dr. Amanda Kraus is Assistant Vice President for Campus Life and Executive Director for Disability Resources at the University of Arizona. UA’s Disability Resource Center is one of the largest in the nation, and considered an international model of progressive service delivery, uniquely positioned to approach campus access systemically. Dr. Kraus is also Associate Professor of Practice in UA’s Center for the Study of Higher Education where she coordinates the MA program and teaches courses on student services and disability in higher education. She looks to disability studies to inform research and teaching that challenges deficit or tragedy rhetoric on disability and frame disability in the context of social justice, shaped by dynamics of power and privilege. Dr. Kraus is President of the Association of Higher Education and Disability (AHEAD) Board of Directors and has had the privilege of delivering keynote addresses and facilitating workshops around the country and internationally. Dr. Kraus earned her MA and Ph.D. at the University of Arizona in Higher Education.

Katie Krieger

Katherine (Katie) Krieger, M.A., C.A.G.S., is the Associate Director of Disability Support Services at East Carolina University (ECU). She has a Certificate of Advanced Graduate Study in Post-Secondary Disability Services, and a Master of Arts in Education Psychology. Katie started her career as an elementary special education teacher, but quickly made her way to higher education disability services. She started out at Western Connecticut State, and then established the inaugural Accessibility and Accommodations office at St. Francis College prior to her time at ECU. Katie developed (and continues to revise) the reasonable attendance adjustment process at ECU, and works regularly with students and faculty navigating this process. In her spare time, Katie can be found crocheting.

Rachel Kruzel

Rachel Kruzel, ATP, is the Higher Education Specialist for Texthelp where she supports higher education institutions across the United States and Canada as they explore, adopt, and implement technology based literacy, STEM, and accessibility based solutions to help create more inclusive, equitable, and accessible campuses and learning spaces for all students and campus members. She is a RESNA Certified Assistive Technology Professional and spent over ten years working as an Assistive Technology and Accommodations Specialist in Disability Resource Offices prior to coming to Texthelp. During her time in higher ed, she built and developed assistive technology programs at both schools she worked at, as well as coordinated the provision of accommodations. Rachel is a national expert in the areas of assistive technology, digital accessibility, accessible course materials, and accommodation provision around testing and notetaking. Rachel presents both regionally and nationally on these topics and others, as well as consults with students, parents, schools, and organizations. She is a member of AHEAD and MNAHEAD, as well as sits on the Minnesota Department of Education’s Assistive Technology Leadership Team.

Luke Kudryashov

Luke Kudryashov (he/they) is the Senior Digital Accessibility Analyst at the University of Minnesota. As a graduate student at the University of Michigan, Luke co-founded Disability Culture @ UM, a group of disabled students, staff, faculty, alumnx, and allies dedicated to building disability community, advocating for accessibility, and promoting disability culture. Luke has a background in disability studies, queer and trans studies, digital accessibility, and user experience. He has organized advocacy efforts, served on advisory boards, and worked on projects to advance accessibility and equity at the University of Pennsylvania, University of Michigan, HathiTrust Digital Library, National Library of Medicine, and University of Minnesota.

Ian Kunkes

Ian Kunkes has over 15 years of experience as an educational leader, with a career focused on advancing access, equity, inclusion, and opportunity for all students. He recently earned his Ed.D. in Leadership at Virginia Commonwealth University, and holds an M.S. in Clinical Psychology and B.A. in Psychology. For the past 6 years, Ian has served at Virginia Commonwealth University as the Director of Student Accessibility and Educational Opportunity (SAEO), where he co-founded and chairs VCU’s Transforming Accessibility Initiative (TAI). Ian is a nationally recognized leader in the field of accessibility and disability-related support. His work as co-founder and chair of VCU’s Transforming Accessibility Initiative has reached thousands of professionals and individuals in multiple countries through hosting conferences, speaking engagements, and webinars. Programs and initiatives he spearheaded now serve as national best practices and are regularly highlighted in educational publications. Additionally, he regularly serves as a speaker and consultant for organizations including The Association on Higher Education and Disability (AHEAD), Educational Testing Services (ETS), and conferences including the Postsecondary Training Institute. He is particularly proud of his recent work revamping AHEAD’s professional competencies to move from a compliance-based approach to one with a social justice focus.

Adam Lalor

Adam Lalor, Ph.D. is Vice President for Neurodiversity Research and Innovation and Co-Director of the Landmark College Center for Neurodiversity. With nearly 20 years of experience in higher education and nonprofit administration, his research focuses on the transition of students with disabilities to and within higher education and the preparation of faculty, administrators, employers, who work with them. Recent publications have appeared in LD: A Multidisciplinary Journal, the Journal of Postsecondary Education and Disability, and the Journal of Diversity in Higher Education. He teaches in Landmark College’s online Learning Differences and Neurodiversity certificate program and is co-author of From Disability to Diversity: College Success for Students with Learning Disabilities, ADHD, and Autism Spectrum Disorder. A nationally known speaker on disability and neurodiversity, Dr. Lalor received his doctoral degree in Educational Psychology from the University of Connecticut.

Donna Lange

Donna Lange, M.S., is an Associate Professor in the Department of Information and Computing Studies at NTID and the Principle Investigator and Center Director for DeafTEC, a National Science Foundation (NSF) Advanced Technological Education (ATE) National Center of Excellence at Rochester Institute of Technology.

Chris Lanterman

Chris Lanterman is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Educational Specialties at Northern Arizona University. Dr. Lanterman’s research and scholarship focuses on inclusion and equity for disabled individuals in P-20 education and in society, as a whole. He has presented at conferences and published articles and chapters on beliefs about disability, inclusion for students with disabilities in K-12 education, universal design for learning in P-20 education, accessibility and universal design on college campuses, and the language of disability. He teaches courses in special education, universal design for learning, and disability studies. Dr. Lanterman has been a member of AHEAD since 2005, served as proposal reviewer for multiple AHEAD conferences, coached presenters for the 2017 and 2018 AHEAD Talks, and coordinated the universal design strand for the 2011 AHEAD conference.

Danielle Larin

Danielle Larin is a Native Hawaiian California-licensed marriage and family therapist, with more than 15 years of experience in the mental health field. She is currently a staff therapist at UC Riverside’s Counseling and Psychological Services. Prior to UCR, she worked as an educationally-related mental health specialist in Los Angeles and San Bernardino county K-12 school districts with students on 504 plans and Individualized Education Plans (IEPs). She also spent five years in non-public school settings, where she provided therapy and sensory regulation skills for students with complex traumas. Danielle holds advanced certification in the treatment of trauma and is a subject matter expert on historical and intergenerational trauma. She integrates sensory regulation into each of her sessions and personalizes healing through the client’s cultural experience. Danielle is currently attending the University of Hawaii - West O’ahu’s Hawaiian & Indigenous Health & Healing program, where she will address health disparities in underrepresented populations by closing the treatment gap between Traditional and Western mental healthcare.

Sean LaRoque

Dr. Sean LaRoque is a Founding Partner at Mansfield Hall. He received his master’s degree in educational psychology and his doctorate in child and adolescent psychology from the University of Arizona. Over the last 18 years, Dr. LaRoque has worked in both private practice and educational settings. Through this work, Dr. LaRoque has specialized in assessing and treating children with developmental disorders, supporting post secondary transitions, conducting EEG Biofeedback Therapy and developing alternative programming for at risk youth. Dr. LaRoque’s additional experience includes working as a residential specialist with adults with developmental disabilities in an assisted living care facility, a research consultant focusing on environmental risk assessments, and a father of three boys. Along with being a published researcher in scholarly journals and text, Dr. LaRoque has been a research associate in the Campus Health Center at the University of Arizona and an adjunct professor in the Psychology Department at the University of Wisconsin – Whitewater.

Miriam Latzer

Miriam is a professional vegetable grower, community builder and educator serving as Learning Garden Coordinator at Portland Community College since 2017. Before moving to Oregon, Miriam gained over a decade of experience running small, certified naturally grown farms in the Hudson Valley of New York; and earned a Master’s Degree in Environmental Land Use Planning from Rutgers University in New Jersey.

Megan Launchbaugh

Megan Launchbaugh has worked in accessibility services for three years at Hastings College, a small liberal arts college in central Nebraska with less than 1,000 students. During her time at the college she has helped to establish the disability services department by forming processes and procedures, writing policy, building relationships, overseeing student groups for disabled students, and advocating for prioritization of accessibility in broader campus conversations. She's a regular reader and occasional poster on the AHEAD community discussion boards, and a past conference attendee. Prior to her role in accessibility services she worked in education coordinating professional development opportunities for K-12 educators and later in higher education settings. She's currently in the final stages of working toward her MA in History.

Anne Lazenby

Anne Lazenby is a lifelong Alaskan, certified sign language interpreter, and Director of Disability Support Services (DSS) at the University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA). Anne is a UAA alum with both a bachelor's degree and graduate degree in Clinical Psychology. Deeply committed to accessibility, inclusion, and the equitable expansion of college access, Anne’s greatest professional joy is seeing students succeed and collaborating with dedicated faculty and staff in that effort.

Tara Lehan

ORCID iD: 0000-0001-9041-0553

Currently serving as the Senior Director of Strategic Research and a member of the University Diversity Committee at National University, Tara Lehan is passionate about engaging in continuous improvement to promote inclusive excellence in online higher education. She has presented her work at more than 20 national and international conferences across North America, Europe, and Africa and published more than 10 articles in peer-reviewed journals on various topics relating to online higher education. In particular, the area of disability studies has personal and professional relevance to her. Tara earned her Ph.D. in Human Sciences with a specialization in Marriage and Family Therapy from Florida State University.

Jessie Levine

New Student Coordinator, Portland Community College (PCC). Member of Committee on Accessible College Culture, PCC.

Craig Levins

Craig joined Broward College in 2017 where he currently holds the role of Associate Vice President for Institutional Accessibility & ADA Coordinator. In this role he serves as the college’s ADA Coordinator and oversees the Accessibility Resources, Electronic Information Technology and Assistive Technology Departments, as well as the college’s neurodiverse initiatives and programs, including its Comprehensive Transition Program, Seahawk NEST Academy. Craig is the immediate past president for the Florida Association on Higher Education and Disability (AHEAD) and co-founding member of the Florida State EIT Consortium. Prior to his arrival in Florida, Craig worked within the State University of New York System where he served on the executive board of the NY AHEAD affiliate and served on multiple committees and consortiums throughout the state. Craig holds a Master of Arts in Counseling Psychology from Antioch University, a Bachelor of Arts from Elmira College, and a Certificate of Advanced Assistive Technology Applications from California State University at Northridge. Craig has 25 years of higher education experience within the accessibility field and as an adjunct professor of Psychology.

Pamela Lindsay

ORCID iD: 0000-0003-2616-2078

As Co-founder and Director of Research and Programs at the College of Adaptive Arts (CAA), Dr. Pamela Lindsay is helping clear new pathways for historic collegiate special education and lifelong opportunities. Her history of work with students and families searching for developmentally oriented, individualized, and inclusive special education tools and programs inspires her passion for creating resources for increased student engagement, optimal learning opportunities, and motivation toward success. She and her co-founder, DeAnna Pursai M.A., lead a mountain-moving effort to take their CAA model nationwide. CAA has launched the first inclusive collegiate partnership of its kind in the state through a collaboration with West Valley College in Saratoga, CA. This is a product of research work including a focus on development of lifelong and motivational higher education programs for adults with differing learning needs, with a special focus on adults with intellectual disability. Dr. Lindsay has published and presented at local, national, and international conferences and at corporate and nonprofit organizations. She currently directs the development of CAA’s new Special Adult Education and Lifelong Learning (SAELL) national council to spread collaborative and replicable instruction models wherever adults of all abilities are hungry to learn.

L. Scott Lissner

ADA Coordinator and 504 Compliance Officer. Scott is also an Associate of the John Glenn School of Public Policy and serves as a lecturer for the Moritz College of Law, the Knowlton School of Architecture and Disability Studies. Scott is a Past President and Public Policy Chair for AHEAD. He is a regular and popular presenter both nationally and internationally.

Zachary Lounsbury

Zachary Lounsbury is currently a disability services professional at Colorado College. His diverse education experiences range from teaching Shakespeare to middle schoolers to leading instruction in a classroom for students with autism spectrum disorder to helping facilitate post-secondary social justice education curricula. Additionally, he’s worked at a DS provider at a large, flagship public institution. His master’s work focused on direct application of critical theory (critical race theory, critical whiteness studies, discrit) to higher education practices. Though diverse in range, each of these experiences focused on increasing accessibility and diversity in the classroom.

Cathy Lounsbury

Cathy Lounsbury, Ed.D., LCPC is a seasoned counselor, educator, and leader in the study and practice of trauma, wellness, and resilience. Cathy has been a clinical mental health counselor for over 25 years working with both children and adults, specializing in those who have experienced trauma. Currently, Cathy serves as an Professor in the Clinical Mental Health Counseling Department, with a focus on trauma-informed treatment and clinical practice. In this role, she founded Antioch’s Institute on Wellness, providing consultation and training nationally on the mitigation of secondary traumatic stress. Within the Counseling Department at Antioch, Cathy has developed training opportunities for students in trauma-informed, strength-based approaches and has provided expertise in psychological trauma and resiliency to multi-disciplinary teams exploring the effect of climate impacts on youth and families.

Christine Low

Christine Low is the Director of Disability Services for the Icahn School of Medicine leading disability initiatives, policy development and program oversight for the medical and graduate school. Christine has presented nationally on topics such as: Professional Communication Around Disability Status, Building a Robust Disability Office On A Health Science Campus and Utilizing The ADA and Case Law In Determining Reasonable Accommodations. She has co-authored several publications including, The Performance and Trajectory of Medical Students With Disabilities: Results From the Pathways Project (Meeks LM, Plegue M, Swenor BK, et al, Academic Medicine, 2021) and chapters in Disability as Diversity (Meeks, Neal-Boylan, 2020), and Equal Access for Students With Disabilities: The Guide for Health Science and Professional Education, Second Edition (Meeks, Jain and Laird, 2021). Christine has served on the Board of Directors for the Coalition for Disability Access in Health Science and Medical Education since 2016. She is also faculty member in Environmental Medicine and Public Health at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, and Adjunct Faculty for the Bank Street College of Education Graduate School and Columbia University, School of Social Work.

San Lu

San T. Lu is currently the Alternate Media Specialist at Napa Valley College’s (NVC) Disability Support Programs & Services and is also the Vice President of Miraplex Diagnostics, a bio-technology start-up company focused on developing low-cost cancer screening solution. At NVC he is responsible for facilitating the integration of access and student services technologies (communications platform, conduct management, etc.) into teaching, learning, and student services. Prior to this San was the Supervisor and Interim Dean of the Disability Resource Center and Veterans program at Foothill College where San was instrumental in moving all the DRC student process to an online platform, implementing a student friendly appointment system and coordinating online solutions to support student success. San also worked at Stanford University School of Medicine as an Academic Research and Program Officer under various federal grants and, working with numerous projects, was part of an educational research team that developed innovative programs to offer outreach and services to underserved rural and homeless Veterans, and created curricula that provided the latest background, assessment, and ethnic-specific guidelines for working with culturally diverse individuals with dementia and their family caregivers. San holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from University of San Francisco and master’s in Gerontology from San Francisco State University.

Jennifer Lucas

Jennifer Lucas holds a Bachelor’s degree in Wildlife Biology from Colorado State University. She is currently working as the Alt Format Coordinator for PCC. Jennifer was the primary designer of the accessible furniture and garden bed. The Learning Garden for All project has allowed Jennifer to combine her love for the outdoors with her dedication to the advancement of universal design."

Johanna Lucht

Johanna Lucht, B.S., is an Electronics Engineer at NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California.

Emily Lucio

ADA/504 Coordinator, AHEAD ADA Coordinators KPC co-chair. Emily has 25+ years’ experience working in both DS director and ADA Coordinator roles, and has been a member of AHEAD since 1992, serving on the Board of Directors from 2007-2010. Emily has also been the Editor for the AHEAD newsletter, chair of the Policy Committee, and JPED reviewer.

Christina Lunsmann

ORCID iD: 0000-0003-2099-9125

Christina is the Director of Student Accessibility Services at University of Maryland Global Campus. She received her Ph.D. in Teacher Education from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas where her research focused on constructivist teaching. During her time as an assistant professor and a program coordinator in Teacher Education, she studied effective teacher preparation and democratic teaching practices. Through that work, she developed a passion for accessibility services and ensuring that all students have access to education.

John Macko

John Macko, M.S., serves as Director of the Co-op and Career Center at Rochester Institute of Technology’s National Technical Institute for the Deaf (NTID).

Marie Manning

Dr. Manning is an Assistant professor at Eastern Kentucky University. She teaches courses in behavior at both the undergraduate and graduate levels to students across a pre-service and in-service programs such as special education, early childhood special education, and communication disorders. Her courses include content related to teachers, psychologists, social workers, and related service personnel that work with students and individuals with disabilities.

Elena Marte

Elena Marte has been a public-school educator for over a decade. She is currently an Assistant Principal at a Title 1 school in Miami-Dade County, where over 75% of the students are free and reduced lunch and identify as minority students. She is also a Ph.D. Candidate at Florida International University majoring in Teaching and Learning with a focus on autism spectrum disorder. Her research stems from having a sibling with autism/epilepsy and her two sons are also on the spectrum. She hopes her research will provoke thought in underrepresented populations within the special needs community to develop programs, policies, and initiatives that positively impact individuals with special needs and their families in school settings.

Marissa Martinez

Marissa Martinez is the current Disability Resources for Students Coordinator at the University of Memphis-Lambuth campus in Jackson, Tennessee. Ms. Martinez singlehandedly oversees accommodations for the majority of Lambuth students, while teaching a college readiness course for incoming freshmen every fall semester. She has held this position in DRS Lambuth since January 2022. Previously, Ms. Martinez held numerous undergraduate and graduate senior advisor positions within several University of California campuses, including San Diego, Los Angeles, and Irvine. While in the UC system, she served as a liaison for students in working with department administration and faculty in ensuring that they received their accommodations. Ms. Martinez received her Bachelor of Arts degree from UCLA and her Master of Arts degree in Counseling from the University of San Diego’s School of Leadership and Education Sciences.

Naomi Martinez-Jones

Naomi Martinez-Jones is the Director of Disability Services at George Mason University. She has over 16 years of experience working with people with disabilities in secondary and post-secondary education and in the community. Naomi received her undergraduate degree in Special Education and her master’s degree in Educational Leadership both at the University of Northern Colorado. She co-authored the article, “Awareness, Integration and Interconnectedness: Contemplative Practices of Higher Education Professional” and was instrumental in creating the Disability Awareness and Inclusion workshop for the George Mason University community.

Terri Massie-Burrell

Dr. Massie-Burrell is the Senior Director of Student Disability Services-Homewood. She provides oversight of the office so accommodations are appropriately implemented based on Federal and institutional guidelines. Ensures needed connections with faculty, teaching assistants, and staff to support students in and outside of the classroom. Massie-Burrell brings over 25 years of experience in higher education at a variety of institutional types. She has held positions as both administrator and faculty member to help college students with diverse identities achieve their ideal academic and career goals.

Maranda Maxey

Maranda Maxey the University's ADA /504 Coordinator and Equal Employment Opportunity Officer at Appalachian State University. She also is the Director for the Office of Disability Resources. Maranda has nearly 20 years experience working within the field of disability resources and compliance. Maranda is a member of the National ADA Coordinators Association, the Association for Higher Education and Disability (AHEAD) and is heavily involved in North Carolina’s AHEAD affiliate where she has served on the Board of Directors for 8 years. Maranda has experience consulting with various constituencies including other universities and law firms on the Americans with Disabilities Act, specifically Title I and Title II along with process evaluation for efficiencies.

Michelle Maybaum

Michelle Maybaum, B.S., is the founder and President of Desiderata HR Consulting, an organization that provides Human Resources services to start-up companies and non- profit organizations, with a focus on disability inclusion. She is a member of DeafTEC’s National Visiting Committee and was part of a team that developed AccessATE tipsheets that provide guidance on accessibility and employment issues.

Mollie McAllister

Starting in the field of Accessibility Services for the first time as a student, Mollie has worked as a Peer Mentor for students with Autism, with young adults with disabilities in the non-profit sector, and as an Accessibility Advisor at two Universities. Joining BC’s Kwantlen Polytechnic University in 2017, as the only Advisor at one of four campuses, Mollie found herself exclaiming daily “no one told me I would be doing THIS”. Mollie returned to her own Alma Mater in 2019, where she currently works as an Accessibility Advisor at the University of British Columbia campus in Vancouver BC.

Deborah McCarthy

Deborah McCarthy has more than 25 years of experience in higher education. For the past 14 years, Deborah has been the Director of the Student Accessibility Services Office at the University of South Florida. Deborah's professional and personal philosophy is "One Step at a time." This philosophy is evident in Deborah's prior publications, her approach to being a Director and her own experiences as a woman with cerebral palsy.

Ryan McCombs

Ryan McCombs, M.A. serves as the Director of the Disability Access Center at Purdue University Fort Wayne in Indiana. Ryan also holds a board position as President of IN-AHEAD (Indiana Association of Higher Education and Disability). Ryan has been a long-time member of the Association of Higher Education and Disability (AHEAD) and Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education (NASPA). Ryan earned his Master of Arts in Student Affairs Administration in Higher Education at Ball State University in 2017 and his Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education from Central Michigan University in 2014. He is currently pursuing his Doctorate in Higher Education Administration from Purdue University West Lafayette and will graduate in May 2023. In addition, Ryan has eight years of experience within the field of education, including a mixed experience as a student affairs and disability services professional, as well as time as a K12 educator. Currently, as Director, Ryan draws from his own disabled experiences to help ensure students have equal access within the campus environment by grounding his work in the social justice model of disability.

Courtney McGonagle

Courtney is the Assistant Director of Student Accessibility Services at Florida Atlantic University. She graduated with Bachelor of Science in Education from the State University of New York College at Brockport, and obtained a Master's Degree in Higher Education Leadership from Florida Atlantic University. Courtney has worked in the disability field for over 10 years.

Jon McGough

Jon McGough, M.Ed. has more than 15 years of ADA and accommodations related experience in higher education and for profit business. He served on the Board of the Coalition for Disability Access in Health Science and Medical Education and is a past President of the Washington Association on Postsecondary Education and Disability. His list of clients and employers includes Kaiser Permanente School of Medicine, the University of Washington, and Amazon, among others. He presents often and offers private consulting on matters inclusion, accessibility, and accommodation.

Elizabeth McLain

Elizabeth McLain, Ph.D.. is an analytical musicologist and disability studies scholar at Virginia Tech. She draws from lived experience as a chronically ill crutch-wielding autistic to transform music scholarship through the principles of disability justice. Her disability culture work includes serving as co-chair of the Music and Disability Study Group of the American Musicological Society, writing an ethnography of disabled performing artists, leading workshops on disability inclusion and UDL in the performing arts, founding the Virginia Tech Accessible Gaming Research Initiative, advocating as a professional member of RAMPD: Recording Artists and Music Professionals with Disabilities, and documenting the inaugural CripTech incubator with a2ru’s Ground Works as the cross-disability facilitator and ethnography lead (supported by an ACLS Digital Justice Seed Grant). As a graduate student, she was a proud member of Disability Culture @ UM. Now, she is the co-chair of Virginia Tech's Disability Caucus and faculty advisor for the Disability Alliance. McLain’s community building work during the COVID-19 pandemic—including accessible gaming events with members of DC@UM, DAC, and the Alliance Against Ableism—was recognized by the Disability Law Center of Virginia in 2021 with a Disability Impact Award. She is committed to cross-disability work, building connections with disabled-run advocacy organizations at institutions of higher learning, and combating ableism in academia with communities of care.

Rebekkah McLellan

Dr. McLellan is currently serving as an Assistant Professor of Public Health and Health Promotion at the University of Lynchburg. As a neurodiverse, disabled person herself, Dr. McLellan understands the value of advocacy, awareness, and policy change. She holds an Ed.D in Health Professions from A.T. Still University, a Master’s degree in Public Health with an emphasis in Global Health, and a B.A. in Psychology and Biology from Rutgers University. In addition, she has completed professional certificates in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the Workplace and Inclusive Leadership. Dr. McLellan’s dissertation included the creation and validation of a novel concussion knowledge instrument, and her current research focuses on sport-related concussion, concussion knowledge and awareness, and return-to-learn protocols in higher education. Dr. McLellan is driven by her passion for advancing equity, and her relevant areas of expertise include DEI, disability, and concussion.

Gabriel Merrell

Gabriel Merrell is a certified ADA Coordinator who has been working in areas directly related to physical access, IT access, accommodations, inclusion, and universal design for 15+ years. He is a Past President of ORAHEAD, and the co-chair of the AHEAD ADA Coordinators Knowledge and Practice Community.

Tom Merrell

Tom Merrell is a graduate of Santa Clara University where he received his Master's degree in Special Education. Having worked at the University of San Francisco (USF) for over 20 years, he started his career in Disability Services as an exam proctor and now serves as Director of Student Disability Services, overseeing reasonable accommodations for roughly 1,200 students annually. Prior to coming to USF, he worked as a special educator and teacher trainer for the Santa Clara County Office of Education in San Jose, CA., and Santa Clara University, Santa Clara, CA. Tom's teaching and research interests include educating at-risk and gang-identified youth; accommodations, documentation, transition, and assessment of adults with LD & ADHD; and program evaluation, including retention of students with disabilities.

Danielle Mireles

Danielle Mireles, Ph.D., is an interdisciplinary scholar-activist whose work is embedded at the intersections of racial, disability, and health justice. They grew up in the San Fernando Valley, where they attended community college before transferring to California State University, Northridge, and earning their B.A. in Deaf studies. Before and during their graduate studies, they worked in the Los Angeles Community College system as a direct support person for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities attending community colleges in Los Angeles. Dr. Mireles received their M.A. and Ph.D. in education with a concentration on education, society, and culture, a program focused on an interdisciplinary and structural analysis of educational inequity, at the University of California, Riverside. Their dissertation explored the racialized experiences of Black and Brown students who had been labeled, identified as, or had the lived experience of disability on college campuses. Their current research examines disability critical race theory, carceral ableism and sanism, and disability futurities in and beyond higher education. Their work centers on the raced-disabled epistemologies and knowledge of Black and Brown disabled students as experts in their lived experiences.

Michelle Mitchell

Michelle Mitchell earned an M.Ed. in Rehabilitation Counseling from Penn State University and has been in the profession for over 18 years. Seeing the inequity of opportunities for persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities, Michelle has endeavored to change opportunities by changing the way our culture interprets disability and championing liberation. Through this work, Michelle has developed sustainable relationships opening the doors of inclusion across the campus. With over 11 years at Lehigh Carbon Community College as a Disability Learning Specialist and various community connections, Michelle has collaborated on a number of projects to open doors of equity across her community.

Jenifer Montag

ORCID iD: 0000-0002-6828-9408

Jenifer Montag, Ed.D., has over 20 years experience in postsecondary disability service provision / ADA coordination at several different-sized institutions. Prior to arriving at Marion Technical College, she was not familiar with college correctional education programs, much less the needs of the disabled students who are incarcerated. For the previous four-plus years, and in collaboration with the college’s correctional education faculty and staff inside two state medium-security correctional facilities, she has been providing accommodations (including sign language interpreters, real-time captioning, and ALDs) to enrolled disabled incarcerated students. Stemming from her dissertation research Facilitating Equal Access for Disabled Students Who Are Incarcerated, Jenifer’s current focus is on addressing the social justice issues arising from the critical college correctional education programs and ensuring equal and equitable access for the enrolled students. She has presented for Indiana AHEAD, the Ohio Association of Two-Year Colleges, and the Mid-Atlantic ADA Conference on the issues of providing accommodations to the disabled students who are incarcerated and how colleges can make their programs accessible and inclusive.

Thomas Montgomery

ORCID iD: 0000-0002-6526-8564

Dr. Thomas Montgomery received his Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of Chicago and is currently an assistant professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Duquesne University. His teaching and research interests involve the equitable involvement of students in scientific research and developing inclusive program scaffolds.

Cindy Morgan

Cindy Morgan is the Senior Coordinator for Student Success for Disability Support Services at Palo Alto College, and also serves as the Co-Chair of the Alamo Colleges District DSS Council. She graduated with a Bachelor of Applied Arts and Sciences from Texas A&M University-Kingsville System Center-San Antonio. In the Fall of 2016, she helped launch Project Access. Project Access is a unique program offered to individuals with documented intellectual disabilities. It is designed to support the student to access postsecondary education and develop skills for gainful employment. In addition to her main role in DSS, Cindy continues to manage the Project Access Program. Cindy has a passion for supporting students with disabilities and has worked in the disability office for 8 years.

Jillian Morn

Jillian Morn is a Research Scientist in the Office of Educational Assessment at the University of Washington and is pursuing her doctorate at the McBee Institute of Higher Education at the University of Georgia. She regularly presents at the Association for Institutional Research Forum on topics such institutional climate surveying, data visualization best practices in design and cognitive science, and project management in institutional research. Her work focuses on mixed method approaches to higher education research, program assessment, and policy evaluation to improve student success.

Mary Morningstar

Mary E. Morningstar, Ph.D., is the co-director of PSU’s ThinkCollege Inclusion Oregon project in the Special Education Department, and teaches courses for preservice students focused on transition and post-secondary outcomes. She has a BSEd in special education from the University of Georgia, an MEd in special education from the University of Maryland, and a Ph.D. from the University of Kansas. Morningstar’s research encompasses three interrelated concentrations: college and career readiness for youth with disabilities, teacher education and professional development, and secondary inclusive educational reform. She is the author of The Educator’s Guide to Implementing Transition Planning and Services (2017), and over 40 peer-reviewed journal articles, numerous book chapters, monographs, and technical reports.

Marisa Moser

Marisa (she/they) works at Portland Community College as a College Success & Career Coach. She earned her Bachelors and Masters from Oregon State University and has also earned a Graduate Certificate in College & University Teaching. She uses an intersectional feminist lens to deconstruct the barriers to higher education for her students. She is passionate about student support and loves to be a part of her student's educational journey. In her spare time you can find her renovating her house and spending time with her wife and dogs.

Courtney Mulligan

Courtney Mulligan is the Director of Accessibility Services at Regis College located outside of Boston. She has been in this role for nearly 10 years and is passionate about the students she serves. Courtney has just completed five years on the board of the New England AHEAD affiliate, first as President Elect, and then as President. Finally Courtney has just become a Ph.D. candidate, preparing to begin research on "sense of belonging" and college success for students with Autism.

Laura Mullins

ORCID iD: 0000-0002-8390-2653

Dr. Mullins is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Applied Disability Studies. She specialized in critical disability studies, accessibility within higher education, applied behaviour analysis, trauma-Informed approaches, systemic and organizational change, and knowledge mobilization. She is a Board-Certified Behaviour Analyst with over 20 years of experience within the developmental service sector focusing on adults labelled with intellectual and developmental disabilities. In appreciation of the need for transformative research within disability studies, her research predominately represents participatory action research with disabled people and community-engaged scholarship with services that support disability communities.

Zoann Murphy

ORCID iD: 0000-0002-9531-0938

Zoann Murphy earned her Master of Public Health in 1999 and is a current Ph.D. student at National University. She was declared by Social Security to be permanently and totally disabled in 2010. Since then, she has been active in the patient advocacy field by being the Patient Advisor to the Providence Home Health & Hospice Patient Experience and their Quality Assurance and Performance Improvement Committees from 2017-2020. She has been a member of the EPIC Foundation’s chronic illness social media support group from its inception in 2018 and has served on its Mental Health Advisory Board since 2020. At NU, she is a representative to the Psychology Department’s Student Advisory Committee, is very active in the university’s online Commons Forum, and was the first student Co-Steward in its sub-forum for university members with disabilities.

Ann Murphy

Ann Murphy currently serves as the Director of Disability Services at the University of Wisconsin-Stout, Wisconsin’s Polytechnic University. Ann has worked diligently to promote access for students with disabilities and to facilitate inclusive education in the university environment for over 20 years. Her career began as a Retention Specialist in TRIO Student Support Services at Black Hills State University, where she developed the framework for their first DS program. She also served as Director of Disability Support Services at the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley, Colorado, for ten years. Ann has been instrumental in policy and program development, creative solutions such as the recent development of a Sensory Space, and mentorship of many disability services staff, some progressing from student employees or access coordinators to directorship.

Lori Muskat

Dr. Lori R. Muskat is a Disability Policy Specialist in the Office of Disability Policy at ETS, where she assists with documentation reviews and policy/procedure development regarding accommodations for individuals with disabilities. Before joining the staff, Lori was on the ETS External Review Panel for over a decade and helped revise documentation guidelines for multiple disability categories. Lori’s training and experience include neuropsychology, rehabilitation psychology and clinical psychology. She was a Professor of Clinical Psychology at the Georgia School of Professional Psychology, where she coordinated the assessment sequence, and was a staff psychologist/team lead at the University of Georgia’s Regents Center for Learning Disorders. Areas of expertise include neuropsychological assessment, medical psychology, differential diagnosis, psychotherapy, school consultation and expert witness services. Lori has national recognition for her assessment training expertise. She serves on the Editorial Review Boards of Professional Psychology: Research and Practice and the Journal of Post-Secondary Education and Disability (JPED) and was also a recipient of JPED’S Practice Brief Reviewer of the Year Award.

Carrie Muth

Carrie Muth has worked in the disability field for over 25 years. For the past 6 years, prior to joining Southwestern Oregon Community College (SWOCC), she worked as a Job Developer helping people with various disabilities find employment. She earned an AAS degree from SWOCC in Computer Information Systems & a BS in Business Management from Linfield College. Carrie Muth enjoys seeing the growth in people as they reach their goals in life.

William Myhill

ORCID iD: 0000-0003-4138-8876

William Myhill (he/him/his) serves as Syracuse University’s director of disability access and ADA coordinator out of the Office of Diversity & Inclusion, and in part serves on the ICT Accessibility Compliance Committee. William further co-chairs the ICT Accessibility Policy Council, charged with updating the policy, and co-chairs the Disability Access & Inclusion Council. He has published widely on issues of disability, technology accessibility, education, and Universal Design.

Angela Nastase

Angela is a nationally recognized Title IX and Civil Rights expert and senior administrator with an established history of working in higher education, K-12 school districts, international relations, and the education risk management industry. She is skilled in sexual harassment and discrimination compliance, investigations, and adjudications, as well as employee relations, student affairs, international affairs, student success and retention, and higher education compliance. Angela is a former K-12 teacher and earned her Juris Doctor from Creighton University School of Law.

Stephanie Nelson

Stephanie has been an Academic Counselor in Higher Education for two years. She has had her Licensed Professional Counselor Certification for 5 years. She also provides short term counseling services for students with disabilities. She previously worked for the Texas Workforce Commission serving a variety of individuals with disabilities for four years through the Vocational Rehabilitation Program.

Paul Nolting

Dr. Paul Nolting has helped students with disabilities for 30 years. He has consulted with over one hundred campuses on disability issues. He has publications, and authored books on disabilities and math. He has presented at 25 conferences for AHEAD and PTI and was the keynote at many state AHEAD conferences. His last two books are Mathematics and Disability Handbook focusing on helping SLD, ADHD, TBI, PTS, ID , LI and Autism and My Math Success Plan study skills workbook. The workbook is for students with disabilities and Wounded Warriors to improve their math study skills and understand how their process deficits affect math learning. Last, he was the main coordinator and presented at the four Math National Math Summits co-sponsored by AMATYC and NOSS. His international presentations were in Kuwait at the Gulf University of Science and Technology.

Lindsay Northup-Moore

Lindsay is the Senior Director of Disability Support Services in the Academic Support and Access Center at American University.

Lisa Noshay Petro

Lisa Noshay Petro, alumna (’98) and Director of UC Hastings Law Disability Resource Program, has worked with students in law, psychology, and other professional programs for over fifteen years in both public and private postsecondary institutions. She works with over 200 law students with disabilities each year, counseling many of them on stress reduction, emotion regulation, and disability symptom management skills. Prior to this work, she had over ten years’ experience working with children, adolescents, adults and families in various special education and social service settings in Arizona, California, and the New York metropolitan area. Lisa is a proud member of the LGBTQ+ community and believes her disabilities give her superpowers. Lisa is currently in a part-time graduate program at UC Berkeley to receive her Masters in Social Work.

Nicole Nowinski

Nicole is the Associate Director of Disability Support Services in the Academic Support and Access Center at American University.

Felicitas Nungaray

Felicitas Nungaray currently serves the campus community at the University of California, Riverside as a Case Manager. Prior 2023, she served as a Disability Specialist at UC Riverside. Felicitas assisted students with psychological disabilities, chronic health conditions, and learning disabilities. She served as the Neurodiversity Social Skills Facilitator, developing in 2018 UCR’s first of its kind neurodivergent programs; the Neurodiversity Social Mixers for students who identified neurodivergent. Felicitas also led a pilot PEERS-lite program at UCR derived from UCLA’s PEERS for Young Adults social skills program. Felicitas is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, with over a 20-year history of working with developmental and intellectual disabilities. Her progressive experience working with individuals with disabilities was established at one of California’s Regional Centers, which led to providing more direct services through private practice as well as non-profit agencies. In the last decade, her work has focused on assessments, treatment, and program planning for students with ASD and ADHD, which included Applied Behavior Analysis, Pivotal Response Treatment, Cognitive Behavior Therapy, and Executive Functioning Skills Development. Felicitas enjoys partaking in monthly mutual professional support through The College Autism Network.

Oluwaferanmi Okanlami

Oluwaferanmi Okanlami, MD MS is the Director of Student Accessibility and Accommodation Services at the University of Michigan, where he oversees the office of Services for Students with Disabilities, two Testing Accommodation Centers, and the Adaptive Sports & Fitness Program. He is also an Assistant Professor of Family Medicine, Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, and Urology at Michigan Medicine, and an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. “Dr. O” was born in Nigeria before immigrating to the US at a young age, became an Academic All-American in Track & Field at Stanford University, and earned his MD from the University of Michigan. At the beginning of his 3rd year of an Orthopedic Surgery Residency at Yale, he experienced a spinal cord injury, paralyzing him from the chest down, and now navigates the world as a proud wheelchair user. Dr. O is passionate about adaptive sports and fitness, striving to provide access to physical fitness and inclusive recreational and competitive sports for all. He also works to improve the access to and delivery of healthcare and medical education around the world, using innovation and technology, while simultaneously promoting diversity, health equity, and inclusion in this space.

Cliff Oliech

ORCID iD: 0000-0002-6619-6849

Cliff Oliech is a visiting instructor and Ph.D. candidate in special education at Duquesne University’s School of Education, where he teaches undergraduate and master-level graduate special education courses. He has a master of science degree in education from Duquesne University and is also a graduate of Maseno University in Kenya, from where he holds a bachelor of education in special education degree.

Julie Olson Rand

Julie Olson Rand (she/they) serves as the Associate Director for Access Programs at the University of Minnesota. She most recently served as Director for Student Accessibility & Accommodations at St. Catherine University. Her prior experience includes over ten years as an American Sign Language (ASL) interpreter and an educator role in the ASL interpreting program at St. Catherine University, overseeing students during their internships. Julie is an alum of the University of Minnesota, where she earned a B.A. and M.Ed. She also holds a post-baccalaureate certificate from St. Catherine University in ASL Interpreting. Julie currently serves on the Board of Directors for ThinkSelf, a Deaf-led non-profit serving the Deaf community with advocacy and education programs. Julie lives in Minneapolis with her husband and three children, Anabel (8), Eleanora (5), and Edison (2).

Kristie Orr

Kristie Orr is the Director of Disability Resources at Texas A&M University. She earned her doctorate in School Psychology from Texas A&M University. She also holds a Master of Education in Counseling, Clinical, and School Psychology from the University of California at Santa Barbara and a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Texas A&M University. Kristie has worked in various positions in Disability Resources for the last 24 years including Access Coordinator, Assistant Director, and Associate Director before becoming the Director in 2010. Kristie has served on the Board of Directors for the Association on Higher Education and Disability (AHEAD) since 2013 and is a Past President (President 2018-2020). Kristie was appointed to the Texas Governor's Committee on People with Disabilities in March 2020 and serves the state in providing policy recommendations in that capacity. Kristie also consults with other universities including external program reviews for over a dozen disability resource offices across the country.

Kelly O'Ryan

Kelly O’Ryan, M.A. is the DEI and Title IX Coordinator for the Windham Northeast Supervisory Union in Vermont. Kelly previously served as Dean of Students and Director of Student Conduct at Landmark College where she oversaw Residential Life, Student Activities, New Student Orientation, Athletics, Conduct, and the Centers for Diversity and Inclusion. Kelly has extensive experience I the areas of staff supervision; neurodiversity; and diversity, equity, and inclusion. Dean O’Ryan is completing her doctoral degree in education at New England College.

Joshua Page

Joshua Page is an Access Coordinator at Texas A&M University. This is his first year working in higher education and his first time attending the AHEAD national conference. He has previous experience in providing Applied Behavioral Analysis for individuals on the autism spectrum. His primary background is in genomics research related to behavioral evolution and genetic characteristics of autism spectrum disorder in minority populations.

Clare Papay

ORCID iD: 0000-0001-7255-5599

Clare Papay (she/her) is Senior Research Associate/Project Manager at Think College at the Institute for Community Inclusion, UMass Boston, where she conducts research on inclusive higher education for students with intellectual disability. Clare is the Evaluation Coordinator for the National Coordinating Center for the TPSID model demonstration program funded by the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Postsecondary Education (OPE). She is also the co-Principal Investigator for the IES-funded project, “Moving Transition Forward: Exploration of College-based and Conventional Transition Practices for Students with Intellectual Disability and Autism” and co-Principal Investigator for the OPE-funded project, “Think College Inclusive Higher Education Network: A Technical Assistance and Dissemination Center.” Dr. Papay serves as co-editor for the Journal of Inclusive Postsecondary Education (JIPE).

Jiyeon Park

ORCID iD: 0000-0003-1039-750X

Jiyeon Park is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Teaching, Learning, and Educational Leadership at Eastern Kentucky University. She completed her Ph.D. at the University of Texas at Austin, specializing in Learning Disabilities and Behavior Disorders. Her research areas are instructional and assistive technology for students with disabilities.

David R. Parker

David R. Parker, Ph.D. is a Postsecondary Disability Specialist and ADD/life coach at CRG (Children’s Resource Group) in Indianapolis, IN where he provides strategy instruction, life coaching, college transition programming and career assessments to high school and college students with disabilities. He is also Program Manager for Research, Educational Outreach and Communications at the Gregory S. Fehribach Center. David earned his doctorate in Special Education (postsecondary programming) at the University of Connecticut. He has coordinated campus services for students LD, ADHD and ASD at UNC-Chapel Hill, UCONN, and Washington University in St. Louis and conducted training on best practices for college students with non-apparent disabilities in Italy, Japan, Austria, and Kuwait. He is on the editorial review board of three research journals and is a former executive editor of AHEAD’s Journal of Postsecondary Education and Disability. David is the co-author of numerous research articles, book chapters and four books. These publications focus on self-determination, students with ADHD, resilience and mental health in college students, and the career outcomes of college graduate with physical disabilities.

Kaela Parks

Kaela Parks is the Director of Accessible Ed & Disability Resources at Portland Community College, where she co-chairs the institution’s Accessibility Council and leads a large multi-campus team. Prior to that she served as Director of Disability Support Services at the University of Alaska Anchorage, where she ran the Reel Eyes Showcase of Films by and about People with Disabilities and taught courses in Assistive Technology, Universal Design, and Accessible Multimedia. She is a former Co-Chair of the AHEAD Standing Committee on Technology, a past Chair of the NASPA Disability Knowledge Community, and a past President of ORAHEAD. She was lead trainer for a FIPSE demonstration project aimed at supporting adjunct faculty on rural campuses in the implementation of Universal Design, and was co-editor of the publication titled "Beyond the ADA: Proactive Policy and Practice for Higher Education." She frequently offers training and presentations on a variety of disability and accessibility related topics.

Phyllis Petteys

Phyllis is an Accessibility Specialist for Disability Services at Portland Community College in Portland, OR. Prior to coming to PCC in 2013, she was an Assistive Technology Specialist for 18 years, working in higher education as well as in the community. Her areas of focus include collaborating with faculty, assistive technology, digital accessibility and universal design, as well as advocacy for disability studies, social justice and equity in college processes and conversations. She has presented at many National Conferences and presented at Accessing Higher Ground in 2017 on Subject Area Studies, where faculty look at their disciplines to improve accessibility.

Larry Phillippe

Dr. Larry K. Phillippe is the Managing Director for Student Disability Services at Texas Tech University. Dr. Phillippe has worked in disability services for the past 13 years, all here at Texas Tech. Prior to joining the staff at Texas Tech, Larry spent 13 years as a Speech Language Pathologist in both public and private settings. After graduating from the Masters of Rehabilitation Counseling program at the TTU Health Sciences Center in 2006, Larry went on to complete his doctoral degree in Special Education from Texas Tech. Currently he also serves as adjunct faculty in the department of Special Education. Over the past five years, Dr. Phillippe has provided training workshops on effectively supporting students with disabilities in higher education to various professional organizations at their national conferences. These include the Learning Disability Association of America, the International Dyslexia Association, and the Association on Higher Education in Disability. Larry also had his article entitled "The Americans with Disabilities Act and its Impact on Instructional Strategies and Classroom Design in Higher Education" published as part of the program of the Clute Institutes International Education Conference in 2013. Dr. Phillippe will also become a certified Professional Associate of the National Association of ADA Coordinators in 2016.

Robert Plienis

Robert Plienis, M.S. is the Assistant Director in the Office of Disability Policy at ETS. He previously served as Director of the Office of Disability Services & Associate Director of Higgins Academic Center at Randolph-Macon College. He is a regular presenter at regional and national conferences on topics related to educational testing. Robert received his master's in Women's and Gender Studies at the University of Louisville.

Sean Poley

Sean serves as the Director of Accessible Technology and coordinates Miami’s accessible technology efforts and works closely with constituents across the University to ensure that accessible technology is seamlessly integrated to meet the needs of students, faculty and staff. Central to his mission is a focus on training and outreach, with special emphasis on bringing all interested parties to the table to raise awareness and improve accessibility throughout Miami. He holds a bachelor's degree in Human Development and Family Studies from Penn State and a master's degree in Social Work from the Hunter College School of Social Work. He is a veteran of both the U.S. Air Force and the PA Air National Guard.

Cindy Poore-Pariseau

I am a cis gender, disabled Latina with 30+ years of higher education experience. supporting students from all walks of life as they pursue their education beyond high school. I am currently the director of disability services for Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences schools. I am also an adjunct instructor, teaching students in the online environment.

Paula Possenti-Perez

Paula Possenti-Perez (she/her/hers) is the director of the Center for Disability Resources (CDR) at Syracuse University and currently serves as co-chair for the University's Disability Access & Inclusion Council & Council on Diversity & Inclusion, as well as is an active member of the Academic Strategic Planning working group on DEIA efforts. Paula serves on the ICT Accessibility Compliance Committee.

Lauren Pourian

Lauren Pourian is a Disability Policy Specialist in the Office of Disability Policy at Educational Testing Service (ETS). In this role, she assists with the review of disability documentation and policy development for accommodating individuals with disabilities. Prior to joining ETS, Lauren spent over 16 years in higher education supporting and advocating for students with disabilities. Lauren began her disability services career at Loyola University Chicago, first as a Disability Coordinator and later leading the Disability Services team. Most recently, she served as Associate Director for Northwestern University’s AccessibleNU office, where she supervised and trained the access services team and led several changes to the institution's disability policies. She has also worked as a crisis intervention counselor and as a volunteer with Crisis Text Line. Lauren earned her Master of Social Work degree and Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Louisiana State University.

Ronda Purdy

Ronda earned her Bachelor of Arts in Art Therapy at Ohio University and received a Masters of Arts in Expressive Therapies at The University of Louisville. She currently works as a Disability Policy Specialist with Educational Testing Service (ETS) reviewing disability documentation and assisting with policy development for accommodating individuals with disabilities. Before coming to ETS, Ronda was the Director of the Accessibility Resource Center at Bellarmine University in Louisville, KY, where she built and expanded the disability services program over the last 15 years. She also has 22 years of experience in the mental health field, primarily providing therapy to children and families.

Rhonda Rapp

My name is Rhonda H. Rapp, Ph.D., and I am an educational consultant with a specialty in removing barriers to learning. I have been an Educational Diagnostician since 1979 (in fact, in my practicum, we tested some of the first students for “special education” placement under the new Public Law 94-142 - now known as IDEA); was a diagnostician/prescriptive teacher for the state of Oklahoma (working with both urban schools, rural schools and “institutional” schools); have been a disability services provider at the postsecondary level for over twenty-five years; and continue to provide training focused on diagnostic assessments and working with students with learning disabilities and/or attention disabilities. At the last university I worked at (before I retired), I got the chance to conduct diagnostic assessments for undergraduates, for individuals in our graduate programs, and for our Law School; I also prepared the documentation for the Bar Exam. Over the years, I have had the privilege to conduct in-depth psychoeducational assessments for a widely diverse population of individuals in a variety of settings. My master’s degree is in Educational Counseling Psychology, with post-Master’s certification as a Diagnostician and my doctorate is in Educational Human Resource Development. I have worked in disability services at both a public community college (which was a HBCU & HSI) and at private doctoral-granting universities (which were HSIs).

Kyle Reardon

ORCID iD: 0000-0003-1992-9242

Kyle Reardon is a Research Associate in the Secondary Special Education and Transition research unit in the College of Education and the Practicum Coordinator for the SPED K-12 licensure program. His research is broadly focused on secondary transitions and postsecondary preparedness for individuals with disabilities. Prior to earning his doctoral degree at the UO, Kyle served in a number of capacities within the field including behavior interventionist, customized employment coordinator, high school SPED teacher, and as the Executive Director of a residential college support program for students with disabilities. Kyle currently serves as adjunct faculty at Portland State University, as an advisor for the Disability Studies minor, and as the President of the Board of Directors for FACT Oregon, a non-profit organization that supports Oregon families experiencing disability. Kyle is the project coordinator for several federally funded research projects focused on improving outcomes for students with disabilities involved in juvenile justice.

Cheryl Reminder

Cheryl Reminder, B.S.; CI, is a member of the Interpreting Team at the National Technical Institute for the Deaf and serves as the Coordinator of the Interpreter Training and Exchange Initiative at Rochester Institute of Technology.

Debbie Reuter

Debbie Reuter serves as the Director of The Center for Students with Disabilities at the University of Wisconsin Whitewater. UW Whitewater has been recognized as one of the top five wheelchair-accessible institutions nationally and has a priority mission to serve students with disabilities. Debbie has worked in disability services for 13 years and higher education for over 20 years. She started her career in disability services at Harper Community College in Palatine, Illinois working to build collaborations on and off campus to advance the needs of students with disabilities. The Center at Whitewater was recently organized under the Division of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion. Debbie is a licensed professional counselor and a trained D and I facilitator who works to build awareness and improve the campus environment for underrepresented groups.

Kimberly Rindlisbacher

Kimberly has her Masters in Special Education from Texas Tech University. She taught Special Education for 6 years in public schools primarily teaching in self-contained classrooms. She has taught Special Education Undergraduate courses for 7 years with the College of Education at Texas Tech University. She worked as an Academic Advisor for a year, and an Academic Counselor in Disability Services for around a year.

Anna Riquier

Anna Riquier is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor and the Associate Director for Accessibility at Pratt Institute. She has years of professional training in Gestalt and is also multilingual.

Amanda Rodino

Amanda Rodino is the Assistant Director for Digital, Physical, and Communication Access at Disability Resources for Students. She earned a Bachelor's degree in History and Political Science from Tulane University and Master's degree in College Student Services Administration from Oregon State University. Amanda has worked in higher education since 2002 in various roles within residence life, leadership development, organization advising, and currently disability services. At DRS, Amanda coordinates accommodations for students with chronic health conditions, neurological conditions, traumatic brain injuries, food allergies, and physical access needs. She also oversees the digital, physical, communication, and flexibility accommodation needs for all students registered with the office.

Jeriel Rolle Jr.

Jeriel is a Bahamian-American, a native Floridian, and has years of experience in Higher and Post-Secondary Education within Student Affairs. His experience includes residence life, counseling, disabilities/accessibility, leadership, diversity, equity and inclusion, and Title IX/ADA/504. Mr. Rolle is experienced in providing training and awareness around compliance. He actively participates in campus committees to ensure equity and access campus-wide. Mr. Rolle aims to maintain safe spaces at institutions for students, faculty/staff, and campus administrators. He believes his work help contribute to leveling the playing field, and it's the key to equality, opportunity, and independence. Mr. Rolle earned his undergraduate degrees in Psychology and Human Services. Also, his Masters in Social Work (MSW). He is currently a doctoral student in the Community College Leadership (Ed.D) program at North Carolina State University. His area of focus is Institutional Equity, which includes disability/Title IX, equal opportunity, and civil rights laws. Mr. Rolle is an affiliate with the Association Higher Education and Disability (AHEAD) organization and elected board member of Delta Alpha Pi International Honor Society (DAPi). He is currently the Director of Accessibility & Student Inclusion at Notre Dame of Maryland University in Baltimore, Maryland. He provides departmental oversight, campus leadership, policy translation, and compliance standards for NDMU.

Benjamin Romo

Benjamin Romo is the Student Compliance Coordinator at the Alamo Colleges District where he is responsible for the coordination of District and cross-college student programs and processes to ensure compliance with applicable laws, regulations, institutional policies and procedures, and standards of conduct. Provides ongoing consultation and technical assistance for all students and employees on federal, state, and district mandates related to student rights and responsibilities and coordinates with district leadership and cross-college teams to monitor, audit, and respond to requirements in order to comply with ADA/504. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice from Texas State University and a Master of Science in Criminal Justice Leadership and Management from Sam Houston State University. Before entering Higher Education, he worked for Adult Protective Services where he supervised and conducted highly complex investigations, in state-funded facilities and the community, involving physical and sexual abuse, neglect, and exploitation of adults that were disabled and elderly and alleviated the former by utilizing community and state services. He has worked with and provided program support to individuals with disabilities for the past 16 years. He has also served for five years in the U.S. Army.

Sara Rotunno

Sara is the Director of Accessibility Resources & ADA/504 Coordinator at Colorado College. She is thrilled to work in a career that requires attention to detail and continued learning. Throughout her career, Sara has been involved with student support through housing, programming, crisis management, and social justice initiatives. Before this role, Sara worked in residential life at three different institutions and served as the Assistant Director of Accessibility Resources for eight years. Throughout her career in higher education, she has always found it fulfilling to assist students in thinking about effective living and learning spaces on a college campus.

Tara Rowe

Dr. Rowe serves as the Associate Director of the Student Accessibility Services (SAS) and Director of the THRIVE Program at the University of North Florida. Dr. Rowe partners with various campus offices, staff, faculty, and community resources to help ensure that SAS students are successful on campus. Her research interests include self-determination, developing mentor programs, leadership, and graduation and employment success for students with disabilities. Dr. Rowe has served on campus committees to increase retention and engagement of students with disabilities and has partnered with schools, businesses, and community partners in improving the quality of services for students with different abilities. Fluent in American Sign Language, Dr. Rowe is passionate about supporting Deaf individuals in the workplace. Dr. Rowe received her Master’s degree in Disability Services as well as her Bachelor of Education in Special Education from UNF. Dr. Rowe has over 15 years of Higher Education experience and received her Doctorate in Educational Leadership from UNF in 2018. Dr. Rowe’s recent community contributions include presenting and serving as a content expert in providing workplace accommodations and recently received her Certification in Counselor Rehabilitation (CRC) to continue her advocacy work in preparing students with disabilities for successful transition to employment.

Gail Ann Rulloda

Gail is a loving mom of two who believes this work of social justice and equity needs to be continuous not just within the institution but outside at home in her relationships, her kids, and with people she meets. She is grounded in love & disability justice and often goes back to it when she is going through difficult times. She currently works in the California Community College system and has worked in the K-12 system and in early intervention.

Julie Rutland

ORCID iD: 0000-0002-9757-7062

Julie Harp Rutland completed her Ph.D. in Special Education at the University of Kentucky, specializing in Early Intervention. Dr. Rutland has experience in many roles, including that of a teacher, administrator, researcher, and early interventionist working directly with young children and their families. She currently serves as an Associate Professor at Eastern Kentucky University.

Alan Safer

Alan Safer MS, Ph.D. is a professor at California State University, Long Beach (CSULB) in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics. He received his Ph.D. in Statistics from the University of Wyoming and his M.S. in Marketing Research from Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville. He first came to CSULB as an assistant professor in 2000 and has been a full professor since 2010. Early in his career at the university, he created a MS degree in Applied Statistics and later a professional accelerated M.S. degree in Applied Statistics for industry students from companies such as Boeing, Raytheon, and Northrop Grumman. He served as the graduate advisor for 7 years and in 2009 was awarded university advisor of the year at CSULB. Dr. Safer’s research has been very interdisciplinary; he has over 30 publications in diverse statistical areas such as those applied to finance, library science, marketing, health science, linguistics, and forensics. His primary statistical research focus is data science and quality control. In 2012, he was appointed coordinator of a national conference on quality control sponsored by the American Statistical Association. He helped create the Orange County/Long Beach chapter of the American Statistical Association and served as its vice president.

LaRachelle Samuel-Smith

LaRachelle Samuel-Smith is a native Texan and has been an army spouse for more than 30 years. For two decades, she worked in higher education as an instructor, an extension specialist, and an administrator for the College of Agriculture and Human Sciences at Prairie View A&M University. Smith received her B.S. in mechanical engineering from Prairie View A&M and, as a systems engineer, is proud to have worked on the International Space Station program. She also received an MBA and used her marketing talents to host multiple seasons of a nationally syndicated and award-winning podcast. The show featured educators, researchers, extension professionals, and business leaders in the community. Her most recent accomplishment is completion of a doctoral program with a focus on leadership for higher education.

Ben Satterfield

Dr. Ben Satterfield is a Research Associate with the Center for Inclusive Design and Innovation at the Georgia Institute of Technology. He is also a part-time Assistant Professor in the College of Education at the University of Georgia, teaching the Master's Level Course in AAC in the Department of Communication Sciences & Special Education. He currently serves on the Research Committee of the Assistive Technology Industry Association (ATIA) and as an associate editor of the Assistive Technology Outcomes & Benefits Journal. Ben‘s research focuses upon outcomes of assistive technology (AT) use and upon Mastery of AT.

Sabrina Saucier

Sabrina Saucier earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Public Relations from the University of Florida, a Master of Arts in Teaching degree from Piedmont University, and recently completed the Disabilities in Society Graduate Certificate also from UF. She is approaching her second year as the Assistant Director for Transition Services in the Disability Resource Center at the University of Florida. When she is not meeting with students or faculty, Sabrina can be found educating students, faculty, staff, and the community through presentations, outreach, and event tabling. She oversees all three DRC student groups, the Disability Ambassadors, Delta Alpha Pi Honor Society, and SOCIAL Gators, a group for neurodivergent students. She also currently serves as an officer for Delta Alpha Pi International Honor Society. Sabrina has over 15 years of experience as an elementary school teacher and an adjunct instructor at the University of North Georgia and St. John's River State College. She is truly passionate about working with students and providing the access that will help them achieve their goals.

Michael Sauter

Mike Sauter has been working in the field of Alternate Media and Assistive Technologies for students with disabilities at Saddleback College for over 20 years. He is also an adjunct faculty at NTID DeafTEC, and an Accessibility Expert for AccessATE: Making Community College Technician Education More Accessible for Everyone.

Maria Schiano

Maria Schiano (she/her) is the Director of Accessibility Services at County College of Morris (CCM) in New Jersey. She was appointed to AHEAD’s Board of Directors to serve as a Director-At-Large as the Community College representative. She also holds the role of the AHEAD Affiliates liaison, which helps connect affiliate groups across the country. Maria has served as the President of New Jersey AHEAD and is currently the Immediate Past President. She holds her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Women’s Studies from Brooklyn College and her Masters in Social Work from New York University. She has over 19 years of higher education experience, specializing in disability services and access, LGBTQ + services and promoting equity and inclusion through a social justice lens.

Ronen Sebag

Ronen Sebag, M.A. (pronounced sah-baugh) is an Accessibility Consultant, DEI Senior Advisor, and Instructor of Preservice Teachers at Utah State University (USU). Prior to his work at USU, Ronen taught high school English, Study Skills, and Mathematics to students with various mild/moderate disabilities for 17 years – first in Washington, DC (DC Public Schools), and then in Logan, UT (Cache County School District). As a teacher, his instructional methods emphasized self-advocacy—a student-centered approach in which the student identifies areas of struggle and develops the knowledge and skills to make informed decisions. In 2010, Ronen published an article on an instructional strategy designed to foster student motivation through self-advocacy, and he has since provided trainings on this strategy to pre-service and in-service secondary teachers. In his current roles at USU, he is interested in promoting an interactive process that is based on self-advocacy. He is also interested in ways to bridge the abrupt shift in supports and accommodations in the transition from high school to college for students impacted by ADHD, ASD, and mental health.

Max Sederer

Max joined Northeastern University as an Associate Co-op Coordinator for the Bioengineering and Chemical Engineering team. He holds his bachelor’s degree in Psychology from George Washington University and his Master’s degree from the Department of Education from Tufts University. He has over 25 years of experience working with young adults toward independence, self-advocacy, and employment. A specific interest in promoting diversity, equity, inclusion, & accessibility opportunities.

Michelle Shaw

Michelle Shaw earned her Bachelor of Arts in Education and Visual Arts & Master’s in Education in Curriculum and Design with an emphasis in Exceptional Student Education at Florida Atlantic University. She has been working in disability services for 18 plus years. She has extensive experience in many areas of disability office operation including testing, volunteer coordination, consulting, assistive technology, ClockWork database admin, and has served as the Director for eight years. She has been an active member of the Association on Higher Education And Disabilities (AHEAD) and the FL-AHEAD group since 2005. Currently, President of Florida AHEAD.

Allen Sheffield

Allen joined the University of Michigan in September 2021 as Associate Director for Student Accessibility and Accommodation Services (SAAS) with a primary responsibility of overseeing the Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD) and Testing Accommodation Centers (TAC). Tasked with immediately operationalizing a testing center with no processes or staff, Allen oversaw the TAC moving from facilitating the first exam with staff from a temp agency 10 days after his start date to processing over 4000 exams requests in Fall 2022. Prior to his current position, he served as Director of Disability Services at Rutgers University-Newark, where he oversaw accommodated testing without a center and permanent professional positions. He currently serves as a Director-at-Large for the Association on Higher Education and Disability (AHEAD)."

Rachel Sheppard

Rachel Sheppard is a second year MA student at Brock University in the Applied Disability Studies Program specializing in Leadership, Diversity, Community and Culture. Her research focuses on accessibility in higher education and promoting student voices in research.

Ron Shor

ORCID iD: 0000-0003-2356-0898

Ron Shor is a prof. of social work and a researcher in the psychiatric rehabilitation area. The focus of his research is support services for persons with severe mental illness and their families. His research include studies about the needs of students with severe mental illness and about the support services for this population.

Jo Anne Simon

Indrani Sindhuvalli

Dr. Indrani Sindhuvalli is a Professor of Biology at Florida State College at Jacksonville. She is the recipient of the FSCJ Distinguished Faculty award 2023, and the NISOD Faculty Excellence Award 2023. She was also nominated for the 2024 Robert Foster Cherry Award. Dr. Sindhuvalli teaches Introductory courses in Biology for majors and non-majors as well as a Globalized Botany course under the FSCJ Global Scholars Distinction Program. She is specially interested in the human impact on the environment, mitigating the effects of air pollution, and passionate about making STEM learning accessible to all students. Dr. Sindhuvalli has presented her doctoral research work on the abatement of urban air pollution at the Indian Science Congress, and published her work in peer reviewed journals like International Journal of Environmental Sciences and the Journal of Landscape and Urban Planning. In 2022, she presented her successful teaching strategies at NISOD’s International Conference on Teaching and Leadership Excellence in Austin TX, FSCJ STEM to Root Conference and served as a panelist at the FSCJ Student’s Honors Symposium. Dr. Sindhuvalli received her M.Phil. and Ph.D. from the School of Environmental Science, Jawaharlal University in New Delhi, India.

Emily Singer Lucio

Emily Singer Lucio currently serves as the ADA/504 Coordinator at UMD. Emily has been in the field of higher education and disability since 1991. She has been a member of the Association of Higher Education and Disability (AHEAD) since 1992 Over the years, she has given many presentations to students, parents and faculty, as well as presented at the AHEAD conference annually since 1997. Emily received her BA in Public Policy Studies: Special Education-Legislation and Practice from The University of Michigan in 1992 and went on to receive her MA in Special Education from Eastern Michigan University in 1993.

Jodi Sleeper-Triplett

Jodi Sleeper-Triplett, BA, MCC, BCC, is a Master Certified Coach, trainer, mentor and speaker. She is the author of Empowering Youth with ADHD, a contributing author of Becoming Self-Determined: Creating Thoughtful Learners in a Standards-Driven, Admissions-Frenzied Culture (2016) and Becoming Self-Determined: Practical Strategies for a Changing World (2021), and co-editor of From Transactional to Transformational: Coaching in Disability Resources (2022).. Her company, JST Coaching & Training, provides research-based student and neurodiversity coach training programs to individuals and educational institutions. Jodi is the recipient of the 2016 CHADD Hall of Fame Award & 2017 ADHD Coaches Organization Founders Award. She is seen by many as the foremost authority on student and neurodiversity coaching. During her two-year term as president of the Association of Coach Training Organizations, Jodi's platform was focuses on diversity, equity and inclusion in coach training and she continues to forward social justice initiatives. www.jstcoachtraining.com.

Rebecca Smith

Rebecca ‘Bec’ Smith currently serves as the Assistant Dean and Director of the Office for Disability & Access (ODA) at Oberlin College and Conservatory. She has worked with disabled populations for more than 15 years and is committed to ensuring access and equity in the higher education environment. Bec has held various roles in disability services, including Interpreter, Interpreter Coordinator, Access Coordinator, Assistant Director, and Director. Bec wrote her master’s thesis on the effectiveness of accommodations in the higher education setting. Recognizing disability as a critical aspect of equity, diversity, and intersecting identities is one of her core values.

Joel Snyder

ORCID iD: 0000-0003-1685-4484

Dr. Joel Snyder, theater/media artist and arts administrator, is known internationally as one of the world’s first “audio describers,” a pioneer in the field of Audio Description. Since 1981, he has introduced audio description techniques in over 40 states and 64 countries and has made thousands of live events, media projects and museums accessible for people who are blind or have low vision. In 2014, the American Council of the Blind published Dr. Snyder’s book, "The Visual Made Verbal – A Comprehensive Training Manual and Guide to the History and Applications of Audio Description".

Catherine Spear

Catherine Spear joined the University of Southern California (USC) in late August 2020 to serve in the new role of Vice President for the Office of Equity, Equal Opportunity, and Title IX (EEO-TIX). She also serves as the Title IX Coordinator. She is responsible for managing the University's response to all forms of discrimination, harassment, and retaliation involving faculty, staff, and students related to a protected characteristic. She also leads related proactive education and outreach programs that promote a safe and inclusive environment for all University community members, and leads USC's Affirmative Action and other equity programs. Prior to USC, Spear served in a similar role as Associate Vice President for the Office for Equal Opportunity and Civil Rights at the University of Virginia and was Stanford University's first full-time Title IX Coordinator. Prior to higher education, Spear worked for 19 years at the Cleveland office for the U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights, including as Chief Attorney and the last five years as Director. She started her legal career at a litigation firm before switching her focus to public service and higher education. She has a Juris Doctorate degree from Case Western Reserve University School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the University of Dayton.

Sharon Spencer

Sharon is the Assistant Vice President for Accreditation, Compliance, and Reporting at University of Maryland Global Campus (UMGC). She has been employed at UMGC for the past 30 years and has worked in a variety of capacities serving UMGC’s nontraditional student population. She has just completed her doctorate in Education Leadership where she researched equitable policymaking. In addition to her policy work at UMGC, she works on accreditation, academic program development, and regulatory compliance, but her passion is creating policies that work for all students as a way to bring diversity, equity, and inclusion to higher education.

Lisa St. Louis

ORCID iD: 0000-0003-3575-1026

Lisa St. Louis serves as Professor and Academic Program Director of MEd, EdS, and Post-Master's Certificates. She volunteered as co-chair for the diversity committee within her school and as a member of the university-wide diversity committee. She participated as faculty representative in the reviews of the disabilities services department and reasonable accommodations. She founded the student forum on disabilities and continues as its steward.

Jennie Stewart

Jennie Stewart serves as the LSU A&M ADA Coordinator, first serving in the role on a part-time basis beginning in 2018 and assuming the role full time in 2021. Previous service to LSU includes the roles of Title IX Coordinator, with responsibility for all LSU campuses. Jennie spent seven years in LSU A&M’s Office of Student Advocacy & Accountability leading the advocacy efforts serving students in crisis, distress and of concern. Prior to coming to LSU, Jennie served in the Office of International Programs at The University of Mississippi, as well as several campuses in Oklahoma. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Social Work (1998) and master’s in Higher Education/Student Personnel (1999) from The University of Mississippi and a JD from Ohio Northern University (2008).

Chris Stone

Chris Stone, Ed.D. joined Washington University as Director of Disability Resources (DR) in May 2020. Chris is the current President of Missouri AHEAD (MO-AHEAD), and previously held positions on the board of AHEAD (Director-at-Large) and NCAHEAD (Treasurer, President). He has co-chaired AHEAD’s annual conference (2016), was the Accessibility Advisor to the 2022 ACPA Convention, and gave a keynote address and featured presentations at the Inaugural Inclusion School conference in Guayaquil, Ecuador (March 2020). Chris arrived at WashU in the midst of remote operations, and with a specific directive to oversee the evolution of DR following a period of instability. Those factors contributed to DR experiencing a 100% turnover in staffing since the beginning of 2020. Disability Resources administers approximately 7000 testing appointments annually, and does so without a “testing center," employing one full-time staff member managing proctoring with the support of numerous student-staff, and calling upon other DR staff and university colleagues as needed.

Morgan Strimel

Dr. Morgan Strimel is a Research Assistant at George Mason University, where she worked as an Access Consultant for Disability Services and a Learning Strategist for the Mason Autism Support Initiative (MASI Program). Based on her time in higher education, Morgan’s current research is focused on enhancing postsecondary education experiences for disabled college students through the framework of socially-just disability resources.

Aimee Stubbs

Aimee Stubbs is the Senior Director of Accessibility Resources at Broward College in Ft. Lauderdale, FL . She has presented numerous workshops and Webinars for AHEAD and FLAHEAD. She also was president of FLAHEAD for two years. She has a bachelor’s degree in Specific Learning Disabilities, a master’s degree in Varying Exceptionalities, and an Education Specialist Degree in Counseling. Prior to working for Broward College, she worked at St. Petersburg College. Aimee also worked for the Pinellas County School System for 15 years with varying exceptionalities students. She taught academic subjects and Learning Strategies. Her last years at Largo High School she was a Guidance Counselor, an Intern Supervisor for the University of South Florida. Aimee joined the St. Petersburg College Disability Resources team in March of 2008. She spent 5 years as a Disability Resources Specialist and taught Career and Life Planning courses. Then Aimee became Director of Accessibility Services in January of 2015, Bridging the Achievement Gap Advisory Board, the Ridgecrest 360 Initiative, and Delta Kappa Gamma Key Women Educators Organization. Aimee has earned numerous awards such as CEC Rookie Teacher of the Year, Largo Chamber of Commerce Outstanding Educator Award, Disney American Teacher Recognition.

Nicole Subik

Nicole Subik is the Director of Learning Support Services at Villanova University and has worked in disability/access services and study skills support in higher education for the past 16 years.

Benjamin Suits Baer

Benjamin (he/him) holds a master’s degree in Higher Education and Student Affairs Administration and has long been passionate about disability rights and access to equitable and effective education. After working in higher education disability services, Benjamin shifted his focus to supporting deaf students and disability professionals at the National Deaf Center.

Linda Sullivan

Linda Sullivan, MA, CAGS has worked in education for over 30 years. She is trained as an educator and mental health clinician with a focus on developmental clinical psychology with focus areas on early childhood and emerging adult populations. She has worked in the field of college level disability service provision for over 20 years. Currently the ADA/504 Coordinator for Dartmouth, Linda’s experience includes Executive and Director of Disability/Accessibility Service level roles at Harvard University and Tufts University. Linda has significant experience in the determination and provision of reasonable accommodations for college students, and in the development and management of disability offices and programs using evidence-based practices. She carries significant expertise in policy development and program assessment. She has authored and co-authored articles and papers on best practices for disability service provision and is an active member of the Association for Higher Education and Disability (AHEAD).

Matthew Sullivan

Matt Sullivan is the Assistant Director of Disability Resources at Washington University in St. Louis and serves as DR’s liaison to WashU’s School of Medicine, acting as the primary contact for SoM faculty/staff, students, and prospective students. In this role, Matt works closely with programs in Medical Education, OT, PT, Audiology (and more) to create accessible and inclusive educational environment for disabled students pursuing their degrees within Health Sciences and Medicine. He is currently serving a three-year term as Chief of Staff on the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors for the Coalition for Disability Access in Health Sciences Education. In addition, he was selected to serve as an Instructor for the Disability Resource Professional (DRP) Academy, a highly focused, hybrid professional development experience for disability resource professionals seeking expertise in medical education. Matt has also served the Association for Higher Education and Disability (AHEAD) as a member of the Professional Competencies working group, assisting in the creation of the organization’s guiding professional standards.

Elisabeth Sullivan

Elisabeth Sullivan started her career at Landmark College. Since then, she has worked with students with disabilities in New York, Chicago, and Texas. The director of the Learning/Access Center at Pratt Institute, she is currently finishing her dissertation.

Danielle Susi-Dittmore

Danielle Susi-Dittmore (she/her) currently serves as Assistant Dean of College Access Initiatives at the University of Utah. She is a Ph.D. student in the Educational Leadership & Policy department at the University of Utah and a graduate research affiliate of the Collaborative for Higher Education Research and Policy. Her research interests include community college policy and inequities experienced by students with disabilities, particularly as it relates to the vertical transfer process.

Delina Swee

Dr Delina is passionate about building human-centric learning spaces professionally and in the community. A scientist turned educator in special educational needs (SEN), Delina currently heads the SEN support division in Temasek polytechnic where she also mentors the team of SEN Support Champions from the 6 schools in the polytechnic. In her previous work, she led the learning support team at a secondary school where she provided system consultation and helped to establish the school SEN support. A strong believer in driving social good, Delina’s volunteer commitments include providing consultation and training in the area of learning and behavioural supports. In 2021, she conducted a workshop to international young changemakers from a nonprofit organization, UNITE 2030, that focused on building equitable learning spaces for youth. She also enjoys mentoring young people.

Tiffany Tallackson

Tiffany Tallackson is a fitness and wellness coordinator at the Student Recreation Center at the University of California, Riverside. She works with students, staff, and faculty alike to provide physical health and well-being programs for the student population. Her experience involves the development and execution of fitness training programs and events that cater to all fitness levels and abilities. Tiffany is also finishing her Ph.D. in Psychology with an emphasis on performance psychology from Grand Canyon University. Her studies focus on the use of mental and physical interventions to help improve overall health and self-concepts within students who struggle with anxiety.

Emily Tarconish

Dr. Emily Tarconish is a Teaching Assistant Professor in Special Education at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Her experience includes working as a vocational rehabilitation counselor for the Pennsylvania Office of Vocational Rehabilitation, and director of Student Accessibility Services at Clark University. Her research interests include accommodations for college students with traumatic brain injuries and in postsecondary education and employment, peer supports, and universal design and accessibility. She earned her doctorate in Educational Psychology from the University of Connecticut.

Leslie Thatcher

Leslie Thatcher, EdM, is an educator with over 30 years’ experience working with transition age students. In addition to her work with Thatcher Education, she is the founding Director of College Success@Perkins, a nine-month college readiness initiative to improve outcomes for college aspiring students with blindness and low vision. Leslie is deeply committed to supporting the growth of students, empowering them to reach their full potential. Leslie brings a range of experience in college and independent school education to her students and families. Her professional and leadership experience includes admissions, academic skill development, executive function coaching, program development, college counseling, student life and residential parenting at independent schools in New England. Additionally, she served as Associate Dean of Admission for Lewis & Clark College, in Portland, OR. Leslie has a master's in education with a focus on adolescent development and higher education administration from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and a B.A. in History, and Secondary Education Certification in Social Sciences, from Lewis & Clark College. She is a member of NACAC, IECA, CEC, NEALS, AER and AHEAD. She presents nationally on a range of topics surrounding college readiness, helping to leading a national conversation about access and equity for students with vision impairment.

Samantha Thayer

Samantha (Sam) Thayer (she/her) is the Director of Accessibility Resources at Carleton College in Northfield, MN. Carleton College is a small private school with a four-year residency requirement, providing many opportunities for Sam to collaborate with Residential Life on some challenging requests. Prior to her work in higher ed disability, Sam served as an occupational therapist with a focus on mental health and eating disorders

Jane Thierfeld Brown

Jane Thierfeld Brown is Director of College Autism Spectrum, former Assistant Clinical Professor at Yale Child Study, Yale Medical School and retired Director of Student Services at the University of Connecticut School of Law. She has worked in Disability Services for 42 years. She holds an Ed.D from Columbia University, Teachers College and received an honorary Doctorate of Letters from Muhlenberg College in 2020. Dr. Brown consults with many families, students, school districts and institutions of higher education. She has appeared on Good Morning America, CBS News and NPR. She has co- authored “Students with Asperger’s: A Guide for College Professionals,” (2009) Published in Japanese 2017, “The Parent’s Guide to College for Students on the Autism Spectrum,” (2012) and “Behavior Management and Self-Regulation,” (2012) along with many textbook chapters and articles. She received the Ron Blosser Dedicated Service Award from AHEAD in 2019. Dr. Brown is married and has three children, the youngest being a 30 year old son with Autism.

David Thomas

Dr. David J. Thomas is an Assistant Professor of Interdisciplinary Studies and Academic Support Programs and the Director of the Office of Services for Students with Disabilities at West Chester University of Pennsylvania and has been in the field of higher education disability advocacy and support for 17 years. Alongside his DS work, he was classroom faculty teaching courses in English, ESL, Linguistics, and Research. He holds graduate degrees in applied linguistics and higher education from Old Dominion University and completed additional coursework at the Linguistic Society of America Summer Institute at Stanford University and the Institute on Disability at Temple University. Dr. Thomas currently serves as the President of Delta Alpha Pi International Honor Society.

Tom Thompson

Tom L. Thompson is a retired disability resources administrator who entered the field in 1980 as the coordinator (later director) of what came to be known as Access and Disability Services at Harper College in Palatine, Illinois. Prior to entering higher education, he worked in the rehabilitation field in a sheltered workshop, in community living facilities, and as a rehabilitation counselor for deaf/HH students at Jewish Vocational Services in Chicago. He earned his master’s in rehabilitation counseling and communication disorders from Northern Illinois University. He has served as an interim DR director for Northern Illinois University, California State University–Fullerton, and Brandman University and recently served as the interim DR director for UC Santa Cruz. Since retirement from Harper in 2010, he has done DR consulting work through TMLS Consulting Inc., including conducting external evaluations and reorgs, onboarding new students, and mentoring new DR administrators. He has authored materials for AHEAD and Disability Compliance in Higher Education and has been a frequent presenter at AHEAD conferences since 1988 (he joined the association in 1980). He served on AHEAD’s board twice (1988–1990 and 2009–2012) and also served 9 years as the chair of the Disability Advisory Committee of the Illinois Board of Higher Education.

Elizabeth Anh Thomson

Elizabeth (liz) Anh Thomson is a disabled, bi/queer, gender non-confrming, Vietnamese adoptee who has worked in higher education for 25 years. They have worked mostly in Student Affairs with marginalized communities and also has taught Asian American Studies, Gender and Women's Studies, and Disability Studies. While working most of their adult life in Chicago, they now reside in west central Minnesota learning more about "land and place" with Native cultures. liz earned their Ph.D. in Disability Studies researching the impact of a disability cultural center on disabled students.

AnnMarie Thorpe

AnnMarie Thorpe is the Director of Disability Services at UMass Amherst, where she has served disabled students for the past 18 years. Her background and passion are in Social Justice Education and equity work.

Brian Tibbens

Brian Tibbens (he/him/his) serves as the director of information technology in Syracuse University’s Newhouse School of Public Communications and is a member of the ICT Accessibility Assessment Committee.

Renáta Tichá

Renáta Tichá is a co-Principal Investigator and the head of research and evaluation at the National Center for College Students with Disabilities, which is based at the University of Minnesota's Institute on Community Integration.

William Toombs

Dr. William Toombs joined EOCIL as the Chief Research Officer in 2020 and is currently the Chief Operations Officer. Dr. Toombs is an Associate Professor in Political Science at Muskingum University, previously served as an Assistant Professor of government and history at Odessa College, and an adjunct associate at the University of Texas of the Permian Basin.

Jennifer Torrance

Jennifer Torrance is the Associate Director of the Mason Autism Support Initiative and Executive Functioning Program in Disability Services (DS) at George Mason University (GMU). She completed her Bachelor of Music in Music Education from Shenandoah University, and later her master's degree in Education Leadership (Administration and Supervision) from George Mason University. Jennifer started her career in education as a general music education teacher for preK-5th grade. After completing her master’s degree in 2016, she became an Assistant Principal. While serving as an assistant principal, she worked to provide equitable access to disabled students. Jennifer joined the GMU DS team in July of 2020 and has continued to work with members of the disability community in higher education.

Chris Toutain

Chris Toutain serves as the Title IX and Section 504 Coordinator for Reed College. Chris earned master’s degrees in Communication Arts and Sciences, and Student Affairs Administration in Higher Education, and his Ph.D. in Education, with an emphasis in disability studies. Chris has administrative experience in campus housing, student conduct, and sexual misconduct prevention and response - with expertise in policy and procedure creation and revision across these areas. His research interests focus on issues of student disability across the co-curriculum.

Brian Trager

Brian Trager, M.S., is the Chair of the Department of Information and Computing Studies at the at Rochester Institute of Technology’s National Technical Institute for the Deaf.

Shu Fen (Fannie) Tsai

Fannie Tsai is an instructional designer at the Division of Teaching Excellence and Innovation at UC Irvine (UCI). She devotes diligence to facilitating faculty using technology tools to design an accessible, equitable, and diverse learning environment for all students. Fannie supports faculty in integrating various teaching technology tools to enhance their teaching and communication with students, focusing on students' learning mastery achievement, learning path, and collaboration with their peers. Fannie is an active member of UCI IT Accessibility Workgroup.

Emily Unholz-Bowden

Emily is a doctoral student at the University of Minnesota. She is a graduate research assistant at the National Center for College Students with Disabilities, based at the University of Minnesota's Institute on Community Integration.

Scott Van Nice

Scott Van Nice, J.D., Senior Manager at Procter & Gamble, has a background in cybersecurity, manages a global group of forensic analysts, and serves as Procter & Gamble’s electronic discovery subject matter expert. Scott is also licensed to practice law in the state of Ohio. He was part of a team that developed AccessATE tipsheets that provide guidance on accessibility and employment issues.

Lisa Vance

Lisa Vance is the Counselor of Disability Services at North Iowa Area Community College.

Mary Lee Vance

Mary Lee Vance, Ph.D. is the Director of the Disability Access Center at California State University Sacramento. During her postsecondary career, she has directed multiple student services including academic advising, career services, TRIO (McNair and Student Services), minority recruitment and retention, enrollment management, student teaching and certification, and minority affairs. In addition, she has served as the interim Director for the Office of Equal Opportunity, Title IX and DHR. Mary Lee has directed disability services at the University of California Berkeley, University of Montana, George Mason University, University of Wisconsin Superior and Orange Coast College. She has taught undergraduate and graduate courses, including disability studies, and has successfully written federal grants, as well as published in refereed journals, books and periodicals. She is the editor of DISABLED Faculty and Staff in a Disabling Society: Multiple Perspectives in Higher Education, co-editor of Beyond the Americans with Disabilities Act: Proactively Planning for Accessible Post-Secondary Educational Offerings Now and into the Future, and Advising Students with Disabilities: Developing Universal Success. She served two consecutive terms on the AHEAD Board of Directors, has through the years been active with the REDD SIG, and is a reviewer for two refereed journals, the AHEAD JPED and NACADA journal. Among other honors, Mary Lee was presented AHEAD’s Professional Recognition Award in 2012 and the Duraese Hall Excellence in Diversity and Inclusion Award in 2020.

Chelsea VanHorn Stinnett

ORCID iD: 0000-0002-1017-3533

Chelsea VanHorn Stinnett, Ph.D. is the Technical Assistance and Training Development Coordinator for the Think College Inclusive Higher Network housed within the Institute for Community Inclusion at the University of Massachusetts Boston. Prior to joining Think College, Chelsea was a faculty member and executive director of an inclusive postsecondary education program at the University of South Carolina and the leader of the South Carolina Inclusive Post-Secondary Education Consortium. She maintains an active line of research around collaborating across systems to improve outcomes for young adults in transition, inclusive postsecondary education program development and refinement, and agency for college students with intellectual disability; particularly, sexual agency.

Mary Vargas

Mary Vargas is a partner with Stein & Vargas, LLP where she engages in nationwide impact litigation on behalf of individuals with disabilities. She has litigated landmark cases pursuant to the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Rehabilitation Act throughout the United States in federal and state courts including Argenyi v. Creighton University, Featherstone v. Pacific Northwest University, J.D. v. Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, and Ramsay v. National Board of Medical Examiners. Ms. Vargas was the 2017 winner of the FARE Vision Award and the 2010 recipient of the Advocacy for People with Pain Award from the American Academy of Pain Management. Ms. Vargas served on the expert panel to develop Voluntary Recommendations for Managing Celiac Disease in Schools, Child Care and Education Programs, a joint effort of Children’s National Medical Center, the Celiac Disease Foundation, and RESOLVE. Ms. Vargas was a 1998 Skadden Fellow and a 1994 Truman Scholar. She also wrote for the American Bar Association, Mental and Physical Disability Law Reporter and co-authored the Fifth Edition of Legal Rights, A Guide for Deaf and Hard of Hearing People. Ms. Vargas associates with local counsel around the country in bringing cases of special importance to individuals with disabilities and has argued in multiple federal district courts and United States Courts of Appeal and is a member of the bar of the United States Supreme Court.

Andrea Vassar

Executive Director Campus Accessibility and ADA/504 Coordinator. Andrea is a certified ADA Coordinator through the University of Missouri and has expertise in employment accommodations, campus and digital accessibility, disability advocacy, and support for students in the entire kindergarten through higher education spectrum.

Belinda Vea

I am a Policy Analyst at a large research-one university system with an extensive portfolio covering student support services for diverse student populations. I have been working in higher education, specifically in equity, diversity and inclusion, for more than 21 years, promoting the academic success of diverse student populations. I have worked with senior leadership at the campus and system-wide level in helping them shape data-driven decisions on providing student support in areas such as campus life, student mental and wellbeing, and behavioral training. I have consulted on issues related to higher education policies and programs that assist diverse populations in higher education, and their access to, retention in, and success through higher education.

Patricia Violi

Dr. Patricia (Patty) Violi is the Associate Director of the Disability Resource Center at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). She holds a Bachelor of Psychology with a minor in Elementary Education from the University of Maryland, a Masters of Education in Special Education with a concentration in Autism and Applied Behavioral Analysis from UNLV and an Ed.D. in Higher Education Leadership and Innovation from Arizona State University. Her dissertation research focused on improving self-determination skills in college students with disabilities. Patricia recently co-authored a chapter titled “Why self-determination is more important than ever before” with Dr. Sharon Field in the edited book Becoming self-determined: Practical Strategies for a changing world (Field & Violi, 2021). She has also authored a blog post “Disability services in the time of COVID-19” on beselfdetermined.com website.

Mark Voisinet

Mark Voisinet, M.S., is a Professor in the Division of Business and STEM at Niagara County Community College in Sanborn, New York.

Alicia Wackerly-Painter

Alicia serves as Director of Student Support and Access at Arizona State University. Alicia has been working at Arizona State University for over 10 years and began her career there, serving as a Disability Access Consultant. In her current role, she focuses on working with a team of Accessibility Consultants to ensure the students at Arizona State University who interact with Student Accessibility and Inclusive Learning Services receive a personal and interactive experience in their pursuit of accommodations. Alicia is also pursuing her Doctorate in Education with a Dissertation focusing on the experience of students with invisible disabilities and their interactions with University faculty.

Alice Wanamaker

Alice Wanamaker is a student at Williams College studying political science, math, and Spanish. Working through the Williams Office of Accessibility, she began developing CATS in the spring of 2022. She hopes to pursue a career developing policy around issues of voting rights and disability justice.

Katy Washington

Katy Washington, J.D., Ph.D.., is the inaugural Chief Accessibility Officer at Virginia Commonwealth University in the Office of Institutional Equity, Effectiveness, and Success and serves as the ADA/Section 504 Coordinator. She currently serves as President of the Board of Directors for AHEAD. She has spent over eighteen years working with faculty and staff to facilitate an inclusive campus environment for disabled students. In her current role, Katy uses an innovative approach to proactively remove physical and digital barriers to equal access by collaborating with workgroups and partners across the university; administering the employment-related accommodation process; and ensuring university compliance with relevant state and federal laws which directly impact equal access and inclusion of disabled employees, students, and visitors. Katy received a Master of Science in Counseling Psychology from the University of Central Arkansas. She also holds a Juris Doctor from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and a Ph.D. in Public Policy from the University of Arkansas.

Vaughn Watson

Vaughn Watson is the Associate Director for Student Success at the Manhattan School of Music. He has worked in the field of education for over 10 years and in higher education for 5 years. His passions are academic coaching, advocacy, and ESOL pedagogy. In his spare time, he writes poetry and music and records music.

Charles Weiner

Charles Weiner is a Pennsylvania attorney whose private practice is focused on Civil Rights and Disability Rights. He represents clients not only throughout Pennsylvania involving special education and school discipline but he also represents individuals with disabilities throughout the nation in obtaining accommodations in post-secondary entrance exams and professional licensing and certification examinations such as the SAT, ACT, LSAT, MCAT, bar exams and the United States Medical Licensing Exam (USMLE) and COMLEX. He served as lead counsel in Sampson v. National Board of Medical Examiners, Berger v. National Board of Medical Examiners, Hartman v. National Board of Medical Examiners, Bibber v. National Board of Osteopathic Medical Examiners, and Grinbaum v. Law School Admission Council.

Manal White

Manal White is an Accessibility/Disability Services professional, serving nontraditional college students since 2014. She received her history degrees from the College of William & Mary, BA 2013, MA 2016. She currently also serves on the Maryland AHEAD Board of Executives and teaches history at University of Maryland Global Campus.

Jonathan Wilson

Dr. Wilson is the Chief Research Officer at the Institute for Disability Studies and Policy (IDSP) at EOCIL. Prior to joining IDSP, Dr. Wilson served as a Humanities Professor at Odessa College, Texas.

Lorre Wolf

Disability resource professional for more than 26 years, faculty appointments in psychiatry and in rehabilitation sciences. Presented and published extensively in the area of psychiatric conditions in higher education. Along with Dr. Jane Thierfeld Brown, one of the first DS professionals to bring autism to the attention of the higher education community.

Sarah Young

Dr. Sarah Young is a seasoned higher education professional who focuses on increasing accessibility and equity for students through staff and faculty development and improvement of institutional policy and processes. She earned her Doctorate of Education at The George Washington University. Currently, she works as the Director of Disability Support Services at Trinity Washington University, and she teaches English literature and composition as a faculty member Georgia Military College: Online Campus and University of Arizona Global Campus. She has a chapter forthcoming for publication title, “Prioritizing Access through Leadership: Directorial Decision-Making in Postsecondary Disability Service Offices.

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2023 Virtual Mini-Conference