Spring 2022 Webinar Series

Jamie Axelrod, M.S. is the Director of Disability Resources at Northern Arizona University and Past-President of AHEAD. Jamie presents regularly on topics related to disability access and higher education, having expertise in disability law and policy, communication and information technology (ICT) access, and the reasonable accommodation process. Jamie is a regular and well-respected contributor to professional listservs, including AHEAD’s discussion boards, 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. Jamie has served as co-chair of Northern Arizona University’s Commission on Disability Access and Design and on AHEAD’s Board of Directors.

Randall Borst is retired from his former position of 24 years as Director of Accessibility Resources at the University at Buffalo. He held a similar position previously at Purdue Fort Wayne. He is a past president of AHEAD and has a significant history with leadership of community boards. His approach to the profession is consumerist/nonclinical.

Sheryl Burgstahler, Ph.D. founded and directs Accessible Technology Services—which includes the DO-IT (Disabilities, Opportunities, Internetworking, and Technology) Center and the IT Accessibility Team (ITAT)—at the University of Washington. These groups (1) offer mentoring and other interventions to support the success of students with disabilities in postsecondary education and careers and (2) promote the universal design (UD) of learning opportunities; facilities; websites, media, documents and other IT; and services to ensure that they are accessible to, usable by, and inclusive of individuals with disabilities. Her latest book is Creating Inclusive Learning Opportunities in Higher Education: A Universal Design Toolkit.

Jennifer Biggers is a disability specialist at the Student Disability Resource Center (SDRC) at University of California-Riverside Campus. Jennifer works with students with psychological disabilities, chronic health conditions, and learning disabilities. Jennifer’s expertise lies in post-secondary transition readiness. At UC Riverside, Jennifer oversees the SDRC Peer Mentor Program, Time Management Workshop Series, and SDRC [beginning of the year] Bootcamp.

Margaret Camp, MEd is the Director of Student Accessibility Services at Clemson University. A former School Psychologist, Margaret has worked with students with disabilities in higher education for more than 20 years. She has served as Director of DS offices and has served as ADA Coordinator on a campus for 8 years. She has served several roles with AHEAD, including Program Chair, Chair of the Standing Committee on Professional Development, National Affiliate Group Representative, and is currently Co-Chair of the Autism Knowledge and Practice Community. Margaret presents at local, state and national conferences and particularly enjoys working with social justice concepts and evolving trends in the field.

Adam Crawford is the newly-appointed Director of Student Life for the College of Medicine at The Ohio State University. Prior to this role, Adam worked for 9 years in the disability resources field. He received his Bachelor’s in Sociology and his Master’s in Student Affairs in Higher Education from Missouri State University. Adam currently serves as the President for Ohio AHEAD.

Lyman Dukes III, Ph.D. earned a B.S. and M.A. from the University of Florida and Ph.D. at the University of Connecticut. He is a Professor of Special Education in the College of Education at the University of South Florida, with 30 years of educational experience. He has served in higher education in a number of capacities both academically and administratively. He has co-edited two books, Preparing Students with Disabilities for College Success: A Practical Guide to Transition Planning (2010) and, most recently, Navigating the Transition from High School to College for Students with Disabilities (2018). He has published and presented extensively on topics related to secondary and postsecondary education for students with disabilities. He has also been awarded city, county, state, federal and corporate grant funding. His current research interests include transition from school to college, universal design in postsecondary education, guidelines for research on postsecondary education and disability, standards for practice in higher education disability services, and trauma-informed teaching practices.

Jermaine Fields is a UI/UX Developer for Application & Software Development. His main responsibilities are split between Accessibility Network development & training, and the production and maintenance of the College of Medicine, UC Research, UC Web Forms, and more. Working on CoM UI/UX team he creates dynamic applications that integrate seamlessly into Sitefinity CMS or .NET framework. As part of Accessibility Network , he maintains webforms.uc.edu and develops custom form solutions for various departments and colleges throughout the university. He also assists with the training of faculty & staff on how to create forms while following accessibility best practices and managing content in a multi-user environment. Outside of his work with IT@UC he is a member of the African American Black Staff (AABMS). As a member, he is a part of the leadership team and the chair of the Technology Committee that oversees the website design & development for AABMS.

Jewls Griesmeyer Krentz is the Associate Director of Learning Support Services at Linfield University School of Nursing where she oversees disability services, academic coaching, and tutoring. She enjoys finding creative and collaborative ways to promote equity and inclusion for students and university communities. Jewls applies a holistic, social justice approach to working with disabled students. Before joining Linfield in 2022, she had been an Access Counselor and Consultant at the Disability Resource Center (DRC) at PSU 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 serves on the Board of Directors of the Oregon Affiliate of the Association of Higher Education and Disability (ORAHEAD), co-chairs the Blind and Low Vision Knowledge and Practice Community at Association of Higher Education and Disability (AHEAD), 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 received her Masters in Rehabilitation Counseling from PSU in 2008 and is a PhD candidate in Adult and Higher Education at Oregon State University. Her doctoral work focuses on international and immigrant students with disabilities, disability identity, and intersectionality. Jewls is a Certified Rehabilitation Counselor (CRC) and Nationally Certified Counselor (NCC). Prior to coming to PSU, Jewls had a private counseling practice and served as a commissioner on the city of Portland Commission on Disability.

Jessica Guess, M.S. currently works as Program Manager for Accessibility Compliance at University of Cincinnati in the Office of Institutional Accessibility. She has an M.S. in Vocational Rehabilitation Counseling from University of Wisconsin-Stout and is a doctoral candidate in the Counselor Education and Supervision doctoral program. The focus of her work is primarily on data collection related to disability/accessibility and dissemination of that information. Jessica also provides disability/accessibility related training across the university and at national conferences. Having worked with disability populations for much of her life, her experiences as a late-deafened adult have allowed her to focus her work, research, and advocacy (personally and professionally) on disability representation and access.

Amanda Kraus, Ph.D. currently serves as Assistant Vice President for Campus Life at the University of Arizona and Executive Director for Disability Resources. She serves as President of the Association of Higher Education and Disability (AHEAD) and has had the privilege of delivering keynote addresses and facilitating workshops at institutions such as Singapore Management University, Duke University, and Wake Forest University on such topics as reframing disability, microaggressions and universal design. Amanda earned her M.A. and Ph.D. at the University of Arizona in Higher Education.

Adam Lalor, Ph.D. is the Director of the Landmark College Institute for Research and Training and Co-Director of the Landmark College Center for Neurodiversity. With more than 15 years of experience in higher education administration, his research focuses on the transition of students with disabilities to and within higher education and the preparation of faculty and administrators to serve students with disabilities. Recent publications have appeared in 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. Dr. Lalor received his doctoral degree in Educational Psychology from the University of Connecticut’s Neag School of Education.

L. Scott Lissner is the Americans with Disabilities Act Coordinator and 504 Compliance Officer for The Ohio State University, where he 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. Engaged in community and professional service, Scott is a Past President and Public Policy Chair of the Association on Higher Education and Disability (AHEAD) and serves on the Board of Directors for The Center for Disability Empowerment, VSA Ohio, and the Editorial Board for Thompson’s ADA Compliance Guide. He is a regular and popular presenter both nationally and internationally, serves on numerous boards in support of access and equity. Recent publications include The Impact of the ADAAA of 2008 on Higher Education, Thompsons Publications; Universal Design in the Institutional Setting: Weaving a Philosophy into Campus Planning in Universal Design: From Accessibility to Zoning (J. Cowley-Evans & J. Nasser (Eds.); From Legal Principle to Informed Practice with J. E. Jarrow; and A Long View of Change, Disability Blog, The Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy.

Ryan McCombs, M.A. serves as the Director of the Disability Access Center at Purdue University Fort Wayne in Indiana. Ryan has past experiences with developing and coordinating the Peer Mentor Program at Purdue University in West Lafayette, 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 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 K-12 educator. Currently as a 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.

Lisa M. Meeks, PhD is a former AHEAD board member and co-founder of the Coalition for Disability Access in Health Science Education. Dr. Meeks is co-editor and author of the leading books on the topic of inclusive health science education, and was the lead author of the AAMC Special Report: Accessibility, Inclusion, and Action in Medical Education: Lived Experiences of Learners and Physicians with Disabilities. She is co-creator of the social media campaign #DocsWithDisabilities, co-host of the Docs with Disabilities podcast, and creator and lead facilitator of the Equal Access Book Club.

Lisa Noshay Petro, JD 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. In her spare time (what spare time?) she enjoys hiking, cooking, and reading.

Heidi Pettyjohn is Executive Director for Accessibility at the University of Cincinnati, where she serves as ADA Coordinator and supervises the directors of accessibility offices on the main and regional campuses. Heidi provides institutional leadership and guides efforts in the sustainment of an accessible and inclusive experience for disabled students, staff and visitors at the university. In the past four years, her work has focused particularly on leading the university in sweeping changes to their approach to ensuring that websites and other electronic and digital content is accessible to disabled students, employees, and community members. 

Lourdes Quiñones is a second-year doctoral student at the University of South Florida’ in the Curriculum and Instruction-Special Education program. Her educational background includes graduating from the program of Physical Therapy at the University of Central Florida, as well as from the Master’s in Special Education-Autism Spectrum Disorder and Severe Intellectual Disabilities at the University of South Florida (USF). Her professional experience includes having served children with a variety of disabilities as a Pediatric Physical Therapist in the home, school, and clinic settings, and as a Kindergarten-1st grade special education teacher in Hillsborough County School District. She has been serving children and families through the Center for Autism and related disabilities (CARD-USF) since August of 2019. Lourdes' research interests are related to arts and disability, as well as arts across the curriculum, to facilitate furtherance of learning in inclusive classrooms through the arts.

Annie Rosenthal, MSW, is the Associate Director of UC Hastings' Center for Advocacy, Resources and Education (CARE) program, which provides gender-based violence prevention and response services to the campus community. Annie holds a B.A. in Women’s and Gender Studies from Clark University and a master's in social work from UC Berkeley. Prior to her role at UC Hastings, Annie held positions in campus sexual violence prevention, community health advocacy and sexual health research. Annie is deeply committed to promoting equity and inclusivity in education and working to eliminate violence in all its forms, on and off-campus.

Maria Schiano, MSW 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 for the past three years. 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 18 years of higher education experience, specializing in disability services and access, LGBTQ + services and promoting equity and inclusion through a social justice lens.

Catherine Wharton, Ed.D. is the Director of the Diagnostic Center for Educational Assessment and the ADA Specialist overseeing Student Accessibility Services at Lynn University. She joined Lynn University in 2006 and teaches as an adjunct in the College of Arts and Sciences. In 2018, she completed her doctorate in education with a dissertation entitled, “Reading Comprehension in Two Accommodated Reading Tasks with College Students with Reading Disabilities.” Her responsibilities include reviewing psychological testing submitted by students with disabilities, engaging in the interactive process with ADA students and monitoring the implementation of ADA accommodations with fidelity. Dr. Wharton develops content and provides trainings and strategies to support students, academic coaches, tutors, and faculty. She is particularly interested in integrating compensatory strategies, motivational theory and practice within pedagogy to foster a classroom environment of confidence and competence leading to student mastery.


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