STATEMENT OF GOALS
I became a member of AAIDD 30 years ago in an effort to keep up with best practices in the field, and since that time AAIDD has continued to serve as my professional home. I am committed to AAIDD’s mission of enhancing the professional development of people in the IDD field and advocating for the rights and inclusion of people with disabilities into all aspects of society. Should I be selected as a member-at-large, I would support all organizational and board activities that promote progressive policies, help disseminate research to both academics as well as the people on the ground supporting people with IDD, and support AAIDD leadership in their efforts to run an effective and efficient organization.
BRIEF BIOGRAPHY:
Current Position:
President & CEO, The Council on Quality and Leadership
Previous Positions:
-Institute on Disability and Human Development, 1997-2016 (Various roles including Clinical Associate Professor (2011-2016; guest 2016-present), Research Assistant Professor (2006-2011), Associate Director of IL UCEDD (2004-2015), Policy Mentor IL LEND (2008-2015)
-Staff on State of the States in Developmental Disabilities (1997-2016)
-Coleman Institute for Cognitive Disabilities (2002-2004)
Education:
PhD, University of Illinois at Chicago, 2005, Public Health
MA, North Carolina Central University, 1996, Psychology
BA, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, 1992, Psychology
AAIDD Participation:
- Member, National Goals Conference, Mental Health, led by Joan Beasley, 2024
- Co-Lead, Local Arrangements Committee, 2024 AAIDD conference
- Conference Proposal Submission reviewer, multiple years
- Student and Early Career Profession scholarship reviewer, multiple years.
- Member, AAIDD National Workforce Meeting, 2018
- Strand Leader, National Goals Conference, Long Term Services and Supports Strand (with Amy Hewitt, UMN and Marty Ford, The Arc), 2015. The Conference was a collaborative effort of the RTC on Community Living (MN), The Arc, AUCD, the RTC on DD and Health/IDHD (IL), and the RTC on Employment at the University of Massachusetts Boston, with the support of NIDILRR and AIDD.
- Book Advisory Committee, 2011-2014
- Strand Leader, National Goals Conference, Technology (with David Braddock), 2003
- Guest reviewer for Inclusion, Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, and American Journal on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities.
Activities/Awards:
- National Honoree, 2020 National Honors, the National Historic Recognition Project, for significant national contributions in the field of intellectual and developmental disabilities in the US between 2000 and 2020.
- Leadership Award, The American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, 2018.
- Fellow, The American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, 2018.
- Leader, National Goals Conference, Long Term Services and Supports Strand (with Amy Hewitt, UMN and Marty Ford, The Arc), 2015. The Conference was a collaborative effort of the RTC on Community Living (MN), The Arc, AUCD, the RTC on DD and Health/IDHD (IL), and the RTC on Employment at the University of Massachusetts Boston, with the support of NIDILRR and AIDD.
- Excalibur Award for Excellence in Teaching, Student Council of the College of Applied Health Sciences, UIC, 2008
- Young Professional of the Year, Association of University Centers on Disabilities, 2006
- Co-Leader and Facilitator, The Arc National Goals Conference, Technology Group, 2003
- Leadership Award, Community Action to Reach the Elderly, 1992