STATEMENT OF GOALS
Thank you for considering me to serve as a Board Member-at-Large. I became a member as an early career professional over 15 years ago. AAIDD has been my professional home ever since. In AAIDD I have found opportunities to learn from, and collaborate with, the thought leaders in our field. I deeply value the role this organization plays in my professional development and the richness that comes with its membership. If elected, my priority will be to champion the mission of the organization and to ensure the implementation of the strategic plan of the association.
I am often asked by students where they can find a professional community to support their goals of improving the lives of people with disabilities after graduation. I always point them to AAIDD. Personally, my goal as a Board Member would be to bring strategies, such as certification and mentorship, to attract students and early career professionals to the organization, and to careers in the field, so that they can grow from AAIDD membership just as I have.
BRIEF BIOGRAPHY:
Current Position:
Clinical Professor in Disability Studies, Institute on Human Development and Disabilities/UCEDD, University of Georgia
Previous Positions:
Training and Technical Assistance Specialist, The Elizabeth M. Boggs Center (UCEDD), Rutgers University
Program Coordinator, Northeast ADA & IT Center, Cornell University
Independent Living Coordinator, Family Resource Network/Epilepsy Foundation of NJ
Education:
PhD (2012) – University of Georgia, School of Social Work
MSW (2007) – Rutgers School of Social Work (Nonprofit and Public Administration)
BA (1994) – Psychology, Rutgers College
Graduate of the National Leadership Consortium on Developmental Disabilities, Winter 2008
AAIDD Participation:
- I have attended every conference since 2011 and have made 21 presentations.
- I have presented at Reinventing Quality and AAIDD pre-conference sessions.
- Co-chair the National State of the Science Conference on Community Living, Direct Support Professional strand 2022
- Co-chair Local Arrangements Committee, Atlanta, GA 2016
- Conference Planning Committee member, 2014 & 2015
- Conference proposal reviewer, 2014 – present
- Nominations & Elections Committee member, 2017
- Director-at-large, Georgia Chapter, 2014 -2017. Chair 2018.
- Reviewer for IDD & AJIDD
- Co-Editor Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities 58(3):189-191 01 Jun 2020. Special Issue: Understanding the Direct Support Workforce.
- Member, Social Work SIG, 2021- present
- Member, Direct Support Professionals SIG, 2011- present
- Member, Student and Early Career Professionals SIG, 2011- 2014
- Editor, Student and Early Career Professionals Newsletter, 2011- 2013
Activities/Awards:
- Aspire Fellow, UGA, 2023 – 2024
- AAIDD Education Award, 2019
- Service-Learning Teaching Excellence Award, UGA, 2017
- Fellow, AAIDD, 2016
- Association for University Centers on Disability’s National Training Directors Council
- University Centers for Excellence in Disabilities (UCEDD) Project Advisory Council