Matt Ater is the Program Manager for Integrated Concepts and Research Corporation (ICRC). He manages the Social Security Administration's contract for Assistive Technology Hardware and Software Support Services and is responsible for managing providing hardware/software engineering, testing, implementation and integration, training, maintenance and help desk support for all assistive technology and mainstream technology used by employees with disabilities. Mr. Ater worked as a private consultant providing assistive technology assessments, integration, training and documentation for federal and state agencies. He previously managed the AT Department at the Columbia Lighthouse for the Blind in Washington, DC and was the Mid-Atlantic and Federal Sales Manager for AccessAbility which merged with HumanWare to form PulseData HumanWare.
Linda Burkhart is an internationally known pioneer in the field of simplified technology for children with severe disabilities. She has developed numerous adapted switches and innovative applications for using these devices with children. She is the author of a number of books and software titles on topics including assistive technology, augmentative communication, homemade battery devices, the use of speech synthesis to facilitate communicative interaction, and total augmentative communication in the early childhood classroom. Linda was a classroom teacher for 15 years with experience teaching school age children with orthopedic disabilities and preschool children with severe and profound disabilities. Ms. Burkhart worked for eight years as an Augmentative Communication and Assistive Technology Specialist for the Center for Technology in Education, a joint project between the Johns Hopkins University and the Maryland State Department of Education. Linda currently works as a private consultant and technology integration specialist.
Dinah Cohen is the Director for the Department of Defense (DoD) Computer/Electronic Accommodations Program (CAP). CAP is a centrally funded program that provides AT and accommodation services to employees with disabilities in the DoD and the federal government. Under Ms. Cohen's leadership, CAP has been recognized for its outstanding record of service with the Federal Technology Leadership Award, the Distinguished Contribution to AT Award from RESNA and the prestigious Excellence in Employment Award from the National Association of the Deaf. A past recipient of the DoD Exceptional Civilian Service Award, Ms. Cohen held prior positions as the Manager of the Disability and Federal Women's Program at the Agency for International Development and served with the EEOC and the Naval Research Laboratory. A Certified Rehabilitation Counselor, Ms. Cohen also holds a Master's Degree in Counseling Psychology.
Sue Cullen is an Assistive Technology Specialist at the Center on Disabilities and a part-time faculty member in the Department of Special Education at California State University, Northridge. She is a graduate of Syracuse University with a Master's Degree in Information Resource Management and a Certificate in Information Systems/Telecommunications Management. Ms. Cullen also holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from State University of New York at Albany and has worked in higher education for over 20 years. As an AT Specialist, Ms. Cullen conducts assessments for California State University, Northridge students with disabilities in order to match their areas of need with the appropriate assistive technology. Sue's methodology includes an emphasis on using available documentation, individual interviews and is inclusive in nature. Ms. Cullen has been a presenter at national conferences in the areas of sensitivity awareness, civil rights legislation, reasonable accommodation and assistive technology.
Sarah Endicott, OTR, received her Bachelor of Science degree in Occupational Therapy (OT) from Colorado State University. After working as an Occupational Therapist at several health care facilities in the Atlanta area, Ms Endicott joined Georgia Tech's Center for Assistive Technology and Environmental Access (CATEA) in 1984. At CATEA, Ms. Endicott works as an information specialist, provides consultation in the area of environmental accessibility to Georgia Tech and the community, and works with the assistivetech.net project on the product database, and assisting on the design and interface for the web site. She provides technical assistance on the Americans with Disability Act (ADA) through the Southeast Disability and Business Technical Assistance Center. She is a researcher on the Workplace Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center (RERC) project, and is currently studying the use of AT and workplace accommodations for people with disabilities. Ms. Endicott is a member of the team that is developing Georgia Tech's anthropometric (human body measurement) efforts, and specializes in the areas of accessibility, environmental modifications, and technology application for persons with disabilities.
Iris Fishman has specialized in the field of augmentative communication and assistive technology for more than 20 years, and is currently an advisor and consultant to organizations and agencies serving persons with disabilities. Prior to this, as Director of the Kornreich Technology Center at the National Center for Disability Services, she developed a nationally recognized AT division that offered innovative professional training programs, including a series of over 20 webcasts for speech-language pathologist and other rehabilitation professionals, as well as direct services for people with severe disabilities. She has also served as Executive Director of Communication Independence for the Neurologically Impaired (CINI) a non-profit organization that disseminated information about augmentative communication for people with ALS. Featured in an article in the New York Times, she authored one of the first major texts on electronic communication aids. Ms. Fishman is the current President of USSAAC, the U.S. Society for Augmentative and Alternative Communication and was recently voted to the Steering Committee of ASHA's Division on Augmentative and Alternative Communication.
Russ Holland is a dedicated educator who has been involved in the field of assistive technology for the past 25 years. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Anthropology and Sociology, a Master of Education degree in special education and a Special Education Certification from New Jersey and New York. In addition to teaching, Russ was the founder and the director of Techspress (Alliance for Technology Access Center in New York). As an independent consultant, he has been deeply involved in advocacy work, training, consulting and public speaking focusing on eliminating barriers faced by people with disabilities and realizing the potential of assistive technology. Mr. Holland's numerous activities include serving on the Microsoft Accessibility Advisory Council and the Advisory Board for the Center on Disabilities at California State University, Northridge. Russ serves as the Program Director of the Alliance for Technology Access and is the co-founder of Adirondack AccessAbility, Inc., an ATA Affiliate.
Helen Kim Bass is a Certified Senior Advisor (CSA) with New England Financial, one of the largest financial institutions in Los Angeles. She serves as a MetDESK specialist in California, Nevada, and Arizona (MetLife's Division of Estate Planning for Special Kids) providing resources and services to families with children and other dependents with special needs, and as a DTP (Delivering the Promise) Specialist in Southern California. Helen's dedication and commitment stems from personal experience and she serves on the Board of Directors for the Western Law Center for Disability Rights with Loyola University and Stillpoint Resources. She is the founder of Horizon Project, a project of California Community Partners, for the children of special needs from the Asian-American community. Ms. Kim Bass is a recognized speaker and teacher on a broad range of topics including women's issues, special needs planning, caregiving issues and charitable giving.
Michelle L. Lange is an Occupational Therapist with 20 years of experience in the area of assistive technology. A frequent national and international presenter, she has authored book chapters and over 80 articles and evaluates children and adults in the areas of positioning, mobility, access to communication devices and computers, and electronic aids to daily living. A former Clinical Director of the AT Clinics of the Children's Hospital of Denver, Michelle was also the Editor of the Technology Special Interest Section of the AOTA. Ms Lange is on the teaching faculty of RESNA, serves as the current RESNA Secretary, is a member of the Board of Directors, Education Chair and SIG-09 Vice Chair. In addition, she is on the Assistive Technology Journal Editorial Board, the RERC on Wheeled Mobility Advisory Board, and the Senior Disability Analyst of the American Board of Disability Analysts and a Credentialed AT Practitioner.
Shawn Lawton Henry is Web Accessibility Outreach Coordinator for the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI), where she leads W3C's worldwide education and outreach activities promoting Web accessibility for people with disabilities. Ms. Lawton Henry develops online resources to help Web developers understand and implement Web accessibility guidelines, and provides presentations and training on accessible Web design and development. Shawn previously worked as a consultant with international standards bodies, research centers, government agencies, Fortune 500 companies and others to develop and implement strategies to optimize design for usability and accessibility. A contributor to the International Organization for Standardization, she has served as an Advisory Committee member for the Trace Research & Development Center, the Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center on Access to Information Technology and developed UIAccess.com to share information on universal user interface design and "usable accessibility".
Annette Leonard holds a Bachelor of Science degree in American Sign Language/English Interpretation and a Master of Arts degree in Conflict Resolution. An RID certified sign language interpreter, Ms. Leonard has previously worked on a federally funded research project focusing on the transition skills of deaf adolescents and young adults, and served as the Director of Disability Services at Western Oregon University. She is currently the Coordinator of the Western Region Outreach Center and Consortia (WROCC) site at WOU. This satellite program of PEPNet, works to increase the enrollment, retention and graduation rates of students who are deaf and hard-of-hearing by providing technical support and training to institutions seeking to improve their support services.
Cathy McLeod is the Project Director for the Western Region Outreach Center and Consortia, a federal grant at the National Center on Deafness at California State University, Northridge. Ms. McLeod has over 20 years of experience providing in-service training at the local, state and national level related to students who are deaf and hard of hearing. Ms. McLeod has a Master of Science degree in Public Administration from California State University, Los Angeles and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Gallaudet University, Washington, D.C.
Karen Milchus is a Research Engineer at Georgia Tech's Center for Assistive Technology and Environmental Access (CATEA), where she specializes in identifying and providing accommodations to help people with disabilities in both the workplace and the classroom. She has provided AT services to state vocational rehabilitation agencies in Georgia and Wisconsin, and was a primary investigator on Tech Connections, a national training and dissemination project that provided rehabilitation counselors and other with information about AT. Ms. Milchus is Co-Director of the Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center (RERC) on Workplace Accommodations, whose mission is to identify, design, develop, and promote new assistive and universally designed technologies that maximize independence and participation of people with disabilities in the workplace. Her research interests include computer access and access to science laboratories. Ms. Milchus is a Certified AT Practitioner and is Vice-Chair of RESNA's Education Committee.
Patricia Ourand holds a Master's degree in Speech Pathology from Loyola College in Baltimore, MD, as well as a Master's degree in Technology for Special Education and Rehabilitation from the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD. Ms. Ourand is a nationally-recognized speaker and writer on a variety of topics associated with assistive technology and AAC and has extensive experience working with individuals with significant cognitive, linguistic, sensory and/or motor disabilities requiring technology access. Licensed as a speech-language pathologist in the State of Maryland, and a certified member of the American Speech-Language and Hearing Association, Pat also serves on the Advisory Board for the Center on Disabilities at California State University, Northridge. She is currently the President of Associated Speech and Language Services, Inc., a speech-language pathology practice, serving the Baltimore/Washington area, and specializing in augmentative and alternative communication (AAC).
Derek Shields is a Program Manager for the Accessibility Services Division of Axiom Resource Management, Inc. Though his leadership and management support to the Department of Defense (DoD) Computer/Electronic Accommodations Program (CAP), Mr. Shields ensures DoD and federal agencies receive quality customer support services to increase the accessibility of the federal electronic and information technology (EIT) environment. Recently, he became CAP's representative as the Central Design Activity (CDA) to move assistive technologies through the Navy's NMCI Certification Process. Mr. Shields also collaborates with the Department of Labor's Central Office for Assistive Services and Technology and the Corporation for National and Community Service's Accommodations Program. He earned his B.A. at Bucknell University and his Master of Management and Disability Services degree at the University of San Francisco. Mr. Shield's focus is on the utilization of accessible technology in federal disability policy and programs to increase employment of people with disabilities in the federal workforce. Recently, he has worked to map disability management strategies into the human capital elements of President Bush's Management Agenda.
Jared Smith, M.S., is Director of Education Initiatives and an instructional designer, Web developer, and accessibility trainer for WebAIM, a project at the Center for Persons with Disabilities at Utah State University. He specializes in training Web developers, IT professionals and educators in Web accessibility principles and techniques. Mr. Smith has developed accessible course content, Web multimedia, distance education tools and database-driven Web sites. In addition to providing accessibility training as part of the WebAIM team, Jared teaches courses in Macromedia Flash and multimedia development in the Instructional Technology Department at Utah State University. Mr. Smith has written a broad range of documents, tutorials, articles and other materials, many of which are featured on the WebAIM site.
Jonathan B. Whiting , M.S., has been working with WebAIM since February 2003. He is currently the Training and Website Evaluation Specialist. Mr. Whiting has helped various organizations create a more accessible Web presence by providing on-site training, evaluating the accessibility of their Web sites and guiding them through the creation of a system-wide accessibility policy. Jonathan has been invited to give presentations and workshops at internationally-attended conferences and written several articles and tutorials featured on the WebAIM website. Mr. Whiting also supervised the design and development of the WebAIM Coordination and Leadership Training Event as well as the creation of the subsequent CD-ROM.
Joy Zabala, Ph.D., is a general and special educator who has been involved in the field of AT for over 20 years and holds a Bachelor of Education degree from the University of Florida, a Master of Education degree from Florida Atlantic University and a Doctor of Education degree from the University of Kentucky. Dr. Zabala is currently a professional developer and AT consultant, plus the developer of the SETT Framework and a founding member of the QIAT Consortium where she serves as the facilitator of the QIAT Listserv with over 850 international participants. The President of the Technology and Media (TAM) Division of the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) and its representative on the Organizational Board of the European Schools Project, Joy is also co-chair of the Technology Desk of DICES, the international division of CEC. Currently a faculty associate at Johns Hopkins University; online mentor for the Commonwealth Center for Instructional Technology and Learning at the University of Kentucky; researcher for the ATSTAR Project at Knowbility, Inc. in Austin, TX; and long-term collaborator on various projects at Johns Hopkins University, Georgetown University, and the Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST), Dr. Zabala also serves on the advisory board for the Alliance for Technology Access.
Jennifer C. Zvi, Ph.D., is a Learning Disability Specialist at California State University, Northridge. She has held this position for over 20 years. Her responsibilities include, but are not limited to diagnosing students suspected of having learning disabilities, and providing support services and compensatory strategies to those students with appropriate documentation of their disabilities. Dr. Zvi is currently Vice President of the California State University, Northridge Faculty Senate. She received her Doctorate degree from Northwestern University in the field of Learning Disabilities and her Post-Doctorate degree in Neuropsychology from the University of California, Los Angeles. A recognized expert in her field, she has a private practice diagnosing pre-schoolers through adults with learning disabilities and has published extensively in the field of learning disabilities. Dr. Zvi is the current President of the Los Angeles Branch of the International Dyslexia Association.