2010 Pacific Rim International Forum: Dialogue Leaders
Ms. Akiko Ito is Chief of the Secretariat for the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and UN/Focal Point on Disability. She is also a Departmental Focal Point for Women of Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations. Learn More...
Kerry Thompson works for Disability Rights Fund which collaborates with donors and the disability community to advance the new UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). She has been involved with efforts to promote human rights for persons with disabilities in developing countries. Learn More...
Michael Stein is Executive Director at Harvard Law School Project on Disability, and Cabell Research Professor, William & Mary School of Law. Learn More...
Mr. Setareki S. Macanawai is currently the CEO for the Pacific Disability Forum and was previously a civil servant working as the Executive Director for the Fiji National Council for Disabled Persons and Principal of the Fiji School for the Blind. He graduated from Corpus Christi Teachers College in Suva, Fiji in 1985 with a Primary Teachers Certificate and studied at the Auckland College of Education in New Zealand in 1988 graduating with a Diploma in the Education of Visually Impaired Children. Learn More...
Stephanie Ortoleva is the Senior Human Rights, Disability Rights and Women’s Rights Attorney Advisor with the leading international human rights law firm BlueLaw International. Until recently, Stephanie served as the Disability Coordinator at the U.S. Department of State and as the Executive Director of the Department of State’s and USAID’s Advisory Committee on Persons with Disabilities and as a Department expert on global women’s issues, focusing on women’s role in peace-building and post-conflict resolution and gender equality in employment and education. Learn More...
Kay Nagata is a Senior Officer in charge of development policy, United Nations HQ in New York. She has been involved in promoting “disability & development” during her 25-year career with the United Nations system. Prior to her current position at the United Nations HQ, she had served as the disability focal point at the International Labor Office (ILO, the UN ESCWA (Iraq, Jordan and Lebanon), UNTAET East Timor, and the UN ESCAP (Bangkok). Learn More...
Slamet Thohari or Amex is a person with disability, he got polio virus when he was two years old. He was born in small city, in Java, Indonesia. He pursued his undergraduate in Philosophy Studies studies at Gadjah Mada University Indonesia, he has been a columnist since become a student for some newspaper in Indonesia. Learn More...
Mark Starford is the founding director and key consultant of The SCILS Group since 1977, a national nonprofit consulting firm dedicated to full and inclusive community participation of children with developmental disabilities and their families. In 1995, Mark created the Board Resource Center to provide best practice leadership facilitation for community organizations, the private and public sector, and government agencies. Learn More...
Dr. Innette Cambridge has been a Lecturer in the Social Work Unit, Department of Behavioural Sciences, The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago since 1990. She serves as Co-ordinator of the Social Policy Programme, which initiated Disability Studies at the university. Dr. Cambridge received her Ph.D in social work/social policy. Learn More...
Carol Locust, Ed.D (Eastern Band Cherokee) works with tribal groups to improve services for persons with disabilities, prevent family violence and child abuse, and in state courts in Indian Child Welfare cases. She shares tribal cultural concepts, beliefs, psychosocial and physical health information in lectures and through publications. Learn More...
Susan Schweik is Associate Dean of Arts and Humanities and a recent recipient of the Chancellor’s Award for Advancing Institutional Excellence. A former Presidential Chair in Undergraduate Education for Disability Studies at U.C. Berkeley, she has been involved with the development of disability studies at Berkeley for nine years. She was co-coordinator of the Ed Roberts Fellowships in Disability Studies post-doctoral program at Berkeley (coordinated by the Institute for Urban and Regional Development). Learn More...
Carole J. Petersen is an Associate Professor in the William S. Richardson School of Law and Director of the Spark M. Matsunaga Institute for Peace. Petersen practiced law for five years before moving to Hong Kong, where she taught from 1989-2006. She is a former Director of the University of Hong Kong’s Centre for Comparative and Public Law and now serves as a member of its Advisory Board. Learn More...
Charmaine Crockett is Special Projects Coordinator at the Center of Disability Studies where she Co-Chairs the Pacific Rim International Conference on Disabilities and drums up good ideas for outreach and community participation. Previously, she worked in the area of human rights where she conducted human rights education trainings and enhanced the capacity of organizations in developing countries. Learn More...
Dr. Robert A. Stodden is a past president of the Association of University Centers on Disabilities (AUCD) board of directors. Professionally trained in Psychology, Special Education, and Rehabilitation, he has served more than twenty-five years as an international and national leader in the fields of special education, school to adult community living and transition, postsecondary education, and employment for persons with disabilities. Learn More...
Steven Brown, Ph.D., Associate Professor and Disabilities Scholar, Center on Disability Studies (CDS), University of Hawai‘i; Affiliate Faculty, Political Science Department; and Co-Founder, Institute on Disability Culture. When discrimination because of his disability detoured Brown’s academic career in history, he became an advocate. Learn More...
Joel Snyder, a member of Actors’ Equity Association, the American Federation of TV and Radio Artists, and the Screen Actors Guild, is a nationally recognized arts administrator and educator in the United States Learn More...
Lawrence Walker has worked in a range of urban and rural schools in New Zealand. He is a NZ registered teacher and holds specialist qualifications in Special Education. He has worked with children and adults who present with special education needs. His research interests are in video self model, ICT and diverse learners. Learn More...
Ari Ne’eman is the Founding President of the Autistic Self-Advocacy Network, where he initiates and directs efforts to increase the representation of autistic individuals in public policy discussions. He is a leading advocate in the neurodiversity movement, frequently briefing policymakers and speaking publicly on disability and autism policy issues. Learn More...
Vu Thi Binh Minh is the Director of Inclusive Development Action in Vietnam. Inclusive Development Action (IDEA) is the registered implementer of the Disability Forum Vietnam. IDEA is a local NGO working in the field of disability with the overall goal of promoting inclusive and barrier-free national development by providing information, advice and training to people with disabilities, NGOs and international agencies. Learn More...
Lisa Uyehara is an attorney and arbitrator for the CAAPS program through the State of Hawai‘i Judiciary. She has been a facilitator/instructor for ten years with the University of Phoenix. She previously held the position of Area Chair for Law and Ethics at the University of Phoenix, Hawai‘i Campus. Learn More..
