Noted and Keynote Speakers
Intersections: Disability Rights and Gender
Loretta J. Ross is the National Coordinator of the SisterSong Women of Color Reproductive Health Collective, a network founded in 1997 of 80 women of color and allied organizations that work on reproductive justice issues. Learn More...
Intersections: Independent Living and Indigenous/Native Issues
Joseph Ray has been an advocate for Disability rights for twenty years. He is of Zuni descent and is a member of the Pueblo of Laguna, Village of Paraje, New Mexico. He is the Founder, Executive Director ,and Board President of Native American Independent Living and serves on the Board of Directors at the Pueblo of Laguna Housing Authority. Learn More...
Autism
Lee Grossman leads the Autism Society of America (ASA) the nation’s largest membership organization dedicated to autism. Mr. Grossman is on the federal Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC) and the National Health Council. Learn More...
Deaf and Hearing Impaired
Dr. Amy Wilson, Associate Professor, teaches International Development with People with Disabilities in Developing Countries, Introduction to International Development, as well as research to deaf and hearing students at the graduate level. Dr. Wilson began her teaching career in 1979, teaching the sciences to deaf and hard of hearing students in a mainstreamed public high school in suburban Chicago. Learn More...
Disability Rights
Andrew J. Imparato is the first full-time President and Chief Executive Officer of the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD), a national non-profit membership organization for the political and economic empowerment of all people with disabilities based in Washington, DC. With more than 120,000 members, AAPD is the largest cross-disability membership organization in the U.S. Learn More...
Fernando Cruz, MSW, a member of the Tohono O’odham Nation of Southern Arizona is presently employed as a Reintegration Program Coordinator for Arizona Bridge to Independent Living (ABIL), working with residents of nursing homes in the Phoenix and West valley area. Learn More...
Disability Studies
Robert McRuer is an Associate Professor in the Department of English at The George Washington University, where he teaches queer theory, disability studies, and cultural studies. He is the author of Crip Theory: Cultural Signs of Queerness and Disability (NYU, 2006) and The Queer Renaissance: Contemporary American Literature and the Reinvention of Lesbian and Gay Identities (NYU, 1997). Learn More...
Employment
Damon Terzaghi currently serves as a Policy Associate for the Center for Workers with Disabilities and the National Association of State Medicaid Directors (NASMD) at the American Public Human Services Association (APHSA). NASMD is a bipartisan organization that represents all of the state and territorial Medicaid Agencies. Learn More...
Family Supports
Polly Arango lives in Algodones, New Mexico. She and her husband John have two sons and two daughters, all of them now adults; they also have seven young grandchildren. Their youngest son, Nick, an artist, has multiple disabilities and is medically fragile; he lives with them at home. Learn More...
The Future: Innovative Technologies
Frank DeRuyter, Ph.D.—Dr. DeRuyter has been at Duke University Medical Center since 1995. He is Professor in the Department of Surgery and Chief of the Division of Speech Pathology & Audiology. Learn More...
Howard C. Shane, PhD.—Dr. Shane is the Director of the Center for Communication Enhancement at Children’s Hospital Boston. The Center is known internationally for its inventive communication procedures for persons with autism as well as innovative ways to operate and control computers. Learn More...
Girls and Women
Charlotte George Smith almost died twice. She survived polio at age ten; five years later she survived surgical malpractice. She hasn’t walked in over half a century. But Smith became the first paraplegic woman to earn a pilot’s license. She also learned to swim after she had polio. She learned to ride horseback long before it was considered possible for wheelchair users, and learned to drive while in college. Learn More...
Katharina Heyer: People always ask me how I came to study disability rights. They never asked me that question when I was studying women’s rights and equality legislation! I am always happy to reply that it is feminist theory that brought me to disability studies. There is a compelling analogy to discrimination on the basis of sex and disability, and it made perfect sense to me to extend the feminist critique of gendered norms to the disability critique of ableism. Learn More...
Tanya and Michelle Ponich take their audience on a journey through their life together. Tanya is a 29-year-old with Down syndrome who shares her views on life, her abilities and what it means to be a woman with Down syndrome. Michelle, Tanya’s older sister, speaks candidly about her families’ experiences, what her sister has brought to her life and her role as advocate. Their mother Rosalind joins them to share her part in their journey. Learn More...
Hidden Disabilities
Cinda and Linea Johnson—Linea Johnson is a college student, musician and writer. She has a strong commitment to justice, particularly for people with mental illness. Cinda Johnson is Linea’s mother and a professor and Special Education Program Director at Seattle University. Learn More...
Frank De Lima is one of Hawaii’s most popular and beloved comedians. For more than 30 years, this award-winning comic has been entertaining local residents and tourists alike with his zany parodies, outrageous sense of humor, and spontaneous creativity. Frank’s specialty is translating issues—such as current events, fads, attitudes, and people—into fresh musical parodies. Learn More...
Independent Living
Johnny Crescendo is a disability civil rights singer and songwriter, born in 1952 in Salford UK. In 1990 Johnny co-organized the huge demonstrations against Telethon resulting in their demise two years later. It was here where he coined the phrase “Piss on Pity” which eventually found its way onto the world’s best selling disability “T” shirt. Learn More...
Transition to Adulthood
David R. Johnson, Ph.D., is currently Senior Associate Dean for Research and Policy, Birkmaier Professor of Educational Leadership, and Director of the Institute on Community Integration, College of Education and Human Development, University of Minnesota. Dr. Johnson has conducted several research, training, and demonstration projects focused on postschool outcomes of exiting high-school students, dropout/school-completion, postsecondary education support services, state and local graduation policies, and other research. Learn More...
County of Hawai‘i Mayor Billy Kenoi was recognized by Hawaii Business Magazine in 2007 as one of “25 people who will help shape Hawaii over the next 25 years.” Billy was born in Kalapana, graduated from Waiakea High, and attended both the Hawai‘i Community College and University of Hawai‘i at Hilo before graduating from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst as a member of the UMASS Political Science Honor Society. Learn More...
Leolinda Parlin has the unique perspective as a parent of children with special health care needs as well as care giver for a frail elderly parent, and a sibling to a child with a developmental disability. As the State Coordinator for Family Voices of Hawai‘i, she has been able to coalesce an integrated partnership between stakeholders concerned about children’s health. Learn More...
Universal Design for Learning
Suzanne Robinson is an Associate Professor at the University of Kansas and the Director of the Strategic Learning Center based in Lawrence, KS. Her current scholarly focus is in the development of effective secondary school literacy programs primarily through the Content Literacy Continuum framework developed by KU’s Center for Research on Learning. Learn More...
For almost four decades, Dr. Neil Scott has worked to extend access to computers and information appliances in education and for individuals who experience difficulties due to aging or disability. Born and educated in New Zealand (D.Sc. and B.E. (Hons.), University of Canterbury), he worked in industry for twelve years before joining Wellington Polytechnic where he became Head of the School of Physics, Electronics and Electrical Engineering. Learn More...
Youth Advocacy and Leadership
Amber Smock is a youth and women’s disability rights organizer. She is the Youth Leadership Coordinator for Access Living, the independent living center for Chicago. She is also a co-coordinator for Chicago ADAPT and consults with the ADAPT National Youth Summit. Learn More...
Bethany Stevens is a Center of Excellence for Sexual Health Scholar at Morehouse School of Medicine. She holds a Juris Doctorate, a Master’s of Art degree in Sexuality Studies, and is a member of the California Bar Association. Learn More...
More Speakers to Come! Please check back soon...