Keynotes and Noted Speakers

Advocacy

Drew Goldsmith is a passionate disability self-advocate who uses moving images (film, video, and animation) to communicate support, respect, and dignity for all persons with disabilities. Drew has made short videos for the Pacific Rim International Conference on Disability & Diversity, as well as the “I Am Norm” campaign on inclusion and the U.S. National Disability Institute’s “My American Dream” campaign. Learn more

Noted Speaker Panel—Literary Dialogue: Where Literature meets Advocacy
Why do writers write? There may be as many responses to that as there are writers. Maybe even more, as reasons for writing might change over time. This dialogue will ask each author to contemplate why they write; how they view advocacy both in their writing and as writers with particular points of view; what happens from an advocacy perspective when writers and their audiences interact; what is the role of the writer for the reader; does the reader play a role in a writers’ advocacy? Learn more about this noted panel

Kim Musheno is the Director of Legislative Affairs at the Association of University Centers on Disabilities where she works on federal policy and legislative issues that affect people with developmental disabilities and their families. She also provides leadership representing AUCD on the Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities (CCD) Board of Directors, a coalition of more than 100 national disability organizations. Learn more

George Jesien, Ph.D. has had over 30 years of experience in the developmental disabilities field in various capacities as a school psychologist, faculty, and director of state and federally funded programs for children with developmental disabilities and special needs and their families. Currently he is executive director of the Association of University Centers on Disabilities (AUCD) which represents national networks of Universities Centers conducting research, training and service for and with people with developmental disabilities including autism and their families. Learn more

Before Dr. John Schupp started the SERV(Supported Education for the Returning Veteran) program he was in the synthetic crystal industry. As CEO of his own company he developed new processes for synthetic crystal production, including lenses for Lasik Surgery and the Intel Corp ‘superchip’ in the early 2000’s receiving 4 patents during this tenure. Learn more

Elaine E. Katz, MS, CCC-SP, is Vice President of Grant Programs and Special Initiatives at Kessler Foundation. She is responsible for planning, implementing and monitoring a comprehensive grantmaking program for the Foundation. In addition, she oversees the Foundation’s communication and continuing medical education departments. Elaine has over 25 years of consulting and experience working with non-profit organizations in areas of board development, fundraising, marketing, and business development. Learn more

Developmental Disabilities

Sharon Lewis is the US Commissioner of the Administration on Developmental Disabilities at the Administration for Children and Families. Sharon Lewis has over ten years of experience as a disability policy advocate. She served as the Senior Disability Policy Advisor to U.S. House Committee on Education & Labor Chairman George Miller, a position she held from 2007 - 2010. In this capacity, she advised Chairman Miller and members of the Committee on legislative strategy and disability-related policy in education, employment and healthcare. Learn more

Debra Hart is the Director of the Education and Transition Team for the Institute for Community Inclusion at the University of Massachusetts, Boston. She serves as the Principal Investigator for the NIDRR funded Center on Postsecondary Education for Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities, the ADD funded Consortium on Postsecondary Education for Individuals with Developmental Disabilities, the OSEP Funded College Career Connection, and the OPE Universal Course Design grant. Cate Weir is the project coordinator for the NIDRR-funded Center on Postsecondary Education for Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities and the ADD-funded Consortium on Postsecondary Education for Individuals with Developmental Disabilities at the Institute for Community Inclusion at the University of Massachusetts Boston. Learn more

Disability Studies

Katherine D. Seelman, Ph.D.is associate dean of disability programs and professor of rehabilitation science and technology at the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, University of Pittsburgh. She holds a secondary appointment in the School of Public Health, an adjunct position at Xian Jiatong University, China and is co-scientific director of the National Science Foundation-supported Quality of Life Technology Engineering Research Center. Learn more

Diversity

Internationally known as the Entrepreneurs’ Entrepreneur, Urban Miyares, with more than 40-years as an entrepreneur, is a blinded and multi-disabled Vietnam veteran, much sought–after motivational and inspirational public speaker and lecturer, author and published writer, inventor, philanthropist, media personality, world-class Alpine skier and sailor. Learn more

Early Intervention

Gerald Mahoney, Ph.D. is the Verna Houck Motto Professor of Families and Community at the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences at Case Western Reserve University. He has been involved in research and higher education for 30 years. He received his doctoral degree from Peabody College of Vanderbilt University in child development and mental retardation research. Learn more

Educational Justice and Equity & Indigenous Issues

Jose Lalas, a Professor of Literacy and Teacher Education for 22 years, serves as the Director of Center for Educational Justice at the University of Redlands. He directs the university’s annual summer conference on leadership for educational justice and coordinates its bi-monthly symposia on current topics related to educational justice in K-16 settings. Learn more

Manulani Aluli Meyer is the fifth daughter of Emma Aluli and Harry Meyer. She is from a large family with roots in Hilo and Wailuku, who grew up on the beach of Kailua, O‘ahu. She is an outdoor experiential educator and coach who entered the philosophy and teacher-education field because of the needs of our time. She earned her doctorate from Harvard researching Hawaiian epistemology, or an indigenous philosophy of knowledge. Learn more

Kumu Lehua Mark Veincent has genealogical and historical ties to Puna, Ka‘u, and the areas of Pana‘ewa and Keaukaha in Hilo. He works passionately in allowing communities to identify and honor their mauli, their uniqueness, through understanding the importance of genealogy, history, traditional practices, language, and place. Affectionately known as “Kumu Lehua”, he has served 25 years in the public education system on the Islands of Hawai‘i and Maui. Learn more

Hidden Disabilities

Keith Jones is the Founder, President and CEO of SoulTouchin’ Experiences. An organization aimed at bringing a perspective to the issues of access, inclusion and empowerment, which affect him as well as others who are persons with a disability. Mr. Jones is also extremely active in multi-cultural, cross-disability education and outreach efforts and, conducts trainings (including train the trainer) with the purpose of strengthening efforts to provide services and information to people with disabilities. Learn more

Kahi Ching was born in Honolulu, Hawai‘i. A true child prodigy, he began drawing and painting at an early age. He had been sponsored with art classes at the Honolulu Academy of Arts, and was amongst adults in life drawing class. He was enrolled in private studio lessons with instructor Larry Roberson. All the fore mentioned while selling his very first painting at age 11. At age 16, Kahi entered an art contest for the very first time. He took second place at the Industrial Arts Fair with his first attempt at copper sculpting. Learn more

Human Rights

Michael Perlin—An internationally-recognized expert on mental disability law, Michael L. Perlin has devoted his career to championing legal rights for people with mental disabilities. A prolific author of 20 books and nearly 200 scholarly articles on all aspects of mental disability law, Professor Perlin says that his ninth book, The Hidden Prejudice: Mental Disability on Trial (2000), “represents my lifetime work.” Learn more

Independent Living

Tom Olin—is a social documentarian and photojournalist. His photo archives provide a pictorial history of the disability rights movement in America. For 25 years, Olin has captured the movement on film, in images both in color and black & white. He began capturing the disability rights movement in Los Angeles in early 1980’s. Learn more

Janine Bertram Kemp is President of the Disability Rights Center (DRC). Founded in Washington, DC in 1976 by Deborah Kaplan and Ralph Nader, DRC is the oldest non-membership, cross disability advocacy group in the nation. Bertram Kemp works closely with Social Documentarian, Tom Olin, to produce, replicate, and archive disability rights history and mentor youth with disabilities in this work. Learn more

Indigenous Issues: All our Relations

Charmeyne Te Nana-Williams is the Director of a company in New Zealand called What Ever it Takes Home Based Rehabilitation and Support Services—U ki te whanau ora. Charmeyne’s husband—Peter Williams—was the inspiration behind the establishment of What Ever it Takes after he suffered a traumatic brain injury in 2002. Te Miria James-Hohaia is the Maori Services Manager for ABI Rehabilitation in Auckland New Zealand—the main provider of Traumatic Brain Injury rehabilitation. She has also worked with the Ministry of Health in New Zealand as the Strategic Advisor, Māori Public Health. Learn more

A Focus on Girls and Women

Karla M. Digirolamo is the Director of Policy and Programs for the New York State Coalition Against Domestic Violence. She is an articulate, passionate voice for survivors of domestic violence, a skilled executive and manager, and a creative problem solver able to bring together diverse interests to develop services and to promote broad based social change. Learn more

Savenia Falquist has provided sexual assault advocacy, prevention and program development for the past 15 years. Her community work has been nationally recognized and awarded. In 2007, her leadership work on the film project “Silent Message” was honored with the FBI Director’s Community Award. She has recently launched a project called “Silent Spirits” that trains non-offending adults to identify and prevent sex offender access to vulnerable people. Learn more

Public Health and Disability

Gloria Krahn, PhD, MPH, is Director, Division of Human Development and Disability (DHDD), National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities (NCBDDD), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). DHDD is committed to promoting optimal health, development, and full participation across the lifecourse for people with disabilities and children at risk for poor developmental outcomes. Learn more

Ready to Learn, Ready to Teach

The Honorable Robert H. Pasternack, Ph.D. currently serves as our Senior Vice President of Special Education. Dr. Pasternack served VLCY in the same capacity from August 2006. Dr. Pasternack has over 40 years experience in public education. Before joining VLCY, Dr. Pasternack served as Assistant Secretary for the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) at the U.S. Department of Education from 2001 to 2004. Learn more

Youth and Mental Health

Linea Johnson is a recent graduate from Seattle University, with a major in English and Creative Writing. Prior to transferring to SU, she completed three years at Columbia University, Chicago, in a musical performance program. Linea recently worked as an intern at the World Health Organization in Geneva, Switzerland. She is a national speaker and writer, advocating for understanding and support for people with mental illness and the elimination of stigma. Learn more

Cinda Johnson, Ph.D., is a professor and director of the special education graduate program at Seattle University. She is also the principal investigator of the Center for Change in Transition Services (http://www.seattleu.edu/ccts). She is a national leader in the area of transition from high school to post-high school settings for young people with disabilities. Learn more

Focus on Youth: Teen Pregnancy, STI Prevention and Youth Wellness

Bill Taverner, M.A., C.S.E., is the executive director of the nationally acclaimed Center for Family Life Education and is the editor-in- chief of the American Journal of Sexuality Education. He has co-authored many sex ed teaching resources, including Making Sense of Abstinence; Older, Wiser, Sexually Smarter; Sex Ed 101; Streetwise to Sex-Wise and seven editions of Taking Sides: Clashing Views in Human Sexuality. Bill’s newest publication is the forthcoming two-volume third edition of Teaching Safer Sex, for which he serves as editor-in-chief. Learn more