The PolicyWorks Board of Directors is a stellar board that combines veterans in disability and employment policy and practice with emerging leaders in these fields. The intergenerational synergy creates a deeply committed board and reflects PolicyWorks belief in mentoring and professional development.
Barbara Butz is a founding member of PolicyWorks and also serves as a principal for Daniels & Associates, LLC and a Managing Partner of ForwardWorks Consulting, LLC. She has over 40 years of experience in employment, training and workforce development on the federal, state and local levels. For two years served as Senior Consultant to MAXIMUS, the Social Security Administration’s Operations Support Manager for the Ticket to Work Program, where she served as the National Workforce Team Lead. In this role she had responsibility for training and supporting workforce systems across the country to meet their responsibilities as Employment Networks (job placement agencies) serving people with disabilities receiving SSDI and/or SSI. Barbara also served as the Assistant Secretary for Labor and Employment Security in Florida for four years; Executive Director of a non-profit employment and training organization; Director of Employment Programs for an urban Community Action Program; and Program Supervisor for Vocational Technical and Adult Education programs for a public school district.
850-421-6605 barbara.butz@disabilitypolicyworks.org
Jeanne Argoff is a founding Board Member of PolicyWorks, Vice President for Development and Training of Daniels & Associates, and an Associate Partner of ForwardWorks, a professional services consulting company specializing in process improvement and systems change to increase employment outcomes for a more diverse and productive workforce. For the past 25 years, Jeanne has worked with and for foundations and corporate giving programs that focus on or include people with disabilities. She was a founder and the first Executive Director of the Disability Funders Network, a grantmaker association whose mission is to educate funders, grantseekers and the media on disability funding issues to increase the viability of those issues in philanthropy. Previous positions include Vice President of the Dole Foundation for Employment of People with Disabilities; Research Consultant at Westat, Inc., a DC-area research firm, and the Congressional Office of Technology Assessment; and Manager of Publications and Research for the Employment and Training Information Clearinghouse at the National Alliance of Business.
703-560-0099 Jeanne.argoff@disabilitypolicywork.org
Elizabeth Jennings is an Associate with National Disability Institute in Washington, DC and The Burton Blatt Institute at Syracuse University. She also serves as the Secretary/Treasurer for the PolicyWorks Board. In her role with NDI, Elizabeth is a national consultant on asset development strategies for persons with disabilities and the building of expanded relationships between the disability and asset building communities. Her varied experience includes spearheading a recent Asset Development initiative in New York, creating collaborative agreements, executing grant allocations, training stakeholders on the effect of work on Social Security, Medicaid and Medicare benefits, assisting individuals in obtaining supported and competitive employment, and providing technical assistance and training on Social Security’s Ticket to Work regulations.
561-351-9140 ejennings@ndi-inc.org
Rayna Aylward is a board member and vice president of PolicyWorks, focusing on building strategic relationships with nonprofits, employers, and funders and on promoting mentorships leading to career connections. Prior to joining PolicyWorks in January 2013, Rayna served as Special Assistant to the US Secretary of Education, with a policy focus on college and career readiness and school to work transition. She initiated the Department of Education’s first internship program for youth with disabilities, an interagency collaboration and partnership with the District of Columbia government that has become a federal model. From 1991 to 2009, Rayna was Executive Director of the Mitsubishi Electric America Foundation, a corporate foundation serving children and youth with disabilities. At the Foundation, she launched several signature programs, including the Congressional Internship Program (in partnership with the American Association of People with Disabilities), which enables college students with disabilities to take part in summer internships on Capitol Hill. Under her leadership, the Foundation provided the first national funding to such nonprofit organizations as Partners for Youth with Disabilities (Boston), Kids Included Together (San Diego), and Project SEARCH (Cincinnati).
571-296-6626 raynamarya@gmail.com
John D. Kemp is currently the CEO of the Viscardi Center and The Henry Viscardi School in New York. Previously John served as the CEO of ACCSES, a trade association for disability providers, and Executive Director of US Business Leadership Network.
He has successfully led a number of well-known non-profits, including positions as National Executive Director of the United Cerebral Palsy Associations and General Counsel and Vice President of the National Easter Seal Society. His interest in business and management has informed his career pursuits, most recently as a partner at the Washington, D.C.-based law firm Powers, Pyles, Sutter & Verville PC. An author of several articles on disability policy and trends, John serves on advisory boards for Boys and Girls Club of America and the U.S. Department of State’s Advisory Committee on Persons with Disabilities. He is on the board of directors of ICD and Goodwill Industries of Greater Washington.
John holds a degree from Georgetown University and a J.D. from Washburn University School of Law.
516-465-1472 jkemp@abilitiesonline.org
Eric Glunt is a senior staff member at San Diego State University’s Interwork Institute and also serves as Director of the California Health Incentives Improvement Project (CHIIP). As Director of CHIIP, he is responsible for focusing the state’s attention and resources toward systemic changes that will support individuals with disabilities in their efforts to connect to jobs and careers and lead independent lives. In this role, he is embedded in California’s Employment Development Department and has offices at the agency’s Sacramento headquarters. CHIIP partnered with Daniels & Associates to develop and implement the peer-mentoring program that forms the core of the GAP Project and has provided financial support to PolicyWorks’ GRADS program as a college-to-work transition program within CHIIP’s youth programming initiative.
707-732-3384 Eric.glunt@disabilitypolicyworks.org
Derek Shields is the Managing Partner of ForwardWorks Consulting, LLC. He also serves as the Vice President of Disability and Quality of Life Services for Axiom Resource Management, Inc., Derek is responsible for nearly $15M in annual contracts. These contracts have included SSA’s Ticket to Work Program, the Department of Defense Computer/Electronic Accommodations Program (CAP) which has provided more than 112,000 accommodations to federal employees with disabilities and wounded Service members around the world and other strategic planning and program management experience including work at the USDA Department of Agriculture’s TARGET Center, Walter Reed Army Medical Center’s Assistive Technology Training Program, the Defense Department’s Office of Family Policy and the Family Advocacy Program Office in support of their Domestic Violence and Child Abuse initiatives, and the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Assistive Services and Technology. He also has worked on projects at HUD, DOI, DOT, the State Department, the Access Board, GSA, and the VA.
703-244-6747 Derek.shields@disabilitypolicyworks.org
Nancy A. Starnes has dedicated over 25 years to advancing opportunities for people with disabilities. She used her public service and non-profit work to deliver the promise of economic and social parity to people with disabilities that those without disabilities have come to expect. Nancy entered public life as the first female to be elected to Sparta, New Jersey’s Town Council and subsequently served as Mayor. She served two New Jersey counties as Director of their Offices for the Disabled. She was a senior staff member for10 years with the National Organization on Disability (NOD), working in program development, human resources, communications and upper management. Prior to NOD, Nancy was Chief Operating Officer for the Paralysis Society of America (a civilian initiative of Paralyzed Veterans of America). She is currently serving a Presidential appointment to the U.S. Access Board, an independent Federal agency that develops and maintains design criteria for the built environment, transit vehicles, telecommunication equipment, electronic and information technology and for medical diagnostic equipment, as well as enforcing accessibility standards that cover federally funded facilities. Nancy has served as a board member of: the Northeast Disability and Business Technical Advisory Council (DBTAC), Region II, the National Coalition on Disability Rights/ADA Watch, the ENDependence Center of Northern Virginia, DOT Forum Group and the Transportation Security Administration’s Disability Coalition. She has represented people with disabilities on Delta Air Lines’ Customer Advisory Board, Northwest Airlines’ Customer Advisory Board and currently serves on Greyhound Lines, Inc. Access Advisory Committee.
202-285-0475 nancyts@comcast.net
Gene Chelberg is responsible for ensuring access for students, faculty, and staff with disabilities. Prior to coming to SFSU, Gene spent 15 years advancing the rights and responsibilities of people with disabilities at the University of Minnesota in a variety of leadership roles. Gene cofounded the University of Minnesota’s Disabled Student Cultural Center (DSCC), the first center of its kind in the world. Gene is currently pursuing an Ed. D. at the Executive Doctorate in Higher Education Management Program at the University of Pennsylvania’s Graduate School of Education. He also served as the Program Chair for “Disabled and Proud: the 1993 National Gathering of College Student Leaders with Disabilities.” Gene is the recipient of many awards, including the McKnight Award in Human Service and the Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic Award for Academic Achievement. A blind man and user of descriptive video services, Gene is regularly consulted by regional and national entities for his expertise.
415- 338-2916 chelberg@sfsu.edu
Gary Goosman is responsible for the creation and implementation of the strategic communication strategy to energize the grassroots movement of ACCSES members to advocate for improvements in federal policy. ACCSES is a trade association for disability providers. In addition to his work with ACCSES, Gary consults for Daniels & Associates, LLC, and the Wounded to Work Institute. Previously, Gary worked at the Institute for Educational Leadership and at the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP). As a result of Mr. Goosman’s work at ODEP, he received two Secretary of Labor Exceptional Achievement Awards.
847-420-9450 gary.goosman@gmail.com
Steven Allen is a multi-disciplinary project manager with excellent communication skills and an ability to focus on detail to achieve project objectives. Steve has served in both leadership and support roles in the private and non-profit sectors. Most recently, his work as Vice President of Logistics and Support for Daniels & Associates, LLC provided a broad background in disability policy and programs, including working in support of the National Council on Disability. He has strong project management experience and is responsible for technology and social media activities, as well as providing coordination to the California-based GRADS program.
Steve currently serves as an on loan executive to PolicyWorks. In this role he serves as the Liaison to the Board of Directors, as well as contuing to serve as the National Coordinator for the GRADS program.
850-879-2631 steven.allen@disabilitypolicyworks.org
Steven Allen is a multi-disciplinary project manager with excellent communication skills and an ability to focus on detail to achieve project objectives. Steve has served in both leadership and support roles in the private and non-profit sectors. Most recently, his work as Vice President of Logistics and Support provided a broad background in disability policy and programs, including working in support of the National Council on Disability. He has strong project management experience and is responsible for technology and social media activities, as well as providing coordination to the California-based GRADS program.
He is an Associate Partner for ForwardWorks, a full-service national consulting company that specializes in work onin disability issues and also holds the position as Vice President for Logistics and Support for Daniels &Associate, LLC. In this role he has served on many project teams and was theProject Lead and Project Designer for Unfinished Business Toolkit for the National Council on Disability (http://www.ncd.gov/publications/2012/DIToolkit/).
In his current role as an on loan Executive representing Daniels & Associates, LLC he serves as Staff Liaison to the Board of Directors as well as National Coordinator of the GRADS program which supports young college graduates with disabilities in their attempts to connect to jobs and careers through the use of trained peer mentors. Additional duties include working with founders to incorporate and establish IRS non-profit status, website development, meeting planning and coordination, graphics lead, and grant proposal team member.
Steve is a service connected disabled veteran and holds a Master’s in Architecture from the Savannah College of Art and Design.
850-879-2631 steven.allen@disabilitypolicyworks.org
Benjamin Schooley leads applied research in technology design, development, management and implementation for government and healthcare domains. He has led assessments of large-scale software implementations for local, state, and federal agencies including for emergency medical systems, patient record systems, disability employment systems, and intelligent transportation systems. His recent work on developing and implementing electronic tools to support health and employment for people with disabilities has been sponsored by the California Wellness Foundation, Special Hope Foundation, and several state Medicaid Infrastructure Grants through the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. His work on mobile applications to improve clinical quality improvement in emergency medical services has gained National attention and has been supported by the National Science Foundation and Department of Transportation. He has published over 50 academic peer-reviewed and technical articles on these topics. He holds appointments as an Assistant Professor of Health Information Technology at the University of South Carolina, Research Fellow at the Kay Center for e-Health Research, Claremont Graduate University, and Research Associate at the Center for Excellence in Rural Safety, Humphrey Institute, University of Minnesota.
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Sue Feldman has clinical, practical, and analytical expertise in health information systems analysis, design, training, and evaluation. Her primary research efforts are in the use of information systems in federal to regional health information exchange. She led multiple nationally publicized case studies about the utilization and value proposition of the Nationwide Health Information Network for the transmission of electronic health record information in the Social Security Administration disability determination process in which the focus was on technical processes, organizational motivations, and governance structures. Dr. Feldman is on the site visitation panel for the Commission on Accreditation for Health Informatics and Information Management Education (CAHIIM). Dr. Feldman’s work has been published in several top-tier national and international journals and used during a White House presentation on the value proposition of health information exchange. She has received research awards from the American Public Health Association’s Disability Division and Southern California HIMSS (Health Information Management Systems Society). Currently, Dr. Feldman is the evaluator for the Virginia statewide health information exchange, ConnectVirginia.
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The PolicyWorks Mentorship Advisory Committee (MAC) was created to advise the Board on the affairs of the Susan M. Daniels Mentorship Fund. The committee brings together national leaders in the mentorship community and is led by board members, Rayna Aylward and Derek Shields.
The Committee’s passion for mentoring has expanded the MAC’s role to include education and advocacy on the value of mentoring youth and young professionals.
Few speakers, with or without disabilities, can match Tim Harrington’s ability to grab an audience’s attention. His quick wit, inspiring enthusiasm, and in-depth knowledge of disability-related issues, have made him a favorite speaker among corporations and non-profit groups alike.
Recipient of the National Rehabilitation Association’s 1996 E.B. Whitten Award, Tim has come a long way since his days as a student at a segregated special education grade school. Born with cerebral palsy, Tim defied expectations and upon reaching high school age, insisted on being mainstreamed into public schools. There, he surprised the “experts,” not only graduating from high school but going on to the University of Toledo, where he received a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration.
Tim combines a hard-edged business sense with a keen sensitivity to the rights of people with disabilities, and is widely recognized as one of the nation’s leading consultants in the area of diversity and disability. Tim’s public service experience includes managing a camp for children with and without disabilities, and working with planners to develop accessible housing, recreational facilities, and city and public buildings.
Tim was the first director of Ohio’s Statewide Independent Living Council, and since 2000, has served as Executive Director of The Ability Center of Greater Toledo. The Center has established a national reputation for its advocacy, nursing home transition, and youth programs. He has also served for many years on the Mitsubishi Electric America Foundation Advisory Board.
As Programs Manager at the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD), Dana Fink works to support and develop a wide portfolio of programs, including AAPD’s Summer Internship Program, Disability Mentoring Day, Paul G. Hearne AAPD Leadership Awards and the Higher Education Project. Prior to joining AAPD in January 2011, Dana worked for Paralyzed Veterans of America and Georgia Public Broadcasting. She is a former AAPD summer intern for Senator Tom Harkin’s HELP Committee office.
Dana graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with a B.A. in International Studies and dual minor in French and East Asian Languages and Cultures. While attending the University of Illinois, Dana studied abroad at the Beijing Language and Culture University where she completed a Capstone thesis project with the China Disabled Persons’ Federation.
Dana competed on the University of Illinois Fighting Illini women’s wheelchair basketball team on an athletic scholarship. There she was a two-time wheelchair basketball national champion and an Academic All-American winner. Dana is also an active rower, training for the 2012 Summer Paralympic Games.
Dana is deeply engaged in the UNESCO Intergenerational Leadership Training Programme and in 2010 traveled to Rwanda to collaborate with Rwandan and global youth human rights leaders on culture of peace initiatives.
Regina Snowden, M.S.W., is the founder of Partners for Youth with Disabilities, Inc. and has been the Executive Director since its inception in 1985.
Regina Snowden has over 25 years of experience in managing not-for-profit organizations. Since founding PYD, she has played a major role in the creation of successful programs and securing funding which has enabled the organization to help Massachusetts youth with disabilities overcome barriers by providing mentoring, education, entrepreneurship, health, recreational and cultural opportunities. Ms. Snowden designed the Mentor Match program which has received the Award of Excellence in Children’s Health from the Harvard School of Public Health as well as an award from the National Organization on Disability.
Ms. Snowden and the story of PYD have been featured by local and national media, including CBS This Morning, the New York Times, the Boston Globe, the Boston Herald and the Chicago Tribune. Ms. Snowden was selected by the Governor’s Commission on the Employment of People with Disabilities and the President’s Committee on the Employment of People with Disabilities to assist in developing leadership skills building forums for youth with disabilities on a state and national basis. In addition, she was selected by the Boston Public Schools to chair a committee for the School-to-Career Initiative.
Ms. Snowden and PYD programs have received awards and recognition from organizations and entities including the American Red Cross (Clara Barton Award), Citizens Bank (Champion in Action Award), United Way of Massachusetts Bay, the Harvard School of Public Health, Children’s Hospital, the City of Boston, and the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities. In 2003, the Rehabilitation Services Administration published an article written by Ms. Snowden entitled “Mentoring Youth with Disabilities” in the American Rehabilitation Journal. In the Fall of 2005, Ms. Snowden was selected to attend Laura Bush’s “White House Conference on Helping America’s Youth” with a reception at the White House. In 2008, Ms. Snowden was recognized by the Massachusetts Council of Human Service Providers, Inc. for excellence in nonprofit administration. Most recently, Ms. Snowden has been honored by BOSTnet with their Disability Inclusion STAR award in 2010 for her extraordinary commitment to serving youth of ALL abilities.
Carrie Griffin Basas is a post-graduate research fellow at Harvard Law School and a visiting associate professor of law at Case Western Reserve University. She has also taught at the University of North Carolina School of Law, Penn State University, the University of Tulsa College of Law, and Saint Joseph’s College of Maine. Her research, teaching, and advocacy focus on disability rights law, criminal law, employment discrimination, labor law, and professional responsibility. She is interested in the advancement of people with disabilities in the workplace, the role of disability in the courts, and the intersection of disability and health equity issues.
Professor Basas conducted the first qualitative empirical study of the work experiences of women attorneys with disabilities and is currently working on several empirical projects related to health stigma in criminal sentencing and disability diversity issues in unions. She is a graduate of Swarthmore and Harvard Law School.
Lynnae M. Ruttledge has committed her professional career to public service, with a focus on competitive, integrated employment for youth and adults with significant disabilities. For the past two years, she served as a Presidential appointee as the Commissioner of Rehabilitation Services with the US Department of Education in Washington DC. In that role, she provided national level leadership for the public vocational rehabilitation and independent living programs.
As a person with a disability, she brings real-life experience, augmented by 25+ years working in the fields of education, independent living, vocational rehabilitation and international exchange.
Ms. Leah Katz-Hernandez graduated Magna Cum Laude from Gallaudet University in August 2010 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Government. Her activism and advocacy blossomed when she attended The Washington Center’s Presidential Academic Seminar at the Democratic National Convention in Denver, 2008. At the convention, Leah started blogging and vlogging to share her experiences with her family and the site quickly became a widely disseminated source of information to the deaf community and established Leah’s presence in the “new media” world of social networking including blogs, YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter.
In her career, Ms. Katz-Hernandez has worked as an intern on the Capitol Hill and at the White House. Since spring 2010, Ms. Katz-Hernandez has been a member of AT&T’s National Advisory Panel on Access and Aging. She was elected Deaf Youth USA’s Executive Director in July 2010 and continues to serve in this position. Most recently, she was selected as the 2011-12 HSC Foundation and American Association of People with Disabilities’ Youth Transitions Fellow.