Conference Program and Summary

NCTI's 7th Annual Technology Innovators' Conference, Beyond the Myths: Successful Collaboration for Technology Innovators, brought together more than 150 researchers, developers, and vendors in panel discussions, breakout groups, keynotes, and demonstration sessions.

For two days, attendees from around the country had the opportunity to network and discuss a variety of issues critical to the field, proving that stakeholders are eager to share perspectives about the complex business of bringing the most innovative and useful technologies to market.

"Instead of talking about projects at this conference, we are doing something more important. We’re talking about the issues we share," said David Rose of CAST. "These pressing topics help us to deal with the different incentives of each group.” Ted Hasselbring commented, "The sessions were informative, with excellent presenters. The mission of NCTI is very timely. These are the right topics; they address many of this group's major concerns."

Below, find descriptions and supporting documents for our keynote addresses, panel discussions, and breakout sessions. We have included detailed summaries and transcripts, and PowerPoint presentations where available.

Download a full list of conference particiants.

 

Tuesday, November 16, 2004

Opening Comments

Tracy Gray, Director, National Center for Technology Innovation (NCTI).
Lou Danielson, Director, Research-to-Practice Division, Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP), U.S. Department of Education.

Keynote Address

Accessibility: Where Are We Going?
Tom Wlodkowski, Director of Accessibility, America Online (AOL). 

Panel Discussion

Collaborations: Nuts and Bolts for Success
Karen Erickson, Associate Professor, Center for Disability Studies, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill; Ted Hasselbring (Moderator), Professor, University of Kentucky; Jeff Higginbotham, Associate Professor, Communicative Disorders and Sciences, University at Buffalo, SUNY; Greg Lesher, Director of Research, DynaVox Systems; and Cheryl Volkman, Founder, Chairman of the Board/CDO, AbleNet, inc.

Breakout Sessions

I. Legally Speaking: Issues for Product Development
Ed McCoyd, Director of Digital Policy, Association of American Publishers; Leigh Penfield, Assistant Director, Licensing and Technology Development, Johns Hopkins University; Dennis Pierce (Moderator), Managing Editor, eSchoolNews; and Kristel Schorr, Associate, Foley & Lardner, LLP.

II. Keys to Success with Technology Transfer
David Appler, Washington, DC Representative, Federal Lab Consortium; William Chard, Director of BusinessDevelopment, National Technology Transfer Center; Joe Lane, Director, Center for AT &RERC on Technology Transfer,University at Buffalo, SUNY; and Sally Rood (Moderator), Consultant and Adjunct Professor, Virginia Tech.

III. Working with Schools: Innovative Research Options
Melinda Ault, (Moderator), Research Associate, National Assistive Technology Research Institute (NATRI); Margaret Bausch, Project Director, NATRI; Gary Germann, President and CEO, Edformation, Inc.; and Judith Pokorni, Senior Research Scientist, Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation (PIRE).

IV. National Instructional Materials Accessibility Standards (NIMAS): What It Is and Potential Benefits
Chuck Hitchcock, Director, National Center on Accessing the General Curriculum (NCAC), Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST).

Panel Discussions

Policy and Progress: Critical Issues Facing the Disability Community
Aaron Bishop, Assistive Technology Staffer, Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions; Daniel Blair, Senior Director for Public Policy, Council for Exceptional Children; Stephanie Lee, Director, Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP), U.S. Department of Education; David Rose, Director, Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST); and Jennifer Sheehy-Keller, Acting Deputy Director, National Institute for Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR), U.S. Department of Education.

Beyond the Myths: How Does Scientifically-Based Research Add to the Bottom Line?
David Edyburn, Associate Professor of Special Education, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee; Reggie Felton, Director of Federal Relations, National School Boards of Education; Mark Schneiderman, Director, Federal Education Policy, Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA); and Ron Skinner(Moderator), Research Director, Education Week Research Center.

Demonstration Event

Click here for the program for our showcase of 25 researchers, developers, publishers, and other innovators displaying their latest technologies for individuals with disabilities.

Wednesday, November 17, 2004

Keynote Address

Making the Case: The Disability Market and Assistive Technology
John Kemp, National Disability Advocate and Principal Attorney, Powers, Pyles, Sutter & Verville

Ruth Ziolowski, CEO, Don Johnston, Incorporated (Discussant).

Panel Discussion

Where is the Money: A Window into the Funders’ World
Jeanne Argoff(Moderator), Executive Director, Disability Funders Network; Sylvia Clark, Executive Director, NEC Foundation; Sara Nerlove, Small Business Innovation Research Program and Small Business Technology Transfer Program (SBIR & STTR) Program Manager, National Science Foundation; and Shirley F. Smith, Program Analyst, Office of Technology, U.S. Small Business Administration, SBIR/STTR.

Conference Summaries

Keynote Address: Accessibility: Where Are We Going?
Tom Wlodkowski describes cutting-edge applications of AT at AOL. AT is more than a design for disability, but ensures access by a wide range of markets. Effectiveness depends on choosing the right projects to focus on, collaborating with researchers and developers, and taking advantage of the immense popularity of services including streaming and instant messaging.
Summary
Transcript

Collaborations: Nuts and Bolts for Success
Two sets of collaborators: Greg Lesher of DynaVox Systems and Jeff Higginbotham of University at Buffalo, SUNY; Cheryl Volkman of AbleNet and Karen Erickson of UNC Chapel Hill, describe how they navigated through their differences to successful product development.  In both cases, flexibility, compromise, trust—and a certain amount of luck—enabled them to bring together complementary skills, knowledge, and connections.
Summary
Transcript
Greg Lesher & Jeff Higginbotham Presentation

Breakout Sessions

I. Legally Speaking: Issues for Product Development
Leigh Penfield, Assistant Director, Licensing and Technology Development at Johns Hopkins University, outlines legal obligations under the Bayh-Dole Act, how to handle inventions, intellectual property, patents (including guidance on what is patentable), trademarks, copyrights (including special issues with software), trade secrets, and licensing.
Summary
Transcript
Leigh Penfield Presentation

II. Keys to Success with Technology Transfer
David Appler of the Federal Lab Consortium and William Chard of the National Technology Transfer Center outline opportunities through federal agencies.  Joe Lane, Director, Center for AT & RERC on Technology Transfer, University at Buffalo, SUNY, outlines three key strategies for commercialization.
Summary
Transcript
David Appler Presentation
William Chard Presentation
Joe Lane Presentation

III. Working with Schools: Innovative Research Options
Melinda Ault and Margaret Bausch of NATRI, Gary Germann of Edformation, and Judith Pokorni of the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation (PIRE) share lessons learned from major initiatives.
Summary
Transcript
Melinda Ault Presentation
Gary Germann Presentation
Judith Pokorni Presentation

IV. National Instructional Materials Accessibility Standards (NIMAS): What It Is and Potential Benefits
Chuck Hitchcock, CTO, CAST and Director, NIMAS Technical Assistance Center on NIMAS: Its history, how it works, its applications, and its future. David Rose, Director, CAST , identifies current critical strategic issues.  
Summary
Transcript
Chuck Hitchcock Presentation
NIMAS Handout

Policy and Progress: Critical Issues Facing the Disability Community
Stephanie Lee, Director, Office of Special Education Programs/OSERS, U.S. Department of Education; Aaron Bishop, Assistive Technology Staffer for Senator Judd Gregg (R/NH), Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions; Daniel Blair, Senior Director for Public Policy, Council for Exceptional Children; and Jennifer Sheehy-Keller, Acting Deputy Director National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research, U.S. Department of Education discuss current and upcoming legislation, including the new AT Act, and federally-funded programs.
Summary
Transcript


Beyond the Myths: How Does Scientifically-Based Research Add to the Bottom Line?
David Edyburn, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee; Mark Schneiderman, Director, Federal Education Policy, Software and Information Industry Association (SIIA); and Reggie Felton, Director of Federal Relations, National School Boards of Education discuss SBR, how it is variously defined, how it has been integrated into NCLB and IDEA, how it is applied, and what schools and administrators expect from it.
Summary
Transcript


Keynote Address - Making the Case: The Disability Market and Assistive Technology
Following John Kemp's address, Ruth Ziolowski, President and Owner of Don Johnston, Inc. outlines current critical needs: more professional development, more research on implementation, redefining students as self-advocates, and making systemic change so that tools can be supported in all classrooms.
Summary
Transcript
Ruth Ziolkowski Presentation


Where is the Money?: A Window into the Funders’ World
Jeanne Argoff, Executive Director, Disability Funders Network; Shirley F. Smith, Program Analyst, Office of Technology, U.S. Small Business Administration, SBIR/STTR; Sara Nerlove, SBIR & STTR Program Manager, National Science Foundation; and Sylvia Clark, Executive Director, NEC Foundation discuss funding opportunities and grant-seeking advice from the Disability Funders Network, the Small Business Administration, NSF’s Small Business TT Programs, and the NEC Foundation.
Summary
Transcript
Sylvia Clark Presentation
Shirley F. Smith Presentation
Sara Nerlove Presentation

Speaker Bios

Jeanne Argoff

Jeanne Argoff is Executive Director of the Disability Funders Network (DFN), an association of foundations and corporate giving programs whose mission is to promote awareness, support and inclusion of people with disabilities and disability issues in grantmaking programs and organizations. From 1986 through 1998, she was first Grants Manager and then Vice President at the Dole Foundation for Employment of People with Disabilities in Washington, DC. Prior to that, she worked as a Senior Research Consultant on employment and training issues for the Congressional Office of Technology Assessment for private research firms, and was Manager of Publications and Research for the National Alliance of Business Information Clearinghouse.

David Appler

Mr. Appler serves as the current Washington, D.C. Representative of Federal Laboratory Consortium for Technology Transfer (FLC). He has held that position since February, 2002. His current position involves interaction with those involved in technology transfer in both the Executive and Legislative Branches of the Federal Government, as well as state and local government, universities, and the numerous trade and professional associations with an interest in technology commercialization. Prior to that time he served as a civilian employee of the Department of Defense (DoD) for 34 years, holding various positions as a policy analyst for the Department. During his last 18 years at DoD he prepared policy for the Department’s scientific and technical information program and the technology transfer program. In addition he has also served in the  past  as Vice-Chair of  the FLC.

Melinda Ault

Melinda Jones Ault is currently a research associate of the National Assistive Technology Research Institute (NATRI) at the University of Kentucky. She is co-author of the book, Teaching Students with Moderate to Severe Disabilities, and of the assessment instrument, “Assessment of Practices in Early Elementary Classrooms (APEEC).” Ms. Ault has been involved in conducting educational research in schools for 15 years. She is currently involved in recruiting school districts to participate in research, and is conducting research in 10 states across the nation in 44 school districts.

Margaret Bausch

Margaret Bausch is currently the Project Director of the National Assistive Technology Research Institute (NATRI) at the University of Kentucky. Prior to joining the NATRI staff, Dr. Bausch spent more than 15 years as a Disability Program Specialist where she was involved in all aspects of research and product development. She has also been involved in the graduate and undergraduate training programs in Special Education Technology. Dr. Bausch received her B.S. in Elementary and Special Education at Eastern Kentucky University, a M.S. in Special Education Learning Disabilities, and an Ed.D. in Special Education Technology from the University of Kentucky in 1999. She is also a RESNA certified Assistive Technology Practitioner.

Aaron Bishop

Aaron Bishop has over 16 years of experience working with and for individuals with disabilities. Aaron has worked as a counselor for children with mental illnesses and with children and adults with developmental disabilities. In January of 2003, Aaron received a Kennedy Foundation Public Policy Fellowship to work on federal disability policy and legislation for as committee staff for Senator Judd Gregg, Chairman of the Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP). After completion of the Fellowship he was hired as full-time staff for the HELP committee. Aaron has and continues to work on the Rehabilitation Act Reauthorization, the Assistive Technology Act Reauthorization, and the Education for the Deaf Act Reauthorization as well as other disability-focused legislation.

Daniel Blair

Daniel Blair joined the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) in January 2004 as the Senior Director for Public Policy. Prior to joining CEC, he worked on Capitol Hill for 14 years. Mr. Blair has both a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science and a Master’s Degree in Soviet and East European Studies from the University of Kansas.

William Chard

William Chard has 40 years experience dealing with R&D, technology deployment and program development. He has focused on developing innovative approaches to industrial problem solving, partnership development, and technology transfer/commercialization assistance. He has 26 years experience in applied R&D with Battelle dealing with many U.S. corporations and federal agencies and laboratories. Mr. Chard joined the National Technology Transfer Center (NTTC) in September 2000 as Director of Marketing. His primary responsibilities include technology marketing and commercial partnership development activities for NASA and the Veterans’ Administration.

Sylvia Clark

Sylvia Clark has been Executive Director of NEC Foundation of America since its 1991 inception. Endowed $10 million by NEC and its United States subsidiaries, NEC Foundation of America has one exclusive and consistent area of interest: technology for people with disabilities. Ms. Clark is the co-author of Organizing Corporate Contributions: Options and Strategies, published in 1996 by the Council on Foundations. She serves as chair of the Disability Funders Network, is a member of the Advisory Committee of the National Center of Innovative Technology, and is a member of the board of Gifts in Kind International where she chairs the Technology, Office Products and Supplies Committee.

Martha Connolly

Martha Connolly is the Director of the Maryland Industrial Partnerships (MIPS), a program of the Maryland Technology Enterprise Institute (MTECH). The MIPS program accelerates the commercialization of technology in Maryland by providing matching funds for collaborative R&D projects between companies and University System of Maryland faculty. Dr. Connolly is the former Senior Biotechnology Specialist for the State of Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development. She was also a founder of Clairus Technologies, Inc. and Director of Business Development at EntreMed, Inc. Dr. Connolly is experienced in business development and technology commercialization in academia, government and industry.

Dave Edyburn

Dave Edyburn is an Associate Professor in the Department of Exceptional Education at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Dr. Edyburn’s teaching and research interests focus on the use of technology to enhance teaching, learning, and performance. He has authored over 80 articles and book chapters on assistive and instructional technology. He is one of three editors of the forthcoming book, The Handbook of Special Education Technology Research and Practice.

Karen Erickson

Karen Erickson is the current director of the Center for Literacy and Disability Studies at the University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill, where she has played a leading role in developing the Symposium on Literacy and Disabilities. She is the 2001 co-recipient with Dr. Koppenhaver of the Don Johnston Literacy Lectureship, presented at the Symposium on Literacy and Disabilities. Dr. Erickson currently heads a research and development team developing web-based literacy supports for young adolescents with severe disabilities and their teachers.

Reggie Felton

Reggie Felton is a lobbyist with the National School Boards Association (NSBA) where he is responsible for developing and implementing comprehensive legislative strategies and representing the over 95,000 local school boards across the nation on Capitol Hill. Prior to joining NSBA, he was a senior executive with the Department of Navy. During his career, Mr. Felton held a wide range of assignments, including serving as Director of Civilian Personnel Policy, which included responsibility for congressional relations in all civilian matters. Additionally, he served as an elected member of the Montgomery County, Maryland Board of Education from 1994–2004.

Gary Germann

Gary Germann is currently the President and CEO of Edformation, Inc. He was the Director of the Pine County Special Education Cooperative when it developed a nationally recognized data based special education system. For the last ten years he was the director of the St. Croix River Education District. In this capacity he led member districts’ efforts to develop a continuous database of all students’ academic performance and the electronic data management system necessary to manage the database. He is the author of several book chapters and has published in professional journals as well as presented in numerous local, state and national forums.

 

Ted Hasselbring

Ted Hasselbring is the William T. Bryan Professor and Endowed Chair in Special Education Technology at the University of Kentucky. Dr. Hasselbring has worked both nationally and internationally as a research scholar in the area of technology for at-risk and special-needs learners. Currently, his work is focused on the role of technology for enhancing literacy and math skills. Dr. Hasselbring has developed and authored a number of different technology-related programs including Read 180, an intervention program for students with serious reading problems. In addition, he serves on the editorial boards of several professional journals and he is the past president of the Technology and Media division of the Council for Exceptional Children.

Jeff Higginbotham

Jeff Higginbotham is an Associate Professor at the Department of Communicative Disorders and Sciences at the University at Buffalo. He is a partner with the current RERC on Communication Enhancement, has been Co-Investigator and Consultant to 10 additional federally-funded research initiatives, and has published over 15 AAC-related articles. Dr. Higginbotham currently directs the Communication and Assistive Device Laboratory at the University at Buffalo.

 

Chuck Hitchcock

Chuck Hitchcock oversees software development, technology innovation, and website development as CAST’s Chief Education Technology Officer. He is the chief developer of many of CAST’s Macintosh and Windows educational and tool software programs and contributes as a software development team member for internal projects and on contracts with publishers and other organizations. Mr. Hitchcock is also Director of two OSEP cooperative agreement projects: (1) the “National Center on Accessing the General Curriculum” and (2) the new “NIMAS Technical Assistance Center.”

 

John Kemp

John D. Kemp has a federal law and legislative practice in the areas of disability, rehabilitation, health care, and nonprofit organizations. Mr. Kemp has served as CEO of United Cerebral Palsy Associations, VSA Arts and HalfthePlanet Foundation, and serves in that capacity for Disability Service Providers of America, a lobbying trade association. He has served as General Counsel and Vice President - Development for the National Easter Seals Society and managed a law firm that advised companies on state and federal civil rights, employment and education laws and policies regarding persons with disabilities. Kemp & Young, Inc. developed management training programs in addition to offering consulting services and editing and publishing Disability & Employment Reporter, a monthly legal and legislative newsletter for employers.

Mr. Kemp currently serves as a member of the nonprofit Boards of Directors for several organizations, including: the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago; the National Rehabilitation Hospital of Washington, DC; the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD), of which he is a co-founder; The Abilities Fund; and HalfthePlanet Foundation. Mr. Kemp served as a presidential appointee to the National Council on Disability for six years ending in early 2002. He has been a member of the Board of Directors of The Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF), serving as its Chairman for three years; Independent Sector, serving nine years and as its Vice Chairman; and the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA). In March 2004, Mr. Kemp’co-authored and co-edited a book, Reflections From A Different Journey.

 

Joe Lane

Joseph P. Lane is Director of the Center for Assistive Technology (CAT), at the University at Buffalo, SUNY.  CAT is a multi-disciplinary entity conducting research, training and service programs in assistive technology for persons with disabilities.   Mr. Lane directed the Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center on Technology Transfer (T 2RERC) for its first ten years.  The T 2RERC is sponsored by the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research, U.S. Department of Education.  He is Director of Research for the current funding cycle from 2003-2008. Mr. Lane has co-authored two textbooks, Assistive Technology for Persons with Disabilities, published by the American Occupational Therapy Association, and Managing Information Systems, published by Jossey-Bass.

Greg Lesher

Greg Lesher was the co-founder and president of Enkidu Research, Inc., a small R&D firm dedicated to the development of innovative solutions for augmentative communication.  He has served as principal investigator on a six Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grants and as Senior Research Scientist on several other SBIR grants, and was the lead programmer on Enkidu’as Impact line of communication devices.  Dr. Lesher currently serves as the Director of Research for DynaVox Technologies.

 

Ed McCoyd

Ed McCoyd is Director of Digital Policy at the Association of American Publishers. He works on issues including the provision of accessible college instructional materials to disabled students, the promotion of electronic publishing and protection of publishers’ works in digital format, and the machine-readable identification of publishers’ products in the supply chain. Prior to joining AAP's staff, Mr. McCoyd served as Director of Legal Services at the Authors Guild, providing licensing and copyright advice to published writers and advocating for authors’ rights. he is also the author of the book To Live and Dream: The Incredible Story of George Foreman, available from New Street Publishing.

Judith Pokorni

Judith Pokorni is a Senior Research Scientist at the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation (PIRE) in Calverton, MD. Dr. Pokorni has worked in education and educational research for several decades. She was Co-Principal Investigator on the recently completed study of the effects of prenatal cocaine exposure on the academic and attentional functioning of children at age nine (Department of Education). Currently, she is collaborating with a software developer to produce multimedia products for educators in the areas of prenatal substance exposure and autism. Prior to her work at PIRE, Dr. Pokorni directed a number of federally funded projects which produced and evaluated video-based staff development programs directed to health care personnel, educators, and child welfare personnel.

Sara Nerlove

Sara B. Nerlove has been a Program Manager for the Small Business Innovation Research/Small Business Technology Transfer (SBIR/STTR) Program at the National Science Foundation (NSF) since 1992. She is responsible for coordinating the review process of research proposals from small high technology businesses and for the administration of SBIR grants submitted under the Information-Based Technologies (IT) topic and IT-associated subtopics of topics which cross-cut investment drive technology areas. She had been actively engaged in program outreach, having spoken at conferences, participated in workshops, met with companies on a one-on-one basis, and/or made site visits in 37 states and Japan.

Leigh Penfield

Leigh A. Penfield is an Assistant Director in Licensing and Technology Development for Johns Hopkins University and oversees a life sciences docket. She has seven years of patent/technology transfer experience at a private law practice with a Washington, D.C., an intellectual property law firm (as an associate attorney in patent prosecution), the University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute (as a Senior Licensing Specialist), and Johns Hopkins University. She is admitted to the Maryland State Bar and is registered to practice before the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

Dennis Pierce

Dennis Pierce is the managing editor of eSchoolNews, a national newspaper covering the technology trends, issues, and emerging developments in K–12 and higher education. An expert on federal education policy, programs, and the eRate, he has spoken at numerous conferences, including the critically acclaimed Grants & Funding for School Technology series produced by eSchool News. Before helping to launch eSchool News in 1997, Pierce served as a freelance writer and teacher. He holds a B.A. degree in English from Yale University.

Sally Rood

Sally Rood has over 30 years experience in science policy, technology-based economic development, and technology transfer. For the past two years, she has provided consulting services to the National Academy of Sciences; NASA; U.S. Commerce Department; German Marshall Fund; American Association for the Advancement of Science and the state of Michigan; SBIR proposal writing; and others. Ms. Rood has served on the editorial or advisory boards of four journals — Comparative Technology Transfer and Society, Journal of Technology Transfer, Economic Development Quarterly, and The Executive — and has written numerous journal articles as well as a book, Government Laboratory Technology Transfer: Process and Impact. She is co-author of a paper submitted to the White House in 1999 entitled “Availability and Accessibility of the Nation’s Research Infrastructure: Mechanisms for Addressing the Elderly and People with Disabilities Needing Assistive Technologies and Universal Design.”

David Rose

David Rose helped to found the Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST) in 1984 with a vision of expanding opportunities for students through the innovative development and application of technology. Dr. Rose specializes in developmental neuropsychology and in the universal design of learning technologies that will impact learning for the diverse students found in today’s classrooms. In addition to his role as co-executive director of CAST and the principal investigator for CAST’s U.S. Department of Education supported National Center on Accessing the General Curriculum, Dr. Rose lectures at Harvard University Graduate School of Education. He is the co-author of Teaching Every Student in the Digital Age: Universal Design for Learning (ASCD, 2002).

 

Mark Schneiderman

Mark Schneiderman is Director of Education Policy for the Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA). Mr. Schneiderman represents SIIA’s members before Congress, the Administration, state governments, and other national stakeholders on education technology policies, including the government programs, funding, and regulations that impact technology at all levels of education. He also helps education providers understand the impact of public policies and regulations on their customers so they can better serve educational needs. Prior to joining SIIA, Schneiderman was Legislative Associate for the Council of Chief State School Officers, where he represented the public officials heading each State department of education.

Kristel Schorr

Kristel Schorr is an associate of Foley & Lardner, LLP, in the Biotechnology & Pharmaceutical Practice Group of the firm's Intellectual Property Department. Dr. Schorr focuses on preparing and prosecuting patent applications and is a registered patent agent. Dr. Schorr graduated from The George Washington University Law School (J.D., 2004), University of Maryland School of Medicine (Ph.D., Medical Physiology, 2000) and The Pennsylvania State University (B.S., Kinesiology, 1994).

Jennifer Sheehy-Keller

Jennifer Sheehy-Keller is the President's appointed Special Assistant for Employment to the Assistant Secretary of the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitation Services (OSERS) and Acting Deputy Director of the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research in the US Department of Education. Jennifer came to OSERS from the Presidential Task Force on Employment of Adults with Disabilities where she was Senior Policy Advisor. She recently completed a detail as Associate Director in the White House Domestic Policy Council, implementing the President's New Freedom Initiative and advising on policy issues of interest to people with disabilities. Prior to her work on the task force, she served as Vice President of the National Organization on Disability and Director of its CEO Council.

 

Ron Skinner

Ron Skinner is the research director for Education Week , an independent, national newspaper covering K–12 education, and for the new Education Week Research Center . He is responsible for special Education Week projects related to connecting policymakers and practitioners with sound, reliable, and unbiased education research. He oversees the research for Quality Counts and Technology Counts, two special annual reports published by Education Week on public education and technology in the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Mr. Skinner also manages the content of the Education Week Research Center online. Before joining Education Week as a research associate in 2000, Mr. Skinner worked as a graduate assistant at the University of Central Florida on a project to develop undergraduate courses in which students received instruction both in-class and online. He has a Master’s degree in public policy and undergraduate degrees in political science and communications.

 

Shirley Smith

Shirley Smith, a Program Analyst in the Office of Technology, has been working with the Small Business Administration since 1989.  For 15 years she worked for the Department of the Interior as a Contracts and Repayment Specialist.  Prior to this she worked for the United States Air Force at the Pentagon. 

 

Cheryl Volkman

Cheryl Volkman is the Founder and Chairman of the Board/CDO of AbleNet, an employee-owned company that designs practical products and creative solutions that have been used in classrooms worldwide to teach children with disabilities. After earning a Certified Occupational Assistant degree, Ms. Volkman was Director of AccessAbility, a preschool developmental achievement center in Minneapolis, for 13 years. There, she ran a volunteer program that designed assistive technology for the center. In 1985, that program became AbleNet, which turned from a nonprofit into a for-profit company in 1990 with a global presence in 16 countries. Ms. Volkman was also co-founder of the Minnesota Governor’s Council on Assistive Technology.

 

Tom Wlodkowski

Thomas Wlodkowski is Director of Accessibility at America Online, Inc. In this role, he drives employee awareness of issues that prevent full access to the Internet and the development and implementation of requirements and technological solutions to enhance the accessibility of AOL products and services to people with disabilities. He also manages the company’s Accessibility Advisory committee, a cross-disability group of advocacy leaders who provide advice and strategic counsel on a range of technology and policy issues. Prior to joining AOL in May 2002, he was project director at the CPB/WGBH National Center for Accessible Media, where he managed a wide scope of projects including designing accessible user interfaces for web and desktop applications, designing the first talking menus for DVDs, authoring guidelines for designing accessible mainstream software applications, and consulting on accessible technology to corporations.

Ruth Ziolkowski

Ruth Ziolkowski is President of Don Johnston Incorporated. She began working with the company in 1987 and is proud to celebrate Don Johnston's 25 years of success. She has held many positions at Don Johnston Incorporated such as V.P. of Research & Development. In addition to this, she has worked with many collaborators in development of products. She is also a co-author for Beginning Literacy Framework with Karen Erickson and Caroline Musselwhite. In 2003, she became an Expert Panel member for the National Center for Technology Innovation. Ms. Ziolkowski also serves as an advisory board member for National Lewis University.