 |
|
 |
Johnette Hartnett, Ed.D.
Director of Strategic Partnership Development and Research; Director, REI Tour
jhartnett@ndi-inc.org
|
 |
|
 |
Laura Gleneck
Project Coordinator, DEI
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
|
Lisa Stockmann Karp
Director of Communications
|
 |
Michael Roush
National Program DIrector, REI Tour
|
 |
|
|
Caroline Burke
Admministrative Assistant, REI Tour
|
 |
Jamie Robinson
Program Associate, DEI
|
 |
Katie Metz
Regional Specialist, REI Tour
|
 |
Mary Lynn ReVoir
|
Brian Ingram
Technical Assistance Liaison, DEI
|
|
Staff Bios
Michael Morris is the Director of the National Disability Institute (NDI) in Washington, DC. He also serves as the CEO of the Burton Blatt Institute at Syracuse University. Morris has over 30 years of experience in and outside of government pioneering new strategies to improve the lives of people with disabilities. Morris serves as an advisor and technical expert to multiple federal agencies on policy and systems relationships at federal, state, and local levels to advance economic stability, mobility, and asset development for persons with disabilities.
Morris received his undergraduate degree with honors in political science from Case Western University in Cleveland, Ohio and his law degree from Emory University School of Law in Atlanta, Georgia. In 1981, he was named the first Joseph P. Kennedy Fellow in Public Policy and came to Washington, DC to work in the Office of Connecticut Senator Lowell Weicker, as legal counsel to the United States Senate Subcommittee on the Handicapped. Morris also served subsequently as counsel to the U.S. Senate Small Business Committee.
From Capitol Hill, Morris went to work at United Cerebral Palsy Associations first as Director of Government Relations, then as Director of Community Services, and finally as National Executive Director. During his 14-year tenure, his leadership put a focus on needed assistive technology and its essential role in accommodating people with disabilities in the areas of employment, education, communications and daily living.
In 2001, Morris helped establish the National Disability Institute to advance the social and economic independence of persons with disabilities through strategic investment and technical assistance activities nationwide that bring together government, corporations, foundations, and community and faith-based organizations. He is the co-founder of the Real Economic Impact Tour.
Dr. Johnette Hartnett is the Director of Research and the Real Economic Impact Tour for the National Disability Institute (NDI) and Co-Principal Investigator with the Burton Blatt Institute, Syracuse University, College of Law. Dr. Hartnett is national director and co-founder of the Real Economic Impact Tour that since 2005 has provided free tax preparation and other asset building strategies to over 331,751 taxpayers with disabilities with refunds over 296 million. Dr. Hartnett obtained her Ed.D. in Public Policy and Educational Leadership from the University of Vermont. She graduated Summa Cum Laude, from Trinity College, in Vermont, majoring in psychology and gerontology. Prior to her role at the National Disability Institute, Dr. Hartnett was Vice President of the NCB Development Corporation, in Washington, DC and Assistant Research Professor, in the Department of Education and the Center on Disability and Community Inclusion, at the University of Vermont. She was a Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr. Congressional Fellow in the 107th Congress where she worked for Senator Rockefeller on behalf of individuals with disabilities in the reauthorization of welfare. Dr. Hartnett is dedicated to working on policy and research issues that forward the quality of life and the economic well-being of Americans with disabilities.
Sharon Brent is a national expert on multiple Federal policy issues related to the employment and self-determination that improves economic status of youth in transition and adult individuals with disabilities. She is Founder and President of NDI Consulting, Inc. a women owned For Profit Small Business, and Director of Training and Technical Assistance and Grants Management for the National Disability Institute. Her expertise is in youth and adult issues regarding employment, housing, health care, asset development, Social Security programs (certified) (WIPA), DOL (DPN), HUD, and CMS (MIG) programs. As a parent of a 35-year-old son with Cerebral Palsy, Ms. Brent has the ability to apply personal as well as professional knowledge that provides credibility and technical information to a full range of stakeholders. She is clear that knowledge is power and all stakeholders need the same information to create an equal partnership that will advance economic empowerment for people with disabilities.
Laura Gleneck is Founder and Vice President of NDI Consulting, Inc. a women-owned for profit small business, and serves as the Project Coordinator and has served in this capacity for both the Work Incentive Grants (WIG) and the Disability Program Navigator (DPN) Initiative since 2001. In her capacity as Project Coordinator, she serves as the lead coordinator of the key technical assistance staff, manages material development, coordinates all training and technical assistance activities, produces the One-Stop Toolkit Resources of the Week, and works closely with the national DPN Program Office. Since the WIG grants, she has served as the key staff person with expertise on transportation and other community resources for work support. Prior to joining the national Technical Assistance team, Ms. Gleneck served as the project coordinator for federal projects with a focus on inclusion of youth with disabilities in transition and participation in community and employment for the National Parent Network on Disabilities for five years. Ms. Gleneck has a Master’s degree in Child Study from the Eliot-Pearson Department of Child Development from Tufts University in Medford, MA and a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the George Washington University in Washington, D.C. In 2000, Ms. Gleneck completed a Continuing Education Professional Writing Course at Harvard University in Cambridge, MA.
Elizabeth Jennings is an Associate with National Disability Institute in Washington, DC and The Burton Blatt Institute at Syracuse University. Ms. Jennings 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.
Nakia Matthews is the Media Production & Technology Coordinator for the National Disability Institute. Working along side NDI’s Communications Director, she combines her knowledge and interests in technology and the ever-changing world of social media to aid NDI in its mission to build a better economic future for Americans with disabilities. Her areas of responsibility span from Web Content & Social Media management to Information Technology to desktop publishing. Nakia has over 10 years of personal and professional social media experience that allows her to effectively complete a wide range of tasks for NDI, including maintaining NDI’s website and managing all social media initiatives including the staff blog, Tweets, Facebook Fan page content, event invitations, Flickr photos, and You Tube videos. Nakia has been a social media panelist at 3 national conferences and is a frequent invited speaker on webinars for NDI’s Real Economic Impact Tour audience. In the capacity of information technology management, Nakia takes the lead for all in-house information technology operations, providing technical support and assistance to all NDI staff. Nakia lives in Washington, DC and has a B.A. in Hearing and Speech Sciences from the University of Maryland.
Michael R. Roush is the National Program Director for the Real Economic Impact Tour at the National Disability Institute. In addition to his work with the Real Economic Impact Tour, Mr. Roush is involved with the asset building projects in Florida including a new pilot project, Building Economic Strength Together (B.E.S.T.) Florida to increase the economic self-sufficiency of individuals with disabilities. Prior to joining the NDI team, Mr. Roush was a consultant with the University of South Florida's Center for Inclusive Communities and a Disability Program Navigator for WorkNet Pinellas with the Florida DPN Project. As a Disability Program Navigator, Mr. Roush worked with One Stop Center staff and community partners to incorporate the Money Smart Curriculum and asset building resources into their programs. Prior to his work in Florida, Mr. Roush served as the Director of the Learning Center for the George G. Glenner Family Centers in San Diego, California. As the Director of the Learning Center, Mr. Roush managed the operations and the training programs of the Center. Mr. Roush has created and implemented training curriculum for local, state, and national organizations. Mr. Roush has completed the required competency-based educational and assessment activities to be certified as a Community Work Incentives Coordinator within the Work Incentives Planning and Assistance Initiative. Mr. Roush serves on the Board of Directors for the Florida Prosperity Partnership and oversees the Disability Subcommittee for FPP and serves on United Way of Tampa Bay’s Financial Stability Initiative Committee. Mr. Roush has a Master of Arts degree in Human Behavior.
Danielle Diamond joined the National Disability Institute in 2007 as a Program Associate. She currently focuses most of her time on providing technical assistance for the Disability Program Navigator Initiative but is also involved in Asset Development and social media work. Before joining the National Disability Institute, Danielle Diamond worked as a WIA Case Manager in a One-Stop Career Center before moving on to serve as both a Disability Program Navigator (DPN) and the state project lead for the Alaska DPN program. Since joining the NDI TA Team, she has provided training and technical assistance on multiple topics through webinars, as well as one-on-one assistance to DPN projects. In addition to detailed knowledge of the state and national workforce investment system, Ms. Diamond brings with her experience building relationships and collaborating with state and local level partners to promote asset development opportunities for people with disabilities. Since her transition from Alaska to Ohio, she has been an active leader in an Asset Development work group which consists of public and private sector organizations to promote asset development opportunities for people with disabilities.
Miranda Kennedy has extensive experience working at the local, state and national levels within the U.S. Workforce Investment System. Ms. Kennedys expertise lies in researching and analyzing policy issues and making policy recommendations, as well as developing and implementing promising practices across states in the areas of youth in transition, workforce development, employment, entrepreneurship, asset development, assistive technology, and community participation and inclusion for individuals with disabilities.
In her work with the National Disability Institute (NDI), Ms. Kennedy serves as the training coordinator and senior technical assistance liaison for the U.S. Department of Labor state level Disability Program Navigator (DPN) projects and four territory level DPN projects in the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, and Guam. The focus of these projects has been to increase employment outcomes and economic self-sufficiency for adults and youth with disabilities.
Ms. Kennedy recently completed her work as a Research Project Coordinator for the Burton Blatt Institute (BBI) at Syracuse University on the New York Medicaid Infrastructure Grant (MIG). In her role with BBI, Ms. Kennedy helped to develop and implement the New York Makes Work Pay (NY MWP) five-year strategic plan for 5 New York state agencies as they partnered to provide policy and practice solutions to address New York State's estimated 70% of working-age people with disabilities who are not employed.
Ms. Kennedy received her Masters degree in Public Policy from the University of Denvers Institute for Public Policy Studies and a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature from the University of Colorado at Boulder. She lives just outside of Boulder, Colorado with her husband and two children.
Caroline Burke has been a part of the administrative team for the National Disability Institute in Washington, DC since January 2011. Since starting at NDI her primary role has been providing technical assistance and support to NDI Real Economic Impact Tour. Ms. Burke is a graduate of the College of the Holy Cross, where she majored in Political Science with a concentration in Peace and Conflict Studies. Prior to joining the team at the National Disability Institute, Ms. Burke worked as a volunteer teacher and community service coordinator for over two years in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
Jayson Gleneck is a Digital Artist, whose professional career includes Graphic Design, Web Design, Photography, Illustration, and Video. He currently serves as an Information Technology Specialist with the National Disability Institute (NDI), where he provides website design, management and support. Prior to joining the NDI team, Mr. Gleneck used his graphic design skills to build web/TV graphics and create virtual animations based upon real data acquisition for Trakus, Inc. Working on contract jobs has given him many unique experiences to develop his skills in graphics such as creating official Massachusetts voting ballots, designing fashion Jewelry, making official company logos and branding, creating TV graphics and animations, 3-D pre-visualization graphics, Illustrations, 4-color ads, accessible web sites, promotional advertising for movie theaters, newspapers and magazines, etc. Mr. Gleneck is a former President of the Nashua Area Artists Association (NAAA) and currently serves as its Webmaster. He also shows his artwork in Galleries, exhibits, and art exhibits. Mr. Gleneck received a four year diploma from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts and a BFA Tufts University in Boston, Massachusetts. His concentration of study was Graphic Design, 3-D computer animation, and Digital art. He continues to learn about new technologies through continuing education.
Jamie has worked in various capacities over the past 15 years to expand employment opportunities and increase self-sufficiency of individuals with disabilities. As a member of the National Disability Institute’s Technical Assistance team, she provides training, conducts research and develops resources to build the capacity of the national workforce development system to more effectively serve individuals with disabilities. As a former vocational coordinator of a program for deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals, Jamie has a background in job development, job coaching and collaboration with the business sector. She brings working knowledge as a Certified Disability Benefits Counselor under the Ticket-to-Work program and as a former Disability Program Navigator for three comprehensive One-Stop Career Centers. Jamie also has extensive experience working for and in coordination with Centers for Independent Living (CILs). She has a Master’s degree in Deafness Rehabilitation from New York University and Bachelor’s degree from the University of Connecticut in Communication Disorders. Jamie currently resides in Connecticut with her husband and two children, where she is actively involved in expanding services to the Deaf community throughout the state.
Katie Metz joined the National Disability Institute as a consultant in January 2011 and is a Regional Specialist for the Real Economic Impact Tour. Ms. Metz is also the current Manager of the Disabled Services Office for the City of Jacksonville, FL as well as the City’s ADA Coordinator. She strives to improve the quality of life for persons with disabilities by increasing awareness concerning the accomplishments and needs of persons with disabilities, monitoring federal and state legislation and advising the Mayor and staff about necessary city compliance. She has been working for the City and persons with disabilities since May 2000. Over the years, she has acquired experience in a variety of areas related to persons with disabilities by serving on a number of boards and committees. Ms. Metz is a member of the National Association of ADA Coordinators (NAADAC), certified Disabled Parking Enforcement specialist, member of Special Needs Health & Medical team for Emergency Operations Center, Vice-Chair of the Local Duval County Transportation Disadvantaged Coordinating Board, serves on the Real $ense steering committee and many more. She has years of experience with regard to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) as well as event planning for persons with disabilities to include facilitating the coordination of numerous non-profits and agencies to ensure success.
Ms. Metz has been married to her husband, Philip an active duty member of the United States Navy, since 1998. Together they have two boys and have chosen to call Jacksonville their home since 1999.
Mary Lynn ReVoir has 30 years of experience providing direct service and developing programs to enhance the life of individuals with disabilities. In 2010, Mary Lynn joined the National Disability Institute. In 2011, Mary Lynn became a Senior Account Manager for the Social Security Administration Ticket to Work program, under contract with MAXIMUS, the Ticket program operating support manager. She also led a team of NDI staff working on an innovative technology proposal to enhance the lives of persons with disabilities, granted by the Department of Education. Prior to work with the National Disability Institute, she was involved with the Iowa Disability Navigator program since its conception in 2003 through 2010, as the State Lead Navigator. In 2007, Mary Lynn developed the Iowa Workforce Partners Employment Network on behalf of seven state agencies and served as the State Ticket Coordinator for four years. The state model was recognized as a leader in the field. She was the Executive Director of a private community provider for adults and children disabilities for 17 years before becoming a Disability Navigator. Throughout her career she has been involved in projects on the cutting edge of new practices, including developing community based services as an option to state institutions, assisting the generic public workforce system in being responsive to job seekers with disabilities, promotion of the Ticket to Work, and researching new technology for betterment of individuals with disability to live and contribute in their communities. She graduated from the University of Wisconsin of La Crosse, and has been invited to present at various national events. A native of Iowa, she values the simple lessons learned growing up on a farm. She enjoys various outdoor activities, including canoeing and skiing, as well as music and baking.
Brian Ingram has been working in the fields of disability and employment for over 15 years, focusing on issues of access to the Workforce Investment Act services for customers with disability and other challenges to employment at a center, regional, state, and national level since 2000. Under the Disability Program Navigator (DPN) initiative, he served as both a Navigator and a state lead. In 2006, Brian was instrumental in introducing the IRT approach regionally as a model in Oregon to coordinate services and supports at a customer level allowing for the enrollment of customers with disability and multiple challenges to employment into WIA intensive services. Mr. Ingram, who is known as a national expert on the Integrated Resource Team approach and on working with partners within and outside of the workforce system to leverage and blend and braid funds and resources around an individual job seeker with multiple challenges to employment, serves as the NDI teams subject matter expert in these areas. A DPN Promising Practice video and information brief, Disability Program Navigators: Making the Connections For Job Seekers with Disabilities, highlight the work that Mr. Ingram was instrumental in implementing throughout the workforce system in Oregon. Brian has a Bachelors of Arts in English Literature from Portland State University.