Staff Bios
Debra Hart
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 and the OSEP Funded College Career Connection. Debra has over 25 years of experience working with youth and adults with disabilities, their families, faculty, and professionals that support youth in becoming contributing valued members of their community via participation in inclusive secondary and postsecondary education, and competitive employment. Since 1997, Ms. Hart has directed five federal grants designed to create access to postsecondary education for youth with intellectual disabilities.
Email:
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Meg Grigal, Ph.D.
Dr. Meg Grigal is a Senior Research Associate at TransCen, Inc. Dr. Grigal is the Co-Principal Investigator for the NIDRR funded Center on Postsecondary Education for Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities, in collaboration Debra Hart at the Institute for Community Inclusion at University of Massachusetts, Boston and Children’s Hospital Boston. Dr. Grigal previously directed On-Campus Outreach (OCO), an OSEP funded outreach project at the University of Maryland. Through OCO, she provided technical assistance and training and conducted research on the provision of transition services to students with significant disabilities in postsecondary settings across the country and has published numerous journal articles on the topic. She has extensive experience in adult vocational and independent living programs as well as secondary special education for students with disabilities and in developing community based transition programs for students with significant disabilities. She has conducted and published research in the areas of, transition planning, postsecondary access, self-determination, inclusion, and the use of person centered planning techniques. Dr. Grigal was appointed by the Governor to serve on the Maryland Interagency Transition Council and has served on this council for the five years.
Email:
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Cate Weir, M.Ed.
Cate 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. Previously, she served as project coordinator for the OSEP funded Postsecondary Education: A Choice for Everyone and the OPE funded Equity and Excellence in Higher Education at the Institute on Disability at the University of NH. She also has experience as a disability support coordinator and faculty member for the NH Community College System. Cate’s expertise includes the provision of individual supports for postsecondary education for people with intellectual or developmental disabilities, universal design for learning, person-centered planning and strategic planning for organizations.
Email:
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Maria Paiewonsky, Ed.D.
Maria Paiewonsky is the Participatory Action Research Coordinator for Think College. She is a transition specialist at the Institute for Community Inclusion, where she oversees numerous postsecondary and transition related projects with teachers, interdisciplinary team members, students and families to develop positive transition outcomes from school to adult life. Maria has an interest in participatory action research and has been using a number of a number of research methods with various stakeholders to promote their perceptions and assessment of transition related activities. Her work also includes online course development and teaching, as well as face-to-face training and technical assistance on transition and postsecondary topics. These topics include youth development and self -determination, career development, access to postsecondary education and related transition topics.
Email:
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Amy Dwyre, MA, CRC
Amy Dwyre is a Senior Associate at TransCen, Inc, assisting with activities of the Center for Postsecondary Education for Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities. Amy is working to collect and disseminate materials related to postsecondary education for individuals with intellectual disabilities. Additionally, she is working on the Post-Secondary Education Research Centers project funded by OSEP to set up technical assistance centers and collect data on college-based transition programs for students with intellectual disabilities. Formerly, she was the Coordinator of the Baltimore Transition Connection, a 5-year federally funded transition project integrating the efforts of the Baltimore City Public Schools, Maryland adult service providers, local colleges and universities, the local community, and TransCen, Inc. She has over 10 years of experience in job development and training, including work with the Chicago Public Schools and community rehabilitation programs and school systems around the country, and has designed and facilitated several strategic planning sessions conducted by TransCen, Inc. for the National Supported Employment Consortium at Virginia Commonwealth University. Ms. Dwyre is a Certified Rehabilitation Counselor and holds a master's degree in Rehabilitation Counseling, Supported Employment and Transition from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. In addition, she is a sibling of an individual with severe disabilities with whom she has spent a great deal of personal time assisting in transition, career, and self-determination planning.
Email:
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Becca Smith
Becca Smith is a Research Associate for TransCen, Inc. She has extensive experience utilizing Microsoft Office software to optimize the performance of the projects she participates in. She is currently pursuing her Specialist Certification in Access 2007, is a certified Community Work Incentives Coordinator, Project Coordinator for the Employment and Benefits Resource Center at TransCen, and has a Masters Level Certificate in Job Development and Job Placement from the University of Maryland.
John Butterworth, Ph.D
John has over 30 years of experience as a manager of community-based day and employment services, trainer, consultant, and researcher. He is Principal Investigator of Access to Integrated Employment, a 20 year national data collection project on day and employment services for people with developmental disabilities, is ICI’s Project Director for the State Employment Leadership Network, and is on the staff of the CMS funded Massachusetts Medicaid Infrastructure and Comprehensive Employment Opportunities initiative. His interests include organizational and systems change, employment outcomes, natural supports, person-centered planning, and program management.
Email:
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Paul Foos
Paul Foos is a Web Specialist at the Institute for Community Inclusion. He has developed and maintained several sites for ICI, including Think College. The focus of his work is helping non-technical folks to communicate via the Web. He also makes every effort to provide accessible sites. His background is in education and technology, and he worked for several years as a counselor in halfway houses for the mentally ill. Paul has a Ph.D. in History and an MLIS degree.
Email:
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Alberto Migliore, Ph.D.
Alberto Migliore joined ICI as a postdoctoral research fellow in September 2006. He develops research and analyzes data for several ongoing projects at ICI, including working on the RSA-911 database of individuals with developmental disabilities served by Vocational Rehabilitation.
Along with his academic work, Alberto has several years of experience in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors. In Italy, he helped found a social co-operative where he worked for about ten years involving individuals with intellectual disabilities in community work activities. Before moving from Italy to the U.S., he was a regional government official for workplace health and safety.
Email:
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Christopher Nagle
Chris contributes to many projects at ICI by developing web applications with unique functionality for each individual grant and project. Chris graduated from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst with a B.A. in Computer Science.
Email:
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Kate Sambuco
Kate Sambuco is an Instructional Technology Specialist in the ICI Marketing and Communications department. She has a bachelor's degree in film and television production, and a master's degree in educational media and technology from Boston University. Before working for the Institute for Community Inclusion, Kate worked for the Educational Media Center at the Boston University School of Medicine, helping faculty members integrate technology into their curriculum. Her areas of expertise include video production, educational media, and Web 2.0 technologies.
Email:
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
David Temelini
David Temelini coordinates and implements marketing and communications strategy for the Institute for Community Inclusion (ICI). He oversees web development and eLearning strategies, and is directly responsible for the design, production, and dissemination of ICI print publications and materials. His areas of expertise include layout, graphic design, marketing, and web strategies.
Email:
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Alvaro Tobar
Alvaro Tobar is responsible for coordinating instructional technology at the Institute for Community Inclusion (ICI). His areas of expertise include education, technology integration, multimedia design, and video production. Alvaro runs the Institute's multimedia lab, where he designs and implements a range of accessible instructional technology strategies to meet projects' needs. Current tactics include webconferences, distance education courses, digital video, blogs, and podcasts. A native of Chile, Alvaro is fluent in three languages.
Email:
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Jaimie Ciulla Timmons, M.S.W.
Jaimie Ciulla Timmons, M.S.W., is a research associate working primarily on the National Center on Workforce and Disability/Adult and the RRTC State Systems and Employment project. Along with participating in all activities of the projects, she develops publications on enhancing the ability of the workforce development system to serve people with disabilities. Jaimie has written numerous publications designed for individuals with disabilities and their families to use as resources when considering employment and transition planning. She has also written extensively about the employment needs of individuals with HIV/AIDS as well as individuals with disabilities receiving TANF benefits. Her professional interests in research stem from her background providing direct services to families with children with disabilities. Prior to joining ICI, Jaimie received her master's degree in social work from Salem State College and spent several years in various direct service roles.
Email:
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
