Academic Background............
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Northeastern University: Master of Science
• Major: Applied Behavior Analysis
• Minor: Transition & Systems Change
Bradford College, Bachelor of Arts
• Major: Human Studies/Psychology
• Concentrations: Philosophy, Literature, & Spanish Language
Center for International Studies, Toledo, Spain
• Spanish Studies Program of the Ortega y Gasset Foundation
Current Appointments
Director
• INDEX Program, Eunice Kennedy Shriver Center
• INDEX Technical Services, Eunice Kennedy Shriver Center
• Disabilities Interstitial (Co-Director), University of Massachusetts Medical School
Director of Technology (Assistive Technology, Information/Dissemination, Online Learning)
• Association of University Centers on Disabilities (AUCD)
• Interdisciplinary Technical Assistance Center (ITAC) on Autism and Developmental Disabilities
• University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCEDD)
Faculty
• Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental & Related Disabilities (LEND) Graduate Program
• Department of Family Medicine & Community Health
• Suffolk University Moakley Center for Public Management
• Academic Accommodations Committee
Invited Expert, World Wide Web Consortium
UMMS Representative
• UMass 5-Campus Accessibility Effort, UMass President's Office
Member
Licensure
• Licensed Applied Behavior Analyst
Professional and Research Interests
- Artificial Intelligence empowerment and fairness for people with disabilities
- Artificial Intelligence (AI) driven Web text simplification on a mass scale
- Methodology for humans to easily and reliably create simplified Web text
- Information and communications technology (ICT) accessibility for people with disabilities
- ICT accessibility for people with cognitive disabilities, e.g., autism & intellectual disability
- Instructional design of online courses and learning-management systems
- Improving the use of digital technology by people with autism & intellectual disability
- Application of information technology in human services
Provider of Technology Services for Medical-School Managed Projects
INDEX Program
• Information & Referral for People with Disabilities in Massachusetts
• Massachusetts Network of Information Providers (MNIP)
• Application Development (Web, Database, Mobile) for People with Disabilities
• E-learning Development Accessible to People with Disabilities
Mass Health Accessibility and Universal Readability
• MassHealth Web Site
Massachusetts Child & Adolescent Needs and Strengths (CANS)
• CANS Training & Certification
Massachusetts Aging and Disabilities Information Locator
• MADIL Web Site
Massachusetts Patient-Centered Medical Home Initiative (PCMHI)
• Online Courses for Primary-Care Physician Practices
Massachusetts Balancing Incentive Program (Long-Term Services & Supports)
• Mass Options Web Site
One Care: MassHealth plus Medicare (Long-Term Services & Supports)
• Online Courses and Webinars for Primary-Care Professional Staff
Pennsylvania Office of Developmental Programs
• My ODP Learning Management System
Presentations or Panelist Participations
International
- Web Accessibility Expert: Ask Me Anything (AMA) Webinar
- Tenon.io, Burnie, Maryland, 2019.
- Accessibility guidelines for web developers: WCAG (A, AA, AAA), WAI-ARIA Webinar
- IPSUM Technologies, Tacarigua, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, 2019.
- AXSChat with John Rochford (Web Accessibility; AI Fairness & Empowerment)
- AXS Chat: Building Bridges Because Accessibility Matters, 2019.
- Creating Simple Web Text for People with Intellectual Disabilities to Train Artificial Intelligence
- 34th CSUN Assistive Technology Conference, Anaheim, CA 2019.
- Silver Task Force Work on Next Generation of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines
- Cognitive Accessibility Task Force, Worldwide Web Consortium, University of Southampton, Southhampton, England, 2019.
- Cognitive Web Accessibility & Artificial Intelligence, Webinar
- International Association of Accessibility Professionals, Atlanta, GA 2018.
- How to Make Learning More Accessible and Inclusive Webinar
- Worldwide Lambda Solutions Headquarters: Vancouver, BC Canada 2018.
- Text Simplification and User Experience
- 18th International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction, The Westin Harbour Castle Hotel, Toronto, Canada, 2016.
- Automated Web Text Simplification: Pilot Study & IBM Watson Supercomputer
- Cognitive & Learning Disabilities Accessibility Task Force, Worldwide Web Consortium, British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), London, England, 2015.
National
- Usable and Accessible User Interfaces: Parts 1 & 2: Know your Customer
- Microsoft Common Data Service, Redmond, Washington, 2021.
- Future Directions of Inclusive Technologies
- Federal Annual Interagency Accessibility Forum (NASA, GSA, 508 Access Board), Washington, DC, 2019.
- A New Peer Support Network Workshop, Texas Council for Developmental Disabilities
- Texas Advocates Viva La Fiesta Annual Conference, San Antonio, TX 2019
- Higher Education | Staff and Faculty Training Resources
- M-Enabling Summit: Promoting Accessible Technologies and Environments, Washington DC, 2019.
- Workshop on Diversity, Accessibility, and Inclusion in Library Systems
- National Forum on Principles of Accessibility and Inclusion for the Design of Library Systems, Center for Research on Equitable and Open Scholarship, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 2019.
- Wikipedia Edit Session
- Knowbility John Slatin AccessU Conference, Austin, Texas, 2019.
- Cognitive Web Accessibility and Automated Text Simplification
- Tech Supports for Cognition and Learning: Everyday Apps and Emerging Trends
Mercy College Campus, Dobbs Ferry, NY, 2017.
- Cognitive Web Accessibility: W3C Task Force & Future Research
- 30th Annual International Technology and Persons with Disabilities Conference
California State University, Northridge, San Diego, CA, 2015.
- Work to Establish Cognitive Web Accessibility Guidelines by the World Wide Web
Consortium & by the University of Massachusetts Medical School- Coleman Institute for Cognitive Disabilities, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, 2014.
- Using Technology to Enhance Teaching, Learning, and Building a Community
- Using Technology to Meet Special Needs at College and Beyond Special Interest
Group, University Business Technology / Vanishing Boundaries-Emerging
Opportunities Conference, Orlando, FL, 2013.
Regional
- Autonomous Vehicles Fireside Chat, Third Annual User Experience Symposium - UX & IOT: Connecting the Digital and Physical Realms
- Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Worcester, MA, 2019.
- Creating Simple Web Text for People with Intellectual Disabilities and to Train Artificial Intelligence
- Boston Accessibility Conference, Fidelity Investments Corporate Headquarters, Boston, MA 2018.
- Accessibility Guidelines for the Web and Other Digital Technologies
- UMass Second Annual 5-University Accessibility Retreat, University of Massachusetts Lowell, Lowell, MA 2018.
- Cognitive Web Accessibility: Eye Tracking, Machine Learning, and App Development
- Boston Accessibility Conference, IBM Watson Health Global Headquarters, Cambridge, MA, 2017.
- Web Accessibility Roundtable
- Second Annual User Experience Innovation Symposium, Worcester Polytechnic University, Worcester, MA 2018.
- First Interdisciplinary Workshop on Robot-Mediated Behavior Intervention
- UMASS Lowell, New England Robotics Experimentation and Validation Center
Lowell, MA, 2017.
- Automated ICT Text Simplification for People with Cognitive Disabilities
- Boston Accessibility Group, IBM Innovation Center, Cambridge, MA, 2015.
- Task Force on Higher Education for Students with Intellectual Disability and
Autism Spectrum Disorder- Massachusetts Joint Committee on Higher Education, Worcester, MA, 2014.
- Developing Online Courses and a Delivery Platform for People with Cognitive Disabilities
- Boston Accessibility Group, Microsoft New England Research and Development Center, Cambridge, MA, 2012.
- Technology Development & Information and Referral for People with Disabilities
- University of Massachusetts Medical School, Waltham, MA, 2012.