Citizen Members' Biographical Summaries
The President’s Committee for People with Intellectual
Disabilities
Citizen Members
August 2008
Chairperson
Steven C. Rhatigan
Steven C. Rhatigan has been in the financial and estate planning profession since 1978. In 1980 he began working with the special needs community as a respite volunteer. He was soon an enthusiastic advocate for issues dealing with special needs individuals and helped build a national organization, Estate Planning for Persons with Disabilities, and was a founding member of the National Institute for Life Planning. He now devotes his energies to helping families understand and cope with the long term care and finances of their children with lifetime special needs. In an average year, he meets with four to six hundred families and develops one hundred and fifty life plans.
Mr. Rhatigan is a Chartered Lifetime Assistance Planner and a Certified Estate Planner. He presents 30 to 40 seminars a year to professional and parent support groups to educate them on the unique planning needs of this population. He also works closely with many school districts, medical providers and governmental agencies to support their unique place in the lives of special needs individuals.
He is a consultant to many private residential communities serving this population. In Texas his clients are: The Brookwood Community, Marbridge, Breckenridge Village, Methodist Mission Home, Hope Village and the Village at Stony Glen. Additionally, he has served on numerous local and statewide disabilities related boards.
He has served as president of The Mental Health Association of Houston; was appointed to the Texas Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation Advisory Board; is a past president of the Houston Association of Insurance and Financial Professionals, and chaired the Texas PASS Network.
Mr. Rhatigan has been married to his Texas bride, Sharon, for 30 years and has two grown children, Sarah, who resides in New York City, and Sean, who resides in Boulder, Colorado.
More information on Mr. Rhatigan’s mission is available at Stemark.com.
A native Texan, Ricardo Barraza graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology from the University of Texas El Paso in 1981 and graduated with a Master of Science degree in applied behavior analysis from the University of Texas Arlington in 1985.
Mr. Barraza’s first venture into the field of mental retardation was as a member of the direct care staff at the El Paso State Center during his undergraduate years. Progressing up the ladder, Mr. Barraza eventually developed the first private residential alternative for people with mental retardation in El Paso. Mr. Barraza was the owner and operator of New Avenues of Hope and Torch of Hope, which operated Intermediary Care Facilities for the Mentally Retarded (ICFMR) and community based waiver services in El Paso and northern Los Angeles from 1984 to 1999. Mr. Barraza eventually retired from service provision in 1999.
His years of volunteer service include serving on the board of the Arc of El Paso, the board of The Arc of Texas, The foundation board for the Arc of Texas, the Advisory Council to the Texas Rehabilitation Council, the MR Advisory Council to the Texas Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation, the Citizens Planning and Advisory Council for the Texas Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation, vice president of the Texas Association of Private Providers, founding director of the Texas Society of Qualified Mental Retardation Professionals, Task Force on Texas Medicaid Managed Care, and the for transitional team for Life Management Center in El Paso. Other volunteer activities include serving as a board member for the El Paso Association for the Performing Arts and the foundation board of the El Paso Community College. Most recently, he is serving as the President of the El Paso Police Foundation, in honor of the memory of a close family member who was killed in the line of duty after only eight days on the Police Force.
His passion for promoting state of the art, progressive service delivery comes from a desire to serve those in the intellectual disabilities community. Each citizen is responsible for making a contribution that is not necessarily directly tied to self interest.
A self described born again Italian, Mr. Barraza’s interests include coffee, Italian wine food and culture. A graduate of the Lavazza School of coffee in New York, he presently operates a family owned Italian wine importation and distribution company.
Dr. Sambhu N. Banik is the President of Banik and Associates and the Family Diagnostic and Therapeutic Center in Washington DC. He is an adjunct professor of psychology and counseling at both the University of Maryland Systems, Bowie State University; and the Union Institute and University in Cincinnati, Ohio where he advises Doctoral Students.
Dr. Banik is the former executive director of the President’s Committee on Mental Retardation (now the President’s Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities). He has also served in many other appointed positions, including his service as a Member of the National Advisory Council on Drug Abuse under President Reagan, an appointment by Maryland Governor Ehrlich as commissioner of the Human Relations Commission, and Commissioner of the Montgomery County Human Rights Commission. Dr. Banik served two terms as a Commissioner of the Montgomery County Commission on People with Disabilities. He has served 20 years in various capacities at the Mental Health Administration of the Government of the District of Columbia dealing with various disabilities including intellectual disabilities. He developed a number of innovative programs for the rehabilitation of people with intellectual disabilities for which received he received international acclaim. He has been a lifelong champion of the human rights of the disabled.
Dr. Banik is currently serving as a platinum member of the Republican Presidential Taskforce, President of the United States/Asia Foundation, and Vice-President of the Public Members Association of the Foreign Service: USA. He is the recipient of numerous honors and awards including the Mother Teresa Millennium Award and Special Congressional award for his humanitarian services to Bhopal Gas victims and other community services. Dr. Banik has been extensively published in scholarly journals and print media including authorship of two cook books.
Dr. Banik received his ISC, BSC and MSC in psychology from Calcutta University (Calcutta, India); his Ph.D in clinical psychology from University of Bristol (Bristol, United Kingdom); and his post-doctoral fellowship in clinical psychology at Norwich Hospital (Norwich, Connecticut).
Dr. Banik has been married to Promila for 40 years. She works as a phlebotomist at the National Naval Medical Center. He has two daughters, Sharmila who works as a Public Relations Chief at an International Pharmaceutical Company, Copenhagen, Denmark, and Kakali, who works as an Education Consultant, in the World Bank in Washington D.C. He has one granddaughter, Nina, who has received many awards in figure skating competition.
James M. Boles, President and CEO of People Inc., started working for the agency in 1981 overseeing the small human service agency with 200 staff and a budget of $2 million. Dr. Boles currently is responsible for the overall administration of the health and human services agency that serves people with disabilities, children, seniors and their families. Since he began working for People Inc., the agency has grown to over 2,000 staff serving more than 10,000 individuals and operates on an annual budget of $102 million. Dr. Boles attended Columbia University in New York to earn both his Doctor of Education and Masters of Education. Prior to that, he attended Goddard College in Vermont to obtain his Master of Arts in Clinical Psychology. He currently serves as a member on the New York State Advisory Council on Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities, and is a clinical member of the American Association of Marriage and Family Counselors. In addition, he is a member of the National Conference of Executives of Associations for Retarded Citizens, the New York State Rehabilitations Association, Inc., and the National Rehabilitation Association. He has a strong interest in the history of disability services and founded the Museum of disABILITY History, located in Amherst, NY.
Olegario "Ollie" D. Cantos VII
Blind since birth, Olegario "Ollie" D. Cantos VII is Special Counsel to the Acting Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights in the U.S. Department of Justice. Mr. Cantos recently returned to this post after having served two consecutive terms of service as Associate Director for Domestic Policy at the White House, where he led the implementation of the President’s New Freedom Initiative, the agenda for advancing equality of opportunity for people with all types of disabilities in information and assistive technology, education, employment, and every aspect of community living. Since August 2004 he has served as Special Assistant to the Assistant Attorney General in the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice. Responsibilities include fostering closer ties between the Department and disability rights leaders at all levels, enhancing roll-out of Project Civic Access, expanding the ADA Business Connection, increasing the number of state building codes to become ADA certified, and establishing and strengthening new cross-agency partnerships to enhance national disability rights enforcement.
Prior to his current tenure, Ollie was the first and only person ever to serve as General Counsel and Director of Programs for the now-100,000-member American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD), the largest cross-disability national membership organization in the country, based in Washington DC. One of his primary responsibilities was international coordination of Disability Mentoring Day, a broad-based effort to enhance internship and employment opportunities for students and job seekers with disabilities through job shadowing and hands-on career exploration.
Under his leadership, over a two-year period, the program grew from 1,600 participants in 32 states, the District of Columbia, and one foreign country now to encompass worldwide involvement of more than 6,000 mentees in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and 18 foreign countries on 5 continents. He quadrupled the number of workplace mentoring organizations from 250 to almost 1,000.
Prior to joining AAPD in June 2002, Mr. Cantos served as Staff Attorney and Director of Outreach and Education at the Western Law Center for Disability Rights in Los Angeles. There, he created the Case Aggregation Strategy Team as a way of fostering greater pro bono involvement by the legal community. He also started the Southern California Disability Rights Leadership Conference, which has since grown to encompass partnerships at a statewide level, now known as the RespectAbility Conference. In 2001 Cantos was a Regional Finalist for the White House Fellowship Program.
A graduate of Loyola Law School in 1997 and Loyola Marymount University in 1992 (and one of few ever to have served in the leadership of the alumni associations of both concurrently), Mr. Cantos continues to write on a range of topics. He wrote a comprehensive toolkit for assisting students and job seekers with disabilities in identifying and determining viable career options, a California primer for crime victims with disabilities and their families, a comprehensive report to the State Bar of California on the delivery of legal services to low-income Californians with disabilities.
Recently, Lead America, a nationally-renown youth leadership development organization, created and funded an annual scholarship in Cantos' name. He also received the Founder's Award from Asian Rehabilitation Services in Los Angeles and the Board of Governors Outstanding Alumnus Award from Loyola Law School.
Eric Lee Cole, founder and President of the Dandy-Walker Alliance, Inc., began his disability advocacy journey when his son, Ryan, was diagnosed in utero with the brain defect Dandy-Walker Syndrome and the condition hydrocephalus.
Nationally, Eric has testified before U.S. Congress and worked with Capitol Hill to introduce legislation building wide bipartisan support to further research and support activities to increase public awareness, professional education, diagnosis, and treatment of Dandy-Walker syndrome and hydrocephalus. At the State level, Eric has testified before both the Maryland Senate and House of Delegates and worked with numerous elected officials on issues related to disability policy.
In June 2008 Eric was appointed by Governor O'Malley to serve on the Maryland Development Disabilities Council. He is also a member of the Children's National Medical Center Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Parent Advisory Council. He frequently speaks at corporate charity events, Children's National Medical Center fundraisers and was recently invited to the National Institutes of Health to discuss prioritization of research needs with the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke as part of their 2008 Nonprofit Forum.
Eric is married to his college sweetheart, Andrea, and resides with Ryan in Kensington, Maryland. His formal education includes a Masters of Science and Bachelor of Arts from the University of Maryland.
In 1980 she worked as a counselor for students with disabilities at Cuyahoga Community College in Cleveland, Ohio. Her third child, Luz (Lucy) was born in 1981 with multiple developmental disabilities. Mrs. De La Rosa-Aponte’s passion for the inclusion, full participation and economic self sufficiency of individual with disabilities has continued to grow since those days. She currently resides in Florida with her husband Milton Aponte, and her daughter Lucy. De La Rosa-Aponte holds a Master of Arts Degree in Education/Counseling.
She is a naturalized US citizen, born in Colombia, South America. She was named to the 2007 Honors Gallery of Colombians in USA Yearbook. In 2001 she was inducted into the Broward County Woman Hall of Fame. In 2007 she was named as a Hispanic Woman of Distinction in South Florida.
Mrs. De La Rosa-Aponte has served in numerous local, state and national boards including gubernatorial, congressional and presidential appointments. In 2003 the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives appointed her to be a member of the Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Advisory Panel. In 2004 President George W. Bush appointed Mrs. De La Rosa-Aponte to be the Chair of the national Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Advisory Panel under the Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act of 1999 until its sunset in January 2008. She currently seats as a founding member of the Global Universal Design Commission, a member of Amerigroup National Disability Advisory Board, member of the Broward County Memorial Hospital System Special Needs Council, and board member of Hispanic Unity of Broward County, Florida, Council.
Her professional experience has consisted in administering programs and providing services to individuals with disability and/or of Hispanic origin in the US in the educational and/or social service fields. She was the Director of the Hispanic Project at the Notre Dame College of Ohio from 1985-1989. From 2001-2004 she was the Principal Investigator of the Juntos Podemos (Together We Can) in Broward County, Florida, a training Project of National Significance funded by the Administration on Developmental Disabilities, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Sharman Word Dennis has postgraduate studies in special education from George Washington University, a Master of Arts degree in education – specializing in special education – from George Washington University, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in education from Emmanuel College in Boston, Massachusetts. She is considered one of the foremost experts on Early Periodic Screening, Diagnosis and Treatment (EPSDT) for persons with developmental disabilities and other special needs.
She has served as a professor at Howard University, George Washington university and the University of the District of Columbia.
She has extensive knowledge, expertise and experience working with adults and youth in residential facilities. She was instrumental in developing and providing oversight for the District of Columbia Early Intervention Program for infants and toddlers with special needs which was the lead for the implementation of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, Part H (now Part C).
She has served on numerous committees in the District of Columbia that focus on the needs of persons with disabilities and health issues, e.g. Developmental Disabilities State Planning Council, Mayor’s Health Policy Committee, the Special Education State Advisory Board, Medical Care Advisory Committee (oversight for DC Medicaid) and co-chair of Area Health Education Center (funded by HRSA). She has received awards for her work from the Medical Society of the District of Columbia, the Mayor’s Committee on Persons with Disabilities and a Letter of Commendation from former Mayor Kelly. She is currently a Board member of Shared Horizons.
She formed ROSE, Inc. in 1994, which is minority female-owned and operated, to provide support to human service systems in the areas of training, direct services, outreach, policy development, management, needs assessments, consumer surveys, audits, evaluation and marketing. Clients of ROSE, Inc. include United Planning Organization Head Start, Nation’s Capitol Child and Family Division Head Start, DC Department of Health, Health and Human Services/Center for Substance Abuse Prevention, Health Right, Inc, Chartered Health Plan, Advantage Health Plan, Practice Management Consulting, LLC, TFG of Jackson, MS, the National Coalition of Pastors’ Spouses and Mississippi Association of Community Action Agencies.
She is currently the CEO of Global Enrichment Solutions, LLC. This company provides advocacy services, evaluations and assessments, therapeutic services and training throughout the United States to schools and individuals. She manages a team of eight clinicians.
Sharman grew up in Washington, DC and attended parochial school. She currently resides in Silver Spring, MD.
William J. Edwards is a Deputy Public Defender with the Los Angeles Public Defenders Office, Mental Health Court. Since 1996, Mr. Edwards has specialized in the representation of people with mental retardation/developmental disabilities in the criminal justice system.
Prior to working in Los Angeles, Mr. Edwards worked with the office of the Public Defender in San Diego and Riverside County, California. From 1999 to 2001, Mr. Edwards worked as a staff attorney for the Office of the Capital Collateral Counsel in Tallahassee, Florida. Mr. Edwards represented inmates under sentence of death in state and federal court.
Since 1996, Mr. Edwards has represented inmates with mental retardation or mental illness on death row, pro bono, nationwide, including inmates in Texas, Nebraska, Mississippi, Louisiana and Florida. For three years, Mr. Edwards served as one of the amicus attorneys for Johnny Paul Penry, an inmate with mental retardation on death row in Texas. In Penry v. Johnson 532 US 782 (2001), a landmark Supreme Court case, Mr. Edwards and other amicus attorneys argued that the execution of people with mental retardation violates both national and international law.
Mr. Edwards has authored numerous articles on the subject of people with mental retardation in the criminal justice system. One of his publications was cited by the United States Supreme Court in Atkins v. Virginia 526 US 304 (2002). Prior to the United States Supreme Court decision banning the execution of people with mental retardation, he consulted with and testified before many state governmental legislative bodies regarding the problems people with mental retardation face while in the criminal justice system.
At the request of Temple University’s Institute on Disabilities, located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Mr. Edwards wrote a training Manual for attorneys who represent people with mental retardation, a manual which is used across the United States and in other countries, including Australia. In 2002, Mr. Edwards was asked to serve on the faculty of the National Academy for Equal Justice for People with Developmental Disabilities at Temple University.
Mr. Edwards is part of a task force on Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders looking to create a screening instrument for use in the juvenile justice court system.
During 1997-1999, Mr. Edwards was honored with the Rosemary F. Dybwad International Fellowship, sponsored by the National Association of Retarded Citizens.
Harris Hollin served as a combat officer in the Korean War and was awarded a Bronze Star. He subsequently graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics.
He has been personally and profoundly touched by his grandson, Matthew, who is fully affected by Fragile X Syndrome, the most common cause of genetically-inherited intellectual impairment. His strong desire to help Matthew and the thousands of other children and adults with Fragile X Syndrome caused him to found Conquer Fragile X Foundation (CFXF) in 1999. CFXF is a non-profit foundation dedicated to finding a cure or treatment for Fragile X. Over the past nine years the foundation has funded scientific research all over the world, facilitated information and resource sharing among scientists and supported collaborative work among the world’s premier research labs in order to advance the scientific body of knowledge about Fragile X, its causes and potential treatments. CFXF recently merged with and is now an affiliate of The National Fragile X Foundation which he serves as a Director Emeritus.
Mr. Hollin's business career includes building a pharmaceutical company, Lemmon, into what is now the United States division of TEVA Pharmaceuticals. He also served as the President of the Revlon Corporation’s International Pharmaceutical Division.
Mr. Hollin has numerous public service endeavors to his credit, including his service as vice chairman of the Pennsylvania Chamber of Commerce, an associate trusteeship of the University of Pennsylvania, a director emeritus of the Wistar Institute and a member of the board of overseers of the Libraries of the University of Pennsylvania. Harris also serves as and advisory board member for the Center on Aging and Health at the Johns Hopkins University Medical Center. He is founding Chairman and Director Emeritus of what is now known as Jerusalem Elwyn, a major provider of services to the ID community in Israel.
He is the author of The Power of Honor, a memoir motivated by his interest in Fragile X. He is a co-author of Christmas in July, a book about the last major battle of the Korean War.
He has three sons and eight grandchildren. He and his wife, Sandra, have been married for nearly 54 years.
Casey O'Halloran is 27 years old. Until recently, he lived alone in his own condo in North Fort Myers, Florida, but has moved to Cape Coral to share a house with another young man. After graduation from North Fort Myers High School in 2001, he became a permanent part-time employee at the Lee County Court House where he still works. He is well versed in the public transit system, so he can travel by himself to work and to do fun things like go to the mall.
Casey is the CEO of Casey Enterprises, a micro enterprise he started with the help of the METTA team at the University of South Florida. He is now getting assistance from his career coach to get his website up and running. His mission is to inspire, educate, and motivate other individuals with disabilities to become more independent. He gives speeches, seminars, and has made a video on employment to help do this.
In 2004, Casey became an Eagle Scout, then an assistant Scout Master. In his free time, he writes poetry and country songs. He also enjoys getting together with his family—mom and dad, two brothers, a sister-in-law, three loving nieces, and a nana—especially on "The O'Halloran Fun Friday Family and Friends Pizza Nights".
He is happy to be reappointed to the President's Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities. He felt very honored to be part of the 2007 and 2008 Reports to the President and looks forward to working with the Committee on the next Report.
Stephanie Preshong Brown is an advocate for Individuals with Disabilities. The birth of her daughter, Jordan, coinciding with the loss of her identical twin daughter, Sydney, transcended her into a world of challenges far beyond those traditionally experienced. Stephanie wishes to facilitate a systemic change for all individuals with disabilities to ensure they reach their optimal potential and live their American Dream.
She was honored to be appointed by President George W. Bush to the President's Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities. She instrumentally contributed to the Technology Report within the President’s annual report. She continues her efforts within the Martin County School Districts Least Restrictive Environment Committee, utilizing the President's No Child Left Behind policy’s strong accountability system to facilitate a broad continuum of inclusionary practices, supports and services so that all students, with and without disabilities, are actively learning in an enriched educational curriculum. The Florida Inclusion Network, Florida Department of Education, and the Education of Exceptional Students requested her attendance for their first Family Inclusion Leadership Meeting. Furthermore, she is a graduate of the State of Florida's Developmental Disabilities Partners in Policymaking program and has recently been elected Co-Chair of the University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine, Mailman Center for Child Development, a Florida University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities, Consumer Advisory Council.
As a child advocate, Stephanie is a nonprofit board member for the environmentally friendly, or "green", Treasure Coast Children's Museum. Additionally, she is a member of the Exceptional Student Education Parent Advisory Council, Elementary Student Advisory Council, Junior Achievement volunteer, and an active PTA executive board member.
Stephanie's formal education includes a Masters in Business Administration and Baccalaureate of Business Administration from Florida Atlantic University. She and her husband, David, reside with their children in Florida.
Thomas J. Reilly is a retired automotive industry executive who, since his retirement, has dedicated his time to the development of residential living and care facilities for mentally challenged adults in his community.
Mr. Reilly is married, has five adult children and resides in Wyomissing, Pennsylvania. His oldest son, TJ, was born with Down syndrome and has been the inspiration for his enduring dedication to the enhancement of the lives of the mentally and physically challenged.
Mr. Reilly served as the first president of Dayspring Homes (www.dayspringhomes.org), a network of full service residential and respite care facilities for mentally challenged adults. Under his six years of leadership, five homes in and around the city of Reading, Pennsylvania have been designed, funded, staffed and operated. These homes are noted for their personalized approach to care giving and, until recently, had been developed without public funding of any kind.
Mr. Reilly has coached people with intellectual disabilities in softball and basketball. He has also encouraged and trained countless individuals for participation in the Special Olympics.
Mr. Reilly is a Navy veteran and was educated at the City College of New York and Duquesne University.
Dr. Pucci is the founder and Managing Member of Sharp Health Strategies LLC, which provides a line of clinical research and analytic services to the health care industry. MaryMargaret is an epidemiologist and senior healthcare analyst with over 25 years of healthcare experience. In 2006, Dr. Pucci was appointed by President George W. Bush to the President's Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities.
MaryMargaret established and served as Executive Director of the Center on Clinical Effectiveness at Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, Illinois. In this role, she directed the outcomes research program and benchmarking strategy that supported clinical quality improvement. Also at LUMC, MaryMargaret served as Associate Director of the Burn & Shock Trauma Institute where she conducted research in rehabilitation outcomes and health services utilization. Here she directed overall strategy for clinical trials in trauma & burns. MaryMargaret is also the former Associate Director of the Technology Evaluation Center at Blue Cross Blue Shield Association. Her work focused on trauma, wound healing and rehabilitation, and the development of research initiatives in disease management. She served as an appointee of the Medicare Coverage Advisory Panel which advises the federal government on the utility of specific medical services.
Dr. Pucci's academic background has included research and teaching affiliations with Loyola University Medical Center, The National Rehabilitation Hospital in Washington DC, The Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, The University of Virginia Medical College and Boston University. She is a scientific peer reviewer for the Journal of Burn Care & Research and has served in the same capacity for a number of federal granting agencies such as the National Institute of Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR), the Administration on Developmental Disabilities (ADD) and the Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA).
Locally, Dr. Pucci donates her time to the Central DuPage Hospital Institutional Review Board (IRB) in Winfield, Illinois which protects the rights and welfare of patients participating in medical research, and Home Care Physicians, an award-winning medical house call program for the homebound in Wheaton, Illinois. She is also a board member for Community Nursing Services, Home Health and Hospice in Carol Stream, Illinois.
Dr. Pucci is the former President of the Board of Directors, and currently chairs the Planning & Quality Improvement committee, for the Anixter Center, one of the largest providers of rehabilitation and community integration services in the state of Illinois. The Anixter Center serves individuals with a range of disabilities including intellectual disabilities.
In addition, MaryMargaret is a health club instructor who teaches classes in cycling, yoga and Zen meditation.
Linda Hampton Starnes has spent her life actively involved in the disability community – as a student, teacher, parent and advocate. Born and raised in Knoxville, Tennessee, she has lived in Dallas, Boston, Washington D.C., and currently resides in Orlando, Florida.
Mrs. Starnes received dual undergraduate degrees in both Special and Elementary Education at the University of Tennessee in 1982. In 1994, her graduate studies at Georgetown University earned her a certification in Training and Development.
Her teaching career began in 1982, working with students with exceptional needs and their teachers. Over the course of six years she worked with kindergarten through high school students, in both Tennessee and Texas. Mrs. Starnes had the unique experience of implementing several groundbreaking programs in the early 1980s, related to inclusion of students with disabilities. Her work was highlighted in a state training film for teachers in Texas.
New opportunities took Mrs. Starnes to Boston to work in higher education and government circles. After a year at Harvard's Institute of Politics, she moved to Washington, D.C. to serve as Confidential Assistant to Attorney General Dick Thornburgh, during the tenures of Presidents Reagan and George H. W. Bush. Three years later, she moved over to the Department of Education as Special Assistant during Secretary Lamar Alexander's tenure.
Then in 1993, Mrs. Starnes began her most rewarding work as a mother of two children with significant disabilities. She has since been a devoted volunteer and activist within the disability community.
As a parent who knows first-hand how families battle "in the trenches" for their children, Mrs. Starnes has supervised a special household for more than fifteen years, which required a new set of skills. She has managed over 275 home care nurses, worked with physicians in fifteen medical specialty areas, scheduled and maintained multiple therapy-related activities, and has overseen over 40 surgical procedures or hospitalizations for her children. She has continuously advocated for appropriate inclusive education services at seven public schools, and in multiple community, recreational and religious settings on behalf of her children and all children with disabilities.
Mrs. Starnes has been a constant volunteer in the community. She has been a board member for a variety of local and regional disability-related nonprofits, and organizations concerned with issues of women and children. She has also served on numerous boards within the Fairfax County, Virginia and Seminole County, Florida public schools systems focused on educational excellence and inclusive special education.
Her volunteer work on behalf of persons with disability also extends to the faith community. In 1997, Mrs. Starnes was part of the founding team for Access Ministry within McLean Bible Church in Northern Virginia. This program has developed into one of the largest ministries in the country devoted to welcoming and including persons with disabilities.
After moving to Florida, she helped start the Northland Church/Central Florida Coalition on Religion and Disability, which brought together area churches, nonprofits and lay volunteers across central Florida. This group evolved into the Lift Disability Network, and is dedicated to encouraging and supporting members toward their goals for increasing the inclusion of persons with disabilities within the community at large, and specifically within the religious setting. Because of this effort, the Starnes Family received the "2006 Family Connections Award" from the Lift Disability Network.
Currently, Mrs. Starnes continues her service on the President's Committee for People with Intellectual Disability, after having served as a sub-committee chair in 2006-2007. In April 2008, she began her tenure on the inaugural Advisory Committee for the Dick Thornburgh Forum for Law & Public Policy at the University of Pittsburgh. Mrs. Starnes also continues to volunteer at the local level, having worked the past several years to start an Access Ministry at her current church in Florida, and now sits in its Steering Committee, as well as serves on the School Advisory Council for her children's school.
Linda Hampton Starnes resides in Longwood, Florida with her husband of twenty-four years and childhood sweetheart, Tom Starnes. Together they are raising two wonderful children – Emily, age fifteen, and Mac, almost thirteen.
Dallas "Rob" Sweezy is a public affairs/government relations advisor and strategist with more than twenty-five years of seasoned expertise. He has worked on issues ranging from international trade and agriculture, to worker safety and health and the complexities of Medicare and Medicaid. He served three presidents including Presidents Reagan, George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush in public policy positions at the Departments of Commerce, Labor, Agriculture and Health and Human Services.
From 2001 to 2004, Rob served as the Director of Public and Intergovernmental Affairs for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) during the agency’s most unique and historic period. Rob directed communications for the repositioning and re-branding of CMS’s image and was enormously successful in promoting some of the department's top policy priorities. Rob led the public roll-outs for both the Nursing Home and Home Healthcare Quality Initiatives which emphasized better health care through accountability and public disclosure. He then managed the communications efforts for the first ever pay-for-performance, Hospital Quality Incentive Demonstration with Premier Hospitals. Rob also directed the agency's first series of $25 million national advertising campaigns promoting Medicare benefits.
As part of CMS's external-partners "Open Door Forums", he was designated senior staff contact for home healthcare, hospice and durable medical equipment, and spoke to numerous healthcare groups across the country. He was instrumental in bringing attention to disparities of care and disease management issues through a significant nationwide outreach effort. Rob also coordinated several nation-wide media tours for the heads of CDC, NIH, FDA and the Surgeon General to promote passage of MMA, the new Medicare modernization and prescription drug program.
Before joining CMS, Rob started Public Affairs Strategies, with clients ranging from telecommunications and food processing to agriculture and transportation. He previously served as Vice President for a global public relations firm. Rob led several successful crisis and litigation communications support efforts and provided public policy counsel to clients. He was also Director of State Government Relations and Public Affairs for the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC). He directed political communications and strategy for federal and state issues and created SCAN, the Shopping Center Action Network, ICSC's member-based grassroots program.
A native Texan, Rob received his Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from Baylor University and completed post-graduate studies in public policy and international business at George Washington University. He served on the Board of Directors for the Northern Virginia Parents of Down Syndrome, a local advocacy group. He has four children; Dallas, Austin, Carson and Madison.
Mr. Tienken is First Vice President of Stifel Nicolaus & Co. in Chicago. Stifel Nicolaus is a full service investment firm. He works with individuals to develop their investment plans, works with companies developing 401k pension plans, and works with Endowments and Charities to develop investment policies and implement the investment plans for future growth to meet their goals.
Mr. Tienken currently serves on the State of Illinois Compensation Review Board. The Board reviews the salaries of State Employees not covered by collective bargaining agreements. He is in his second appointed term.
Mr. Tienken is currently the chairman of the Finance Committee of the Scottish Rite of Chicago and the Chicago fund raising chairman for its 32 Degree Masonic Learning Centers for Children Inc. These learning centers are the nation’s only totally free dyslexia remediation program. Most students complete the program in 2-3 years having attained or closely approached peer level reading ability. Mr. Tienken is on the board of the Masonic Family Health Foundation of Chicago, a charitable foundation benefiting Masonic charities and Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center.
Mr. Tienken lives in Clarendon Hills, Illinois with his wife, Lisa, and their three children, Emily, John and Nicholas. Emily, the oldest, has multiple special needs and attends her local High School. She has a special place in her brothers' hearts for her struggles and constant good cheer.
Mr. Tienken is a graduate of Lynchburg College, Lynchburg Virginia with a BA in Political Science-History. He remains active in local and national civic issues.
Eric Todd Treat is an advocate for people with disabilities and strives to influence and educate citizens of the state and nation that people with disabilities can be, and are, contributing members of the community who are entitled to the same basic rights and privileges as all other Americans.
Mr. Treat serves on the board of directors for the Arkansas Independent Living Council and is President of Arkansas People First. He has a history of dedicated service in the disability community and is the recipient of the Josetta Wilkins Courage Award from the Arkansas Martin Luther King Jr. Commission. Mr. Treat was named the 2003 Trillium Park Leggett Company's Volunteer of the Year and the 2007 Arkansas People First Officer of the Year.
Mr. Treat resides in Conway, Arkansas.
Carmela Vargas Gonzales was born and raised in the northern New Mexico community of Taos, where she grew up with her parents, one brother, and three sisters. Her oldest sister Cecilia (Cissy) was born with Down syndrome. She witnessed her parents raising her sister with much care, love, and as normal as any other sibling. Cissy continues to teach people about understanding, sensitivity, and patience. She learned at an early age from her sister and parents how all people ought to be treated. This was one reason she became an educator.
Mrs. Vargas Gonzales graduated from Taos High School in 1986 and moved to Albuquerque to attend the University of New Mexico. She received a Bachelor of Science degree in education with a minor in special education and social studies in 1993. In 1994, she received her certification to teach special education. Mrs. Vargas Gonzales began her teaching career in 1993 in a special education classroom for the Albuquerque Public School District where she helped to develop and implement a successful full inclusion programs for students with special needs to receive services in the regular education environment while maintaining their confidentiality.
Mrs. Vargas Gonzales is a National Board Certified Teacher. She achieved certification in November 2007 from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS). The mission of the NBPTS is to advance the quality of teaching and learning.
Mrs. Vargas Gonzales has taught for the past fifteen years and has been fully committed to collaboration with staff, parents, and students to improve the quality of education for all students. She has a love of learning and helping students to reach their full potential and achieve success at both school and home. She is committed to improving student outcomes, the quality of services, and the quality of life for all students.
In April of 2000, the Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce presented Mrs. Vargas Gonzales with the Crystal Apple Award. She was selected as an outstanding teacher who enhanced the class curriculum through community involvement, experiential learning techniques, and relevancy of learning to life skills and work environment.
Carmela Vargas Gonzales resides in Taos, New Mexico with her husband Mark Gonzales and their two sons, Isaac, age twelve, and Matthew, age ten. She is currently teaching at the Taos Municipal Charter School in Taos, New Mexico.
Charlie Weis is the current head coach of the University of Notre Dame football team, and the first Notre Dame graduate to hold this position since 1963.
Weis began his coaching career in 1979 at Boonton High School in New Jersey, and then spent the next five seasons at Morristown (NJ) High School as a football assistant. In 1985, he was hired by the University of South Carolina, serving four seasons on the Gamecock staff before returning to New Jersey as head coach at Franklin Township High in 1989. That year, he took Franklin Township to the New Jersey state championship while also assisting in the New York Giants’ pro personnel department.
In 1990, Charlie Weis launched his professional coaching career with the Giants when he was named defensive assistant and assistant special teams coach under Giants head coach Bill Parcells. The Giants went on to win the Super Bowl that season, edging the Buffalo Bills, 20-19. After Ray Handley took over as head coach in 1991, Weis stayed on as the team's running backs coach for two seasons.
Weis then began a four-year stint with the New England Patriots, where he once again served under Parcells. During that time, Weis served variously as tight ends coach ('93-'94), running back coach ('95), and receivers coach ('96). When Parcells left New England following the 1996 season, Weis once again followed his mentor to the New York Jets, where he was the team's offensive coordinator from 1997 to 1999.
Following Parcells' announced retirement after the 1999 season, Charlie Weis returned to New England and was named the team's offensive coordinator under head coach Bill Belichick, a position he held from 2000-2004. During this stint, the Patriots won three Super Bowls (2001, 2003, 2004). Although the Patriots ranked in the bottom half of the NFL in total offense in all but one of his years as the team's offensive coordinator, Weis has been credited for helping develop Tom Brady into one of the best quarterbacks in the league.
On December 12, 2004, Charlie Weis was named the 28th head football coach in Notre Dame history, agreeing to a six-year contract. Weis earned his bachelor's degree in speech and drama from Notre Dame in 1978. He earned his master's degree in education in 1989 while coaching at the University of South Carolina.
In 2003, Weis and his wife Maura established the Hannah & Friends Foundation, dedicated to children affected by developmental disorders. In the spring of '04, the first annual Hannah & Friends Celebrity Golf Classic was held to benefit the foundation. The couple has two children, Charles Joseph and Hannah Margaret.
Mary Ellen Zeppuhar, Ed.D. is a native of Pittsburgh, PA, but was reared in Wheeling, WV. She, along with 31 other wonderful women, was graduated from Mount de Chantal Visitation Academy in 1967. She attributes much of her success to the values she learned at the Mount. Dr. Zeppuhar received a B.A. degree in modern languages in 1971 from Marietta College, Marietta, OH, where she currently serves on the Alumni Board of Trustees. Following undergraduate school Dr. Zeppuhar became a teacher of Spanish and English at the West Virginia School for the Blind, where she worked for a total of 25 years, eventually becoming a School-to-Work Director there. She earned an MA degree in special education with an emphasis in visual impairment and blindness from Eastern Michigan University in 1978 and an MS degree in rehabilitation counseling from West Virginia University in 1996. Dr. Zeppuhar also earned her doctorate in special education from West Virginia University’s College of Human Resources and Education in 1996, but prior to that, she obtained teaching credentials in the area of intellectual disabilities. In 2000 Dr. Zeppuhar returned to West Virginia University as the Assistant Director for Pre-service Education at the Center for Excellence in Disabilities, where she administers the Certificate Program in Disability Studies and has recently found herself back in the Department of Special Education in the College of Human Resources and Education as the Coordinator of the new teacher certification program in low vision/blindness.
Dr. Zeppuhar has received a number of honors and awards including the West Virginia Education Fund's "Golden Apple Award," Educator-in-Residence at Classroom, Inc. in New York City, and the "All Means All School to Work Award" from the Institute on Community Integration at the University of Minnesota. She is the principal author of the Disabilities chapter for WV Healthy People 2010 and has published articles in a various professional journals, written funded grant proposals, and has made presentations at national professional conferences.
Dr. Zeppuhar is the mother of Kelly Ayers, 35, a forensic services technician for the Asheville, NC Police Dept.; Stephanie Ayers, 32, a customer services representative for the Dominion Post, a budding artist, and a person with an intellectual disability; and grandmother to Sloan Nesbit, 11, future engineer and Major League Baseball player.