DURHAM, NH – From June 24-29, Dr. Betsy Humphreys attended the AUCD Leadership Academy at the Center for Leadership in Disability at Georgia State University in Atlanta. Dr. Humphreys is a Research Assistant Professor, the NH-ME LEND Training Director, and a member of the Institute on Disability’s Management Team.
The AUCD Leadership Academy consisted of a diverse group of twenty-four current and emerging leaders from UCEDDs, LENDs, and other disability organizations in the US and Territories who immersed themselves in a week of study, shared experiences, self-evaluation, and skill development. It focused on the exploration of shared values and commitments to civil and human rights, assessments of personal and leadership strengths, skills in building partnerships to achieve collective impact, and establishing personal and professional leadership goals, was designed to enhance the leadership skills of current and emerging leaders from the disability network to build coalitions to improve systems of supports and services. Participants will continue to engage with their cohort, Academy staff, local coaches, and national allies for the following year.
“The AUCD Leadership Academy was an excellent experience that introduced me to new leadership ‘tools and provided opportunity for self-reflection and personal growth. Most important to me, however, are the new relationships with colleagues from around the US and Territories. The Academy was designed to foster the development of deep and lasting relationships within the cohort. I am grateful to the IOD for supporting my participation!”
Dr. Humphreys joined the Institute on Disability in 2010 as Training Director for the New Hampshire-Maine Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities Program. NH-ME LEND is supported by a grant from the United States Department of Health and Human Services in collaboration with the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth College. Dr. Humphreys has worked in early education settings in New Hampshire since 1985 and has collaborated extensively with public education, Head Start, state partners and child care programs. Her connection to the IOD goes back to the mid 1990’s when she completed her master’s degree in early childhood special education and participated in the NH-ME LEND program as a trainee. She currently serves on the NH Preschool Inclusion Policy Task Force, Steering Committee for the Association of University Centers on Disability Interdisciplinary Technical Assistance Center on Autism Spectrum Disorders, and the Editorial Board for the Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education.
The Institute on Disability at the University of New Hampshire was established in 1987 to provide a coherent university-based focus for the improvement of knowledge, policies, and practices related to the lives of persons with disabilities and their families. Its mission is to promote full access, equal opportunities, and participation for all persons by strengthening communities and advancing policy and systems change, promising practices, education, and research.
The AUCD Leadership Academy was developed with support from Association of University Centers on Disability (AUCD), the UCEDD Resource Center, which is funded through a contract (#HHSP233201600066C) with the Administration on Community Living’s Administration on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, and the Interdisciplinary Technical Assistance Center on Autism and Developmental Disabilities which is funded through a Cooperative Agreement (#UA5MC11068) with HRSA’s Maternal and Child Health Bureau.
