The Institute on Disability is pleased to announce that Jennifer Sulewski, PhD, has been named Associate Director of the Institute on Disability (IOD), as well as Assistant Research Professor. As a Senior Research Associate and Project Manager at the Institute for Community Inclusion (ICI) at UMass Boston, Sulewski brings knowledge and an interest in community life engagement, evaluation, community building, and employment services and supports to this new and unique position at the IOD. She will begin working with us on January 3, 2023.
As Associate Director, Sulewski will be working closely with IOD Director Kelly Nye-Lengerman, PhD, and IOD faculty/staff on research, activities, operations, and outreach pertaining to our UCEDD (University Centers for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities). She will be a member of the IOD management team, a connection to our state agency partnerships, and a key member of our team focusing on research, grants, and/or contracts in community living. As assistant research professor, Sulewski will be conducting, leading, and partnering on research and service work in community living.
“Dr. Sulewski brings many diverse experiences in research, evaluation, and service to the IOD,” says Nye-Lengerman. “She has more than 20 years of scholarly history in grants and projects related to community living and participation for people with disabilities, including those who experience intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). I’m excited for the future collaborations her arrival and role as Associate Director will bring to the IOD and UNH.”
Sulewski received her PhD in social policy from Brandeis University and performed case study research for her dissertation titled In Search of Meaningful Daytimes: Community-Based Nonwork Supports for Adults with Developmental Disabilities. At the Institute for Community Inclusion, she was Principal Investigator of the Lawrence Partnership for Transition to Employment, leading a five-year, collaborative local project aimed at improving transition experiences and outcomes for Latinx youth with disabilities in Lawrence, MA. Incorporating her passion for community living, Sulewski also lead a team of researchers and advisors in developing and testing a fidelity scale for use by service providers in determining if their day services and supports lead to community life engagement for people with intellectual disabilities.
“I'm excited to have this opportunity to take on a leadership role at the IOD,” says Sulewski. “I am looking forward to building on my existing portfolio of research on community life engagement as a member of IOD's community living team and seeking out new partnership opportunities across UNH and beyond.”
