The Team

Meet the people who created the Equipped to Engage Toolkit.

Project Co-Leads

Ariel is a woman with dark, shoulder-length brown hair wearing a checkered button up shirt

Ariel Schwartz, PhD, OTR
University of New Hampshire

Ariel thinks research is important because it can help us understand what does and doesn’t work to improve people’s lives. Her favorite thing about research is collaborating with people.

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Katherine McDonald, PhD
Syracuse University

Katie thinks research is important because research can help us understand needs and find solutions to make people’s lives better. Katie’s favorite thing about doing research is getting to do it with a bunch of smart people who care about make the world better for everyone.

Project Coordinator

Headshot of Maddie Brodeur smiling, with long brown hair, wearing glasses and a black sweater.

Madison Brodeur, OTD, OTR/L

Maddie thinks research is important because it helps us find barriers and create solutions to create better opportunities for people. Her favorite thing about research is learning from the people on her research team. 

Workgroup

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Karla Ausderau 

Karla thinks research is important because it helps us work together with people with lived experience to create real, practical solutions that improve health, participation, and quality of life. Her favorite thing about research is working with community and university partners to learn new things.

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Kayte S Barton 

Katie thinks it is important to include people with intellectual/developmental disabilities in research to get accurate data. Her favorite thing about research is finding the data and using it to build policy and promote inclusive research. 

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Jena Crafton 

Jena thinks research is important because it helps people understand disabilities. Her favorite think about research is learning more about how to support people with disabilities.

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Shawna Dedonado

Shawna thinks this research is important to help individuals with disabilities be more independent. One of her favorite things about doing this research is being able to meet new people.

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Brendan Durkin

Brendan thinks research is important because it helps people learn about people with Down syndrome. He likes research because it’s educational and inclusive.

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Micah Fialka-Feldman 

Micah thinks research is important to help people. His favorite things about research are learning, sharing his ideas, and sharing facts about what the team learned in research.

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Kami L. Gallus 

Kami thinks research is important because it transforms data into meaningful, real-world impact that strengthens quality of life, belonging, and relationships across communities. Her favorite thing about research is seeing how the patterns and stories we uncover can translate into meaningful supports that truly enhance people’s daily lives, relationships, and sense of belonging.

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Karen Heath

Karen thinks research is important because it helps us understand issues that are important to communities and the people who live in them. She loves collecting qualitative data because it gives her the opportunity to hear about the issues that are important to individuals and their communities. 

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Liberty Hicks 

Liberty thinks research is important because it helps everyone to know the facts and truth of any thing. Her favorite about doing research is seeing how the lines connect, because it’s not always what you assume it is.

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Garrett Jones 

Garrett thinks research is important to learn about things and know how to support people. He likes being part of a research team.

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Jessica M. Kramer 

Jessica thinks research is important because it helps us figure out what works and what doesn’t work to support people to achieve the outcomes they want for their lives. Her favorite things about research are learning new things and being surprised and working with other people towards a common goal.

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Courtney Anne Krueger

Courtney thinks research is important because it leads to better services, accessible design and effective treatment directly addressing the daily challenges and needs of the disability community. Her favorite thing about doing research is talking to other people about her research, collecting and analyzing data and coming up with a final conclusion. 

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Eric J. Moody 

Eric thinks research is important because it helps us find better ways to help people. He loves research because he gets to learn new things and work with really great people.

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Jacob Myers

Jacob thinks research is important because we get to help other people figure out problems or different situations they experience. His favorite thing about research is inspiring other people with disabilities to do research.

Headshot of Joanne Nicholson smiling, with chin-length hair, wearing glasses and a dark blazer with red top.

 

Joanne Nicholson

Joanne thinks research is important because it helps people get the best information possible to make good decisions about their health and health care, and to make good decisions for their families. Her favorite things about research are getting to know people, learning about their strengths and concerns, and helping them solve problems.

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Cyril Nonga-Mann 

Cyril thinks research is important because it can help people get experience and knowledge. His favorite thing about research is creating apps to help people do more activities in the community.

Headshot of Maria Paiewonsky smiling, with short hair, wearing a button up light shirt.

Maria Paiewonsky 

Maria thinks research is important because it helps us understand what’s working and what we can do to make things better. One of her favorite things about doing research is talking with people about the issues that matter to them and working together with the community.

Headshot of Laura Slugg smiling, with chin-length brown hair, wearing a white blouse with multicolor scarf.

Laura Slugg

Laura thinks research is important because it helps us learn what is true about the world. Her favorite part of doing research is meeting with people and talking to them about their lives and what they think about research questions.

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Elijah Thomas 

Elijah thinks research is important because it helps people learn about individuals with disabilities. He likes that research is inclusive.

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Lieke van Heumen

Lieke things research is important because it helps us better understand people’s experiences and needs, so we can improve supports, policies, and everyday practices in meaningful ways. Lieke enjoys asking questions, learning from others, and turning what we find into something that can make a real difference.