Meet the people who created the Equipped to Engage Toolkit.
Project Co-Leads
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.
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
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Jacob Myers
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.
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.
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.
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.
Elijah Thomas
Elijah thinks research is important because it helps people learn about individuals with disabilities. He likes that research is inclusive.
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.
