2008 Conference Faculty

Jon Baio, EdS

• Atlanta, GA
• Dr. Baio is an epidemiologist with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities. He is co-Principal Investigator on the Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network, conducting epidemiologic studies on prevalence, diagnostic patterns, and services for children with autism. He has co-written several articles on the epidemiology of autism and other developmental disabilities. His latest examines census data and their impact on prevalence estimates, published in AJMR November 2007.

Margaret Bauman, MD

• Wellesley, MA
• Dr. Bauman has been involved in research related to analyzing the underlying neurobiology of the brain in autism for more than 20 years. She is Director of the LADDERS program at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, a program devoted to the multidisciplinary evaluation and treatment of children, adolescents and adults on the autism spectrum. Dr. Bauman is the author of many publications in peer-reviewed journals and is the Co-Editor of the book, "The Neurobiology of Autism," published by Johns Hopkins University Press, the 2nd addition of which was released in 2005.

Sheldon Benjamin, MD

• Worcester, MA
• Dr. Benjamin is Professor of Psychiatry and Neurology at the University of Massachusetts Medical School and is the Director of Education and Training and Director of Neuropsychiatry in the Department of Psychiatry at UMass Memorial Healthcare. Trained as a psychiatrist and a behavioral neurologist, he has 27 years of experience diagnosing and treating behavioral disorders in persons with brain dysfunction, and has published widely in neuropsychiatry.

Terry Broda, RN, BScN, PHCNP, CDDN

• Ile Perrot, Quebec, Canada
• Ms. Broda has been a Nurse Consultant in the field of I/DD since 1993. She currently works as a Nurse Practitioner and Consultant for persons with I/DD who exhibit challenging behaviors with a newly-developed team in Ontario called the Crisis Prevention and Intervention Program (CPIP) and in Quebec with the Centre d'Expertise de Montre´al en Troubles Graves du Comportement (CEMTGC). She has lectured on both a national and international level, and has several publications to her credit. In addition to her consulting positions and speaking engagements, she also teaches nursing at John Abbott College in Montreal and is President of DDNA's Board of Directors.

Kathleen Cervasio, PhD, RN, CS, CCRN

• Brooklyn, NY
• Dr. Cervasio is a community health nurse for special needs pediatric clients, as well as the mother of 8-year-old twins with developmental disabilities. She teaches nursing in the BSN program at Long Island University and in the AAS program at Touro College. Adding to her MSN as a Clinical Specialist and her PhD in Administration, she is currently working on her EdD at Northcentral University, focusing her dissertation on the lack of nursing curricula on disability content specific to nursing.

Klara Curtis, MD

• Jacksonville, IL
• Dr. Klara Curtis is an Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine and Psychiatry at the Southern Illinois University School of Medicine Division of Developmental Disabilities and is a psychiatry consultant at the Jacksonville Developmental Center. Her areas of special interest are general psychiatry in I/DD, Fragile X Syndrome, PICA disorder, tardive syndromes, and psychotropic medication side effects in persons with I/DD.

Rod Curtis, MD

• Jacksonville, IL
• Dr. Rod Curtis is an Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine and Psychiatry and Chief of the Division of Developmental Disabilities at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine Division of Developmental Disabilities. He is also the Medical Director at the Jacksonville Developmental Center and a psychiatry consultant for Brother James Court (ICF/DD & group homes). His special interests are primary care and psychiatric in I/DD, assessing functional decline in persons with I/DD, and osteoporosis and spinal cord disease in persons with I/DD.

Laurie Denno, MA, BCBA

• Watertown, MA
• Ms. Denno is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst and a Licensed Mental Health Counselor with 30 years of experience in applied behavior analysis, including the design, implementation and monitoring of behavior treatment for persons with behavior challenges. She has specializations in deafblind, special education, vocational services, I/DD, and dual diagnosis. Ms. Denno has been a national speaker on CHARGE Syndrome and has done educational presentations in applied behavior analysis for professionals, paraprofessionals, parents, and international students studying blind and deafblind education.

Connie Frenzel, MS, RN

• Los Altos Hills, CA
• Ms. Frenzel is the Outreach Coordinator for the Autism Tissue Program, where she is responsible for outreach to the professional and lay community on issues pertinent to brain research. She brings an extensive professional health background and parent advocacy experience to the program. She has held numerous senior public health nursing positions, founded and directed a home health agency, was a clinical professor in public health nursing, and has authored several articles in gerontology and autism journals. Founder of the Parents Helping Parents PDD/Autism group in the San Francisco Bay Area, she is strong advocate for the autism spectrum community. She volunteers with numerous national and statewide parent advocacy groups and is a member of DDNA.

J. Carolyn Graff, PhD, RN

• Memphis, TN
• Dr. Graff, who received her PhD in Nursing from the University of Kansas, has been with the University of Tennessee Health Science Center since 2001. She is Chief of Nursing at the Boling Center for Developmental Disabilities, a University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCEDD) Education, Research, and Service, Director of the PhD Program in Nursing, and Associate Professor in the College of Nursing at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center. Dr. Graff has presented at local, national, and international conferences on topics related to I/DD, genetics, and genetic health care. She was a National Institute of Health Fellow at the National Institute of Nursing Research Summer Genetics Institute in 2003. She also served as guest editor for a recent edition of the International Journal of Nursing in Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities that focused on genetics and developmental disabilities.

Karen Green McGowen, RN, CDDN

• Norfolk, VA
• Ms. McGowan has been working in the field of I/DD nursing since 1965, for many years helping to move people from institutional settings to less restrictive community living. She is a recognized leader in I/DD nursing education, having authored numerous books and other training materials. In 2005 and 2006, Ms. McGowan traveled to examine conditions in institutional facilities in Romania. On her second visit, she traveled with an ABC news team across Romania searching for some of the 9000 abandoned babies who are left to either die or waste away. She is a member of the Advisory Board of Mental Disability Rights International (MDRI), which is an international human rights and advocacy organization dedicated to the full participation in society of people with mental disabilities worldwide.

Anne Hanson, BS, RN, CDDN

• Fonda, NY
• Ms. Hanson has worked in the field of I/DD nursing for more than 11 years, caring for persons throughout the lifespan. She has extensive experience in providing direct care for persons with I/DD who are medically fragile, and she supports and educates direct care providers in that role. She is presently the Coordinator of Health Education and Employee Health at Lexington Center in Gloversville, New York, where her role includes curriculum development, as well as intensive staff education.

Kathleen Heinrich, RN, PhD

• Guilford, CT
• Dr. Kathleen T. Heinrich is an award-winning educator, prolific author, and popular speaker. Applying what she learned during her 25 years of teaching in RN-BSN, masters and doctoral programs on three university faculties, Dr. Heinrich opened KTH Consulting in 2004 to help nurses present and publish. The author of "A Nurse's Guide to Presenting and Publishing: Dare to Share," she now shares her evidence-based, best presenting and publishing practices with nursing groups as a way to enhance their careers, recover their passion for the profession, and foster zestful workplaces.

Adria Hodas, MSN, RN, C, FNP

• Watertown, MA
• Ms. Hodas has 30 years of experience working with persons with I/DD in both community and school settings. For 22 years, she was the Director of Health Services for TILL, Inc., a provider of day, residential and support services. Prior to this, she was the Director of Health Services at the Boston Center for Blind Children. She currently is the Nurse Manager at Perkins School for the Blind. Ms. Hodas provides consultation and presents both locally and nationally on issues of health care for people with I/DD. She is a contributing author on nursing care for people with I/DD in both editions of "Medical Care for Children and Adults with Developmental Disabilities."

Carlton Horbelt, DDS, DABSCD

• Lakeland, TN
• Dr. Horbelt has been providing dental care to persons with I/DD full-time for the past 22 years. He has authored more than 150 publications and has made over 50 professional presentations throughout the United States advocating better dental care for persons with special needs. He is a Diplomate of the American Board of Special Care Dentistry, a Fellow of the Academy of Dentistry for Persons with Disabilities, a Fellow of the American College of Dentists, a Fellow of the International College of Dentists, and a Distinguished Practitioner in the National Academies Of Practice in Dentistry. Currently, Dr. Horbelt is President of the Special Care Dentistry Association. He is also on the Executive Board of the Academy of Dentistry for Persons with Disabilities and the Executive Board of the American Academy of Developmental Medicine and Dentistry. He regularly volunteers for the Special Olympics program: Special Athletes/Special Smiles. Dr. Horbelt is currently an Associate Professor in the Division of Pediatric Dentistry and Community Oral Health at the University of Tennessee College of Dentistry in Memphis, TN and is Dental Director at the Arlington Developmental Center in Arlington, TN.

Seth Keller, MD

• Cherry Hill, NJ
• Dr. Keller is a neurologist who provides consultative services for both community and state institutionalized developmental disabilities care. He is also a member of the Mainstreaming Medical Care Advisory Board of The ARC of New Jersey. He lectures extensively on various topics in I/DD and is active on the Board of the American Academy of Developmental Medicine and Dentistry. He is also currently a Principal Investigator on a study of medications used to treat acute repetitive seizures.

Kathleen Kirschner, MD

• Chicago, IL
• Dr. Kirschner is an Associate Professor of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at the Feinberg School of Medicine, and also holds a secondary appointment at the Medical Humanities & Bioethics Program. She is an attending physician at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago (RIC), specializing in the care of patients with neurological disabilities. She is also Director of the Donnelley Family Disability Ethics Program and Medical Director of the RIC Women with Disabilities Program. Since 1995 Dr. Kirschner has held the Coleman Foundation Chair in Rehabilitation Medicine, awarded by RIC to support her work in disability ethics and women's health care.

Jo Manion, PhD, RN, CNAA, FAAN

• Orlando, FL
• Dr. Manion is a nationally recognized speaker, author, and senior management consultant. As founder and principal consultant for Manion & Associates, she has more than 35 years experience in business and healthcare. She has worked widely in the area of leadership development and serves as a coach for both individuals and organizations. She has authored articles, book chapters, and books, including the widely recognized "From Management to Leadership."

Sandy Ott, RN, CDDN

• Palatine, IL
• Ms. Ott has been working in the field of I/DD nursing for more than 30 years. She is an Infection Control Nurse Consultant who provides infection control and annual training for agencies that serve persons with I/DD. She is a master nursetrainer for the Illinois Department of Health. She also is a requested speaker at conferences on infection control and has published an article in Nursing Spectrum entitled "Living a Full Life with Developmental Disabilities."

John Pagnani, Psy. D.

• Colchester, CT
• Dr. Pagnani is the Clinical Director of Alternative Services - Connecticut. He has directed programs and provided treatment in numerous behavioral health agencies and settings serving clients across the lifespan. Dr. Pagnani has lectured extensively on a wide array of mental health topics and provided consultation and training at numerous facilities. Specialty areas include clinical gerontology and treatment of persons and families challenged by severe, persistent mental illnesses and substance abuse.

Jane Pickett, PhD

• San Diego, CA
• Dr. Pickett is the Director of Brain Resources and Data for the Autism Tissue Program (ATP), an Autism Speaks program to recruit brain tissue donors for autism biomedical research. She lectures nationally and internationally on neurodevelopment, genetics, the neuropathology of autism, and autism brain research efforts and findings.

Rita Pobanz, RN, MSN

• Maineville, OH
• Ms. Pobanz, Principle of Focused Consultation, has an extensive history in clinical and nursing administration, staff development, quality improvement and regulatory compliance in the field of developmental disabilities. Her area of concentration is nursing staff development and training in this field, including training on the management of constipation. She is also a clinical instructor of nursing at the University of Cincinnati.

Rick Rader, MD

• Chattanooga, TN
• Dr. Rader is the director of the Morton J. Kent Habilitation Center at the Orange Grove Center in Chattanooga, Tennessee, a community-based agency that provides services for people with complex I/DD. He is responsible for the conception, implementation, and evaluation of programs designed to address the biopsychosocial health of individuals aging with I/DD. He is also editor-in-chief of Exceptional Parent Magazine and President of the American Academy of Developmental Medicine and Dentistry, as well as a board member of the American Association on Health and Disability. He has been a consultant to three Surgeon Generals in the area of health and disability and serves as a consultant to the Healthy Athletes Program at Special Olympics. He is an adjunct professor of Human Development at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. He has made more than 300 presentations to professional associations, Congress, parent groups, research agencies and universities throughout the US, Canada, Europe, and the Middle East. He has also groomed hundreds of individuals in the skills relating to making formal presentations.

Ned Rapp, MD

• Penn Valley, PA
• Dr. Rapp completed his internal medicine residency at the University of Pennsylvania service at Philadelphia General Hospital, and served as a fellow in gastroenterology at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. He then participated in the Gastroenterology Clinic at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (while a member of the Division of Adolescent Medicine). From 1990 to 2002, he was the Director of the Center for Adults with Developmental Disabilities at Albert Einstein Medical Center. He is currently on the board and serves on the education committee of the American Academy of Developmental Medicine and Dentistry.

Patricia Salmi, PhD

• Minneapolis, MN
• Dr. Salmi is a Research Associate at the Research and Training Center, Institute on Community Integration, University of Minnesota where she has worked for 6 years on projects related to inclusion and accessibility for persons with disabilities. In addition to other responsibilities, she coordinates a national emergency preparedness project for people with disabilities that will be used to assess states' readiness and inclusion of people with disabilities in state planning efforts. The assessment instrument is a web-based tool that addresses preparing for, responding to, and recovering from emergencies for each of the ten areas of emergency planning. Dr. Salmi is also involved at a state level in a cross-agency planning group for emergency preparedness and people with disabilities and has spoken on this topic at local and national meetings.

Lawrence Scahill, MSN, PhD

• New Haven, CT
• Dr. Scahill received his Master's Degree in Nursing at Yale University School of Nursing and his doctorate in epidemiology at Yale as well. He is a Professor of Nursing and Child Psychiatry at Yale School of Nursing and Child Study Center. He is the Director of the Research Unit on Pediatric Psychopharmacology (RUPP) at the Yale Child Study Center, which is part of a consortium focused on developing and testing new treatments for children with autism and related disorders. He is the author of more than 150 publications on Tourette syndrome, ADHD, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and autism. Recent publications have appeared in the New England Journal of Medicine, Neurology, Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and the Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Nursing. Along with three colleagues at Yale, Dr. Scahill recently published an edited volume entitled, "Pediatric Psychopharmacology: Principles and Practice."

Steven Thornton, MD

• Jacksonville, IL
• Dr. Thornton completed a combined residency in Internal Medicine and Psychiatry. His special interest is in the primary care of persons with I/DD. He currently is Assistant Clinical Professor in the Departments of Psychiatry and Family and Community Medicine at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine and for the past seven years has been a primary care physician at the Jacksonville Developmental Center. He attended the Kiffen Penry Minifellowship for Epilepsy in 2001, and has spoken frequently on seizures and other topics, with a special interest in behavioral manifestations of seizure disorders.

Eddie Tuduri and the Waterbury ARC

• Carpenteria, CA
• Mr. Tuduri is a musician who has worked for more than 30 years with many of the world's great entertainers, both touring and in recording sessions. He has also devoted his life to charity, beginning with Save the Children. As founder and director of Musicians for Unicef, Mr. Tuduri promoted 15 benefit concerts that raised thousands of dollars to aid children in third world countries. He was chosen the US Committee of Unicef's number one volunteer in 1990. After a life-changing surfing accident in 1997, he founded the Rhythmic Arts Project. Since then he has worked with health care professionals to develop the program as an education tool to address basic life skills in the field of disabilities. In April 2002, Mr. Tuduri received the Citation Award for Therapeutic Recreation, and in 2004 he received the Editors Achievement Award from Modern Drummer Magazine in recognition of outstanding contribution to the Drum/Percussion community. In 2005, he received the Michael Landon Award presented by the California Governor's Committee for accurately portraying people with disabilities in the media. Joining Mr. Tuduri at Foxwoods to demonstrate the therapeutic benefits of the Rhythmic Arts Project will be clients from the ARC of Waterbury, Connecticut.

Sunil Wimalawansa, MD, PhD, MBA, FRCP, DSc

• New Brunswick, NJ
• Sunil Wimalawansa, MD, PhD, MRCPath, FCCP, FRCP, DSc, is a professor of medicine, chief of the Division of Endocrinology, Metabolism & Nutrition, and Director of the Regional Osteoporosis Center at UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. He also holds the distinction of a University Professor. Dr. Wimalawansa received his MD from the University of Sri Lanka (1975) and his PhD is from the University of London (1988), diploma in Business of Medicine from the Johns Hopkins School of Business (1999), and Executive MBA from Rutgers University. He serves on several national review committees, including NIH, DEA and NASA, and several other national and international committees and advisory panels, and has been the recipient of several academic and humanitarian awards. With more than 120 peer-reviewed publications in this field, his main research focus is metabolic bone disease, in particular osteoporosis and biochemical and molecular approaches to basic cardiovascular disease, including gene therapy.

Steve Zelenski, DO, PhD

• Madison, WI
• Dr. Zelenski is a Developmental Neuropsychiatrist at the Central Wisconsin Center for the Developmentally Disabled. He also served as the Chairman of the QI Committee on Psychotropic Medication Review for the DCTF in the state of Wisconsin and as the Project Manager/Developer for Collaborative Healthcare Interactive Software. He is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Wisconsin Hospital, Department of Psychiatry. His PhD training is in the Pharmaceutical Sciences. Dr. Zelenski has authored numerous presentations and articles on the treatment of individuals with psychiatric illness and I/DD. He has worked for more than 15 years assessing pain/discomfort as a psychiatrist working with adults with intellectual disability. He is currently on the board and serves on the education committee of the American Academy of Developmental Medicine and Dentistry.