Plenary Speakers. Nancy Thaler, Executive Director, National Association of State Directors of Developmental Disability Services

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1 Plenary Speakers Sharon Lewis, Principal Deputy Administrator, Administration for Community Living, and Senior Advisor to the Secretary on Disability Policy U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Sharon Lewis, was named Principal Deputy Administrator at the Administration for Community Living (ACL), as well as Secretary Sebelius Senior Advisor on Disability Policy in November Ms. Lewis came to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to lead the Administration on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (AIDD) in the spring of Prior to joining the Administration, Ms. Lewis spent over a decade working on disability policy at the state and local level. She spent three years as Senior Disability Policy Advisor to Chairman George Miller of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Education and Labor. She also assisted President Obama s Transition Team as a member of the U.S. Department of Education Agency Review Team and, before that, served as a Kennedy Public Policy Fellow on the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Children and Families with Chairman Chris Dodd. During her tenure as AIDD s Commissioner, Ms. Lewis was a steadfast advocate for the implementation of policies and programs that improve the lives of those living with disabilities and their families. Over the past year, she also served as ACL s Acting Principal Deputy, playing an integral role in ACL s development and continuing her advocacy for access to community supports. Ms. Lewis is also a parent to three daughters, including one with disability. She is a native of Michigan and a graduate of Washington University in St. Louis. Nancy Thaler, Executive Director, National Association of State Directors of Developmental Disability Services Nancy Thaler is the Executive Director of the National Association of State Directors of Developmental Disabilities Services (NASDDDS). NASDDDS, which serves 50 states and the District of Columbia, keeping state leaders informed about federal policy, representing states issues to federal agencies, and providing information and technical assistance to state administrators on promising practices. Ms. Thaler began her career in 1971 working in nonprofit agencies developing community services for children and adults with developmental disabilities. From , she served as the Director of Pennsylvania s developmental disability service systems. From , she worked for U,S. Department of Health and Human Services Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) as the Director of Quality Improvement for Medicaid Home and Community-Based Services Waiver programs. She receive the Outstanding Ally Award from the Autistic Self Advocacy Network-2011; The Censoni Award of Excellence in Public Services from The National Association of State Directors of Developmental Disabilities Services (NASDDDS)-2003; The Chairman s Award from the President s Committee on Mental Retardation ; and The Award for Contribution to Non-Aversive Behavioral Intervention from TASH Ms. Thaler has a Bachelor of Arts and an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters, Honoria Causa from College Misericordia and a Master of Human Organization Science/Public Administration from Villanova University. Ms. Thaler and her husband are the parents of an adult son with intellectual disabilities.

2 Michelle "Sheli" Reynolds, PhD, Director of Individual Advocacy and Family Support UMKC-Institute for Human Development University Center on Excellence on Developmental Disability Sheli's passion, knowledge and experience come from growing up as a sibling of a younger brother with developmental disabilities. Professionally, she serves as the Director of Individual Advocacy and Family Support at UMKC Institute for Human development, Missouri's University Center on Excellence in Developmental Disabilities. For the last 17 years she has been responsible for projects that directly impact the lives of self-advocates and their families through both policy and practice changes. In this role she provided technical assistance to the statewide and national self-advocacy movement and served as the lead author on the National Agenda for Supporting Families Report. She is currently the co-principle investigator on the National Community of Practice on Supporting Families which is funded by the Administration on Developmental Disabilities and directs the Missouri Family-to-Family Health Information Center. She received her doctorate in Public Administration and Sociology from the University of Missouri, Kansas City with a focus on research and policy for families of individuals with developmental disabilities across the lifespan. Sarah Bohn, Ph.D., Research Fellow, Public Policy Institute of California Sarah Bohn is a research fellow at the Public Policy Institute of California. PPIC aims to inform and improve public policy in California through independent, objective, nonpartisan research. Sarah has been a research fellow at PPIC since A labor economist, her work focuses on how policy impacts individual and family economic well-being, with particular attention to lowincome and vulnerable populations. She has published research on poverty, underground labor markets, the future of California s economy, California s community colleges, and the labor market impact of immigration policy. She has also conducted research on income inequality during the Great Recession, with a focus on the role of unemployment and educational attainment on family economic outcomes. Her research has been supported in part by grants from the Ford Foundation, Russell Sage Foundation, Walter S. Johnson Foundation and James Irvine Foundation. Sarah s work has been cited in the New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, The Economist, as well as media outlets across California. She is regularly called upon to speak to stakeholders in the California policy community as well as to provide expert testimony to various committees of the California legislature. Sarah holds a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Maryland, College Park.

3 . Santi Rogers, Director, California Department of Developmental Services (Photo Pending) Mr. Rogers is a native Californian, born and raised in the San Joaquin Valley (Fresno, CA). He has worked twenty-seven (27) years within the Department of Developmental Services as a Special Education Teacher; Director of Title I Early Education Program, Program Director, Executive Director and Deputy Director of the Department of Developmental Services. He has served as an Executive Director for four (4) State Developmental Centers: Stockton (1976), Sonoma (1985), Porterville (1987) and Agnews (1992). During the course of this experience, he has had the opportunity to be the Deputy Director for the State Department of Developmental Services for Community Services Division (Regional Centers); the Administrative Division and the Developmental Center Division. He has also been called on to serve in acting positions as a trouble-shooter at both developmental centers and regional centers. He retired from State service in 1995 and was hired as Executive Director of San Andreas Regional Center where he continued until February In January 2014, the Governor appointed Santi J. Rogers as Director of the Department of Developmental Services effective March He has enjoyed 45 years of work in the field of developmental services.

4 States Panel Speakers Denny Amundson, Former Director of the California Department of Developmental Services, Moderator Denny is a longtime leader and advocate in the field of developmental disabilities. In 1968, he joined the staff of Assemblyman Frank Lanterman, the powerhouse California Legislator who authored the landmark Lanterman Mental Retardation Services Act. As his Chief of Staff, Denny participated in drafting the original legislation, as well as follow-up bills, including the updated Lanterman Developmental Services Act, the California Master Plan for Special Education, and the Community Care Licensing Act. During Ronald Reagan's second term as Governor of California, Denny was appointed Deputy Secretary of the Health and Welfare Agency, with special emphasis on providing oversight on developmental disabilities issues. He has also served as the first Executive Director of the North Los Angeles Regional Center for the Developmentally Disabled, Director of the Department of Economic and Business in Governor Jerry Brown's first term, Director of the Department of Developmental Services under Governor Pete Wilson, and National Vice President of Business Development for the MENTOR NETWORK. Now semi-retired, Denny continues to serve as a human services consultant for a variety of public and private clients. Brian Lensch, Program Administrator, Arizona Long Term Care Services - Department of Economic Security, Division of Developmental Disabilities Brian M. Lensch is currently semi-retired working part-time for the Department of Economic Security/Division of Developmental Disabilities. Brian has been the Arizona Long Term Care System (ALTCS) program lead for the Division of Developmental Disabilities since 1991 including supervision and oversight of managed care requirements under the contract with AHCCCS, the Single State Medicaid Agency. He has served as the Acting Assistant Director and the Deputy Assistant Director for the Division of Developmental Disabilities. Mr. Lensch has over 40 years of experience in the field of cognitive disabilities/developmental disabilities, working as a direct care provider and in various management and administrative positions. Mr. Lensch has experience working at the state, county and local levels managing, developing and implementing programs for persons with developmental disabilities.

5 Alexandra Bartolic, Director, Disability Services, Minnesota Department of Human Services Alex Bartolic is the director of Disability Services at the Minnesota Department of Human Services. Disability Services serves people with disabilities and health conditions, including people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, physical disabilities, brain injury and HIV/AIDS, and is responsible for the administration and oversight of MA programs, including four home and community based service waivers, home care, day services, employment, case management, ICF/ID, guardianship, and state grants that support families and people who do not qualify for other services. Alex has extensive experience at the state and local level with home and community based services. She began her career in special education for students with complex disabilities. She left special education as home and community based services were expanding to support families, and create community options for people with developmental disabilities. Alex has been recognized for innovations that have enabled people with disabilities to live and work in their communities. She is currently engaged with reform of Minnesota s home and community based system to better respond to the expectations and future needs of Minnesotans with disabilities. Beth Wroblewski, Deputy Administrator, Division of Long Term Care, Wisconsin Department of Health Services Beth Wroblewski is the Deputy Administrator of the Division of Long Term Care for Wisconsin s Department of Health Services. The Division oversees programs and services for adults and children such as: Community Options Program, Family Care, IRIS- Self-Directed Supports, PACE, Partnership, Community Relocation Efforts, Katie Beckett Medicaid Eligibility, children s Medicaid Home and Community-Based Services waivers and services including Autism Services and the Birth to 3 Program. Beth has over 30 years of experience in developing and overseeing services to children and families, individuals with disabilities, and frail elders, including those with dementia. She has worked as an adult day care and meals on wheels coordinator, a community integration specialist, the Birth to 3 Program Coordinator and the Director of the Bureau of Long Term Support prior to taking on her current role as Deputy Administrator.

6 John L. Martin, Director, Ohio Department of Mental Retardation & Developmental Disabilities John L. Martin was first appointed as Director of the Ohio Department of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities, effective January 15, The Department was re-named The Ohio Department of Developmental Disabilities (DODD) in 2009, following the efforts of many of Ohio's self-advocates. In 2011, Governor John Kasich re-appointed Director Martin to continue serving as Director of DODD. Martin has emphasized leadership transformation in several areas for the department, including increased collaboration with stakeholders, upgrading technology infrastructure, and making data driven decisions to help better align resources and programs for long-term sustainability. He has led several core initiatives such as: Creating more opportunities for individuals with developmental disabilities to live and work within their communities; developing the Positive Culture Initiative; supporting shared services and collaboration models among county boards; and consolidating all programs under DODD to reduce confusion for those who use those services. Martin knows the Developmental Disability community first-hand, not only as the father of a young adult son with disabilities, but also as the former Executive Director of Sunshine Inc. of Northwest Ohio since 1984, a non-profit organization serving people with Developmental Disabilities and their families. Prior to coming to the Department, Martin was the Executive Director of a large diverse provider organization. He was a live-in house parent in a group home, a direct care worker with medically involved children, a special education teacher, and the president of a software company. He is also the parent of three children, one of whom has significant disabilities. Martin received a Bachelor's degree in Special Education from Illinois State University and a Master's degree in Community Psychology from Temple University.