Speakers

Kara Ayers, PhD, is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Cincinnati. As the Associate Director of the University of Cincinnati Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities, Ayers applies her professional knowledge, research experience, and personal perspective to make systemic changes to improve the lives of people with disabilities. Her areas of interest and research include disability policy, parenting with a disability, self-advocacy, psychosocial development with a disability, and disability in the media. Her dissertation focused on the psychosocial development of children and adolescents with osteogenesis imperfecta, also known as brittle bone disease. Ayers is the co-founder of the Disabled Parenting Project, a peer-to-peer support network for parents with disabilities. She has served for the past five years on the boards of the Osteogenesis Imperfecta Foundation and The Association for Successful Parenting. Ayers received her PhD in clinical psychology from Nova Southeastern University.

Chris Camboni is an attorney with Disability Rights Ohio, a non-profit corporation with a mission to advocate for the human, civil, and legal rights of people with disabilities in Ohio. He has helped create guidance informing people with disabilities about their rights within the healthcare system, including issues related to rationing care, accommodations to hospital visitation policies, and access to the COVID-19 vaccine.

Jodi Kempner Collins is a clinical social worker in private practice specializing in developmental, behavioral and mental health challenges for individuals and their families. She is also the parent and caregiver of a teenager with neurodevelopmental, intellectual and medical complexities. As an advocate, caregiver and patient herself, Jodi seeks the opportunity to advocate and provide a balanced social perspective to others to create an accepting and inclusive place for disability in the community. Jodi has shared her professional and lived experiences through speaking engagements at TEDx (Living in the Field, 2016 and Are You Worthy? 2018), OCALICON, Transformative Access Workshop at OSU: Access, Inclusion and Disability in Healthcare (2020) and as a stakeholder in a workgroup for the STEER Project through OSU/Nisonger Center. In her spare time, Jodi enjoys spending time and engaging with her children in their interests and activities, photography and writing.

James Duffee, MD, MPH, FAAP is a retired general pediatrician with clinical faculty appointments in pediatrics and psychiatry at Boonshoft School of Medicine, Wright State University, Dayton, Ohio. He currently serves as policy chair of the Executive Committee of the Council on Community Pediatrics of the AAP and is a lead author of "Poverty and Child Health in the United States" published in March 2016. Dr. Duffee is board certified in pediatrics, general psychiatry, and child psychiatry. Dr. Duffee is chair of the Medical Advisory Council for the Bureau for Children with Medical Handicaps of the Ohio Department of Health. He has served on the executive committee of the Ohio Chapter of the AAP and is past chair of the Ohio AAP Foundation. His work has been recognized by Dayton Children's Medical Center with A Child's Voice advocacy award and by the Academic Pediatric Association with the 2006 Healthcare Delivery Award. Dr. Duffee was designated the Outstanding Pediatrician of the Year in 2008 by the AAP Ohio Chapter. In 2014, the AAP Ohio Chapter recognized him with the William T. Cotton Pediatrician Advocate Award.

Dean Fadel currently serves as CEO and President of the Ohio Insurance Institute. He was named to the position in 2016, and was formerly vice president of government relations beginning in 1988. The Ohio Insurance Institute is a member-driven trade organization comprised of leading domestic, regional, and national property and casualty insurance companies and related organizations throughout the state of Ohio.

Prior to joining OII, Fadel held legislative and public affairs positions at the Ohio Dental Association and Ohio Department of Insurance.

In 2007, Fadel was appointed as a member of the Franklin County Board of Developmental Disabilities and in 2012 and 2013 he was elected president of this board. The Franklin County DD Board oversees the budget and programs serving over 20,000 Franklin County residents. He served on this board through 2018.

In 2007 he was also elected to serve on the board of trustees for the Ohio Association of County DD Boards (OACB) and was elected president in January 2010 and reelected president 2011, 2015, 2016 and 2017. The membership of the OACB includes the DD boards of all 88 Ohio counties. He served on this board through 2018.

In 2010, Fadel became a founding member and officer on the board of Ohio Special Initiatives by Brothers and Sisters or Ohio SIBS which is dedicated to addressing concerns and providing support for adult brothers and sisters of people with developmental disabilities. Ohio SIBS has become a recognized 501(c)(3) entity to provide a forum for adult brothers and sisters of people with developmental disabilities to gain guidance, support, advocacy and education for the long-term care of their sibling.

In 2019, he was elected to the Board of Directors of Dreams on Horseback, which provides equine therapy and vocational training for people with developmental disabilities.

In 2006 through 2007 he served as a facilitator for the Next Chapter Book Club which provides adolescents and adults with intellectual disabilities the opportunity to read and learn to read, talk about books, and make friends in a fun, community setting.

His younger brother Jeffery has Down syndrome and lives semi-independently in Gahanna, Ohio and is served by the Franklin County DD Board.

He is a 1983 graduate of Ohio University with a bachelor degree in business administration and currently resides in Blacklick, Ohio, a suburb of Columbus, and lives with wife Jacquie and daughter Rachel.

Dr. Laurie Glader is Section Chief of the Division of Complex Health Care and Medical Director of the Comprehensive Cerebral Palsy Program at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. A graduate of Stanford University and UCLA School of Medicine, Dr. Glader completed her pediatric residency and fellowship in Behavioral and Developmental Medicine at Boston Children’s Hospital. Dr. Glader served as the Outpatient Director of the Complex Care Service and as Co-Director of the Cerebral Palsy and Spasticity Center at BCH for many years. Dr. Glader has a research interest in how pediatricians can work with multi-disciplinary teams to enhance the lives of children with complex conditions. She has also conducted research as part of the multi-site Transforming Healthcare of Women with Disabilities work supported by the Cerebral Palsy Foundation. She edited a book for generalists on the care and management of children with severe forms of cerebral palsy, has authored numerous papers and chapters, and speaks widely on topics related to children with medical complexity.

Dr. Glader has been an active member of the American Academy of Cerebral Palsy and Developmental Medicine and just completed her tenure on the Board of Directors. Over time she has served as a Commissioner of the Governor of Massachusetts on the Catastrophic Illness in Children Relief Fund, Co-Chair of the Committee on Disabilities in the Massachusetts Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, an Advisor to the Birth Defects Monitoring Committee with the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, and Medical Director at the Cotting School for children with special needs.

In Internal Medicine and Pediatrics at Hilliard, Dr. Chris Hanks works primarily with patients diagnosed with chronic childhood illness, with a specific focus on autism. Dr. Hanks works with young adults and adults, and he focuses on improving access to care by understanding potential barriers and helping patients navigate the healthcare system.

Dr. Hanks is involved in programs designed to develop new approaches of treatment for autism, which will then be expanded to medical professionals throughout The Ohio State University.

Currently, he is involved in a review-based research project, which is being carried out using existing teenage patients. By obtaining details on these patients’ experiences, gaps in the healthcare system can be modified as they transition into adult care.

Dr. Havercamp is director of the Health Promotion and Healthcare Parity Program at the Ohio State University Nisonger Center. She is a consulting editor for Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities and Inclusion and the book review editor for the Journal on Mental Health Research in Intellectual Disabilities. In addition, she is chair of the Research Committee for the National Association for Dual Diagnosis, on the Board of Directors of the Alliance for Disability in Health Care Education and the Human Services Research Institute.

Dr. Havercamp is a founding member of the AAIDD Student and Early Career Professional Committee and serves as a member of the NADD Professional Certification Committee. She was recently elected to a four-year presidential term of the American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, which is the largest and oldest interdisciplinary professional organization in intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Dr. Havercamp's research focuses on physical and mental health issues in people with disabilities. She provides disability training for health care providers and serves as the disability issue representative to the Group on Diversity and Inclusion at the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC). Dr. Havercamp directs a program to increase the state’s capacity to promote health, prevent chronic disease and improve emergency preparedness and quality of life for Ohioans with disabilities.

Polly Irwin, RN is a nurse and care coordinator for the Center for Autism Services and Transition (CAST) at The Ohio State University focusing on transition in health care for youth and adults with autism. Polly has a wealth of autism clinic experience and works with families and professionals.

Dr. Keeton is an assistant professor of Clinical Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience in the College of Medicine at the University of Cincinnati. He has a dual appointment in Family Medicine and Psychiatry. He is working in diverse environments including: Inpatient Consult-liaison Psychiatry, Outpatient neurodevelopment psychiatry, collaborative care and inpatient family medicine. One of his many passions includes residency education and building curriculum.

Michelle obtained her Bachelor of Arts in Adolescent to Young Adult Education with a concentration in English writing from Heidelberg University. Michelle is a motivational speaker. In 2014, she was the keynote speaker for the BEST Assistive Technology Family Conference. As the Outreach Center’s current Family Support Liaison she provides information, supports, resources, and connections to families and learners who are deaf, hard of hearing, or blind. Michelle has personal experience with deafness and blindness, since she has two cochlear implants and is fully blind. She is passionate and enthusiastic about providing equity and access to all students.

Garey Noritz, MD, is an internist and pediatrician at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. He is Division Chief in the Complex Health Care Program, which provides a medical home to children and adults with neurodevelopmental disabilities. He is a professor of Pediatrics at The Ohio State University.

Dr. Noritz is a graduate of Brown University School of Medicine, and a fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics and of the American College of Physicians. He is board certified in Internal Medicine, Pediatrics, Neurodevelopmental Disabilities, and Hospice and Palliative Medicine. He is active at the national level in advocating for the care of children and adults with disabilities. He is past Chair of the Lifespan Committee of the American Academy for Cerebral Palsy and Developmental Medicine and received the Mentorship award by that organization in 2019. In 2013, he was awarded “Physician of the Year” by Nationwide Children’s Hospital. Dr. Noritz’s research interests include efforts to improve the early detection of young children with motor disorders, bone health in patients with disabilities, transition of children with disabilities to adult models of care, palliative medicine, and the respiratory care of patients with neuromuscular diseases.

Dr. Saha is an internist and pediatrician at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center where she is also an Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine.

Dr. Laura Sorg is the Medical Director for the Ohio Department of Developmental Disabilities. Dr Laura joins the department with over thirteen years of experience as a family physician. Throughout her career, Dr. Laura has had a special focus on care throughout the life span, rural medicine and caring for those with intellectual disabilities. Her goals are to expand awareness of preventative care to the over 90,000 Ohio citizens with developmental disabilities in the state, as well as education to those health care professionals serving them.

Carl V. Tyler, Jr., MD, MSc, was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio. After one-year post-graduate study in psychiatry, he completed 3-year family medicine residency, then practiced in a small group family medicine practice for nearly a decade, where he became interested in the health care needs of vulnerable populations, particularly the elderly and adults with developmental disabilities.

He completed a fellowship with Master's degree in Academic Family Medicine at Case Western Reserve University with a focus on medical education in clinical geriatrics and developmental disabilities medicine. He then completed an NIH-sponsored 3-year fellowship in Practice-Based Research Design and Methodology at Case Western Reserve University.

In addition to board certification as a family physician, Dr. Tyler has a Certificate of Added Qualifications in Geriatrics and is a Certified Medical Director in Long-term Care (CMD). As Director of Geriatric Education at the Cleveland Clinic Family Medicine Residency, he has curricular responsibility for training family medicine residents in the primary care of elders in ambulatory, long-term and home-care settings. He also enjoys teaching a seminar in evidence-based medicine. He also teaches medical students and resident physicians about providing primary care to persons with developmental disabilities. As a fellowship-trained researcher, he assists resident physicians and faculty in conducting their scholarly work.

Katie Robinson works at the AT&AEM Center at OCALI in accessible materials production and has worked in the field for twelve years, producing educational materials in braille, large print, and digital text. She is certified in both EBAE and UEB literary braille production. She serves on the Transcriber and Educator committee for the National Braille Association. She speaks to university students about her experiences as a disabled person in the education system, and is an active disability advocate. Robinson received her degree in Computer Networking Administration from DeVry University. She enjoys reading, baking, knitting, sewing, and gaming.