Advisory Committee on Increasing Competitive Integrated Employment for

Individuals with Disabilities

BIOGRAPHIES

Federal Official Members

David Weil, Administrator

Wage & Hour Division

U.S. Department of Labor

Dr. David Weil was sworn in as the Administrator of the Wage and Hour 

Division on May 5, 2014. Dr. Weil is an internationally recognized expert 

in public and labor market policy; regulatory performance; industrial 

and labor relations; transparency policy; and supply-chain restructuring 

and its effects.

Prior to this appointment, Dr. Weil served as professor of economics and 

the Peter and Deborah Wexler Professor of Management at Boston 

University School of Management. He also served as co-director of the 

Transparency Policy Project at the Ash Institute at Harvard’s Kennedy 

School of Government. He has written three books on labor market policy, including the recently 

published The Fissured Workplace. He has authored numerous articles and publications in a variety of 

economics, public policy, management, and industrial relations journals and books, as well as 

numerous publications in non-academic outlets. 

No stranger to the Department’s mission or its work, Dr. Weil has served as an adviser to both the 

Wage and Hour Division and to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, as well as to a 

number of other government agencies. He also has served as mediator and adviser in a range of 

labor/union and labor/management settings across the globe. In addition to his work for the 

Department, his research has been supported by the National Science Foundation, the National 

Institutes of Health, the Russell Sage Foundation, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, and the National 

Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, among others. Dr. Weil received his B.S. at Cornell 

University and M.A. and Ph.D. in public policy at Harvard University.
Jennifer Sheehy, Deputy Assistant Secretary

Office of Disability Employment Policy

U.S. Department of Labor

Jennifer Sheehy is the Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Office of Disability 

Employment Policy, US Department of Labor. Prior to her current position, 

Jennifer spent ten years at the US Department of Education in many roles, 

including Director of Policy and Planning in the Office of Special Education 

and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS), acting Director of the National 

Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR), acting Deputy 

Commissioner of the Rehabilitation Services Administration and Special 

Assistant to the Assistant Secretary of OSERS. Jennifer came to the 

Department of Education from the Presidential Task Force on 

Employment of Adults with Disabilities where she was Senior Policy 

Advisor and served a detail as Associate Director in the White House Domestic Policy Council. Before 

she joined the task force staff, Jennifer was Vice President of the National Organization on Disability 

and Director of its CEO Council. Jennifer earned a BA from Cornell University and graduated with 

honors from Georgetown University, where she received her MBA.

Portia Wu, Assistant Secretary

Employment & Training Administration

U.S. Department of Labor

As the Assistant Secretary of Labor for Employment and Training, Portia 

Wu works to advance job-driven skills training. Previously, she served as 

Special Assistant to the President for Labor and Workforce Policy at the 

White House Domestic Policy Council (DPC). From 2011 to 2012, she 

served as the Senior Policy Advisor for Mobility and Opportunity at 

DPC. Prior to joining the Administration, she was the Vice President at 

the National Partnership for Women and Families from 2010 to 

2011. From 2003 to 2010, Ms. Wu worked at the Senate Health, 

Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee in a number of roles, 

including Labor and Pensions Counsel, Chief Labor and Pensions Counsel, 

and Labor Policy Director and General Counsel.

Prior to working in the U.S. Senate, Ms. Wu was an attorney at Bredhoff & Kaiser, PLLC, and clerked 

for Judge Richard A. Paez in the United States District Court for the Central District of California. Ms. 

Wu received a B.A. from Yale College, an M.A. from Cornell University, and a J.D. from Yale Law School.
Bob Williams, Deputy Commissioner

Administration on Disabilities

Administration on Community Living

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Bob Williams is the Deputy Commissioner, Administration on 

Disabilities and Director, Independent Living Administration. Prior 

to his appointment, Mr. Williams served as a Senior Advisor to the

Deputy Commissioner for Retirement and Disability Policy in the 

Social Security Administration’s Office of Retirement and 

Disability Policy. Mr. Williams formerly served as a Senior Advisor 

to the Acting Associate Commissioner of the Social Security 

Administration’s Office of Employment Support Programs. 

Immediately prior to this, he was the Special Assistant to the 

Director of the Washington, DC Department on Disability Services. 

He has also advised the Kaiser Foundation, the Commonwealth Fund and others on policy issues 

affecting the health, independence and economic well-being of Americans with disabilities of all 

ages.

From 1993-2000, Williams served as Commissioner on Developmental Disabilities and then as the 

Deputy Assistant Secretary for Disability, Aging and Long Term Care Policy in the U.S. Department of 

Health and Human Services. In 1990, he worked on enacting the Americans with Disabilities Act and 

began his career serving on a court appointed monitoring team charged with closing Forest Haven, 

the District of Columbia’s institution for people with developmental disabilities.

John O'Brien, Senior Policy Advisor and Elderly Health Programs Group

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services

U.S. Department of Health and Services

John O'Brien is the Senior Policy Advisor for the Disabled and Elderly Health Programs Group at the 

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Previously, John was the Senior Advisor to the 

Administrator on Health Care Reform at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services 

Administration (SAMHSA). John O’Brien was the Director of several national projects funded by the 

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to develop strategies for coordinating funding for human services 

from federal, state and local dollars. Prior to his work at SAMHSA, Mr. O’Brien worked with the 

Technical Assistance Collaborative for fifteen years as a Senior Consultant. He has provided 

consultation to over 30 states and local human services authorities. He has worked with Medicaid, 

state mental health and substance abuse authorities. He has worked with states to develop federal 

Medicaid Waivers, Medicaid state plan amendments, and federal grant applications (e.g., children’s 

system of care).

Mr. O’Brien has also been a manager at KPMG Peat Marwick and worked for the Eunice Kennedy 

Shriver Center, the Massachusetts Developmental Disability Council, the Illinois Governor’s Office, 
and the Illinois Legislative Commission on Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Substance Abuse. 

He was a program staff at Thresholds, Inc. in Chicago.

Janet LaBreck, Commissioner

Rehabilitation Services Administration

U.S. Department of Education

As commissioner of the Rehabilitation Services Administration, Janet 

LaBreck oversees programs that help people with disabilities find 

employment and live more independently. Prior to that role within the 

U.S. Department of Education, she was the Commissioner of the

Massachusetts Commission for the Blind (MCB), a position she held

since 2007.

Ms. LaBreck joined the MCB in 1985 as Consumer Advocate. She has 

served in a number of positions at the MCB since then, including 

Independent Living Coordinator, Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor, 

and Regional Director of Central Massachusetts. Since 2005, she has 

worked as an Adjunct Professor at Assumption College, where she 

teaches courses in rehabilitation of the blind and case management in rehabilitation. She was 

awarded an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from the New England College of Optometry. She 

received a B.A. from the University of Massachusetts and an M.Ed. from Springfield College. 

Robert Pfaff

Deputy Associate Commissioner

Office of Research, Demonstration and Employment Support

U.S. Social Security Administration

Robert Pfaff is the Social Security Administration’s Deputy Associate Commissioner in the Office of 

Research, Demonstration and Employment Support (ORDES) where he 

has served since 2013 as the executive responsible for the 

administration of SSA’s Ticket to Work Program. Rob began his career 

in 1995 at the Maryland Disability Determination Services where he 

conducted medical claims reviews and authorized determinations for 

individuals applying for Social Security disability benefits. In 1999 he 

was selected to become Unit Supervisor where he managed a unit of 

8 disability adjudicators and 2 clerical staff. In 2001, Rob was selected 

by the Social Security Administration to draft disability policy and 

regulations including medical Listings, vocational policy, and the 

conversion of disability application forms into electronic format. In 

2004, Rob was selected by the Office of Program Development and 

Research to serve as a certified Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) leading disability 
research projects. He subsequently became the component lead on homeless initiatives by serving 

as the SSA representative on the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH).

In 2012, Rob was selected as the Division Director in the Case Management Office in the Office of 

Medical and Vocational Expertise (OMVE) where he led a unit of 45 disability adjudicators, clerical 

staff and managers in the adjudication of disability claims in support of state disability agencies and 

federal Hearings units. Rob served in this capacity until his selection as Deputy Associate 

Commissioner in ORDES in 2013. Rob is a 1994 graduate of Towson University where he majored in 

History and Social Science and minored in Secondary Education.

Public Citizen Members

Self-Advocate Category

Patrick Hendry – Mental Health America 

Patrick has worked as a mental health advocate for the past twenty-four 

years. His areas of expertise include social inclusion, self-directed care, 

recovery-based trainings, peer workforce development and peer-run 

programs. In his capacity at Mental Health America he is currently 

developing the first national certification program for employing people 

living with psychiatric disabilities in private behavioral health care. In 1992 

he co-founded the first peer-run organization in Florida to contract 

directly with the State for the provision of services and has, since that 

time, assisted with the development of numerous peer-run programs. He 

is a strong supporter of the inclusion of mental health consumers in all 

aspects of the mental health system.

Karen McCulloh – McCulloh & Associates Consulting

Karen McCulloh understands firsthand the opportunities and challenges 

in the workforce development system for the disability community. A 

professional registered nurse (RN) specializing in neurosurgical intensive 

care who also worked in community health nursing, as a nurse executive 

and as a nurse entrepreneur, McCulloh was initially informed that she 

was being considered for sheltered employment after developing 

multiple disabilities before her first in-person meeting with her 

vocational rehabilitation counselor. McCulloh’s personal experience 

spurred her in a new professional direction. Unable to find employment 

as a healthcare professional after becoming disabled, McCulloh became 

the first RN in the state of Illinois who has multiple disabilities to set up 

a for-profit practice while creating her own specialty in nursing, 

Community Health Disability Education. She also co-founded the National Organization of Nurses with 
Disabilities, NOND, www.nond.org in 2003. She has worked for the past 24 years in the workforce 

development arena for and with people representing cross-disabilities. She has worked with local, 

state, national and global corporations focusing on CEO education. McCulloh’s work extends to the 

promotion of healthcare careers for qualified veterans and civilians with disabilities and to the 

development of supports and best practices for healthcare professionals who are mature workers 

that become disabled after licensure.

In 2005, McCulloh accepted the founding Executive Director position of disabilityworks, an initiative 

set up at the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce where she focused her work in the Northeast Region 

of Illinois on the employment of people with disabilities, an initiative that went statewide in 2007. In 

2006, McCulloh accepted a federal appointment from the U.S. Secretary of the Department of Labor 

to the National Job Corps Advisory Committee and was appointed as the Chair of the Disability 

Subcommittee. She was the only person with a disability to serve on this advisory committee.

In 2008, McCulloh resigned from her federal appointment to serve on President-elect Barack Obama 

and Vice President-elect Joe Biden’s Transition Team in Washington, D.C. while continuing as 

executive director for disabilityworks. In 2010, she resigned as the executive director of 

disabilityworks to reestablish her own independent contracting business, Karen McCulloh & 

Associates Consulting. She received a Presidential Appointment from President Obama to the U.S. 

AbilityOne Commission in 2011. 

In October 2012, McCulloh joined National Disability Institute as the founding Project Director for the 

LEAD Center while telecommuting, a position she held until resigning in October 2013. Karen is a 

graduate of Loyola University of Chicago and Grant Hospital School of Nursing in Columbus, Ohio.

Santa Perez - People First of Nevada

Statewide President, People First of Nevada Live, Laugh, Love, Advocate 

Santa Perez – Advocate Co-coordinator for the People First of Nevada 

Project funded by the Nevada Governor’s Council on Developmental 

Disabilities (NGCDD) Santa Perez is from Southern California where she 

was very active in the self-advocacy movement. She earned her 

Bachelors of Arts degree in Psychology from Cal State Northridge. When 

Santa moved to Las Vegas in the mid-1990s, she discovered that there 

were no advocacy groups for people with disabilities. This was 

unacceptable for Santa and she started her quest to bring a self-advocacy 

group to Nevada. Santa completed the Partners in Policy Making 

program in 1999 at The University of Nevada, Reno. Their UCEDD had 

just started a new project, AmeriCorps Vista (Volunteers in Services to 

America), and she was informed that they wanted her to become a member. This became her golden 

opportunity to fulfill her goal of bringing a self-advocacy group to Nevada. Through this project, Santa 

co-founded People First of Nevada and her dream is now a reality with 7 chapters all around the state. 

Santa is a very proud and active President of the People First of Nevada. She has testified before the 

state legislation and was instrumental in getting the Signature Stamp Law and the People First 

Respectful Language Law passed. Santa is currently working for Community Chest of Nevada, 
reporting through the NGCDD as an Advocate Co-Coordinator for the People First of Nevada Project. 

She has given many presentations at national conferences around the country. In her personal life 

Santa has accomplished many things. She has her own home and is a part of her community, but in 

her eyes, her greatest accomplishment is her son Noah.

Provider Organizations

Brian Itzkowitz - Goodwill Industries of Arkansas

Brian Itzkowitz, President and CEO of Goodwill Industries of Arkansas, a 

nonprofit organization whose mission is to help build lives, families and 

communities by assisting people with disabilities and other special needs 

reach their highest potential through training, education and employment 

services. Itzkowitz joined the agency in August 2008, and has over 16 years 

of experience in the Goodwill network. Since his arrival, Goodwill has seen 

the people served increase by over 500%, people placed in employment 

increase 40 fold, and has created more than 500 jobs internally. Currently, 

he oversees more than 700 employees and 38 retail and donation locations 

across the state.

Prior to Goodwill Industries of Arkansas, Itzkowitz served as Vice President of Retail Operations at 

Goodwill Industries of Southwest Florida. He began his nonprofit career at Goodwill Industries of the 

Chesapeake in Baltimore, Maryland as director of retail operations. Collectively, Itzkowitz has over 20 

years of senior management experience. Itzkowitz maintains active involvement in several 

professional and community service organizations. 

Currently, he serves on both the Arkansas Workforce Investment Board and the Little Rock Workforce 

Investment Board, Arkansas State Rehabilitation Council and Goodwill Industries International’s 

board of directors. He is also involved in other local nonprofit organizations, serving on the Boards of 

the CARTI Foundation, Arkansas Society of Association Executives, University of Miami Alumni Board 

of Directors, University of Arkansas – Little Rock College of Business Advisory Board and serves on the 

leadership team for Arkansas Walk Now for Autism Speaks. Itzkowitz is also an active member of the 

Rotary Club of Little Rock. He holds a bachelor’s degree in international finance and marketing from 

the University of Miami. Additionally, he has been certified as Chief Executive Officer, and is a 

graduate of Goodwill’s Executive Development program.
Christine McMahon – Fedcap

Christine McMahon joined Fedcap in 2009 and has championed the 

organization’s strategic growth, significantly increasing the 

nonprofit’s size as well as its service delivery and reach among people 

in need throughout the Northeast.

Ms. McMahon has more than 25 years’ experience in social and 

mental-health services in New York and New England. She is 

nationally recognized for the breadth of her strategic vision and her 

expertise across a wide range of social programs, for the 

implementation of numerous social-service-delivery and 

community-based initiatives, and for influencing state and local 

healthcare and social policy. She previously served as Senior Vice President and COO of an Easter Seals 

region that encompassed New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine, Rhode Island, New York and 

Massachusetts.

Ms. McMahon received her Master of Health Administration from the University of New Hampshire 

and her BA in Psychology from New England College. Her numerous honors include the New 

Hampshire Business Review-Outstanding Women in Business Award, the National Easter Seals – Lou 

Lowenkron Award for Program Innovation, the Division for Children, Youth and Families – Director’s 

Choice Award, and the Riverbend Community Mental Health – Rainbow Award.

National Disability Organizations

Alison Barkoff - Bazelon Center

Alison Barkoff is the Director of Advocacy at the Bazelon Center. She works 

on policy and litigation related to community integration and inclusion of 

people with disabilities, including Olmstead, Medicaid, employment, housing, 

and education. From 2010 to 2014, she served as Special Counsel for 

Olmstead Enforcement in the Civil Rights Division of the Department of 

Justice. In that position, she led the Division’s efforts to enforce the right of 

individuals with disabilities to live, work and receive services in the 

community. Under her leadership, the Division issued its first Olmstead 

guidance and was actively involved in Olmstead litigation across the country, 

including numerous cases culminating in statewide system reform settlement 

agreements. 

During her time with the federal government, Ms. Barkoff also worked with the Centers for Medicare 

& Medicaid Services on finalizing rules governing Medicaid-funded community-based services and 

with the Department of Labor on implementation of its new home care rule in Medicaid-funded 

disability service systems. Prior to her time with the government, she worked at the Bazelon Center 
and at other public interest organizations on Olmstead enforcement, disability discrimination, 

Medicaid, employment, and education cases. She clerked for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia 

Sotomayor when she was on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, and for Judge William 

Pauley of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. She is a graduate of 

Cornell University and Emory University School of Law. Ms. Barkoff also is a sibling of an adult brother 

with a developmental disability.

Ruby Moore – National Disability Rights Network

Ruby Moore is the Executive Director of the Georgia Advocacy Office, the 

designated Protection and Advocacy System for People with Disabilities in 

Georgia. Moore is nationally known for her work in the disability field over 

the past 39 years, particularly in the areas of employment, augmentative 

communication, and the design and implementation of supports necessary 

for people with significant disabilities to live, work, play, and go to school in 

the community. Her experience includes growing up with family members 

with disabilities, working in both institutional and community settings, 

running provider organizations, working within and outside government 

bureaucracies, individual and systemic advocacy, directly supporting 

individuals to obtain employment, housing, and other supports necessary to 

live in the community, and working to improve local, state and national disability policy.

Moore has over 30 years of experience helping people wrongly considered “unemployable” due to 

type or level of disability, to get jobs and build careers. She was one of the original architects of the 

national supported employment initiative and was one of a small group of people working on early 

national technical assistance grants to the states for their statewide systems change initiatives. She 

ran an employment institute in MA, and was an employment provider for 16 years. She helped to set 

up statewide employment institutes and technical assistance centers in NH and CT. Moore also ran a 

federally-funded model demonstration program securing high quality employment for people with 

dual sensory impairments (“deaf-blindness”) in New England, replicated the project in California. She 

has provided technical assistance across the United States and in several other countries. Moore hosts 

a statewide employment initiative in GA.

Ari Ne’eman – Autistic Self Advocacy Network

Ari Ne’eman is the President and co-founder of the Autistic Self 

Advocacy Network, an advocacy organization run by and for Autistic 

adults seeking to increase the representation of Autistic people across 

society. In 2009, President Obama nominated Ari to the National 

Council on Disability, a federal agency charged with advising Congress 

and the President on disability policy issues. He was confirmed by the 

Senate in July 2010 and currently chairs the Council’s Entitlements 

Committee. From 2010 to 2012, he served as a public member to the 

Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee, a Federal advisory 

committee that coordinates all efforts within the Department of Health 
and Human Services concerning autism. Ari also served as an adviser to the DSM-5 

Neurodevelopmental Disorders Workgroup convened by the American Psychiatric Association.

Appointed by Governor Jon Corzine, Ari served as Vice Chair of the New Jersey Adults with Autism 

Task Force, where he represented autistic adults in reviewing the state’s autism services. He also 

previously served on the New Jersey Special Education Review Commission, where he authored a 

minority report on the topic of aversives, restraint and seclusion. He is also a board member of TASH, 

an advocacy organization focusing on advancing social justice for people with significant disabilities. 

In addition, he was named by the New York Jewish Week as one of their “36 by 36′′ in 2010. He has a 

bachelor’s degree from the University of Maryland-Baltimore County, where he studied political 

science in the Sondheim Public Affairs Scholars Program.

Academia/Research

Vicki (Valerie) Brooke, M.Ed. – Virginia Commonwealth University

Ms. Brooke has been with Virginia Commonwealth University since 

1979 earning a M.Ed. in Special Education with an emphasis on 

employment for people with disabilities. Ms. Brooke was one of our 

country’s original job coaches and has served as the Center’s Director 

of Training for over 20 years. In addition to these responsibilities, in 

the last several years she has also managed an employment services 

program as a vendor with Virginia Department of Aging and 

Rehabilitative Services and Virginia Medicaid Waiver program, serving 

individuals with intellectual disabilities, autism, brain injury and spinal 

cord injury. Ms. Brooke has served as the Project Director/Principal 

Investigator for multiple national and state grants all related to employment of people with significant 

disabilities and has gained close working relationships with vocational rehabilitation managers, public 

school systems, and community businesses both through the vendorship and as a Board member of 

the Virginia Business Leadership Network. 

Ms. Brooke has served on the editorial board for Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation since 2000 and 

is a frequent speaker, consultant and contributor to the literature with numerous book chapters, 

journal articles, newsletters, and briefing papers. She is committed to creating opportunities that 

support the full partnership of people with disabilities that are achieved through community 

integrated competitive employment.
David Mank, Ph.D. – Indiana Institute on Disability and Community; Committee Chair

David Mank, Ph.D., is the Director of the Indiana Institute on Disability and 

Community at Indiana University, Indiana’s University Center for 

Excellence on Disabilities, and Full Professor in the School of Education.

As a writer and researcher, Dr. Mank has an extensive background in the 

education and employment for persons with disabilities. He has authored 

or coauthored numerous articles and book chapters. His interest also 

includes a focus on the transition of persons with disabilities from school 

to employment and community living. 

Mank holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology and English from Rockhurst College in Kansas City 

(1975), a Master’s from Portland State University in Special Education (1977), and a Doctorate in 

Special Education and Rehabilitation from the University of Oregon, Eugene (1985).

Mank is a member of the editorial boards of the Research and Practice for Persons with Severe 

Disabilities (TASH), the Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation, the Journal of Disability Policy Studies, 

Siglo Cero, and Associate Editor for the journal on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. 

He has served on the Board of Directors of the American Association on Intellectual and 

Developmental Disabilities. He is Past President of the Association of University Centers on 

Disabilities. He was a founding board member of APSE, The Network on Employment. He was recipient 

of the Franklin Smith Award for National Distinguished Service from The Arc of the United States.

Employers

Jim Brett – President and Chief Executive Officer, The New England Council 

James T. Brett, President and Chief Executive Officer of The New 

England Council, was appointed to those positions by the Council's 

board of directors in October 1996. Mr. Brett has been a leading voice 

in advocating for public policy issues such as health care, education, 

financial services and energy throughout New England and 

Washington, D.C.

Before joining the Council, Mr. Brett served for more than fifteen years 

as a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives. He held 

a succession of important leadership positions, including the 

chairmanship of two of the most significant committees in the 

Massachusetts legislature, Banking and the Committee on Taxation. In these positions, he brought 

together various constituencies to create economic opportunity for the Commonwealth's citizens and 

businesses. He previously served as Chairman of the Joint Committee on Banks and Banking, the Joint 

Committee on Criminal Justice, the Joint Committee on Congressional Redistricting, the Joint 

Committee on Counties, and the House Committee on Legislative Redistricting.
Mr. Brett recently served as the Chairman of The President’s Committee for People with Intellectual 

Disabilities and continues to serve as a member, as well as serving as Chairman of the Governor’s 

Commission on Intellectual Disability. Mr. Brett is Past President of the Board of Directors of the 

Massachusetts Association for Mental Health. 

In addition to a Bachelor's degree from American University, Mr. Brett holds Master's degrees in 

Public Administration from both Suffolk University and the John F. Kennedy School of Government at 

Harvard University.

Oswald (“Oz”) Mondejar - Partners Continuing Care

Oz Mondejar is the Senior Vice President of Mission and Advocacy for Partners 

Continuing Care (PCC). Comprised of the Spaulding Rehabilitation Network 

and Partners HealthCare at Home, PCC is a member of Partners HealthCare 

and one the largest not-for-profit post-acute providers in the country. In his 

role, Mr. Mondejar touches on many areas from community outreach to 

workforce development as well as implementation of key initiatives such as 

“Working Partners”, recognized as a first of its kind public/private partnership 

between Spaulding Rehabilitation Network and the Massachusetts 

Rehabilitation Commission that works to break down barriers to employment 

for people with disabilities. 

Over his distinguished career in the private and public sector, Mr. Mondejar has served in numerous 

leadership positions with a focus on human resources and community relations. A significant focus 

for him has been on work force development opportunities for the community with disabilities and 

employer education by striving to demystify the obstacles both real or perceived, to considering 

qualified candidates with disabilities. 

With a practical result based approach, he has continually demonstrated the significant economic 

value to businesses and society as a whole of engaging this largely untapped talent pool. Mr. 

Mondejar has worked with a wide variety of businesses from small local employers to large global 

corporations to develop models and processes to enhance their recruitment and retention programs 

by incorporating the community with disabilities. He has been recognized numerous times by public 

and private organizations for his work in this arena as well as for a lifetime of mentorship and youth 

development.
Steve Pemberton – Divisional Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer, Walgreens

Fortune 50 Executive, Author of “A Chance in the World” & Voice of 

Change for Youth. A ward of the state for much of his childhood, Steve 

Pemberton has made opportunity, access, and equality pillars of his 

personal and professional life. One of America's most inspiring 

executives, he is recognized as a leader on matters of diversity and 

inclusion and their importance to the growth of the American industrial 

complex. 

Overcoming seemingly insurmountable odds, Pemberton has gone from 

being a forgotten ward of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to 

becoming a trailblazing Divisional Vice President at Walgreens and the 

first Chief Diversity Officer for the 113 year old company. As such, he 

directs activities to help serve diverse markets and populations, including customers in medically 

underserved areas, food deserts, and urban areas, as well as strengthens relationships with diverse 

suppliers and communities. Prior to that, he made history as the first Chief Diversity Officer and VicePresident of Diversity and Inclusion for an Internet start-up while at Monster.com. 

His memoir, A Chance in the World: An Orphan Boy, a Mysterious Past, and How He Found a Place 

Called Home, chronicles his difficult path through foster care and his determined search for his family. 

Pemberton’s story has garnered nationwide attention and has been captured in major media outlets 

such as People Magazine, The Steve Harvey Show and multiple news networks. 

Hollywood has taken notice and is currently adapting A Chance in the World into a screenplay. In the 

corporate world, Pemberton is recognized as an enlightened executive driven by his commitment to 

diversity and the capacity to lead through adversity. As founder of the non-profit A Chance in the 

World, he focuses on connecting people who are in need of a chance with people willing to give them 

one that will help move them in their desired direction in life. He also serves on several boards 

including The Home for Little Wanderers where The Pemberton Fund for the Future has been 

established in his name. Furthermore, as a board member of UCAN, he assists in providing guidance 

and offering inspiration to children in need.

Other Experts

Cesilee Coulson – Washington Initiative for Supported Employment

Ces brings 20 years of experience in training and development to her 

position, including, leadership development, Employment First strategy 

development and non-profit management. She designs, implements and 

manages employment training and technical assistance projects that 

increase employment opportunities and outcomes. She holds 

certifications as an Executive Coach by the Hudson Institute and a Somatic 

Executive and Leadership Coach by the Strozzi Institute. She is a past 
board member for National APSE, the National APSE Foundation and is a current board member with 

the Community Employment Alliance (a WA State Association of Employment Agencies). She holds a 

Master’s Degree in Social Psychology/Exercise and Movement Science from the University of Oregon. 

Ces lives in Bellingham, WA where she enjoys sailing in the San Juan Islands, golfing, camping and 

gardening with her family and two dogs.

Sharyn Hancock – Workforce Essentials Inc.

Sharyn Hancock is assigned as the Disability Resource Coordinator at 

Workforce Essentials, Inc. a non-traditional, private, non-profit 

organization delivering workforce development services for Tennessee 

Department of Labor and Workforce Development in middle Tennessee 

overseeing the Tennessee Career Center System and delivery of Adult, 

Dislocated and Youth programs to Job Seekers and Employers. 

Sharyn Hancock has been charged with addressing accessibility issues or 

other barriers preventing individuals with disabilities from fully utilizing 

Career Center services at the 9 county career centers, as well as managing 

their Workforce Investment Board Employment Network through the 

Social Security Administrations Ticket to Work Program. Her 20 years’ experience in the public 

workforce system has led Sharyn to obtain strong expertise in working with job seekers, employees, 

employers and youth of all levels and backgrounds. Sharyn holds a Bachelor of Science in Business 

Administration from Everest University, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Rita M. Landgraf – Delaware State Department of Health & Social Services 

Rita M. Landgraf was sworn in as Secretary of the Department of Health 

and Social Services on Jan. 22, 2009. As Secretary, she leads the principal 

agency charged with keeping Delawareans healthy, advancing initiatives 

that promote self-sufficiency while ensuring that those citizens who are 

most vulnerable receive the appropriate services and supports that 

produce quality of life outcomes. She oversees one of the largest 

departments in the Delaware government, with an annual state budget 

of more than $1 billion. 

Landgraf, who has spent more than 30 years of her career in support of 

individuals with disabilities, served as a key adviser to Gov. Jack Markell 

during his yearlong initiative as Chair of the National Governors Association to increase employment 

opportunities for people with disabilities. The Governor’s 2012-2013 initiative, “A Better Bottom Line: 

Employing People with Disabilities,” culminated with the release of a blueprint for his fellow 

governors specifically focused on the role that state governments and businesses can play in creating 

more employment opportunities for people with disabilities and on improving employment 

outcomes. Landgraf continues to work with the Governor to increase employment opportunities for 

individuals with disabilities in Delaware’s private, nonprofit and public sectors.
Secretary Landgraf has been a leader on health care, disabilities, and senior issues, including formerly 

as executive director of The Arc of Delaware, where she was instrumental in creating a community 

based job development and placement program, and during her tenure at The Arc provided guidance 

to self-advocates in creating Delaware People First. Landgraf also served as the Executive Director of 

the National Alliance on Mental Illness in Delaware, and president of AARP Delaware. For her efforts, 

the University of Delaware inducted her into the University Of Delaware Alumni Wall Of Fame in June 

2011, and she will be inducted into the Delaware Women’s Hall of Fame this March.

Lisa Pugh – Disability Rights Wisconsin

Lisa Pugh is the Public Policy Coordinator for Wisconsin's Disability Policy 

Partnership and Policy Director for the state's Protection and Advocacy 

agency, Disability Rights Wisconsin. In this role she educates 

policymakers at the state and federal level and coordinates and informs 

the work of other advocates, coalitions and organizations that support 

people with disabilities in Wisconsin. The policy partnership is a unique 

collaboration of Disability Rights Wisconsin, the Board for People with 

Developmental Disabilities and People First Wisconsin. As a Joseph P. 

Kennedy, Jr. Foundation Public Policy Fellow in 2009-2010, served as a disability policy advisor in the 

U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Education and Labor and in the Office of the Under

Secretary at the U.S. Department of Education.

Lisa has worked to advance initiatives and train advocates, including people with disabilities, on a 

variety of issues. In the past year she was instrumental in coordinating support for significant 

investments in integrated, competitive wage employment initiatives for people with disabilities and 

extending access to long-term care programs throughout Wisconsin. She is currently the policy lead 

on Wisconsin's youth Partnerships in Employment systems change grant - Let's Get to Work - funded 

through the Administration on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities and serves as Education 

Issue Team Lead for the statewide Survival Coalition of Wisconsin Disability Organizations. In May 

2014 Lisa was appointed by President Obama to serve on the President's Committee for People with 

Intellectual Disabilities. Lisa lives in Madison, Wisconsin. She has three children, one of whom as a 

developmental disability.

Fredric Schroeder – Interwork Institute at San Diego State University

Dr. Fredric K. Schroeder was born in Lima, Peru, in 1957. He and his brother 

Steve were adopted and moved to the United States when he was nineteen 

months old. Born with normal vision, Dr. Schroeder became blind at the 

age of seven after suffering a severe allergic reaction known as StephensJohnson's Syndrome. As a result, his vision deteriorated over a nine-year 

period, leaving him totally blind at the age of sixteen.

Following graduation from high school, Dr. Schroeder attended the 

Orientation Center for the Blind in Albany, California. There he joined the 

National Federation of the Blind, and his involvement in the disability 
consumer movement has been central to his life and work ever since. His professional achievements 

are impressive. In 1980, Dr. Schroeder returned to New Mexico to work as a teacher of blind children 

for the Albuquerque Public Schools. Six years later, Dr. Schroeder was appointed the New Mexico 

Commission for the Blind’s first executive director. In 1994, President Bill Clinton appointed Schroeder 

to serve as the ninth commissioner of the Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA) within the US 

Department of Education. As RSA commissioner he administered a $2.5 billion dollar program 

providing services to more than one million people with disabilities each year. He focused on highquality employment—better jobs, jobs with a future, jobs enabling people to achieve a good and 

equitable standard of living. His crowning achievement as RSA commissioner was ending the practice 

of having state vocational rehabilitation agencies place people with disabilities in segregated 

employment settings, often at subminimum wages.

Following his service as RSA commissioner, he joined the faculty of the Interwork Institute at San 

Diego State University. He now works as a research professor specializing in leadership and public 

policy in vocational rehabilitation. He also serves as the Executive Director of the National 

Rehabilitation Association, a grassroots organization of rehabilitation professionals. His involvement 

in the National Federation of the Blind also continues. On July 5, 2006, Dr. Schroeder was unanimously 

elected first vice president of the National Federation of the Blind, and he often represents the 

Federation at national and international meetings and conferences. Dr. Schroeder has also held a 

number of leadership positions internationally. He was the founding president of the International 

Council on English Braille and presently serves as the first vice president of the World Blind Union.

Dr. Schroeder attended San Francisco State University, earning a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology in 

1977; a master's degree in Special Education in 1978; and a Ph.D. in Education Administration from 

the University of New Mexico in May 1994.