AAC-RERC Partners

Email: frank.deruyter@duke.edu

Kevin Caves,  ME, ATP, RET, is the Director of the current RERC on Communication Enhancement , a Clinical Associate in the Department of Surgery at Duke University Medical Center , and an Instructor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Duke University . He is also the Secretary of the Executive Committee Board of Directors for RESNA; Associate Editor of Assistive Technology Journal; Rehab Engineering PSG Chair; a NIH Ad Hoc Reviewer for Special Emphasis Panel (SSS-5); and a member of Coalition of Rehabilitation Engineering Research Organizations (CRERO), the National Joint Committee (NJC) for the Communication Needs of Persons with Severe Disabilities, and the NCITS V2 Standards Committee. Mr. Caves has authored over 10 articles and chapters, and is a past recipient of the RESNA Distinguished Service Award.

Email: kevin.caves@duke.edu

David R. Beukelman, Ph.D. is the Barkley Professor of Communication Disorders at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Director of Research and Education of the Communication Disorders Division, Munroe/Meyer Institute of Genetics and Rehabilitation, Omaha , Nebraska . He is also a Senior Researcher in t he Institute for Rehabilitation Science and Engineering at Madonna Rehabilitation Hospital in Lincoln , Nebraska , focusing on augmentative and alternative communication, dysarthria, and oral cancer. Dr. Beukelman is a past Editor of Augmentative and Alternative Communication Journal and has published numerous articles and co-authored several books relating to AAC. He is a past recipient of the President's Award from the International Society for Augmentative and Alternative Communication as well as the Fred Strache Leadership Award 16 th Annual International CSUN Conference.

Email: dbeukelman1@unl.edu

Sarah Blackstone, Ph.D. is the President of Augmentative Communication, Inc., which publishes Augmentative Communication News (ACN) and Alternatively Speaking (AS). Distributed worldwide, ACN and AS provide the latest information on hot topics in the field, discussion of vital issues for AAC stakeholders and news from the AAC community. Dr. Blackstone is also a past-president of the International Society of Augmentative and Alternative Communication (ISAAC), and its first Distinguished Service Award Recipient. She is a partner and management team member in the current RERC on Communication Enhancement, and has authored multiple chapters, texts, and articles in the AAC field.

Email: sarahblack@aol.com

Diane Nelson-Bryen, Ph.D is the Executive Director and Professor for Institute on Disabilities/Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities at Temple University . In addition to being a partner with the current RERC on Communication Enhancement, Dr. Bryen also serves on the boards of The AAUCD Legislative Affairs Committee, AHVA - Israel , The Pennsylvania Office of Mental Retardation Planning Advisory Committee, The Pennsylvania Assistive Technology Foundation, and the Teddy Pendergrass Alliance. She is the founder of Augmentative Communication & Empowerment Supports (ACES) and Augmentative Communication On-Line Users Group (ACOLUG). Her awards have included the "Just Do It" Award from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Humanitarian of the Year Award from the United Cerebral Palsy of Pennsylvania, and the Access Achievement Award from the Philadelphia Mayor's Commission on People with Disabilities.

Email: dianeb@temple.edu

Jeff Higginbotham, Ph.D is an Associate Professor with tenure and Director of the Communication and Assistive Device Laboratory in the Department of Communicative Disorders and Sciences and State University of New York at Buffalo . He is a partner with the current RERC on Communication Enhancement, has been Co-Investigator and Consultant to 10 additional federally-funded research initiatives, and has published over 15 AAC-related articles. Among Dr. Higginbotham's awards are ASHA's Psi Iota Xi Research Award, the Editor's Award for Augmentative and Alternative Communication Journal, and the U.S. Department of Education's Mary E. Switzer Distinguished Research Fellow.

Email: cdsjeff@buffalo.edu

Janice Light, Ph.D is a Professor in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders at The Pennsylvania State University, teaching graduate courses and seminars in augmentative and alternative communication. In addition to being a partner with the current RERC on Communication Enhancement, she has also been the PI of 5 major multi-year funded grants, served on expert panels for NIH and NIDRR, and published over 20 AAC-related articles. Dr. Light has received the Journal of Augmentative and Alternative Communication Editor's Award, and ISAAC's Distinguished Lecturer Award; and from Penn State , the Dorothy Jones Barnes Teaching Award for Excellence, Teaching Hall of Fame, and Evan G. and Helen G. Pattishall Outstanding Research Achievement Award.

Email: JCL4@psu.edu

David McNaughton, Ph.D is an Associate Professor in the Department of Educational and School Psychology and Special Education at The Pennsylvania State University. He teaches classes on observation and communication skills, and his current research interests include the development of vocational opportunities for individuals with severe disabilities, and the effective use of web-based instructional materials. Dr. McNaughton is a partner with the current RERC on Communication Enhancement, and has published over 20 AAC-related articles. He has received ISAAC's Editor's Award and the Outstanding Dissertation Research Award from the Council for Learning Disabilities.

Email: DBM2@psu.edu

Howard Shane, Ph.D . is the Director of the Communication Enhancement Center (CEC) at Children's Hospital Boston. Dr. Shane is a Fellow of the American Speech and Hearing Association and the recipient of the Goldenson Award for Innovations in Technology from United Cerebral Palsy Association. He is the author of numerous papers and chapters on severe speech impairment, lectured throughout the world on the topic, and produced numerous computer innovations enjoyed by persons with cerebral palsy. He is an Associate Professor in the Department of Otolaryngology at the Harvard Medical School .

Email: howard.shane@TCH.Harvard.edu

Michael Williams, MA has been in the forefront of the disability rights movement. He was the first severely disabled person to attend Pasadena's John Muir High School in the 1950s; earned an AB degree in English from Pasadena City College and Occidental College in 1961; and a Masters of Library and Information Studies from the University of California in the mid 1980s. He writes Alternatively Speaking ( AS ) from a historical perspective and articulates the view of augmented communicators. He is a partner with the current RERC on Communication Enhancement. He is a lifelong user of AT, a mentor to numerous users of AAC technologies, and a strong leader in the disability rights movement.

Email: augtalk@gmail.com