The Steering Committee includes the Core Partners and additional experts in public health, medicine, dentistry, nursing, pharmacy, allied health, and interprofessional education, as well as self-advocates. This collaborative group expands interprofessional representation and provides insight, oversight, and leadership using the Collective Impact Model. The Steering Committee works closely with the Consortium Action Networks (CANs), the working groups of the project.
Sarah H. Ailey, Ph.D., RN, PHNA-BC, CNE, CDDN, FAAN
Dr. Ailey is a professor in the Department of Community, Systems, and Mental Health Nursing at Rush University. Dr. Ailey is an internationally recognized champion in the advancement of scholarship and professional practice in the care for people with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities.
Brian Abery, Ph.D.
Dr. Abery is the co-director of the Research and Training Center on Outcome Measurement and the Global Resource Center for Inclusive Education at the University of Minnesota. He has been the Principal Investigator of numerous projects designed to enhance the educational outcomes, social inclusion, and self-determination of persons with disabilities at a national and international level.
Blase P. Brown, DDS, MS
Dr. Brown is the director of small group facilitation and clinical associate professor of oral medicine and diagnostic sciences at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Dentistry. His scholarly interests include health care education, special patients, microbiology, and ethics & moral philosophy.
Michael J. Koronkowski, Pharm.D., BCGP
Dr. Koronkowski is the director of interprofessional education and clinical assistant professor of pharmacy practice at the University of Illinois Chicago College of Pharmacy. His areas of research and practice interest include medication safety, evidenced-based team practice models for complex care, and interprofessional team practice and communication.
Beth Marks, Ph.D., RN, FAAN
Dr. Marks is a research associate professor in the Department of Disability and Human Development at the University of Illinois at Chicago. She is the past president of the National Organization of Nurses with Disabilities and co-directs the HealthMatters Program and research programs related to the empowerment and advancement of people with disabilities through health promotion initiatives and primary health care.
Dianne Cooney Miner, Ph.D., RN, FAAN
Dr. Cooney Miner is the executive director of the Golisano Institute for Developmental Disability Nursing and dean emeritus of the Wegmans School of Nursing at St. John Fisher College. Dr. Cooney Miner’s visionary leadership around healthcare education and policy teams is world-renowned, making her a perfect partner for the PATH-PWIDD work.
Teresa Moro, Ph.D., AM, LSW
Dr. Moro is the program coordinator at the Center for Health and Social Care Integration at Rush University Medical Center. Her research interests include aging, chronic illness, and disability; intellectual and developmental disability; cognitive impairment; palliative care; death and dying; geriatric social work; medical communication and shared decision-making; the gap between academic research and clinical work; accessing and maximizing electronic resources in research, academic, and clinical work; medical and public health social work.
Heidi Myhre
Ms. Myhre is a passionate and dedicated self-advocate for the disabilities community. Her work has positively impacted countless lives and continually raises awareness of the needs of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Tyler Reimschisel, MD, MHPE
Dr. Reimschisel is the founding associate provost of interprofessional and interdisciplinary education and research at Case Western Reserve University and Cleveland Clinic.
Suzanne Smeltzer, Ed.D., RN, ANEF, FAAN
Dr. Smeltzer is the inaugural Richard and Marianne Kreider Endowed Professor in Nursing for Vulnerable Populations at Villanova University. Dr. Smeltzer is an internationally known scholar, researcher, educator, and author in the care of persons with disabilities. Dr. Smeltzer is an advocate who is committed to making health promotion practices and services more accessible for all.
Renata Ticha, Ph.D.
Dr. Ticha is a research associate at the Institute on Community Integration at the University of Minnesota and co-directs the Research and Training Center on Outcome Measurement and the Global Resource Center for Inclusive Education. She has extensive experience developing and implementing assessment and intervention materials for children, youth, and adults with different types of disabilities.
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