Clifford Brubaker (chair) is the dean of the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences at the University of Pittsburgh. Prior to this position, he was a professor at the University of Virginia for 18 years. He is a nationally known researcher in seating and mobility and a leader in assistive technology and rehabilitation engineering. He is a founding member of the Rehabilitation and Assistive Technology Association (RESNA) and served as its president in 1993–94. He has received patents for several inventions. Brubaker holds a Ph.D. in exercise physiology.
Robert H. Bruininks is the executive vice president and provost of the University of Minnesota and a professor of educational psychology. He has long-standing interests in educational evaluation and accountability, school-linked services, and strategic planning and educational reform. He established The Institute on Community Integration, a university-affiliated program on developmental disabilities, in 1985 to provide interdisciplinary training, exemplary services, and information and applied research on behalf of people with developmental disabilities and their families. Bruininks holds a Ph.D. in educational psychology.
Ricardo R. Fernández is president of Herbert H. Lehman College, a four-year liberal arts college of The City University of New York. He has held academic and administrative positions at Marquette University and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and served as a Fellow of the American Council on Education. His research interests include educational equity and the recruitment, retention, and advancement of minority students, faculty, and academic staff in higher education. Fernández holds a Ph.D. in romance languages from Princeton University.
James Paul Firman is president and CEO of the National Council on the Aging Inc. Firman's previous positions include president of the United Seniors Health Cooperative and senior program officer at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. He is a widely recognized expert and consumer advocate on many issues affecting older persons, such as home care, long-term care, health insurance and financing issues, and intergenerational programs. Firman has an Ed.D. in education from Columbia University.
Harley E. Flack (deceased) was the president of Wright State University. Flack was previously provost and executive vice president at Rowan College of New Jersey and vice president for academic affairs and dean of the faculty at the State University of New York at Old Westbury. From 1974-87, Flack served as the founding dean and professor of the college of Allied Health Sciences at Howard University. He also served as a strategic planning consultant for more than 25 institutions in the United States. Flack was president of the National Society of Allied Health and held a Ph.D. in counselor education from the State University of New York at Buffalo.
Donald E. Galvin is president and CEO of the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities, the preeminent standards-setting and accrediting body promoting quality services for people with disabilities. From 1989–93, Galvin was the vice president for programs of the Washington Business Group on Health and director of the Institute for Rehabilitation and Disability Management. He was associate superintendent of education for the Michigan Department of Education and also served as the director of its Bureau of Rehabilitation Services. Galvin has a Ph.D. in counseling and guidance.
Murray Goldstein is the medical director of the United Cerebral Palsy Research and Educational Foundation and is the interim executive director of the United Cerebral Palsy Associations of the United States. He was formerly the director of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke of the National Institutes of Health and assistant surgeon general in the United States Public Health Service. Dr. Goldstein is recognized internationally as a leader in the clinical, scientific, and science administration aspects of disorders of the nervous system.
Joseph G. Hollowell, Jr., M.D., is the medical chief of the Office of Disability and Health at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. He is the former chief of the Developmental Disabilities Branch of the Division of Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities. He is board-certified in pediatrics and has a master's in Public Health from the University of California-Berkeley. He is a nationally recognized expert on low-birthweight infants and children with disabilities. His professional interests include the study of growth in children, pediatric endocrinology, and issues surrounding the definitions, understanding, and prevention of disabilities.
James R. Knickman is vice president at The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, a national philanthropy that awards grants focusing on efforts to improve the health and health care of Americans. Knickman directs grantmaking programs in health policy research, evaluation of innovations related to health care delivery and health promotion, and care received by the chronically ill. Prior to joining the foundation, Knickman was a professor of Health Administration at New York University's Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service. Currently, he serves on the Board of Trustees of the Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital. Knickman received his Ph.D. in public policy analysis from the University of Pennsylvania.
Simi Litvak is director of the Research and Training Center on Personal Assistance Services at the World Institute on Disability (WID) in Oakland, Calif. Formerly the research director of the Research and Training Center on Public Policy in Independent Living at WID, Litvak is a nationally known expert in independent living and personal assistance. She has 30 years of experience in the disability field as a teacher, researcher, policy analyst, policy-maker, and rehabilitation professional. Most recently she served as a member of the President's Health Care Reform Task Force. Litvak holds a master's degree and a Ph.D. in studies in behavioral disabilities from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Ronald L. Mace (deceased) was a nationally recognized architect and product designer. He was president of Barrier Free Environments Inc. in Raleigh, N.C., a firm that specializes in design for disabled and older people. He also was director of the Center for Universal Design at the School of Design at North Carolina State University. He was elected to the College of Fellows for the American Institute of Architects for his contribution to the profession in promoting accessible and universal design. He had received numerous awards, including the Distinguished Service Award of the president of the United States for long-term contributions to furthering the rights and independence of people with disabilities.
Audrey L. McCrimon is the assistant secretary of the Illinois Department of Human Services. As the assistant secretary, McCrimon directs the agency's core training strategies, customer service and provider assistance, and Americans with Disabilities Act activities. Prior to becoming assistant secretary, McCrimon had been the director of the Illinois Department of Rehabilitation Services, an agency serving 200,000 state residents with disabilities. Before joining the state government, McCrimon served as deputy commissioner on disability for the Chicago Department on Aging and Disability and was nominated by the President in 1994 to serve on the National Council on Disability. McCrimon holds a master's degree in education from Northern Illinois University.
Lawrence A. Scadden is senior program director for the National Science Foundation's Program for Persons with Disabilities. Previously, Scadden served as director of Technology Application Programs for the Electronic Industries Foundation. He served as the first deputy director of the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research. Scadden is a nationally known expert on technology applications for people with disabilities and the design of accessible mass market electronic products. Scadden holds a master's degree in experimental psychology and a Ph.D. in visual sciences from the University of the Pacific.
Max J. Starkloff is the founder and president of Paraquad Inc. Starkloff was co-founder and elected president of the National Council of Independent Living from 1983–85. He was appointed to the president's Commission on White House Fellowships by the President in 1993. Mr. Starkloff is an internationally recognized leader in independent living and has received acclaim from several humanitarian groups.
Samuel L. Stover, M.D., served as medical director of the Spain Rehabilitation Center, project director for the Research and Training Center on Spinal Cord Injury, and director of the National Spinal Cord Injury Statistical Center. Dr. Stover is past president of the American Spinal Cord Injury Association. In June 1994, he retired as chairman of the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine and was named Professor Emeritus. He is a nationally recognized expert in urologic management of persons with spinal cord injury, and skin and pulmonary complications following spinal cord injury. Dr. Stover holds a medical degree in pediatrics from the Jefferson Medical College.
Kate Pew Wolters was the Board Chair of the Steelcase Foundation, the corporate foundation of Steelcase Inc., the world's largest manufacturer of office furniture. Prior to assuming this position, she served as executive director of the foundation. She also has served as the director of the Grand Rapids Center for Independent Living and as a clinical social worker. Wolters was a presidential appointee to the National Council on Disability.
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