Inquiries about hosting a workshop, lecture or course:
Angela Hassiotis, Academy Director
a.hassiotis@ucl.ac.uk

Inquiries concerning congresses:
Rhonda Faragher
r.faragher@uq.edu.au
Vim Manokara
vimallan.manokara@minds.org.sg

Inquiries about in-person training and education:
Mary-Ann O’Donovan
mary-ann.odonovan@sydney.edu.au
Tiffany Neal
nealtiff@iu.edu

Inquiries about virtual training and education:
Nihad Almasri
nihadaa@gmail.com
Kathleen Tait
kathleen.tait@mq.edu.au
Susan James
achusam016@gmail.com

Inquiries about partner organizations:
Carolyn Elias
carolyn.elias@surreyplace.ca

Angela HASSIOTIS, IASSIDD Academy director, is Professor of the Psychiatry of Intellectual Disability at the UCL Division of Psychiatry and Honorary Consultant Psychiatrist at the Camden Intellectual Disabilities Service and North London Mental Health Partnership, London, UK. She is Chief Investigator of several projects focused on health services research and intervention development for people with intellectual disabilities across the lifespan. She supervises MSc and PhD students and lectures widely nationally and internationally. She is the author of more than 250 publications which have been included in clinical guideline development and policy reports.

Prof. Hassiotis is the current editor of the Journal of Mental Health Research in Intellectual Disabilities, Member of the Royal College of Psychiatrists Faculty of Academic Psychiatry and Medical Advisor Trustee to the Baily Thomas Charitable Fund, UK.

She received the Stephen Reiss Research Award (The NADD) in 2020 and the Frank J Menolascino Award for Excellence (The NADD) IN 2023. She was made IASSIDD Fellow in 2022.

https://profiles.ucl.ac.uk/5246
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpsy/article/PIIS2215-0366(23)00107-4/abstract

@likahassiotis
@JMHRID
@PETALProgramme

Carolyn ELIAS is the current Program Evaluation Coordinator in the Research, Evaluation, and Education department at Surrey Place Center in Toronto, Canada. She has a bachelor’s degree in Social Work and Disability Studies and a master’s degree in Social Work. Her professional experience has extensively focused on working with people with disabilities in the social and developmental sector.

Nihad A. ALMASRI, PT (Ph.D.), is a professor of pediatric physiotherapy at the University of Jordan and Qatar University. Prof. Almasri holds a Ph.D. in Pediatric Rehabilitation from Drexel University PA, USA. She is the former dean of the School of Rehabilitation Sciences at the University of Jordan and has worked as a consultant for World Physiotherapy and the World Health Organization, as well as centers that serve children with disabilities.

Prof. Almasri provides has worked in various national and international groups to develop and accredit entry-level programs in physiotherapy for low and middle-income countries. She has served on national and international committees to develop competency frameworks for rehabilitation and physiotherapy professions and has worked as a senior pediatric physical therapist specialist in Sidra Medicine.

Her clinical and research interests include public health, pediatric rehabilitation, evaluation of medical and rehabilitation services for children with CP, development of registries for children with CP and ASD at a national level, and development of outcome measures to be used in Middle-East countries.

Vimallan MANOKARA, PhD, is a registered psychologist in Singapore with a PhD (Medicine) from the University of Sydney, Australia. He has more than 12 years of experience in the field of disability in a variety of roles- clinical practice, research and analytics, service innovation, training and management. He currently holds the position of Director, MINDS Institute. His research interests include Quality of Life, Aging, Inclusion and Employment of persons with disabilities and seniors. Dr. Vimallan has conceptualised and led numerous innovation projects and advocacy movements in the sector. In 2021, he was recognised by the National Council of Social Service (NCSS) as a ’40-under-40′ leader for the social service sector.

Dr. Vimallan is also an invited member of the Agency for Integrated Care (AIC)’s Institutional Review Board and NCSS’s Ethics Review Committee to oversee practice research within the social sector in Singapore. Most recently, he was awarded the prestigious 2022 Dr. John C Harsanyi Medal for Innovation by the University of Sydney in recognition of his PhD work.

Ivan BROWN, Ph.D., past director of the IASSIDD Academy, is retired research professor who continues to teach disability studies at the graduate level in Toronto, Canada. Professor Brown, whose background is in Special Education, is especially recognized internationally as an expert in disability and quality of life. He has published widely in the academic literature and has written or edited fourteen scholarly books, including the internationally-used text A Comprehensive Guide to Intellectual & Developmental Disabilities. Currently, he publishes humorous stories. He has demonstrated active leadership in IASSIDD, including former vice-president, Academy Director, and SIRG Chair. Currently he is an IASSIDD Board member and Chair of the Quality of Life SIRG.

Kathleen TAIT, PhD, MBPS, SFHEA, FHERDSA, Associate Professor,

Associate Professor Kathleen was appointed to her current    permanent (tenured) position at the Macquarie University, School of Educational Studies, Faculty of Arts, Sydney, Australia in 2015.

Her expertise in the field of tertiary education stems from 30 years practical, administrative, and consultative experience in special education and tertiary environments in Australia, UK, Brunei Darussalam, Japan, Mainland China; and Hong Kong SAR. This international experience has provided her with an extensive appreciation of the complexities of working with diverse cultures) and diverse religions.

In 2021, Kathleen was awarded a HERDSA Fellowship. She is a recipient of the Senior Fellowship from the Higher Education Academy UK. Kathleen has received the Excellence in Teaching Award from the University of Sydney. In 2022, she was awarded a Highly Commended VC Excellence in Teaching Award at MQU. Kathleen currently serves on the editorial reviewer boards of eight scientific journals and is passionate about influencing policy on disability-related issues.

Tiffany NEAL, PhD, currently works at the Department of Psychiatry, Indiana University School of Medicine. Tiffany has a rich background in clinical neuropsychology, school psychology, and applied behavior analysis with a concentration in complex or dual diagnoses and experience in various service and treatment settings. Furthermore, she has been active in teaching and serving as an invited member or representative among local, state and national associations, task forces, and committees focused on autism, dual diagnoses, policies and funding, diversity and equity, implementation science, and program evaluation.

Dr. Neal’s experience has greatly informed her approach towards and focus on mental and behavioral health care and training through integration of evidence-based practices and pragmatic measurement feedback systems with consideration of the applicable determinants of change to improve outcomes for children, adolescents and families within contexts that routinely service and provide care to these populations. Among various roles as the Assistant Director at the HANDS in Autism® Center, Tiffany lends oversight to the approach, curriculum, partnerships, research and dissemination efforts for the Center.

Laura WIMMER has the first state examination (equivalent to Master’s degree) in teacher training in special education, intellectual disabilities, Ludwig-Maximilians-University of Munich. She works at the Department of Education and Rehabilitation at LMU Munich. She is currently studying Pedagogy for Autism Spectrum Disorder as an Additional Study Program. She works as a scientific coordinator in the “Study and Disability Bavaria” network. Furthermore, she is doing her PhD studies on Inclusive Post-Secondary Education for Students with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Professor Rhonda FARAGHER AO, PhD, B.Ed.St.(Hons1), B.Sc., FIASSIDD, SFHEA,

Rhonda Faragher works to improve the quality of life of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities through education. She has a particular interest in Down syndrome and is the current Chair of IASSIDD’s Down Syndrome Special Interest Research Group. She is the Director of the Down Syndrome Research Program at The University of Queensland. With Laurence Taggart, she is the Co-Editor in Chief of the IASSIDD journal, the Journal of Policy and Practice in Intellectual Disability.

She is a fellow of IASSIDD and a senior fellow of Advance HE. Rhonda is Vice-President of Down Syndrome International. She has been honoured with a number of awards for her work. In 2023, she was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia, in recognition of her service through education and research for people with Down syndrome.

Mary-Ann O’DONOVAN, OCRID, Associate Professor

currently holds a conjoint position of Associate Professor of Disability Studies at the University of Sydney and is CEO of the Centre for Disability Studies. She has extensive experience working in the disability and public sector in Ireland, managing large health and disability datasets and National (both Australia and Ireland) and European cross-country research and intervention projects.

Mary-Ann is a mixed methods researcher. At the core of her research is co-design and collaboration with people with intellectual disability, as experts in their own experience, which brings value and insight that cannot be offered by people without this lived experience. Much of her research translates into practice initiatives to build capacity among people with intellectual disability and to impact on health, education and community participation.

A focus on capacity building among people with intellectual disability through inclusive research and education continues through her work.
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3378-5305

Susan JAMES,holds a Masters in Applied Psychology from Bharathiar University. She earned her Bachelor’s in Special Education from Mahatma Gandhi University’s School of Behavioral Science, and prior to that, completed a Bachelor of Business Administration. Currently Susan serves the role of director at Connector Pro Education and supervising department of special education at St.Marys Residential Public School Thiruvalla, focusing on tailored educational programs for students with special needs. Her career includes a role as coordinator and special educator at Pathanamthitta Municipality, where she led community-based rehabilitation efforts and vocational transition planning.
She has extensive teaching experience and implements individualized education programs and adapted curricula for students with diverse needs.
Susan is recognized for her contributions to special education, highlighted by her research and presentations on vocational skill training, accessibility guidelines, and therapeutic alliance. Susan’s leadership extends to her roles as a founding member and former secretary of the Professional Association of Special Educators Kerala, and as a director at Connector Pro Education, an NGO advocating for disability rights and skill development.