When: June 9, 2025 9:00AM-12:00PM ET
Where: Zoom
Title: Beyond the Minimum: Conversations on Meaningful Employment
Abstract:
This presentation is about having a deeper, more transformative conversation about how to create inclusive, equitable employment opportunities for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. This interactive presentation will focus on driving real change and looking at employment from various lens –the individual, family, employer, providers, and policies. Real change means taking risks, having the difficult conversations, learning from mistakes, and celebrating successes. Success doesn’t happen alone – it’s built on strong collaborations, shared commitments, and trust.
Keynote Speaker
Teresa Grossi, PhD
Dr. Teresa Grossi is the Director of Strategic Developments at the Indiana Institute on Disability and Community at Indiana University, Indiana’s University Center for Excellence on Disabilities, and Adjunct Professor in the School of Education. Dr. Grossi’s research and teaching background spans many years with focus on secondary transition services, integrated employment and community living for individuals with disabilities.
Dr. Grossi holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Counseling and Rehabilitation from Marshall University, a Master’s in Education from the University of North Carolina Charlotte and, a Ph.D. in Applied Behavior Analysis and Special Education, The Ohio State University
Panelists
Teresa Grossi, PhD
Dr. Teresa Grossi is the Director of Strategic Developments at the Indiana Institute on Disability and Community at Indiana University, Indiana’s University Center for Excellence on Disabilities, and Adjunct Professor in the School of Education. Dr. Grossi’s research and teaching background spans many years with focus on secondary transition services, integrated employment and community living for individuals with disabilities.
Dr. Grossi holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Counseling and Rehabilitation from Marshall University, a Master’s in Education from the University of North Carolina Charlotte and, a Ph.D. in Applied Behavior Analysis and Special Education, The Ohio State University
Jessie Green, PhD
Jessie Green, Ph.D. is a research assistant professor and the LEND special education faculty member at The Ohio State University Nisonger Center. She is also the Director of DEI Strategy.
She oversees four community programs serving youth and adults with autism and intellectual disability to access their communities and postsecondary education.
She has a B.S. and M.Ed. in special education from Ohio State and completed her Ph.D. in educational policy.
Jan Dougherty, Co-President of Ohio APSE
Jan is a native of Canton, Ohio. She holds degrees in Early Childhood Education and Business Management from Malone University.
She is co-president of Ohio APSE (Association of Advancing People Supporting Employment First). It is the only association that solely supports employment first for people with disabilities.
“Being a board member of Ohio APSE is very important to me,” Dougherty said. “I have been a board member for over 10 years. Our older son has a disability and when it came to start thinking about employment for him, there just were not many options for him to consider.”
James "JJ" Price
James is a Business Solutions Team Member with JPMorgan Chase and self-advocate
With the support received from the US Maternal & Child Health Bureau Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities (LEND) grant # T73MC24481 to The Ohio State University Nisonger Center (Dr. Andrea Witwer, PI), we can offer this webinar free-of-charge to all attendees.
The Nisonger Institute is an annual conference with a focus on research-to-practice activity. It had always been an in-person event prior to the COVID pandemic. Since, we have hosted the Nisonger Institute as a virtual webinar – providing more flexibility to our speakers and attendees, although, we do not preclude returning to an in-person format in the future.
The Nisonger Institute is an opportunity for professionals from different disciplines, direct support professionals, parents, siblings, individuals with lived DD experience, and other stakeholders to come together to share research, clinical, educational, and other relevant information related to a topic of concern for individuals with developmental disabilities and their families. At the Nisogner Institute, we strive to provide an opportunity for all who attend to learn about current scientific knowledge and know-how and to provide examples of best practices around the country and right here in Ohio.
For more than 55 years, the Nisonger Center, a University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities, has provided services and supports, community engagement, education/training, and research in the area of intellectual disability, autism spectrum disorder and related neurodevelopmental disorders across the lifespan. Now in its 14th year, the Nisonger Institute strives to bring together nationally prominent translational researchers, practitioners, and community advocates to share and exchange with the goal of improving services/supports and the lives of individuals with disabilities and their families.
Prior Nisonger Institute Events: