Keynote Speakers

The 2011 keynote presenters – Rev. Gerald Durley, Kate Gainer, Rob Horner, Norman Kunc, Sharon Lewis, Melody Musgrove, John O’Brien and Lynnae Ruttledge, and have used innovation and creativity to address the most challenging issues people with disabilities face today.

Kate Gainer

Kate Gainer is the Managing Principal of the Georgia Disability Advocate Consulting Group. Nationally recognized as a disability rights leader and speaker, Kate organized the first Long Road Home Project, an annual week of events throughout Georgia to raise awareness of the Olmstead decision. Kate was born with cerebral palsy and grew into a life of advocacy as a black woman with a disability in the South.

Rob Horner

Rob Horner is Alumni-Knight Professor of Special Education at the University of Oregon. He is a past editor of the Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions, and the Journal of the Association for the Severely Handicapped. Dr. Horner’s research interests focus on positive behavior support, applied behavior analysis, stimulus control, instructional technology, severe disabilities, and sustainable systems change.

John O’Brien

John O’Brien learns about building more just and inclusive communities from people with disabilities, their families, and their allies. He uses what he learns to advise people with disabilities and their families, advocacy groups, service providers, and governments and to spread the news among people interested in change by writing and through workshops. He is a member of Center on Human Policy, Law & Disability, Syracuse University, and a Fellow of the Centre for Welfare Reform, and is associated with in-Control Partnerships, and the Marsha Forest Centre.

Norman Kunc

Norman Kunc is a well-known advocate within the disability rights community who prefers to think of himself as a modern day storyteller, infusing humor and narrative in his speeches to initiate self-reflection and social change. Born with cerebral palsy, Norman attended a segregated school for children with physical disabilities; then, at the age 13, he was integrated into a “regular” school. Norman Kunc and his wife, Emma Van der Klift, are co-directors of Broadreach Training & Resources Ltd and travel extensively throughout North America and internationally providing keynote addresses and trainings for educators, human service agencies and advocacy groups. Norman will deliver his keynote speech at the 2011 TASH Conference Welcome Dinner on November 30, 2011.

Rev. Gerald Durley

The Rev. Dr. Gerald L. Durley is Pastor of the historic Providence Missionary Baptist Church of Atlanta, where he has served for nearly 25 years. At Providence, Rev. Durley has worked to ensure that people with disabilities in the congregation are able to share their gifts, skills and abilities, resulting in a new system of supports for persons with autism and their families in the congregation and in the community. Rev. Durley’s previous roles include Executive Director of the Head Start Program for Fulton and Douglas Counties, Director of the Health Promotion Resource Center at the Morehouse School of Medicine, and founder of Perspectives, International, a consortium of historically black colleges and universities. In 2011, Rev. Durley was inducted into the International Civil Rights Walk of Fame for his contributions during the civil rights movement of the 1960s. Rev. Durley continues to serve as an outspoken advocate on a number of social justice issues and works diligently to understand the differences and similarities among people, cultures and beliefs.

Lynnae Ruttledge

Commissioner Lynnae Ruttledge has headed the Rehabilitation Services Administration since January 2010. Previously, she served as the Director of the Washington Department of Social and Health Service, Division of Vocational Rehabilitation where she led Washington’s vocational rehabilitation program, working annually with more than 23,000 individuals with significant disabilities to achieve their vocational goals. Lynnae has used her perspective as an individual with a disability receiving assistance through the vocational rehabilitation system to push for broad systems change and improvement efforts in this arena.

Melody Musgrove

Melody Musgrove, Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) Director for the U.S. Department of Education, has focused her career on identifying creative and collaborative solutions for the most challenging educational problems. During her previous role as State Director of Special Education for the Mississippi Department of Education, students with disabilities achieved improved results in reading and math, schools implemented more inclusive practices, graduation rates increased, and work was undertaken to prevent the disproportionate identification of African-American students for special education.

Sharon Lewis

Sharon Lewis was appointed Commissioner of the Administration on Developmental Disabilities in March 2010. Previously, she served as Senior Disability Policy Advisor to the U.S. House Committee on Education & Labor, advising members of the Committee on legislative strategy and disability-related policy issues in education, employment and healthcare, and as a Kennedy Public Policy Fellow for U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Children & Families. Sharon is the recipient of numerous awards, including the 2010 Distinguished Leadership in National Disability Policy Award and the Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities Chairman’s Award. Sharon is a parent to three daughters, including one with disability.