The Pass It On Center: A National Collaboration for the Reutilization and Coordination of Assistive Technology

Staff Biographies

Behind every reused AT device, there is a story to be told, a dream being realized, a goal being met.

Assistive Technology (AT) reutilization is a concept that is born out of need. From local grassroots efforts, it has grown to become a nationally recognized response to providing AT to those people who would otherwise “go without”. We have witnessed the power and independence AT brings to the individuals who have participated in many programs committed to the intelligent reutilization of assistive technology. We have also experienced the incredible frustration of knowing that efforts to assist more people have been limited because of the lack of understanding about reuse programs.

The Pass It On Center will respond to this unmet need by coordinating national collaborative on AT reuse programs that will provide multi-faceted information on best practices, a national database and home page, a coordinated plan to respond to natural disasters, and a National Pass It OnTask Force. The Task Force will galvanize the involvement and support of new AT grantees, key stakeholders, and individuals with disabilities to work on issues of national importance concerning reutilization of AT such as transportation, vendor and manufacturers roles, and national coordination initiatives. Over the five year grant period, The National Pass It on Center is poised to:

• provide coordination and support in the event of natural disasters to assure that reutilized assistive technology can reach those who need it quickly.
• provide telephone and email technical assistance through its Rapid Response Solutions Desk to various request.
• establish national transportation and electronic networks for the well-coordinated distribution of reutilized AT

The Georgia Assistive Technology Project ~ Tools for Life, of the Georgia Department of Labor, is the most qualified program in the country to take on this crucial role because its national leadership since the late 1990’s in AT reutilization. The RESNA Technical Assistance Project involved Tools for Life as a major player in efforts regarding three conferences on the reuse of AT held in 1998, 2000, and 2006, and in tours of internationally acclaimed reutilization initiatives: computer technology and durable medical equipment reutilization through ReBoot Computer Depot and Friends of Disabled Adults and Children, Too.

The Pass It On Center has secured commitments of collaboration from major public and private, state and national partners to achieve the vision of establishing a national AT Reutilization collaborative. These partners share in the excitement of creating, expanding, strengthening and coordinating our efforts through national initiatives that will assist more people with disabilities gain access to and acquisition of reused assistive technology across the United States.

Staff Biographies

Principal Investigator

Joy Kniskern, M.Ed, CRCC, Assistive Technology Services Manager for the Georgia Department of Labor Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) program, is a 30-year veteran in the rehabilitation services arena. In the late 1970s, working as a contractor for VR services, she established a successful post-secondary school to teach people with severe disabilities computer programming and information technology skills. Ms. Kniskern began working directly with the Division of Rehabilitation Services (DRS) in 1988 to set-up the DRS first rehabilitation engineering program and in 1991, she launched and served as Program Director of a statewide Georgia grant program called Tools for Life, a Georgia Assistive Technology (AT) Project. The Tools for Life Project, funded under the National Institute of Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR), is increasing access to AT for all Georgians with disabilities. The project has been the catalyst for a number of innovations -- ReBoot, a nationally acclaimed statewide computer reuse project; Tools for Life Regional AT Resource Centers; an exemplary Georgia Medicaid policy to cover augmentative communication devices and services; Dollars and Sense: A Guide to AT Resources in Georgia, which is a CD-ROM search tool to locate AT devices and services; High School High, an innovative transition program for secondary school students intersted in pursuing science and technology careers; and most recently, Credit-Able, Georgia’s innovative loan guarantee program that offers affordable loans for Georgians with disabilities to purchase asssistive technology and join Georgia credit unions.

In her current role as AT Unit Manager, she provides leadership and technical assistance to Tools for Life and the Assistive Work Technology Services (AWT), the most comprehensive state agency rehabilitation engineering program for public VR services in the country. She participated on a statewide team to help design the Tri-Regional AWT services that included twenty-nine AT professionals: Occupational Therapists, Rehabilitation Technologists, Rehabilitation Engineers, and Rehabilitation Technicians. Other state VR programs have visited Georgia to explore how to replicate this successful program that provided AT services to over two-thousand new referrals in 2001. Ms. Kniskern holds a Bachelors of Arts Degree in Sociology from Vanderbilt University and an Masters of Education Degree in Psychological Services and Community Counseling from Georgia State University. Joy maintains her certification as a rehabilitation counselor and is a member of the Rehabilitation Engineering Society of North America (RESNA). She has served on various advisory boards and task groups that include: TechConnections of the Georgia Tech Center for AT and Environmental Access (CATEA); the National Task Force on Technology and Disability; Learning Disabled Adults of Georgia; the University of Miami Online Course on Interdisciplinary Fundamentals in Adaptive and AT, the S.M.A.R.T. Exchange; Georgia statewide conference on AT, Touch the Future; and the Georgia Youth Leadership Forum. She has presented widely and has published papers for state and national conferences, and as a collaborator on publications for the Institute of Rehabilitation Research.
 

Center Director

Carolyn P. Phillips is a nationally recognized consultant in the field of assistive technology and disabilities. She has spoken to numerous groups on topics that include assistive technology, advocacy, self-determination and living with a learning disAbility. Carolyn serves as Director of Tools for Life. This program is operated under the aegis of the Georgia Department of Labor, Division of Rehabilitation Services. She has published articles in numerous journals, a chapter in a book and poetry focused on understanding and appreciating people with disabilities. Carolyn has dedicated her time and energy to promoting independence for people with disabilities through advocacy, education, assistive technology and fundraising. She received her undergraduate degree from the University of Georgia, and her Master's Degree from the University of Kentucky. Carolyn lives in Atlanta, Georgia.

 

 

 

RSA Management and Program Analyst

Rob Groenendaal is a Management and Program Analyst with the Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA) in the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) at the U.S. Department of Education responsible for oversight of activities funded under the Assistive Technology Act of 1998, as amended, including Statewide AT Programs, Alternative Financing Programs (AFPs), the National Assistive Technology Technical Assistance Partnership (NATTAP), and the National Information System for Assistive Technology (NISAT) Data Collection, as well as Assistive Technology Reuse Programs under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended. Rob worked previously at United Cerebral Palsy (UCP) of Oregon & SW Washington in Portland, OR, the National Offices of UCP in Washington, DC, and the Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology Society of North America (RESNA) in Arlington, VA prior to joining the Department of Education in 2006.

RSA Management and Program Analyst

Brian Bard
George Washington University Grad, M.A. in Rehabilitation Counseling
Former Delaware Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor, Former Military Intelligence Specialist (Air Force Civilian), Former Journalist B.A. from University of South Florida in Journalism, Former Computer Programmer

Hobbies: Computers, Technology, SCUBA Diving, Spanish
Volunteerism: Teaching PWD to use computers, DE State Council for PWD, DE State Rehabilitation Council, DE Policy & Law Committee

Training and Development Coordinator

Liz Persaud is a nationally recognized keynote and public speaker addressing the need to build bridges between individuals with and without disabilities. Liz currently serves as the Training and Development Coordinator for Tools for Life (Georgia’s Assistive Technology Act Program) and the Pass It On Center (the National Assistive Technology Device Reutilization Coordination and Technical Assistance Center). Liz is an active advocate and public speaker with the Muscular Dystrophy Association of Atlanta, appearing on the MDA Atlanta Annual Labor Day Telethon and speaking to numerous groups and organizations in the Southeast Region. Additionally, Liz holds the title for the 1999 and 2005 Muscular Dystrophy Association Personal Achievement Award winner for the state of Georgia. She has dedicated her life to increasing independence for individuals with disabilities by educating on self determination, self awareness, successful transition practices, using assistive technology, encouraging others to focus on abilities and promoting equality amongst those of all abilities. Liz has a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from Georgia State University and lives in Alpharetta, Georgia with her family.

 

 

 

Consulting Editor/Educator

Patricia Redmon is a consultant and trainer and owner of Professional Resource Group LLC. For the past two years, she has worked with the Pass It On Center to develop content for an on-line knowledge base to promote the expansion of assistive technology reutilization. Trish has extensive experience in market analysis, new business development, customer relationship management, direct sales, technical support, distribution management and the marketing of new products and services. She has worked with major technical, scientific and medical publishers to prepare content for on-line delivery. Her skills in writing and editing nonfiction, technical documentation and curriculum come from years of experience in publishing and education. She has served as a vice president of two newspapers and two software firms. Trish holds bachelor’s degree in English Education and a Master of Business Administration with a concentration in Marketing from Florida State University.

 

Consultant

Sara Sack, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, is a senior research professor at the University of Kansas and directs several state and federal programs related to assistive technology access and acquisition. Sara directs the Assistive Technology for Kansans program which has five assistive technology access sites to serve the state. The Kansas Equipment Reutilization program, KEE, has a statewide distribution system which refurbishes and reassigns over 600 devices per year. Sara serves on numerous state and national committees and enjoys the challenge of working with groups to establish programs and to improve program operation.

 

 

Consultant and Occupational Therapist

Lindsey Bean-Kampwerth, OTR, is a graduate of Washington University’s Program in Occupational Therapy with her occupational therapy doctorate. Dr. Bean-Kampwerth’s research interests focus on assistive technology and its use to increase participation of individuals in school, work and the community. She also has a special interest in assistive technology reuse. Her doctorate research project was titled “Assistive Technology Reutilization Program Outcomes.” This project consisted of her doing a literature review, creating an outcome measure, holding focus groups, revising the outcome measure, using the outcome measure to collect data about participation and satisfaction of program, analyzing the data and presenting the project for her defense. Lindsey is part of the Occupational Therapy Honor Society and the American Occupational Therapy Association. Lindsey currently works with Paraquad's Reutilization program in St. Louis, MO and is part of the Pass It On Center. Her focus at the Pass It On Center is quality indicators and emergency preparedness.