Happy New Year from the Center for Leadership in Disability!

A Year in Review | 2021-2022

For the Center for Leadership in Disability (CLD), 2021-2022 brought many changes and opportunities. These unprecedented times have seen us rethink how we work, with more flexibility, technological changes, and a focus on inclusivity. In the past year, we trained 4,718 professionals and assisted 325 individuals with developmental disabilities in receiving direct services. We provided training and technical assistance to 509 individuals with disabilities, family members, and other key stakeholders. The Georgia Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities (GaLEND) program at Georgia State had 23 trainees. Read More

CLD Assistant Director Elected to the AUCD Board

Mark Crenshaw has been elected by the members to serve as a member-at-large on the Association of University Centers on Disabilities Board. AUCD is a membership organization that supports and promotes a national network of university-based interdisciplinary programs. Read More

Culturally Relevant Trauma Training Video

Researchers from the Center for Leadership in Disability in the Georgia State University School of Public Health have created a trauma training video module that covers the complex needs of Latinx immigrant and migratory children in Georgia. Read More

Maternal & Child Health Spotlights

Learn about the leadership opportunities students have discovered through the MCH program. The program is spotlighting three MCH students: Hasset Zelealem, a student leader in the MCH Student Association. Dr. N’faly Keita, 2021-2022 member of the MCH Trainee Ambassador Group, and Kourtnii Farley, Title V Intern. Read More

Association of University Centers on Disabilities (AUCD) 2022 Conference

The Center for Leadership in Disability's Ashley Salmon, the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Research Associate, was invited to participate in a panel discussion at the AUCD conference. The session was called "Health Equity Serving the Whole Person."

PHOTO: Ashley Salmon and Jaydee Flores

Project Updates

More than 200 leaders in the field of infant and early childhood mental health participated in a day-long event to celebrate the establishment of the Georgia Association for Infant Mental Health: Birth through Five (GA-AIMH) at Georgia State University. In addition to celebrating the creation of GA-AIMH, the Nov. 2 kick-off event looked ahead to opportunities to expand Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health (IECMH) initiatives across the state. Read More

The Center for Leadership in Disability has been approved by the Continuing Education Board (CEB) of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) to offer continuing education courses for speech-language pathologists, audiologists, and speech, language, and hearing scientists. Our ASHA CE Provider status is approved for a five-year period, from June 2022 through December 2027.

The Center for Leadership in Disability welcomed 12 Georgia State University occupational therapy, physical therapy, and communication sciences disorders students in the Early Speech, Physical, and Occupational Therapy Services (Early SPOTS) interdisciplinary training program this year during a week-long orientation in August 2022 at Amicalola Falls. This group of students will learn together throughout the academic year how to support babies and toddlers with disabilities within the Part C Early Intervention system. Read More

Four of Georgia State University School of Public Health Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Certificate Students participated in an MCH leadership weekend in August 2022 organized by Emory's Center of Excellence in Maternal and Child Health. During that weekend, the students learned about strengths-based leadership within MCH work. Read More

Through the Georgia Department of Education's Project AWARE grant, the CLD trained over 2,000 teachers across three school districts on universal behavior screening during the months of July, August, and early September 2022. These three school districts will implement universal behavior screening this academic year as a proactive, preventive way to support students with early signs of challenging behaviors in their schools.

University Programs

Fall 2023 applications are open for the IDEAL program! The Inclusive Digital Expression and Literacy (IDEAL) Program is a post-secondary program for students with mild intellectual disabilities. Learn more about the program and apply now!

In Fall 2022, over 35 trainees, faculty, alums, and guests participated in the 2022-2023 Georgia Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities (GaLEND) orientation. The program enters its 12th year with funding from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to add audiology trainees to the LEND cohort. We are particularly grateful to our partners at the Center for Inclusive Design and Innovation (CIDI) for hosting the second day of the orientation on the Georgia Institute of Technology campus. Our time at CIDI included a tour of the facility and an introduction to a wide range of assistive technology and accessibility-related resources. Read More

Faculty & Staff Updates

Dr. Daniel Crimmins has been named Clinical Professor Emeritus for his 14 years of service with the School of Public Health. An internationally recognized expert in disability research, Dr. Crimmins has dedicated his career to providing evidence-based behavioral and educational interventions for children and adults with neurodevelopmental disabilities. Joining Georgia State in 2008, Dr. Crimmins founded the Center for Leadership in Disability (CLD) as a University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities.

Georgia State University honors Dr. Emily Graybill, Clinical Associate Professor and Director of CLD as a recipient of the inaugural Outstanding Non-Tenure Track Faculty Achievement Award in recognition of her impressive publication record, exemplary teaching, and extraordinary contributions to the disability community. Dr. Graybill was also named Georgia's CDC Children's Mental Health Champion for 2022-2023. Read More

Ashley Salmon, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Research Associate, has been awarded the 2022 Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (JEDI) Award. Ms. Salmon has been a leader in inclusive excellence for nearly five years since arriving at Georgia State. Read More

The School of Public Health recognizes Mark Crenshaw, Director of Interdisciplinary Training and Assistant Director, CLD as the recipient of the Difference Maker Award for Creativity and Ingenuity in honor of his innovative and impactful leadership and mentorship within the Center for Leadership in Disability (CLD) and Georgia’s Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities (GaLEND) program. Read More

The Georgia Inclusive Post-Secondary Education Consortium program (GAIPSEC) awarded alum Darien Todd with the 2022 Alumni award and former program coordinator Susanna Miller-Raines the 2022 Leadership Award. Since joining CLD in 2021 as a Community Advocate Specialist, Darien has made essential contributions to advocacy training projects and a national program to promote supported decision-making. Darien has recently joined the Georgia LEND Team as the Self-Advocate faculty. Read More

Miyah Sundermeyer, a clerk with CLD, was the guest for New York Times best-selling author Michael Hingson's podcast last Fall. Hingson is an international lecturer and Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe. Hingson, blind since birth, survived the 9/11 attacks with the help of his guide dog. On the podcast, Miyah discussed her life on the autistic spectrum and shared how she works to raise awareness of autism. Read More