Staff

Gary N. Siperstein, PhD.

Professor

Director

Dr. Gary Siperstein is founder and director of the Center for Social Development and Education at the University of Massachusetts Boston. A professor at UMass Boston since 1974, Dr. Siperstein received his Ph.D. at the Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology, Yeshiva University. He has published more than seventy-five articles, chapters, and books on the social relationships and social development of children with disabilities. His most recent book, Promoting Social Success, focuses on improving the social competence of children in the classroom. He has served as associate editor of the American Journal of Mental Retardation and editor of the Research Monograph Series of the American Association on Mental Retardation. The recipient of more than twenty research grants from federal agencies, including NICHD (National Institute of Child Health and Human Development) and the U.S. Department of Education, Dr. Siperstein received the prestigious Merit Award from NICHD for his work on the social aspects of mental retardation. Enhancing the social competence of children with mental retardation in inclusive educational settings has been the focus of his most recent projects. Presently, he serves on the State Advisory Council for the Department of Mental Retardation (DMR), the National Academy of Sciences Committee on "Eligibility Determination of Mental Retardation," and is past president of the Research Division of the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC). Under Dr. Siperstein's direction, CSDE also works collaboratively with Special Olympics Inc. as a Global Collaborating Center (GCC). The purpose of the GCC is to conduct rigorous scientific research that is of value to the international community. The UMass Boston/Special Olympics Global Collaborating Center is solely responsible for all international research related to attitudes and intellectual disabilities.

Omoniyi Adekanmbi

Research Project Coordinator

Omoniyi Adekanmbi joined CSDE as a research project coordinator in July 2008. She received her B.S. in psychology from Lafayette College in Easton, PA and her M.S. in psychology, with a concentration in experimental social psychology, from Tufts University in Medford, MA. She is the coordinator for the Beyond the Playing Field project being conducted in elementary schools in Brockton and surrounding cities in the Fall of 2008 and Winter of 2009. Her research interests include sociocultural gaps in academic achievement, social categorization, intergroup relations and prejudice and stereotyping. 

Jillian Archer

Research Assistant

Jillian Archer joined CSDE in April of 2008 as a graduate assistant. She received her B.A. in psychology and secondary education at the University of Maine in 2006 and moved to Boston to pursue a degree in School Psychology at the University of Massachusetts Boston. At CSDE Jillian helps with various research projects as well as part of a team that organizes Camp Shriver. Ms. Archer is the president of UMass Boston’s School Psychology Club and a student member of the National Association of School Psychologists and the Massachusetts School Psychologists Association.

Jennifer Norins Bardon

Assistant Director, Attitude Research

Special Olympics Regional Collaborating Center

Jennifer Norins Bardon has a B.A. in social psychology from the University of Massachusetts Boston.For more than five years, Ms. Norins Bardon has been involved in different aspects of the Center for Social Development and Education.Ms. Norins Bardon currently serves as the Research Coordinator for the UMass Boston/Special Olympics Regional Collaborating Center, which focuses on documenting attitudes toward individuals with intellectual disabilities worldwide and evaluating the environments in which individuals with ID engage.Recently, Ms. Norins Bardon directed a study involving 10,000 middle school students in the United States and Japan on their attitudes toward their peers with intellectual disabilities and their beliefs about inclusion.She is currently involved in an evaluation of the impact of Special Olympics Unified Sports in Europe and the expansion of the youth attitude survey in China.

Paul Benson, Ph.D.

Associate Professor

Senior Research Associate

Paul Benson, Ph.D., associate professor of sociology and senior research associate, has been affiliated with CSDE since 1999. Dr. Benson received his doctorate at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill in 1981. Before coming to UMass Boston in 1988, he held prior faculty positions at UCLA and Tulane University. A medical sociologist by training, Dr. Benson has served as associate editor of the Journal of Health and Social Behavior and a number of other scholarly journals in the areas of mental health services research and medical sociology. From 1996 to 1998, Dr. Benson serviced as vice provost for sponsored projects and public service at UMass Boston.

Dr. Benson's past research has focused primarily on issues relating to the care and treatment of severely mentally ill adults. He has published more than twenty-five articles and book chapters on a variety of topics in this area, including psychiatrists' treatment practices, psychiatric research and informed consent by mentally ill subjects, community care of the mentally ill, and mental health policy issues in the U.S. and abroad. He has also conducted research and written extensively on issues related to family caretaking of mentally ill adults.

In 1994, Dr. Benson's oldest daughter, Colleen, was diagnosed with autism. After leaving university administration in 1998, he refocused his research interests on issues relating to autism and its impact on the family. In 2001, Dr. Benson was awarded a three-year grant by the U.S. Department of Education to study parent involvement in public school programs for young children with autism and related disorders, The Family-School Autism Project.

Mary Brady, Ph.D.

Director of Professional Development

Dr. Mary Brady serves the Center as director of professional development, designing and orchestrating its graduate certificate programs and courses. Dr. Brady earned her M.Ed. at the University of Southern California, and both her M.B.A. and Ph.D. in education at Boston College. Before joining the CSDE staff, she was a researcher and curriculum developer at the Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST). Earlier in her career, she was a teacher of students with severe special needs, principal of Boston College Campus School, and director of training at the Shriver Center University Affiliated Program.

Dr. Brady identifies field-based training needs and customizes programs for busy educators. She brings education and instructional design experience to CSDE's grants and projects, including the Tools for Teachers project. Because of her background and interest in technology for students with special needs, she represents CSDE on technology accessibility, with an emphasis on Universal Design Learning. Dr. Brady's interests include developing more flexible models of professional development and embedding technology within instruction to reach a wider range of diverse learners.

Dr. Brady teaches courses, supervises students and interns, and serves on committees within the Graduate College of Education. She is therefore able to bring CSDE's research and policy work to graduate students and faculty. The courses she typically teaches include: Moderate Practicum Experience and Seminar, Technology in Special Education, Assessment in Teaching, and Behavior and Classroom Management.

Melissa Fernandes

Research Assistant

Melissa Fernandes joined CSDE as a research assistant in August 2008 after receiving her B.A. in psychology from the University of Connecticut. While there, she worked on several research projects in the areas of autism and ecological psychology.


At CSDE, Ms. Fernandes is involved in the Family-School Autism Project. She is currently a graduate student at the University of Massachusetts Boston in the school psychology M.Ed./C.A.G.S program. Ms. Fernandes is a student member of the National Association of School Psychologists and the treasurer of the university’s School Psychology Club.

Karen Friedman

Assistant Director for Administration and Community Services

Karen Friedman joined CSDE in 2007. Ms. Friedman is responsible for communications and outreach for CSDE and coordinates fundraising efforts. In her role as program coordinator for Camp Shriver at UMass Boston, Ms. Friedman is responsible for the recruitment of campers and staff and liaising with Camp Shriver's partners at the University and in the local schools and community.

 

Prior to joining CSDE Ms. Friedman worked at the Maryland Governor’s Office for Individuals with Disabilities and assisted in transitioning the office to the Maryland Department of Disabilities, a cabinet level department in the State of Maryland, in 2004.  Once the Department was created, Ms. Friedman became the first Director of Housing Policy for the Maryland Department of Disabilities.  She has a BA in Sociology from the University of Illinois and served in the Peace Corps in Bulgaria from 1999 until 2001.

Joanne Kersh, Ph.D.

Senior Research Associate

Joanne Kersh joined the Center for Social Development and Education in 2007. She received her doctorate in developmental psychology from Boston College and her M.Ed. in educational research from Northeastern University. Between completing her undergraduate studies at New York University and beginning her graduate work, Dr. Kersh was an early childhood educator in San Francisco and Boston.

Dr. Kersh's research focuses primarily on the development of children with disabilities and the well-being and adaptation of their families over time, considering the influences of individual, family, and community factors. Her work has focused largely on understudied members of the family, specifically siblings and fathers. Her professional interests also include the exploration of appropriate methodologies for conducting research with people with intellectual disabilities and with young children.

At CSDE, Dr. Kersh directs family-focused research within the Special Olympics Global Collaborating Center. She is currently conducting research that explores the assets of youth with intellectual and developmental disabilities and the value that they have in their families, with the aim of providing a more authentic and balanced representation of the experiences of these families.

 

Samantha Paris

Research Assistant

Samantha Paris joined CSDE as a research assistant in June 2007. She received her B.A. in psychology and sociocultural anthropology from The George Washington University in Washington, DC. She assists in data entry and statistical analysis for various CSDE projects. Ms. Paris is currently a graduate student at the University of Massachusetts Boston in the school psychology M.A./C.A.G.S. program. Her academic interests include special education, early intervention, and assessment. Ms. Paris is a student member of the National Association of School Psychologists and the Massachusetts Association of School Psychologists.

Robin C. Parker

Research Consultant

Robin Parker has been affiliated with CSDE since 1995. She holds a B.A. in psychology from Skidmore College and an M.S. in educational psychology and statistics from the University at Albany. During her first five years with CSDE, Ms. Parker worked on research concerning the stress, social support, and adjustment of students with and without learning disabilities during the transition into middle school. This research culminated in the published curriculum, Moving to Middle School: Life Skills and Coping Skills for Successful Student Transition. Activities for Grades 5-8. (Wenz-Gross, M., Anderson, K., Parker, R., O'Meara, A., & Carreiro-King, I., 2002).

After taking time off to start a family, Ms. Parker has rejoined the CSDE staff and is currently involved in several ongoing projects, including work with the Special Olympics Global Collaborating Center.Her work at present involves report writing and preparing manuscripts for publication.

Sarah Pociak

Research Assistant

Sarah Pociask joined CSDE in July 2008 as a research assistant after receiving her B.A. in Psychology and French from Skidmore College. Most recently, she has been working in collaboration with The Bubel/Aiken Foundation to evaluate the implementation and impact of inclusive recreational programming at summer camps across the nation.  She also assists in data collection and statistical analysis for the Special Olympics Global Collaborating Center, as well as with other CSDE projects.   

Thea Showstack

Research Assistant

Thea Showstack received her B.A. in psychology and philosophy from the University of Vermont in 2002. She has worked on several diverse research projects, including nutrition and physical activity interventions for adolescents with intellectual disabilities and children with autism, before joining CSDE as a research assistant in July 2007.

At CSDE, Ms. Showstack is involved in family research, including the Athlete in the Family project, a qualitative research project in collaboration with Special Olympics. Ms. Showstack is currently a graduate student at the University of Massachusetts Boston in the school psychology M.Ed. /C.A.G.S. program. Her academic interests include working with children and adolescents with intellectual disabilities, autism, and learning disabilities. Ms. Showstack is a student member of the National Association of School Psychologists and the Massachusetts School Psychologists Association.

Greg Tilley

Director of Finance Administration

Greg Tilley is responsible for the finance and administration areas within CSDE.  Mr. Tilley has more than fifteen years of experience in the areas of accounting, finance, and operations. He started his career in public accounting and then worked in Samoa (in the South Pacific) for five years. While in Samoa he was a Peace Corps volunteer and then was the CFO/COO for a bottled water company, responsible for all the accounting, finance, and operations. In addition, he also taught business subjects at the National University of Samoa (he was the Acting Dean for 18 months). Upon returning to the U.S., he worked as a consultant while studying full-time for his MBA at the Yale School of Management. He joined CSDE in 2004.

 

Greg received his M.B.A. from The Yale School of Management, a B.S. in accounting from Bentley College, and is licensed as a CPA in the state of Massachusetts.

CSDE Fellows

Rick J. Brigham, Ph.D.

Rick J. Brigham, Ph.D., is an associate professor of special education at George Mason University.

Paddy C. Favazza, Ed.D.

Paddy C. Favazza, Ed.D., is assistant professor of special education at Rhode Island College.

Steven Forness, Ed.D.

Steven Forness, Ed.D., is professor emeritus in the department of psychiatry and bio-behavioral sciences at UCLA.

Donald MacMillan, Ed.D.

Donald MacMillan, Ed.D., is distinguished professor of special education at the University of California Riverside.

Keith F. Widaman, Ph.D.

Keith F. Widaman, Ph.D., is professor of psychology at the University of Calfornia Davis.