Speakers
Marlee Matlin
Marlee Matlin is an Academy Award-winning actress and activist, whose experiences in Hollywood have made her an unexpected emissary for the deaf community
Timothy Shriver
Timothy P. Shriver is chairman of board of directors and CEO of Special Olympics. In that capacity, he serves 3.1 million Special Olympics athletes and their families in 175 countries.
John Agosta
John Agosta, Ph.D., is a Vice President at the Human services Research Institute, where he leads efforts to assist states in establishing individualized budgets or allocations for people with developmental disabilities based on objective assessments of support needs.
Shelly Christensen
Shelly Christensen is one of the leading authors, speakers and practitioners of inclusion of people with disabilities and has served as Program Manager of the Minneapolis Jewish Community Inclusion Program for People with Disabilities since 2001.
Steve Eidelman
Steve Eidelman is the H. Rodney Sharp Professor of Human Services Policy and Leadership at the University of Delaware, and has led change in a variety of settings for people with mental retardation and other developmental disabilities.
Tom Fields-Meyer
Tom Fields-Meyer, the author of Following Ezra, has been a writer and journalist for more than 25 years.
Ronit Fishman-Ofir
Ronit Fishman-Ofir is a partner in the Fishman Group, where she directs the the corporate social responsibility program, and actively promotes the integration of people with disabilities into society.
Phyllis Glink
Phyllis Glink is executive director of the Irving Harris Foundation in Chicago, where she works on developing, implementing, and managing the foundation’s efforts in the area of early childhood development and child and family welfare.
Patricia Goldman
Patricia Goldman is vice president of the J.E. & Z.B. Butler Foundation, which supports youth development programs and services for people with disabilities.
Stan Goldman
Stan Goldman is the longest-serving program director at the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation, where he is responsible for disabilities grants in the United States and Israel covering the full spectrum of the field.
Scott Goldberg
Scott J. Goldberg is the inaugural director of the Institute for University – School Partnership and an associate professor at Yeshiva University’s Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education and Administration.
Felicia Herman
Felicia Herman is the executive director of The Natan Fund, a giving collaborative of young philanthropists that has awarded around $7 million in grants to over 100 startups and emerging organizations around the world since 2003.
Isaac Herzog
Isaac Herzog is a member of the Knesset for the Israeli Labor Party, and previously served in the cabinet as Minister of Welfare and Social Services.
Arlene S. Kanter
Arlene Kanter is the Laura J. and L. Douglas Meredith Professor for Teaching Excellence at the Syracuse University College of Law and the founder and director of the College of Law’s Disability Law and Policy Program.
Alexis Kashar
Alexis Kashar is president of the Jewish Deaf Resource Center, a nationwide organization dedicated to transforming institutions to enable deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals to fully participate in Jewish life
Ilene Lainer
Ilene Lainer is a board member and Executive Director of the New York Center for Autism (NYCA) which she co-founded in 2003, and a co-founder and trustee of NYCA Charter School, the only charter school in New York State dedicated exclusively to serving children with a disability.
Jason Lieberman
Jason Lieberman was diagnosed with cerebral palsy spastic diplegia at the age of 11 months, and began running sensitivity training programs for his teachers and fellow students in the eighth grade.
Jeri Mendelsohn
Jeri Mendelsohn is the Associate Executive Director of the Samuel Field YM&YWHA, a multi-service Jewish communal organization that serves the Borough of Queens.
Jay Ruderman
Jay Ruderman is the president of the Ruderman Family Foundation, which focuses on improving the lives of people with special needs in the Greater Boston area and Israel.
Sharon Shapiro-Lacks
Sharon Shapiro-Lacks is the founding executive director of Yad HaChazakah – The Jewish Disability Empowerment Center, Inc.
Jo Ann Simons
Jo Ann Simons has been an active member of the intellectual and Down syndrome community for over 30 years and is currently the president and CEO of the Cardinal Cushing Centers.
Esther Sivan
Esther Sivan is the Executive Director of Bizchut – The Israel Human Rights Center for People with Disabilities.
Michael A. Stein
Michael Stein
Michael Stein is the executive director of the Harvard Law School Project on Disability.
Donald Wertlieb
Donald Wertlieb, Ph.D., is the Korman Visiting Distinguished Professor of Special Education and Director of the Hebrew College Inclusive Education Roundtable (HIER).
