ILRU Resource FilesInformation for the independent living community from the IL NET |
Who's Who at the U.S. Department of EducationFunds for programs authorized under Title VII of the Rehabilitation Act, including centers for independent living, are administered by the Rehabilitation Services Administration, which is a program component of the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS). OSERS is part of the U.S. Department of Education. To help you keep track of the players, the offices they represent and
their relationship to one another, the IL Net has compiled this list of
Who's Who at the Department of Education. Program descriptions and staff
biographies were taken from the Department
of Education Website, www.ed.gov. Rod Paige Secretary Paige became the superintendent of schools of Houston Independent School District (HISD) in 1994. As superintendent, Secretary Paige created the Peer Examination, Evaluation, and Redesign (PEER) program, which solicits recommendations from business and community professionals for strengthening school support services and programs. He launched a system of charter schools that have broad authority in decisions regarding staffing, textbooks, and materials. He saw to it that HISD paid teachers salaries competitive with those offered by other large Texas school districts. Secretary Paige made HISD the first school district in the state to institute performance contracts modeled on those in the private sector, whereby senior staff members' continued employment with HISD is based on their performance. He also introduced teacher incentive pay, which rewards teachers for outstanding performance and creative solutions to educational problems. FOB_6 Robert H. Pasternack Robert H. Pasternack is the assistant secretary for special education and rehabilitative services. OSERS assists in the education of disabled children and the rehabilitation of disabled adults and conducts research to improve the lives of disabled persons regardless of age. Since 1998 Pasternack has been New Mexico state director of special education. Previously, he was chief executive officer of Casa de Corazon, a children's mental health center in Taos, N.M. He also served as superintendent of New Mexico Boys' School in Springer. Pasternack received a Ph.D. in special education from the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque and a master's degree in guidance and counseling from New Mexico Highlands University in Las Vegas. He is certified as a special education teacher, an educational diagnostician, and as a school psychologist. Mary E. Switzer Building Joanne M. Wilson Joanne M. Wilson is the commissioner of the Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA), in the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services. The Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA) oversees programs that help individuals with physical or mental disabilities to obtain employment through the provision of such supports as counseling, medical and psychological services, job training, and other individualized services. RSA's major formula grant program provides funds to state vocational rehabilitation agencies to provide employment-related services for individuals with disabilities, giving priority to individuals who are severely disabled. Since 1985 Wilson has been director of the Louisiana Center for the Blind, which she founded as the state's first adult orientation and adjustment training facility and independent living center for the blind. She has also served as a consultant to the Connecticut Board of Education and Services for the Blind, the New Jersey Orientation and Adjustment Center for the Blind, and the New York Commission for the Blind. Wilson has a master's degree in guidance and counseling and administration from Iowa State University. She was an elementary school teacher in Ames, Iowa, where she taught both blind and sighted children, and a continuing education instructor at Louisiana Tech University. Mary E. Switzer Building Thomas Finch The Special Projects Division (SPD) develops and interprets regulations, policies, and guidelines and coordinates and provides direction for RSA program activities designed to expand and improve rehabilitation services for persons with disabilities. SPD staff develop appropriate mechanisms to ensure that successful outcomes of such activities are integrated into the practices of rehabilitation agencies. Division staff also administer special projects for Supported Employment, migrant and seasonal farm workers and their families, Projects With Industry (PWI), recreation projects, and all programs related to Independent Living. Mary E. Switzer Building James Billy Staff in the Independent Living Branch administer IL programs under Title VII of the Rehabilitation Act Living Programs. They develop and interpret regulations and policies for Independent Living (IL) programs; develop guidelines and provide technical assistance to applicants for and grantees of Independent Living programs; provide guidance and technical assistance to Regional Offices staff for State agencies and Centers for Independent Living projects; establish data gathering methods and monitoring guides for IL programs; maintain liaison with consumer organizations to foster development of independent living services; collaborate with the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR) concerning research findings and their application to enhance the IL options for persons with significant disabilities; and disseminate findings and effective practices resulting from IL program activities to other RSA offices, Regional Office staff, State agencies, Centers for Independent Living and other public and private agencies and practitioners. Mary E. Switzer Building Steven James Tingus As director of the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR), Tingus will serve as chief advisor to Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative Services Robert Pasternack and direct research programs and activities related to maximizing employment and independent living opportunities for disabled individuals of all ages. In addition, Tingus will manage all NIDRR activities. His responsibilities will include preparing a long-range plan for rehabilitation research; directing funding and resources for research and training centers; evaluating current and future operating programs; and disseminating new research related to disabilities and effective rehabilitation policies and practices. Prior to joining the Education Department, Tingus served as director of resource development and public policy director for assistive technology at the California Foundation for Independent Living Centers. In that capacity, Tingus developed and implemented model policies and activities to broaden access to assistive technology for persons with disabilities to help them live independent and productive lives. From 1995-1998, Tingus served as health care policy analyst in the Office of Long Term Care at the California Department of Health Services. Tingus earned his master of science degree in physiology from the University of California, Davis, in 1990 and has done work toward his doctoral degree in physiology. Mary E. Switzer Building Organizational Chart A more detailed organizational
chart is available at http://www.ed.gov/about/offices.jsp 2002 ILRU
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| This document may be reproduced for noncommercial use without prior permission if the author and ILRU are cited. The mission of the IL NET is to provide training and technical assistance on a variety of issues central to independent living today--understanding the Rehab Act, what the statewide independent living council is and how it can operate most effectively, management issues for centers for independent living, systems advocacy, computer networking, and others. Training activities are conducted conference-style, via long-distance communication, webcasts, through widely disseminated print and audio materials, and through the promotion of a strong national network of centers and individuals in the independent living field. ILRU is a program of The Institute for Rehabilitation and Research (TIRR), a nationally recognized, free-standing medical rehabilitation facility for persons with physical and cognitive disabilities. TIRR is part of TIRR Systems, which is a not-for-profit corporation dedicated to providing a continuum of services to individuals with disabilities. Substantial support for development of this publication was provided by the Rehabilitation Services Administration, U.S. Department of Education. The content is the responsibility of ILRU and no official endorsement of the Department of Education should be inferred. ©2005 ILRU Program, All rights
reserved |