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Johnette Hartnett, Ed.D.
Director of Strategic Partnership Development and Research
jhartnett@ndi-inc.org
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Staff Bios
Michael Morris is the Director of the National Disability Institute (NDI) in Washington, DC. He also serves as the CEO of the Burton Blatt Institute at Syracuse University. Morris has over 30 years of experience in and outside of government pioneering new strategies to improve the lives of people with disabilities. Morris serves as an advisor and technical expert to multiple federal agencies on policy and systems relationships at federal, state, and local levels to advance economic stability, mobility, and asset development for persons with disabilities.
Morris received his undergraduate degree with honors in political science from Case Western University in Cleveland, Ohio and his law degree from Emory University School of Law in Atlanta, Georgia. In 1981, he was named the first Joseph P. Kennedy Fellow in Public Policy and came to Washington, DC to work in the Office of Connecticut Senator Lowell Weicker, as legal counsel to the United States Senate Subcommittee on the Handicapped. Morris also served subsequently as counsel to the U.S. Senate Small Business Committee.
From Capitol Hill, Morris went to work at United Cerebral Palsy Associations first as Director of Government Relations, then as Director of Community Services, and finally as National Executive Director. During his 14-year tenure, his leadership put a focus on needed assistive technology and its essential role in accommodating people with disabilities in the areas of employment, education, communications and daily living.
In 2001, Morris helped establish the National Disability Institute to advance the social and economic independence of persons with disabilities through strategic investment and technical assistance activities nationwide that bring together government, corporations, foundations, and community and faith-based organizations. He is the co-founder of the Real Economic Impact Tour.
Dr. Johnette Hartnett is the Director of Research and the Real Economic Impact Tour for the National Disability Institute (NDI) and Co-Principal Investigator with the Burton Blatt Institute, Syracuse University, College of Law. Dr. Hartnett is national director and co-founder of the Real Economic Impact Tour that since 2005 has provided free tax preparation and other asset building strategies to over 331,751 taxpayers with disabilities with refunds over 296 million. Dr. Hartnett obtained her Ed.D. in Public Policy and Educational Leadership from the University of Vermont. She graduated Summa Cum Laude, from Trinity College, in Vermont, majoring in psychology and gerontology. Prior to her role at the National Disability Institute, Dr. Hartnett was Vice President of the NCB Development Corporation, in Washington, DC and Assistant Research Professor, in the Department of Education and the Center on Disability and Community Inclusion, at the University of Vermont. She was a Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr. Congressional Fellow in the 107th Congress where she worked for Senator Rockefeller on behalf of individuals with disabilities in the reauthorization of welfare. Dr. Hartnett is dedicated to working on policy and research issues that forward the quality of life and the economic well-being of Americans with disabilities.
Sharon Brent is a national expert on multiple Federal policy issues related to the employment and self-determination that improves economic status of youth in transition and adult individuals with disabilities. She is Founder and President of NDI Consulting, Inc. a women owned For Profit Small Business, and Director of Training and Technical Assistance and Grants Management for the National Disability Institute. Her expertise is in youth and adult issues regarding employment, housing, health care, asset development, Social Security programs (certified) (WIPA), DOL (DPN), HUD, and CMS (MIG) programs. As a parent of a 35-year-old son with Cerebral Palsy, Ms. Brent has the ability to apply personal as well as professional knowledge that provides credibility and technical information to a full range of stakeholders. She is clear that knowledge is power and all stakeholders need the same information to create an equal partnership that will advance economic empowerment for people with disabilities.
Laura Gleneck is Founder and Vice President of NDI Consulting, Inc. a women-owned for profit small business, and serves as the Project Coordinator and has served in this capacity for both the Work Incentive Grants (WIG) and the Disability Program Navigator (DPN) Initiative since 2001. In her capacity as Project Coordinator, she serves as the lead coordinator of the key technical assistance staff, manages material development, coordinates all training and technical assistance activities, produces the One-Stop Toolkit Resources of the Week, and works closely with the national DPN Program Office. Since the WIG grants, she has served as the key staff person with expertise on transportation and other community resources for work support. Prior to joining the national Technical Assistance team, Ms. Gleneck served as the project coordinator for federal projects with a focus on inclusion of youth with disabilities in transition and participation in community and employment for the National Parent Network on Disabilities for five years. Ms. Gleneck has a Master’s degree in Child Study from the Eliot-Pearson Department of Child Development from Tufts University in Medford, MA and a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the George Washington University in Washington, D.C. In 2000, Ms. Gleneck completed a Continuing Education Professional Writing Course at Harvard University in Cambridge, MA.
Elizabeth Jennings is an Associate with National Disability Institute in Washington, DC and The Burton Blatt Institute at Syracuse University. Ms. Jennings is a national consultant on asset development strategies for persons with disabilities and the building of expanded relationships between the disability and asset building communities. Her varied experience includes spearheading a recent Asset Development initiative in New York, creating collaborative agreements, executing grant allocations, training stakeholders on the effect of work on Social Security, Medicaid and Medicare benefits, assisting individuals in obtaining supported and competitive employment and providing technical assistance and training on Social Security’s Ticket to Work regulations.
Nakia Matthews has been a member of the NDI family since 2005. A graduate of the University of Maryland with a B.A. in Hearing and Speech Sciences, Nakia has spent the past 4 years as part of NDI’s administrative team. Recently, Nakia took up the post as NDI’s Media Production & Technology Coordinator, keeping NDI afloat in the ever-changing world of social media and technology.
Margaret Callahan is Office Manager for the National Disability Institute (NDI). Margaret's responsibilities for the NDI staff include but are not limited to: accounting with accounts receivable and accounts deliverable; personnel matters; administrative support for conferences, meetings and training; and assistance with grant preparation. Margaret has over 30 years of experience providing administrative support to organizations including the Associated Press, National Geographics Photographic Department, Tiffany and Company, and NCB Capital Impact.
Michael R. Roush is the National Program Director for the Real Economic Impact Tour at the National Disability Institute. In addition to his work with the Real Economic Impact Tour, Mr. Roush is involved with the asset building projects in Florida including a new pilot project, Building Economic Strength Together (B.E.S.T.) Florida to increase the economic self-sufficiency of individuals with disabilities. Prior to joining the NDI team, Mr. Roush was a consultant with the University of South Florida's Center for Inclusive Communities and a Disability Program Navigator for WorkNet Pinellas with the Florida DPN Project. As a Disability Program Navigator, Mr. Roush worked with One Stop Center staff and community partners to incorporate the Money Smart Curriculum and asset building resources into their programs. Prior to his work in Florida, Mr. Roush served as the Director of the Learning Center for the George G. Glenner Family Centers in San Diego, California. As the Director of the Learning Center, Mr. Roush managed the operations and the training programs of the Center. Mr. Roush has created and implemented training curriculum for local, state, and national organizations. Mr. Roush has completed the required competency-based educational and assessment activities to be certified as a Community Work Incentives Coordinator within the Work Incentives Planning and Assistance Initiative. Mr. Roush serves on the Board of Directors for the Florida Prosperity Partnership and oversees the Disability Subcommittee for FPP and serves on United Way of Tampa Bay’s Financial Stability Initiative Committee. Mr. Roush has a Master of Arts degree in Human Behavior.
Danielle Diamond joined the National Disability Institute in 2007 as a Program Associate. She currently focuses most of her time on providing technical assistance for the Disability Program Navigator Initiative but is also involved in Asset Development and social media work. Before joining the National Disability Institute, Danielle Diamond worked as a WIA Case Manager in a One-Stop Career Center before moving on to serve as both a Disability Program Navigator (DPN) and the state project lead for the Alaska DPN program. Since joining the NDI TA Team, she has provided training and technical assistance on multiple topics through webinars, as well as one-on-one assistance to DPN projects. In addition to detailed knowledge of the state and national workforce investment system, Ms. Diamond brings with her experience building relationships and collaborating with state and local level partners to promote asset development opportunities for people with disabilities. Since her transition from Alaska to Ohio, she has been an active leader in an Asset Development work group which consists of public and private sector organizations to promote asset development opportunities for people with disabilities.
Ms. Kennedy has extensive experience working at the local, state and national level within the U.S. Workforce Investment System. Ms. Kennedys expertise lies in researching and analyzing policy issues and making policy recommendations, as well as developing and implementing promising practices across states, in the areas of youth in transition, workforce development, employment, entrepreneurship, asset development, assistive technology, and community participation and inclusion. In her work with the National Disability Institute (NDI), Ms. Kennedy has served as the senior technical assistance liaison, and currently serves as the training coordinator for the 42 state level Disability Program Navigator (DPN) projects and four territory level DPN projects in the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, and Guam. These projects are funded through the U.S. Department of Labors Employment and Training Administration (DOLETA) and focus on increasing access for individuals with disabilities to the full range and scope of employment services within the workforce system. Ms. Kennedy is also a Research Project Coordinator for the Burton Blatt Institute (BBI) at Syracuse University working on the New York Medicaid Infrastructure Grant. In her work with BBI, Ms. Kennedy has contributed to the development and implementation of the New York Makes Work Pay (NY MWP) five-year strategic plan for New Yorks Office of Mental Health (OMH), Vocational and Educational Services for Individuals with Disabilities (VESID), Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities (OMRDD), and the New York State Department of Labor (NYS DOL). Ms. Kennedy received her Masters degree in Public Policy from the University of Denvers Institute for Public Policy Studies and a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature from the University of Colorado at Boulder. She lives just outside of Boulder Colorado with her husband and son.
Judy Stengel is the National Resource Manager for NDIs Real Economic Impact Tour. Ms. Stengel is a retired Internal Revenue Service employee with 25 years of service, most recently as a Senior Tax Specialist with extensive experience in teaching tax law as well as presenting aspects of the tax code in easy to understand terms to the general public. Since 2004 she has been a member of the IRS National Disability Team working on the IRS Disability Toolkit and the IRS partnership with the National Disability Institute. In addition, Ms. Stengel consults nationally on how the receipt of public benefits interfaces with the receipt of tax credits such as the Earned Income Tax Credit. On a local level Ms. Stengel was influential in starting the Wichita, Kansas Disability Initiative which has gained national recognition as a model program reaching out to people with disabilities. Ms. Stengel is a 2007 graduate of Partners in Policymaking - Kansas Council on Developmental Disabilities. As a lifelong advocate and senior tax specialist, Ms. Stengels life work is championing the untapped potential and opportunities available to all citizens with disabilities through free tax filing and full participation in the mainstream economy. Ms. Stengel is the mother of a 44-year old man who has a developmental disability and mental illness. She advocates on a local, state and national level for the rights of individuals with disabilities to achieve their maximum potential of independence and self-sufficiency.
Chip Kenney splits his time as the Project Director of the Region IV Technical Assistance and Continuing Education program with the Burton Blatt Institute at Syracuse University and the National Disability Institute where he works on multiple projects. Prior to this, Chip was Director of the Regional Continuing Education Program (RCEP) for Community Rehabilitation Providers at Georgia State University. Previously, he was the Bureau Chief of Client Services for the Florida Division of Blind Services. He has been in the field of vocational rehabilitation for close to 30 years. He has a Masters Degree in Educational Research and a Bachelors Degree and other graduate work in Organizational Psychology. He is a graduate of the National Executive Leadership Institute and has contributed to the Institute of Rehabilitation Issues. He has been a Certified Public Manager since 1985.
Jayson Gleneck is a Digital Artist, whose professional career includes Graphic Design, Web Design, Photography, Illustration, and Video. He currently serves as an Information Technology Specialist with the National Disability Institute (NDI), where he provides website design, management and support. Prior to joining the NDI team, Mr. Gleneck used his graphic design skills to build web/TV graphics and create virtual animations based upon real data acquisition for Trakus, Inc. Working on contract jobs has given him many unique experiences to develop his skills in graphics such as creating official Massachusetts voting ballots, designing fashion Jewelry, making official company logos and branding, creating TV graphics and animations, 3-D pre-visualization graphics, Illustrations, 4-color ads, accessible web sites, promotional advertising for movie theaters, newspapers and magazines, etc. Mr. Gleneck is a former President of the Nashua Area Artists Association (NAAA) and currently serves as its Webmaster. He also shows his artwork in Galleries, exhibits, and art exhibits. Mr. Gleneck received a four year diploma from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts and a BFA Tufts University in Boston, Massachusetts. His concentration of study was Graphic Design, 3-D computer animation, and Digital art. He continues to learn about new technologies through continuing education.