2014 Presenters

L. Scott Lissner, Keynote

L. Scott LisnerL. Scott Lissner has served as the Americans With Disabilities Act Coordinator and 504 Compliance Officer for The Ohio State University since January of 2000. Housed under the Provost in the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, Lissner is an Associate of the John Glenn School of Public Policy and serves as a lecturer for the Moritz College of Law, the Knowlton School of Architecture, and Disability Studies.

His teaching and public service inform his work as the university's disability compliance officer; energizes his role in creating seamless access to all of the university's programs, services, employment opportunities, and facilities; and guides his efforts as a catalyst for disability-related initiatives. Engaged in community and professional service, Lissner is President of the Association on Higher Education And Disability and serves on the Board of Directors for The Center for Disability Empowerment and the Editorial Board for Thompson's 504 Compliance Manual. Lissner has been appointed to the Columbus Advisory Committee on Disability Issues, Ohio's Help America Vote Act Committee, and the Ohio Governor's Council for People with Disabilities.

Lissner publishes, presents, and consults frequently on disability issues. Recent presentations include a technical assistance tour to Indonesia sponsored by the Department of State, sessions at the Association on Higher Education And Disability, the National Association of College and University Attorneys, The Ohio Attorney General's Office, and a U.S. State Department Technical Assistance Program in Indonesia. Recent publications include "The Impact of the ADAAA of 2008 on Higher Education," Thompsons' Publications; "Universal Design in the Institutional Setting: Weaving a Philosophy into Campus Planning" in Universal Design: From Accessibility to Zoning (J. Cowley-Evans & J. Nasser (Eds.); and "From Legal Principle to Informed Practice" with J. E. Jarrow.

Previously, Lissner has managed support programs and worked as a direct service provider at Longwood University, Adelphi University, and the New York Institute of Technology. Lissner has bachelor's degrees in Economics and Psychology from Rutgers University; a master's degree in Counseling from City University of New York's Hunter College, and has engaged in doctoral studies and research in cognitive psychology at Adelphi University and Educational Policy at the University of Virginia (ABD).

Ken Petri, Accessibility Challenges in Higher Education (Panel Discussion)

Ken PetriKen Petri became the Director of the Ohio State University Web Accessibility Center in 2005. He has been a web developer since 2000 and has held jobs in technical writing and has taught courses on web development. He has a master's degree in English and a B.S. in Computer Science. His work at the Center includes promoting accessibility on campus and the community by holding workshops and creating instructional materials, consulting with developers, staff, faculty, and administration, performing reviews and usability studies of sites and applications, and developing software tools and web templates.

Tim Plumer Jr., Accessible Documents: How to Create an Accessible PDF

Tim Plumer, Jr.Tim has been working with, and for, Adobe since 1998, when he became an Applications Engineer for the creative tools team in the Northeast. In his current role as a Senior Solutions Consultant for the Education sales team, he works to place Adobe technologies into the context of the needs of Higher Education customers. Bringing his experience as a print services/marketing programs business owner, Tim can demonstrate the ways to use Adobe tools to stay competitive and gain a creative edge. He is also an Adobe Certified Expert in Adobe Acrobat, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe InDesign, Adobe Connect Professional, and Adobe Presenter software, and he uses those tools to support his passion for eLearning. Tim has spoken or taught at a variety of conferences nationwide, including the ACTEM MAINEducation conference, Dartmouth College, The Northeast Regional Computing Program (NERCOMP), the New Media Consortium (NMC) annual conference, and the New York High School of Art and Design.

David Scoville, Best Practices: Setting Up an Accessible Course Site in Niihka

David J. Scoville, Miami's Learning Systems Coordinator has been an educator since 1990, has worked in academic IT since 1996, and has been teaching online in higher education for over ten years. Dave oversees Niihka, Miami's instructional management system.

Jessica Thiede, Accessibility Challenges in Higher Education (Panel Discussion)

ThiedeDr. Thiede, of the Cincinnati VA Medical Center (CVAMC), completed her doctoral degree in clinical psychology at Wright State University in 2006 and completed her post-doctoral specialization in the Posttraumatic Stress and Anxiety Disorder Division of CVAMC. She spent 4.5 years in the Iraq and Afghanistan Post-Deployment Primary Integrated Care Clinic and serves at CVAMC as the lead psychologist. Her previous clinical work has taken place in forensic, primary care, university counseling centers, and assessment centers, focusing on trauma, co-morbid conditions, and adjustment. Her research interests include adjusting post-trauma, learning and attention, the impact of patient-provider relationships on health and well-being, program development, and integrated delivery of health care. She has a strong commitment to multidisciplinary collaboration and has been a part of several committees and organizations to improve patient care. She has trained students, interns, and psychiatry residents in the areas of consultation, diagnostic assessment, and delivery of evidence-based therapies (EBT).

Dr. Thiede maintains a private practice in Cincinnati, Ohio, where she provides psychotherapy and assessment services with a specialization in PTSD and other anxiety disorders. In 2011, she co-wrote a grant and was awarded national funding to develop programming for student veterans returning from combat and pursuing higher education. Dr. Thiede is now serving as the Cincinnati VA’s Veterans Integration to Academic Leadership (VITAL) Consultant and liaison to seven universities in the greater Cincinnati area. She is also the National Clinical Chair for VITAL and serves on the National Education, Research, and Advancement Committees. Dr. Thiede has presented at state and national conferences on VTIAL, campus safety, military culture, post-deployment adjustment, and trauma.

Tom Tobin, Using Universal Design for Learning to Support All Online Students

Tom TobinDr. Thomas Tobin is the Coordinator of Learning Technologies in the Center for Teaching and Learning at Northeastern Illinois University in Chicago. Tom's work focuses on using technology to extend the reach of higher education beyond its traditional audience. He advocates for the educational rights of people with disabilities and people from disadvantaged backgrounds. Tom serves on the editorial boards of The Online Journal of Distance Learning Administration and the Journal of Interactive Online Learning, and he has published in many areas related to distance education, including copyright, evaluation of teaching practice, academic integrity, and institutional project management.

Greg Williams, Accessibility Technology in the Classroom

Greg WilliamsDr. Greg Williams received his Ph.D. in computational chemistry from the University of Cambridge and holds B.S. degrees in chemistry and mathematics from Indiana University. He is a former high school teacher with teaching experience in and outside of the sciences. Because of his own experiences with the inaccessibility of laboratory courses as a blind student pursuing a STEM career, he joined Independence Science, where he is helping to develop new science education access technologies for students with visual impairments. He is also a post-doctoral fellow with the Institute for Accessible Science at Purdue University whose mission is to accelerate institutional change with respect to the inclusion of persons with disabilities in biomedical science careers through assistive technology development, student and educator support services, and research.

Andy Zeisler, Accessibility Challenges in Higher Education (Panel Discussion)

Andy ZeislerJ. Andrew Zeisler, Director of the Office of Disability Resources, has been with Miami University in this capacity since November of 1988. He has a master's degree in Educational Psychology from Miami and is passionate about social justice issues and contributing to a climate of inclusiveness on campus. Andrew is a co-chair of Miami's Accessible Technologies Committee and serves on many other committees around campus that promote accessibility to campus and University life. He has received numerous outstanding service awards over the years and was recognized for his work at Miami with induction into Phi Kappa Phi National Honor Society in 2008. He has also served on Miami University's 1809 LGBT Alumni Board of Trustees since 2004.

Katie Gibson, Library Tour

Katie GibsonKatie Gibson is a Humanities Librarian in King Library and serves as the liaison to the Office of Disability Resources. She received her MLS from Indiana University in 2006. Research interests include library services to diverse student populations, information literacy instruction, and digital humanities.