Nisonger Center (OH UCEDD/LEND) Announces Changes in Leadership

January 25, 2013

Dr. Margaretha Vreeburg Izzo, associate professor of psychiatry at The Ohio State University, retired effective December 31, 2012, and stepped down from her role and responsibilities as the associate director of the Nisonger Center. Izzo has been at the Nisonger Center since 1997 but started her career at Ohio State in 1980 at the Center on Education and Training for Employment. She served as program director for the Special Education and Transitions area at Nisonger and has been extremely successful in obtaining extramural funding for projects focused on increasing achievement and postsecondary outcomes of students with disabilities.
"Margo has an enviable national and international reputation in special education and transition services," said Dr. Marc J. Tassé, Nisonger Center director. "Last year, she obtained a federal grant to establish the TOPS program at Ohio State to support students with intellectual disability to attend college." Izzo has also been a faculty member of the LEND program. She will return in March 2013 on a part-time basis to continue her work in the area of postsecondary education and employment.

 

Dr. Michael G. Aman, professor of psychology and psychiatry at Ohio State, retired on December 31, 2012, and stepped down as the Nisonger Center's director of research. Aside from a brief hiatus (1994-1995) to Massey University in New Zealand, Aman has been at Ohio State and the Nisonger Center since 1987. Aman's contributions to the field have included more than 250 publications, quality research in developing widely used assessment instruments, clinical trials, and understanding problem behavior. He also provided key leadership in securing grants for the Research Unit on Pediatric Psychopharmacology (RUPP).
"Mike has played an instrumental role in the IDD Psychology Program at Ohio State and provided unwavering mentorship to a large number of undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate psychology students," said Tassé. "Mike will be returning on a part-time basis in March to continue his research work at Nisonger."

 

New Associate Director: Dr. Paula Rabidoux, clinical associate professor of psychiatry at Ohio State, coordinates speech-language pathology for the LEND program and is a practicing speech-language pathologist. For the past 25 years Rabidoux's research and clinical interests have focused on the issues involved in literacy learning for children and adults with communicative and cognitive impairments. She serves as the literacy consultant for the Next Chapter Book Club, an international project promoting social interaction, lifelong learning, and community inclusion for adolescents and adults with intellectual disabilities.  "Paula has accepted the leadership role and took on her new responsibilities as the associate director of the Center on January 1, 2013," said Tassé. She will continue in her role as co-director of the LEND program but has stepped down as director of Training and Community Outreach.

 

New Training Director: Dr. Andrea Witwer, clinical assistant professor of psychiatry and adjunct assistant professor of psychology at Ohio State, is the program director of the Nisonger's Autism Spectrum Disorders Clinic and LEND program faculty member. Witwer's current research is focused on the assessment of emotional and behavioral problems in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) and the early identification of ASD. She conducts psychological evaluations and behavioral consultations with children with ASD and other intellectual and developmental disabilities. Witwer has been appointed the new director of Training and Community Outreach at Nisonger and assumed her new responsibilities on January 1, 2013.