VIUCEDD Appoints New Executive Director

August 4, 2017

Join us in thanking Dr. Yegin Habtes for his tireless work as the founding and Executive Director for the Virgin Islands Center for Excellence in Developmental since 1994. Since its inception to now, we have seen VIUCEDD grow to serve as a community partner around issues pertaining to developmental disabilities. It has served as a resource for the VI community, and has provided many workshops and speakers addressing exemplary and evidence-based approaches for individuals with disabilities. Dr. Habtes has shepherded the center through continuous federal funding for over 20 years. Additionally, through VIUCEDD and the school of Education, he led the development of degrees in Inclusive Early Childhood Education, and American Sign Language. Over the last six months, the University of the Virgin Islands has been engaged in the process of searching for and hiring a new Executive Director. Through a national search, UVI has identified Dr. Kimberly Mills as the new Executive Director for the VIUCEDD. On behalf of The Consumer Advisory Council, the Virgin Islands Assistive Technology Foundation Inc. and the University of the Virgin Islands administration, we are sharing the exciting news that Dr. Kimberly Mills has been selected as the new Executive Director of VIUCEDD. Please join us is welcoming Dr. Mills to her new position.

Dr. Kimberly Mills joined the VIUCEDD in the Fall of 2014 as the Associate Director for VIUCEDD. She joined UVI having had a successful career spanning over 20 years of serving people with disabilities in various capacities. She has worked as a paraprofessional educator, classroom teacher, school principal, executive director, clinical consultant and program manager for various organizations and agencies through the continental United States and abroad. Her work has included working at therapeutic wilderness schools; directing autism centers in Bermuda, New York and The United Arab Emirates; and working at disability serving agencies in Hawaii and Georgia. Dr. Kimberly Mills has been involved in many successful policy and systems change efforts in the arenas of service to ‘at risk' youth, educational policy and reform, disability services, and improving the overall performance and evaluation of non-profit organizations. While at the University of the Virgin Islands, Dr. Mills also holds an Affiliate Faculty appointment with the University of Hawaii, where she is helping that institution increase their capacity to serve people with autism and other developmental disabilities. Mills' research interests include using Applied Behavior Analytic methodologies across diverse environments, analysis of technical assistance efforts, research related to the School to Prison Pipeline, autism services development, early childhood education, and best practices in teacher training and preparation. In her capacity as Associate Director of VIUCEDD here, Dr. Mills created and developed the Autism and Developmental Disabilities Research Center (ADDRC) at UVI, a model research and training center to teach best practices to parents, educators and members of the community in relation to early childhood methodologies and skill development across the lifespan.