Staff

Image Description: Headshot photo of John Tschida, a smiling man with glasses, graying brown hair and goatee, wearing a navy suit, white shirt, and red and blue patterned tie.

John Tschida, MPP, is the executive director of the Association of University Centers on Disabilities (AUCD). He has spent more than 20 years using data and research to drive policy change and service development for individuals with disabilities. Before joining AUCD in February of 2017 as associate executive di... READ MORE >

Tanisha Clarke, MPH, is the Senior Manager of Disability and Public Health at the Association of University Centers on Disabilities (AUCD). She manages public health projects and capacity development activities for the National Center on Disability in Public Health. Tanisha leads national initiatives and provides technical assistance for participating sites including the University Centers for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCEDDs), the Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental a... READ MORE >

Image Description: Photo of Caitlyn Conklin, a smiling woman with brown hair sitting at a desk while using a computer keyboard.

Caitlyn Conklin is the Association of University Centers on Disabilities' Operations and Meetings Assistant. She provides administrative, logistical, and client support for the AUCD network, teams, and other stakeholders.

Caitlyn has had many life-enriching experiences that she believes have been instrumental in preparing her for her administrative ca... READ MORE >

Image Description: Photo of Jeanette Cordova

Jeanette M. Cordova is the Technical Assistance Program Manager (Bilingual) for AUCD's Maternal and Child Health Technical Assistance (TA) Team. Her responsibilities include manage projects, initiatives, and meetings that address the objectives of our funder's training programs and will actively promote continued improvement for individual programs and the fulfillment of broader workforce development goals outlined in the Autis... READ MORE >

Anna Costalas, MPA, serves as the Resource and Dissemination Manager for AUCD. She coordinates the planning, preparation and dissemination of print, web-based, and social media communications; coordinates learning activities including webinars, meetings and conferences; and supports marketing and branding efforts. Ms. Costalas brings expertise in accessibility of communications, and trains staff on technologies and standards for communications. 

Anna brings over 15 years of exper... READ MORE >

Jackie Czyzia, MPH, is the Senior Program Manager for AUCD's Maternal and Child Health Technical Assistance (TA) Team. Her responsibilities include o... READ MORE >

Image Description: Sarah DeMaio, a woman with brown hair pulled up and wearing a blue shirt, smiles with a black background.

Sarah DeMaio is the senior program manager for AUCD's UCEDD Resource Center (URC) where she manages the technical assistance (TA) team for the UCEDD network. In this role, Sarah provides leadership and oversight to the implementation of AUCD's UCEDD training and technical assistance.   She is the primary point of contact for new directors, the liaison ... READ MORE >

Dr. Adriane Griffen serves as the Senior Director, Public Health and Leadership, at the Association of University Centers on Disabilities. With 20 years of experience, she specializes in disability and health, social marketing, qualitative research, and health education. Her activities focus on capacity building, systems change, and health promotion for people with disabilities across the life span.

Dr. Griffen integrates action learning principles and action research in her current w... READ MORE >

Maureen Johnson is a Program Specialist for AUCD's Maternal and Child Health technical assistance team. Her responsibilities include supporting LENDs and DBPs through AUCD's cooperative agreement with MCHB's Division of MCH Workforce Development and strengthening efforts to engage and promote collaboration among the Emerging Leaders Community.

Before AUCD, Maureen worked at the Physician Assistant Education Association (PAEA) in professional development and membership engagement. She ... READ MORE >

Image Description: Katie, a white person with shoulder-length blonde hair against a tan background. They wear a pink shirt and are smiling at the camera.

Katie Johnson is a Program Specialist for AUCD's UCEDD Resource Center where they provide technic... READ MORE >

Image Description: Black woman with black curly hair in a low ponytail. She is wearing a black blouse and blue jeans with a black belt. She is standing in front of a wooden barn outside while the sun is setting.

Aryana Jones serves as the Communications Assistant at the Association of University Centers on Disabilities (AUCD). She works directly with AUCD's Resource and Dissemination Manager, Anna Costalas, to create communication materials for newsletters and socia... READ MORE >

Image Description: Photo of Jordan Kerr, a smiling woman with brown curly hair wearing a green turtle neck shirt.

Jordan Kerr is a program specialist for AUCD's public health team. Her responsibilities include assisting in the development of project reports and publications and providing support and information on a wide range of activities that further the mission and goals of members of the AUCD network.

Jordan holds a bachelor's degree in public health science ... READ MORE >

Image Description: Photo of Dana Kim, a young, smiling Asian-American woman with short black hair and gold earrings. She is wearing a black top in front of a white background. 

Dana Kim is the Project Assistant for the Autism Intervention Research Network on Physical Health (AIR-P). Her responsibilities include providing administrative and logistical support to AIR-P, working with Philip Maglo to help coordinate the daily activities of the project. Her work supports the pro... READ MORE >

Image Descriptions: White woman with black blazer is facing the camera head on. She has brown long hair and is smiling.

Oksana Klimova, MS, is the Director of Web Services at the Association of University Centers on Disabilities (AUCD). Oksana directs and oversees all aspects of AUCD's web systems in support of the association and network's strategic goals and priorities. She is responsible for creative design and development, from conception of prototype concepts through final progra... READ MORE >

Image Description :A photo of Jamie Koenig, a young woman with brown hair smiling at the camera. She is in front of a wall of ivy.

Bio: Jamie completed a master's degree in Social Service Administration at the University of Chicago with a focus on policy addressing social inequalities. Prior to that, she did a bachelor's degree at UChicago studying economics and human rights. Her prior experience has been at community organizations promoting better education access and workforce devel... READ MORE >

Image Description: Image of smiling woman with short brown hair wearing a black and white suit jacket, nose ring and earrings.

Michele Lunsford is the Director of Communications, Events and Development at the Association of University Centers on Disabilities where she leads the organization's communications, development and events-planning work. Utilizing more than a decade of experience in non-profit communications, Michele works to elevat... READ MORE >

Image description: Photo of Phil Maglo, BS- MPH, CCRC,

Phil Maglo,BS- MPH, CCRC, is the Senior Research Coordinator for the Autism Intervention Research Network on Physical Health (AIR-P). His responsibilities include coordination of a diverse portfolio of research activities for multiple studies including multi-site trials and local investigator-initiated trials, supporting innovative life course intervention research that promotes optimal health and well-being of autistic indi... READ MORE >

Image Description: Siddarth Nagaraj Photo

Siddarth Nagaraj is a Senior Program Specialist at AUCD. He helps design and implement AUCD's international programs sponsorsed by the U.S. Department of State. This currently includes the Professional Fellows Program on Inclusive Disability Employment (PFP-IDE), which bolsters inclusive employment in Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda by facilitating educational exchanges and project collaboration between AUCD network members and emerging disability... READ MORE >

Image Description: Denise, a white woman with short reddish hair, wears red rectangular glasses and smiles at the camera. Denise wears a black and red flowered jacket against a black background.

Denise Rozell, JD, is the Director of Policy Innovation at the Association of University Centers on Disabilities (AUCD). Denise works primarily on issues affecting youth in post-secondary education, employment and independent living including as the co-Director for the PROMISE Technical Assist... READ MORE >

Image Description: Image of smiling woman with long grey hair wearing a white shirt, dark suit jacket, and necklace.

Dawn Rudolph, MSEd, is the Senior Director for Technical Assistance and Network Engagement where she leads a wide range of supports for the national network of University Centers for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCEDDs) and the Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Other Disabilities (LEND) programs. She also leverages their expertise in national ... READ MORE >

Cindy Smith serves as the Director of Public Policy for AUCD, working to formulate and implement AUCD's legislative and advocacy priorities and strategies.

Cindy began her career as a Research Study Coordinator and Database Manager at the Institute for Community Inclusion (ICI) in Boston. For the last 11 years, Cindy has worked in public policy and advocacy for the DD Act partners at the state or national levels. Most recently, she served as Deputy Director for Policy and P... READ MORE >

Image Description: Headshot photo of Sherice Smith, a smiling black woman with long straight black hair, with brown eyes, wearing.

Program Specialist. She's been a self-advocate and has worked in the self -advocacy movement for 20 yrs. Sherice began her career as an Independent Living Specialist at a Center for Independent Living in Pine Bluff, Arkansas where she worked for 10 years. She moved on to advocate, educate and enroll minorities into the Affordable Care Act insurance before ... READ MORE >

Image Description: Headshot photo of John Tschida, a smiling man with glasses, graying brown hair and goatee, wearing a navy suit, white shirt, and red and blue patterned tie.

John Tschida, MPP, is the executive director of the Association of University Centers on Disabilities (AUCD). He has spent more than 20 years using data and research to drive policy change and service development for individuals with disabilities. Before joining AUCD in February of 2017 as associate executive di... READ MORE >

Image Description: Photo of E. Troy Washington, a man wearing a gray blazer and a light blue shirt.

E. Troy Washington is the Senior Director of Finance and Grants Administration at AUCD. Troy has over thirty years of accounting and grants experience. He has vast accounting experience leading financial operations for several organizations. His accounting experience includes financial statements and reporting, cash management, financial analysis, month and year-end closings, and audit ... READ MORE >

Danielle Webber, MSW, is a Public Health Program Manager at the Association of University Centers on Disabilities (AUCD). Through a cooperative agreement with the National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities (NCBDDD) at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), she manages and provides technical assistance to the "Learn the Signs. Act Early." Program, its 54 state and territorial Ambassadors, and the Act Early Network with the goal of increasing developmental mo... READ MORE >

Image Description: A white woman with black hair and glasses wearing a white turtleneck with a blue sweater.

Liz Weintraub has a long history of leadership in self advocacy, and has held many board and advisory positions at state and national organizations. She is a full time member of the AUCD's policy team and also the host of Tuesdays With Liz: Disability Policy For All, where she a... READ MORE >