Randall Owen, PhD

Nevada Center for Excellence in Disabilities, UCEDD

Randall Owen, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor in the College of Education and Human Development at the University of Nevada, Reno and the Director of the Nevada Center for Excellence in Disabilities (NCED). Randall earned a Ph.D. in Disability Studies from the Institute on Disability and Human Development at the University of Illinois at Chicago (IL UCEDD), where he was also a faculty member and Associate Director of the UCEDD for several years. His research centered on employment opportunities for people with disabilities, and especially the transition from welfare to work, and on experiences in the Medicaid system as Medicaid transitioned from fee-for-service to managed care in Illinois.

As the NCED Director, Randall established the Family Navigation Network (a HRSA-funded Family to Family Health Information Center) to help people with disabilities and their families navigate healthcare systems in Nevada. That organization is also supported by the Title V Block Grant and he frequently collaborates with Nevada’s Maternal, Child, and Adolescent Health division. Randall is funded by the National Science Foundation as a part of a national network to include students with disabilities in STEM disciplines through mentoring programs. Randall is also interested in the inclusion of people with disabilities in civic life, such as on boards of directors or civic commissions. As a person with a disability, Randall is interested in inclusive research and amplifying the voices of other people with disabilities to document how national and state policies impact them.

Randall is a member of the editorial board for the Developmental Disabilities Network Journal and has been an active member of the American Public Health Association’s Disability Section Executive Leadership Team, and the Committee on Health Equity. Randall serves on the Research and Evaluation Committee for Disability and Philanthropy, a national network of philanthropic organizations who aim to increase disability inclusion in their grantmaking.