2015-2016 Diversity Fellowship Programs

List of funded Centers:

2015-2016 Meet the Fellows

2015-2016 Fellows Projects

CO - JFK Partners, University of Colorado, Denver School of Medicine

JFK Partners aims to prepare trainees from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds to create systems change on behalf of persons from diverse backgrounds who have intellectual/developmental disabilities and their families, with two diverse fellows trained during 2015-16 and at least one fellow recruited for 2016-17. We offer a formal curriculum in health profession and/or advocacy tracks that enable fellows to substantially attain their training goals. We will provide specialized advisement & mentoring for diverse trainees and facilitation of campus supportive services. Mentorship is also provided to fellows in design, implementation and report of capstone projects focused systemic change in community based activities, organizations, and/or policy. Diversity fellows will engage in networking activities with Colorado and national colleagues for the exchange of information, knowledge, and strategies that support AIDD diversity objectives.

DE - Center for Disabilities Studies, University of Delaware

The primary goal of the project is to establish a mechanism for engaging students from underrepresented groups in the work of the University of Delaware Center for Disabilities Studies (CDS), including the Center’s contributions to undergraduate education, in order to deepen their interest in disability-related issues and cultivate their leadership skills. Two undergraduate students from underrepresented groups in their junior or senior year who are enrolled in the Disabilities Studies minor will be selected. Fellows will develop knowledge and leadership skills by participating in CDS projects and related community-based initiatives. Fellows will also contribute to the Disabilities Studies minor in a variety of ways, including the development of recruitment initiatives to engage students from underrepresented populations in the minor and by advising on the design and implementation of coursework related to the minor.

FL - Mailman Center for Child Development, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine

The overall goal of the Mailman Center’s UCEDD Diversity Training Grant is to train future healthcare professionals about health disparities at the intersection of disability and minority status (e.g., race/ethnicity and sexual orientation) by (1) recruiting and training one fellow from a diverse background to receive formal training and mentoring through the Emerging Transformational Leadership Program (ETLP), a year-long advanced interdisciplinary leadership training; (2) mentoring the fellow on a capstone project to enhance the cultural competency curriculum for UCEDD trainees, medical students, and resident and fellows; and (3) developing and disseminating cultural competency training materials to other UCEDDs, residency training programs, and medical schools in the network. The diversity fellow will work with UCEDD faculty to enhance our current cultural competency curriculum to be more inclusive when addressing diversity for individuals with I/DD. The fellow will also collaborate with the Office of Diversity and Multicultural Affairs to augment the cultural competency curriculum to include information about individuals with I/DD from diverse backgrounds for medical students, residents, and fellows.

GA - Center for Leadership in Disability, Georgia State University

The goal of this fellowship is to support a fellow as he/she builds a coalition, including the use of promotoras, to increase knowledge and awareness about child development and developmental delays within Hispanic/Latino communities. Using the AUCD Diversity & Inclusion Blueprint as a guide, the community-based capstone project will be conducted in two phases. First, the trainee will create a local consortium of organizations that are working toward eliminating health disparities within Hispanic communities in the Metro Atlanta area. The second part of the community-based capstone project will be to organize a health fair for Hispanic families in April 2016 with a specific focus on monitoring child development, recognizing developmental delays, and increasing awareness of Spanish-speaking service providers who specialize in child development in the Metro Atlanta area.

IL - Institute on Disability and Human Development, University of Illinois at Chicago

The main goal of this proposal is to create a Diversity Fellowship Program at the University of Illinois at Chicago UCEDD, the Institute for Disability and Human Development (IDHD). To accomplish this goal, the IDHD will:

1. Identify two fellows who meet the diversity criteria defined above
2. Implement a one year mentorship plan that will support the fellows in developing leadership skills through
• Participating in didactic instruction through course work designed to provide content on disability, diversity, empowerment and leadership
• Creating and implementing a diversity related capstone project
• Participating in a management immersion experience in which fellows will work closely with the UCEDD Director and Associate Director
• Learning about disability legislation and legislative policy skills
• Participating in an AUCD coordinated national forum for knowledge exchange and transfer across the UCEDD network
3. Develop a plan to sustain fellowship past the project period

KY - Human Development Institute, University of Kentucky

Our goals are to increase the number of persons from underrepresented and disadvantaged backgrounds who benefit from AIDD-supported programs and to improve the recruitment of people from diverse and disadvantaged backgrounds in the UCEDD by incentivizing the professional workforce serving people with developmental disabilities and self-advocates in Appalachian Eastern Kentucky. With our award we are able to provide three professionals and/or self-advocates with full scholarships to complete the online version of our Graduate Certificate in Developmental Disabilities. The scholarship will cover tuition, travel and books required for the program for a total of a sequence of five courses, totaling 10-11 credit hours. These students will also serve on HDI’s Underserved Populations Engagement Committee, thus informing and building capacity of the HDI.

The distance learning (DL) track was chosen to aid those who reside and are planning to remain in the Appalachian Region of Eastern Kentucky, and who can serve as early adopters of best practices, as well as become advocates in their own communities. Students also have the option of attending the on campus offering, if preferred. All students in the DL will have travel expenses paid for two required trips to campus each semester, to participate in hands on course activities and to have face to face meetings as part of HDI’s Underserved Populations Engagement Committee. Students have opportunities to learn from the expertise of persons with disabilities and their families, practicing professionals, and interdisciplinary faculty, and other students. Fellowship students have opportunities to create connections with people outside of their chosen discipline, and expand their professional network in their region and throughout the state. This will allow fellowship participants to form connections, as well as supplement their own disciplinary academic expertise with an interdisciplinary perspective of the field of developmental disabilities, increasing interdisciplinary collaboration.

The scholarship will be marketed through the Office of Vocational Rehabilitation (OVR), the Kentucky Appalachian Rural Rehabilitation Network (KARRN), and the Centers for Independent Living (CILs) that serve the Appalachian region of the state. Coursework will begin in the Spring 2016 semester with Certificate completion in Fall 2016. The inclusion of professionals working with people with disabilities in Appalachia will allow HDI the opportunity to incorporate the perspectives and needs of this underserved region of the state. Having the opportunity to build relationships with and learn from the selected students that are currently working with these diverse populations is a crucial step towards identifying ways in which our UCEDD can serve those in Appalachia. This information can continue to be provided to the AUCD network through similar ongoing conversations and the AUCD Diversity and Inclusion Blueprint team.

MA - Institute for Community Inclusion, University of Massachusetts

The Institute for Community Inclusion will work closely with our established partnering community- based organizations (CBOs), the MA Developmental Disabilities Council, the MA Disability Law Center, AUCD and other organizations to support the recruitment and retention of trainees from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds to participate in a fellowship experience at the ICI. Using a Culture Brokering model, the trainee will assist traditional service systems to understand and adapt to the needs of the diverse groups they are serving, rather than solely trying to demand that these diverse groups adapt to mainstream cultural norms. The Trainee will learn to use this conceptual framework, apply these skills to the field and develop the capacity of others during the year. The project will implement the following objectives

1. Recruit, select, and retain at least one long-term trainee (s) from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, including those with disability.
2. Conduct a carefully considered and planned orientation and training program that results in trainees acquiring specific competencies and skills as a Culture Broker.?
3. The Trainee will apply, practice and share specific Culture Brokering strategies and activities learned in this training program.?
4. Implement a plan for knowledge sharing through which the Trainee will disseminate, through traditional and nontraditional venues, innovative approaches and promising practices to help promote inclusion, increase diversified leadership and staff across our DD network, and CBOs.

MO - Institute for Human Development, University of Missouri

The University of Missouri-Kansas City Leadership in Diversity and Disability Fellowship project will seek to broaden the participation of trainees from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds in areas related to disability by developing and sustaining a fellowship track within the Missouri UCEDD. Two graduate level trainees from diverse backgrounds will be selected to participate in a year-long fellowship program that will include an intensive six week orientation into the field of disabilities studies, a semester in a lifespan class that will help them understand systems and supports throughout the lifespan and a capstone project focused on an emerging area of interest. The University of Missouri-Kansas City is an urban serving university and The Institute for Human Development will introduce trainees to partnerships across multiple sectors to support the full inclusion of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) from diverse populations.

NY - Westchester Institute for Human Development, New York Medical College

WIHD will recruit 2-3 diversity fellows for participation in the National Training Initiative Grant. Fellows will participate for eight months, December 2015-July2016; 7 hours per week with days/times. As diversity fellows in this training initiative, they will increase their knowledge, skills and values related to individual and institutional cultural and linguistic competency, fellow/workforce diversity, and community collaborations. In doing so, fellows will:

• Become familiar with issues and strategies related to diversity, disparities, institutional and individual cultural competence, systems change, and leadership skills to promote systems change
• Develop a paper reflecting key aspects of their self-study
• Partner with community–based organizations in diverse communities to carry out projects in response to the needs and values of the community
• Enhance/promote cultural and linguistic competency at WIHD
• Share and disseminate their efforts and completed projects

Specific activities will include:

• A review of literature and resources relevant to diversity and disparity and cultural and linguistic competency
• Participation in in-person small group training
• Participation in on-line and distance small group training
• Completion of a written reflection and report-out of key knowledge or skills acquired and how they have applied what they have learned to their studies (if applicable) and daily work
• Completion of a community project which centers on diversity, cultural competence, and linguistic competence
• Producing and presenting final products to internal as well as external stakeholders

To track, monitor and report on progress, both self-assessment and program performance evaluation measures will be utilized.

OH - University of Cincinnati UCEDD, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center

The UC UCEDD Diversity fellowship aims to increase racial-ethnic diversity awareness and cultural competency to improve the lives of individuals with disabilities and their families from underserved backgrounds in Southwestern Ohio and Northern Kentucky. The fellowship also has the goal to increase the pool of recruited UC LEND trainees from underserved racial-ethnic backgrounds by at least one trainee next FY. The UC UCEDD diversity fellow will engage in LEND curriculum activities, UCEDD projects, and staff trainings in an effort to identify multiple areas for growth in cultural competency. The fellow will establish and maintain a Diversity Think Tank comprised of UC UCEDD, UC LEND, other university/hospital departments, and community organizations invested in improving the lives of individuals with disabilities from underserved backgrounds.

SD - Center for Disabilities, Sanford School of Medicine at The University of South Dakota

The purpose of this National Training Initiative (NTI) application is to implement a culturally responsive training approach that involves the recruitment and retention of fellows from Native American tribal communities. This project will support a collaborative-experiential-immersion (CEI) learning approach for at least one fellow recruited from Sinte Gleska University, a tribal higher education institution chartered by the Rosebud Sioux Tribe, into a fellowship experience at the SD Center for Disabilities (SD UCEDD) to achieve the following:

1. Identify, recruit and support a Native American fellow as a culturally competent content expert with relevant experience, knowledge and interest in the South Dakota DD network;
2. Develop mechanisms that allow the fellow opportunities and outcomes for improving culturally responsive policies, procedures and practices within the SD UCEDD and DD Network which lead to increased number of persons within tribal communities benefitting from SD DD Network and AIDD supported programs;
3. Increase the understanding by the fellow of the policies, procedures, practices and services offered by the SD DD Network that may improve and benefit quality of life outcomes for tribal community stakeholders, families and persons with developmental disabilities; and,
4. Increase the recruitment, participation, engagement and employment of members of Native American and tribal communities by both the SD DD Network and the SD Center for Disabilities with an emphasis on the delivery of culturally responsive services and practices.

TX - Center on Disability and Development, Texas A&M University

In the Diversity and Inclusion Survey that AUCD conducted earlier this year, UCEDD and LEND Directors from across the network stressed the importance of addressing diversity issues and training to ensure cultural competence and diversity goals. UCEDDs and the disability community benefit from trainees from diverse backgrounds as an important need within the disability service system are professionals who are racially, ethnically, and linguistic diverse (Clarke & Majewski, 2013). The Center on Disability and Development (CDD) at Texas A&M University (TAMU) similarly recognizes the importance of growing leaders in the field of developmental disabilities who are prepared to deliver culturally competent services and who are themselves representative of diverse backgrounds. The goal of the Leadership Training for Diversity (LTD) Fellows Program at the CDD will be to produce a formal cultural competence fellowship that supports Fellows from diverse backgrounds. The project will include five objectives:

Objective 1: To recruit two qualified graduate students from diverse backgrounds into a fellowship program at the Center on Disability and Development.
Objective 2: To provide interdisciplinary training and experiences that build cultural competence.
Objective 3: To provide produce products that will be disseminated throughout the UCEDD network and other professional outlets.
Objective 4: To continue to provide fellowships past the project period.
Objective 5: To effectively manage the project and oversee project activities.

In this project, the Center on Disability and Development (CDD) at Texas A&M University (TAMU) will recruit and train two graduate students from diverse backgrounds to become leaders in the field of developmental disabilities. Over a 12 month period, these graduate trainees will 1) participate in interdisciplinary training under the supervision of Dr. Laura Stough, Assistant Director at the CDD, 2) engage in projects with researchers at the CDD, 3) propose a presentation for the annual meeting of AUCD in 2016, 4) attend the annual meeting of the Association of University Centers on Disability (AUCD) in 2016, 5) enroll in a graduate course that focuses on diversity issues, 6) attend workshops offered through TAMU on diversity issues, 7) interact with other trainees throughout the UCEDD network, and 8) disseminate the results of their activities and projects.

UT - Center for Persons with Disabilities, Utah State University

The purpose of this project is to support and develop leadership capabilities within refugee immigrant communities and increase disability knowledge and information awareness in Utah refugee immigrant communities. With the fellow recruited, we will work and learn together to collect qualitative data, discuss, analyze, and present cultural competent information related to disabilities issues in Utah refugee communities. We will provide mentoring and support to the fellow(s) through active participation in different settings and forums such as AUCD sponsored conferences, networks, training, and diversity related activities.

WV - Center for Excellence in Disabilities, West Virginia University

The purpose of the WVU CED Diversity & Disability Fellowship is to increase knowledge of disability services and supports and increase the diversity of leadership and staff across the disability field. We focused recruitment efforts to graduate and professional level students from diverse backgrounds to include individuals from racial and ethnic minority backgrounds, individuals with limited English proficiency, individuals from underserved geographic areas (rural or urban), different disabilities, and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals as defined by AIDD. We recently selected two graduate students from diverse backgrounds to complete our Diversity & Disability Fellowship starting in the spring semester of 2016 continuing through the summer of 2016. Through a partnership with Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities (LEND), we were also able to select a third student who will serve as a joint LEND/Diversity & Disability Fellow. The fellows will receive a tuition waiver and be paid a stipend for living expenses during the spring and summer semesters.

Fellows will enroll in one of the two core courses taught by LEND mentors required for the WVU Interdisciplinary Certificate in Disability Studies program in the spring 2016 semester in order to increase knowledge relating to the field of disabilities. The Diversity & Disability Fellowship program will work in collaboration with the West Virginia Maternal and Child Health LEND program. This collaboration will provide the fellows with access to both on-line and in person training and clinic/observation experiences. In addition to the coursework, fellows will participate in no fewer than five clinic/observational experiences during the spring semester of 2016. The clinic/observational experiences are designed to allow trainees to get supervised, real life experience working with individuals with disabilities and their families. During the summer 2016 semester, the fellows will complete a 60-hour volunteer field placement with a community organization and complete a capstone project designed to make a systemic change to better serve individuals with disabilities and their families. Upon completion of field placement, the fellows will create a portfolio of their fellowship experience and write a five-page paper applying principles learned, sharing how the knowledge learned will benefit the field of disabilities, and ways that they have and will continue to apply their academic discipline to improve the quality of lives for individuals with disabilities. Fellows will prepare a presentation for WVU CED staff relating their entire fellowship experience to their field of study.