New President, Board of Directors start at RESNA

RESNA President Alex Mihailidis, who started his term on August 1, 2012, has completed his first task: making the necessary board appointments and committee assignments for the new Board of Directors, which held its first meeting on August 22, 2012. The appointments are:

• Paul J. Schwartz, MSIE, ATP, RET, a RESNA board member, has been appointed Treasurer, and will also chair the Finance Committee. Schwartz is a rehabilitation engineer and the assistive technology manager for the Stout Vocational Rehabilitation Institute at the University of Wisconsin-Stout.
• R. Lee Kirby, MD, FRCPC, has been appointed to the board. Dr. Kirby is a professor in the Division of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation in the Department of Medicine at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
• Roger O. Smith, PhD, a RESNA board member, has been appointed to the Executive Committee as Board Member At Large. Smith is a professor in the Department of Occupational Science and Technology, and Director of the Rehabilitation Research Design and Disability Center (R2D2) at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

The new committee assignments are:

• Glenn Hedman, PE, ATP, RET is chair of the Assistive Technology Standards Board. Hedman is a Clinical Associate Professor and Coordinator of the Assistive Technology Institute at the Department of Disability and Human Development, College of Applied Health Sciences, University of Illinois-Chicago.
• Nathan Moon, PhD, is chair of the Government Affairs Committee. Moon is Associate Director for Research at the Center for Advanced Communications Policy at the Georgia Institute of Technology.
• Alan Cantor, MA, is chair of the Special Interest Groups Committees. Cantor is a disability and accommodations consultant based at the University of Toronto.

In addition, the following committees have changed leadership per the RESNA bylaws:

• Bylaws Committee and Long-Range Planning Committee – Ray Grott, ATP, RET, is now chair as part of his duties as President-Elect. Grott is Director and Head Technologist of the Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology Project (RET) at San Francisco State University.
• Nominating Committee – Jerry Weisman, MSME, ATP, RET, is chair of this committee as part of his duties as Immediate Past President. Weisman is the owner and principal of Rehabilitation Technology Services, a rehabilitation engineering consulting firm.

“Starting from a small group of a few dedicated members, RESNA has grown into the premier organization of professionals and researchers with the common mission of maximizing the health and well-being of people with disabilities through technology,” said Mihailidis. “I look forward to working with the Board as we continue to move RESNA forward into the vastly growing international scene for assistive technology, and develop new strategies to continue to be leaders in this field beyond our borders.”

A full listing of board members, their bios, and contact information can be found at http://www.resna.org/aboutUs/boardOfDirectors/.  

Click here to download the press release (PDF).