Current Members of the CDIHP Advisory Committee

Western University Building and CDIHP collage

Andrew D. Houghton

Andrew D. Houghton is the director of operations for the Washington State Business Leadership Network, an organization that works with local and national business and community service partners to develop customized marketing, employee training and outreach programs that increase recruitment, hiring, retaining and better serving people with disabilities. He works as a national disability consultant to the Corporation for National Service developing inclusion plans for people with disabilities into national volunteer programs like AmeriCorps and Senior Corps.

After sustaining a spinal cord injury at 19 due to a motorcycle accident, Mr. Houghton has been committed to developing innovative programs that create community among people with disabilities and those who surround them. His work has taken him around the world - from Selma, Alabama, to Bosnia and Kosovo. He produced, directed and co-wrote a documentary, "Roll Models 24/7," a film about people living with spinal cord injuries. He also segment-produced and guest-hosted a national sports lifestyle television series that aired on Kaleidoscope TV, Fox Sports and Prime Sports Network.

Mr. Houghton's has worked as the director of corporate relations for Ability Awareness in Costa Mesa, California; the vice president of No Barriers Media, Inc., in Los Angeles, a nonprofit organization; and as director of Wheelchair Sports for the Casa Colina Centers for Rehabilitation in Pomona, California. He also founded and organized the Land Meets Sea Sports Camp in Long Beach, California, one of the largest camps in the United States for people with disabilities.

Mr. Houghton sits on numerous boards and has also helped develop in partnership with Habitat for Humanity, the ABILITY House projects, which are homes built for people with disabilities by people with disabilities and local communities.

"My goals for CDIHP are to continue to develop strategic partnerships with nonprofit, community service organizations and businesses with the goal of expanding services in numerous sectors as well as bringing together a community of partners who seek to accomplish mutual goals," Mr. Houghton said.

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Anita Shafer Aaron

Anita Shafer Aaron (formerly Baldwin) is the executive director/CEO for the Rose Resnick Lighthouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired in San Francisco. The $3.5 million non-profit organization has four locations, including a camp facility in Napa County, manufacturing operation in Oakland, a satellite office in Marin County and headquarters in San Francisco.

Ms. Aaron has served in administrative positions with disability rights organizations for the past 20 years, including the Center for Independent Living in Berkley and the World Institute on Disability in Oakland, California.

As a visually impaired person, Ms. Aaron is both personally and professionally committed to the inclusion of all people with disabilities into the mainstream of society. She is a former chair of the San Francisco Mayor's Council on Disability, a member of the California Department of Rehabilitation's Blind Advisory Committee, and serves on the national program committee of the American Foundation for the Blind.

Ms. Aaron has been a resident of California for more than 20 years and is active in disability concerns at both the local and state levels. She has published several articles in professional journals on the role of organizations serving individuals who are blind and visually impaired and lectures at local colleges and universities on many disability-related topics.

Her goals for the CDIHP program are "to make Western University and all medical teaching and training programs more accessible to individuals who are visually impaired and to make the medical professionals more aware of how to accommodate their visually impaired students, patients and employees.

"It is the responsibility of medical professionals to make their services accessible to their patients/clients with disabilities. This program can make Western University a fore-runner of accessibility in both patient services and student opportunities."

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Bernadette Y. Robinson

Bernadette Y. Robinson currently works for the City of Claremont in a comprehensive year-round social services program. She has also worked for the Services Center for Independent Living, providing advocacy and counseling to people with disabilities.

Ms. Robinson has a bachelor of arts degree in behavioral science from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, and an associate of arts degree in psychology from Citrus College in Glendora, California.

Her background includes affiliations with the Claremont Committee on Disability; the House of Ruth, a domestic violence shelter and hotline in Pomona; the League of Women Voters, Claremont Chapter; and the Pomona Committee on Disability.

"The CDIHP will have a significant impact in the way the medical field views people with disabilities," she said. "This institute will teach medical professionals that disabled individuals are human beings capable of leading a normal and productive life."

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Joan Hall, JD

Joan Hall, JD, is the owner of Joan Hall Consulting in San Rafael, California, working with health care organizations, professional medical associations and public policy entities on issues involving health care and/or public policy development. Her current clients include the California Chapters of the American College of Physicians/American Society of Internal Medicine, the California Medical Association, Family Violence Prevention Fund/Domestic Violence issues (pro bono) and the Center for Disability Issues and the Health Professions (pro bono).

Ms. Hall has a juris doctor degree from the Lincoln Law School in Sacramento and received a bachelor of arts degree with honors in organizational communications and a minor in microbiology from California State University, Sacramento.

Her background includes working for the California Medical Association in both San Francisco and Sacramento as a director of clinical and scientific affairs and quality projects and an associate director and specialty society liaison in government relations.

Ms. Hall's goals for the CDIHP are "to raise the consciousness of health care providers to the health care requirements of persons with special needs. It is important to ensure that the care of persons with disabilities is understood by the health care profession to enable optimal care, shared decision-making and improved healthcare outcomes."

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Julie Madorsky MD

Julie Madorsky MD is a physician, author, editor, consumer advocate, legal and legislative activist, consultant to state and federal government. Dr Madorsky is Clinical Professor of medicine at UCLA School of Medicine and at the Western University of Health Sciences. Named one of the "Foremost Women of the Twentieth Century" by the International Biographical Center, she is listed in fourteen Who's Who directories.

Dr Madorsky is the founding Chairperson of the Advisory Board of the Center for Disability Issues and the Health Professions at Western University of Health Sciences. She has been an advisor on disability issues to California Governors Pete Wilson and Gray Davis as a member of the State Independent Living Council, and was recently appointed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenneger to the State Bar of California Committee on Legal Professionals with Disabilities.

Between 1974 and 1995, Dr Madorsky served as attending physician and program medical director at Casa Colina Centers for Rehabilitative Medicine in Pomona. She was responsible for the medical, functional, and psychosocial rehabilitation of thousands of individuals with spinal cord injury and other neuromusculoskeletal diseases. She was named California Physician of the Year by Governor George Deukmejian in 1987, and U.S. Physician of the Year by President Ronald Reagan in 1988.

Other awards include the Outstanding Achievement Award of the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine, Scientific Merit Award of the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, and the National Easter Seal Society EDI Award for media efforts promoting equality, dignity and independence of persons with disabilities. A past President of the California Society of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, District President the Los Angeles County Medical Association, and member-at-large of the board of governors of the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Julie is also a recipient of the Spirit of Achievement Award of the National Jewish Center for Immunology and Respiratory Medicine, and was named 1989 Woman of the Year by the Young Women's Christian Association of California.

Julie has lived with postpolio disability for over 50 years. She is the role model for Dr. Kerry Weaver, the beautiful, mobility impaired physician on the top television medical drama series ER. The show reaches an average of 30 million people each week.

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June Isaacson Kailes, MA

June Isaacson Kailes works as a disability rights advocate and project developer in the independent living movement.

One of the most respected and recognized national leaders in the Independent Living Movement, Ms. Isaacson Kailes has a presidential appointment to the United States Access Board and currently serves as its vice chair. She chaired the committee on Telecommunication as well as serving as the board's liaison to the Telecommunication Access Advisory Committee and the Passenger Vessels Access Advisory Committee. She is the immediate past chair of Pacific Bell's Telecommunication Citizens Advisory Panel and a member of the Advisory Group on People with Disabilities. She also serves on other national committees and boards, as well as the Alliance for Technology Access. She has held many offices on the boards of the National Council for Independent Council (NCIL) and the California Coalition of Independent Living Centers.

Ms. Isaacson Kailes has operated a full-time consulting business since 1989 and consults for and trains businesses, universities, state associations, government entities, centers for independent living and other not-for-profit organizations. She consults, writes and trains on: implementing the ADA; advocacy; health, wellness and aging with disability; developing and analyzing public policy; planning barrier-free meetings; targeting disability customers through marketing, customer service and product design; telecommunications; disaster preparedness for people with disabilities; and incorporating universal design principles into existing and new environments. She has delivered hundreds of keynote addresses, workshops and seminars. Ms. Isaacson Kailes is the recipient of many awards and has written more than 50 disability related publications. She writes and speaks from practical "hands-on" experience and has more than three decades of research and training experience.

Ms. Isaacson Kailes earned a master's degree in social work from the University of Southern California and a bachelor of arts degree in psychology from Hofstra University. Prior to joining the WCIL staff, Ms. Isaacson Kailes served as a WCIL founding member and a member of its board of directors. She worked as a psychiatric social worker at Olive View Community Medical Health Center and as a medical social worker at Rancho Los Amigos Medical Center in Los Angeles. She served as an assistant clinical professor and field instructor for interns in the Community Organization, Planning and Administration Program of the USC Graduate School of Social Work and currently serves as adjunct associate professor of Health Professions Education at Western University.

Her goals for CDIHP include offering "the type of health care 'how to' information that allows people with disabilities to effectively navigate and get what they heed from the medical system, focusing on conducting quality research driven by the real needs of people with disabilities, and permanently infusing into the education environment disability content so that healthcare providers get the basic and advanced training needed to become more comfortable, knowledgeable and skilled in effectively working with people with disabilities," she said.

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Keith A. Johnson, Esq.

Keith A. Johnson is an attorney-at-law. He attended college at Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, California, graduating in 1971. He received his law degree from the University of Virginia in 1974.

He is a partner of Allard, Shelton & O'Connor LLP, of Claremont. He joined the firm in 1975, and concentrates his practice in college, university and nonprofit organizations' law. He represents several area colleges, and has represented Western University since its founding in 1977. He presently serves as its general counsel.

In his practice, he deals with various aspects of the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Rehabilitation Act of 1974, ranging from architectural standards to policies and programs. He sees the Center as a "good program" and "a resource that provides aid and services that are not available elsewhere."

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Gary Gugelchuk, PhD

Gary Gugelchuk, PhD, is vice president of academic affairs at Western University and associate dean of curriculum and instruction for the University's College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific. He has had a long history with the school, dating back to 1986, and has held positions as the dean of the College of Allied Health Professions, director of the Office of Foundations and Grants, and associate professor of Health Professions Education for the School of Allied Health Professions. He also serves as a member of the board of directors for the Academic Center for Excellence in the Health Sciences, the University's academic health center organization developed in conjunction with area teaching hospitals.

His areas of specialty include mathematical methods in anthropological research, linguistic/semiotic anthropology and folklore, education anthropology/evaluation and medical anthropology as well as geographical interests in sub-Saharan Africa and Mexican-Americans in the United States.

Dr. Gugelchuk's community involvement has included membership on the program advisory committee for the Medical Career High School Track program for Ganesha High School in the Pomona Unified School District, the Education Forum for the 1995 Pomona Economic Summit for the Office of the Mayor in Pomona, Community Needs Assessment Task Force for the Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center, and membership in the advisory committee for the Male Involvement Project for the Pomona Wellness Collaborative.

His goals for the Center include putting an emphasis on "community-based research that moves beyond academically directed research orientations" and toward a philosophy that embraces the idea of "nothing about us without us," he said

Dr. Gugelchuk also sees the need for disability care to be part of "primary care in general," especially with an aging society. In addition, he would like to see "equality and justice in American society" extended toward all persons with disabilities.

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Gretchen Swanson, DPT, MPH

Gretchen Swanson is the evaluation consultant for the Center for Disability Issues and the Health Professons. Her duties include researching the effects of the curriculum to alter primary care physician behavior towards people with disability and chronic conditions and develop training materials for the National Center of Health Statistics. She currently works as the president of Swanson and Company, Inc. in Long Beach, a national consulting firm, developing functional data sets. She is also an associate professor of physical therapy at Western University and a physical therapy instructor at the Loma Linda University School of Allied Health in Loma Linda.

Her background includes work as the chief of physical therapy at the University of California, Irvine; a research physical therapist at Behavioral Medicine Laboratory, VAMC in Sepulveda; and coordinator of clinical education and in-patient physical therapy services at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Among Dr. Swanson's community activities are membership on the board of directors for the Adoption Information Center in San Pedro, California; newsletter coordinator for Parents and Children Together, based in Long Beach; and membership on the resource board for Rainbow Services for Women in San Pedro.

Dr. Swanson received her doctorate of physical therapy and master of public health degrees from the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, and a bachelor of science degree in physical therapy from SUNY Syracuse Health Sciences in Syracuse, New York.

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Laura Mosqueda, MD

Laura Mosqueda, MD, is a board-certified family physician and geriatrician and serves as the director of geriatrics at the University of California, Irvine College of Medicine, where she is also an associate clinical professor in family medicine. As director of geriatrics, she oversees both the clinical and academic geriatric programs, which include primary care, the Health Assessment Program for Seniors (HAPS), research projects, the education of health care professionals and community outreach.

She also is the co-director of the Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Aging with a Disability, a federally funded center headquartered at Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center in Downey. She is also the associate Medical Director for the John Douglas French Center in Los Alamitos.

Dr. Mosqueda sits on the board of directors and is a member of the Medical and Scientific Advisory Board of the Orange County Alzheimer's Association, Fiduciary Abuse Specialist Teams in Orange County and Los Angeles counties, Adult Day Care Services of Orange County and numerous community programs. Areas of special interest include abuse, dementia, bioethics and disability.

She received her medical degree from the University of Southern California School of Medicine and a bachelor's degree from Occidental College in Los Angeles.. She is a member of the American Academy of Family Practice, the American Geriatrics Society, the Gerontological Society of America, the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine, the California Association of Medical Directors and the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine.

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LeeAnne Carrothers, PhD, PT-D

LeeAnne Carrothers, PhD, PT-D, is the director of curriculum for the Center for Disability Issues and the Health Professions and is associate professor for the Department of Physical Therapy Education at Western University.

Dr. Carrothers has a PhD in clinical psychology from the California Graduate Institute in Los Angeles, California; a master of science degree in physical therapy from the University of Southern California, Los Angeles; and a bachelor of science degree in zoology from the University of California, Davis.

She has 15 years experience as a physical therapist in hospitals in Massachusetts and California and membership in the Education and Cardiopulmonary Sections of the American Physical Therapy Association. She has worked extensively in the areas of cardiopulmonary rehabilitation, traumatic brain and spinal cord injuries and the assessment and management of domestic violence.

"We haven't done a great job of educating many health care providers about the needs of the disabled," she said. The programs sponsored by the CDIHP can help bridge those gaps."

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Matthew D. Katz, MHA

Matthew D. Katz, MHA, is the director of Western University's department of Grants, Research and Contracts Administration. He is now the Assistant Vice President for University Advancement and Sponsored Programs. He is also one of the developers of the CDIHP program.

Mr. Katz has 12 years experience in grant and contract services, serving in a number of roles at institutions such as the Research Foundation of New York at the SUNY Health Science Center at Brooklyn, Cedars Sinai Medical Center and Children's Hospital, Los Angeles. He also spent a year as a volunteer and coordinator for the Sherut La'am/British Olim Society in Merom Hagalil, Israel.

He is a member of the Society of Research Administrators, National Council of Research Administrators and the Association of Professional Research for Advancement. Mr. Katz also recently earned a Master of Health Administration degree from the University of La Verne, La Verne, California.

"My personal goals would be to see the Center become an important component of Western University with a substantial staff that works with health providers and consumers, addressing the needs of people with disabilities on a number of levels," he said. "In addition, I would like to see a significant increase in the number of people with disabilities in the health professions, going through the programs at Western University. Lastly, I see the Center having a national role in impacting policies and providing training for other health-related institutions to educate their students in providing better care for their patients with disabilities."

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Olivia Raynor, PhD, OTR

Olivia Raynor, PhD, OTR, is the co- director of the University Affiliated Program at the University of California, Los Angeles. The UCLA UAP is a university-based interdisciplinary and leadership training program for health, mental health and dental professionals related to people with developmental disabilities and chronic health care disabilities.

Since 1994, Dr. Raynor has also been the founding and current director of the National Arts and Disability Center. She has conducted numerous state and national presentations, workshops and training sessions in the area of arts and accessibility. She recently received an award from the World Institute on Disability and the Corporation on Disabilities and Telecommunications for her work on behalf of people with disabilities in the arts.

Dr. Raynor is a member of the State Council on Developmental Disabilities, a federally-funded independent state agency established by federal and state law to assist in planning, coordinating, monitoring and evaluating services for individuals with developmental disabilities and their families. In the recently released 2001 state plan, the Council addresses the issue of a shortage of qualified community-based health care specialists to care for persons with developmental disabilities.

Dr. Raynor has practiced occupational therapy for more than 20 years with children and their families in hospital, educational and community settings.

In 1996, she co-chaired a task force that developed Guidelines for Occupational and Physical Therapy in the California Public Schools, published by the California Department of Education.

Dr. Raynor received her master's degree in occupational therapy and doctorate in educational psychology from the University of Southern California, Los Angeles.

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Robert H. Kounang, MD

Robert H. Kounang, MD, is director of the Department of Rehabil "I look forward to the day when the professionals in health care reflect the diversity in the communities served," she said. "Clearly there currently is an under-representation of people with disabilities in the health care field. The CDIHP has the opportunity to demonstrate how, with the right attitude and knowledge of accommodations and services, health care programs can be inclusive of students with disabilities. "Also, the emphasis of the CDIHP on educating the health care community about alternative models for viewing the needs of people with disabilities outside of the traditional medical model is extremely important. By emphasizing the health and wellness needs of people with disabilities, the CDIHP advocates changing the paradigm of typical medical practice away from 'curing the illness,' to examining the lives of people living with a disability." itation Medicine at the Arrowhead Regional Medical Center (ARMC) in Colton, California.

He has double board certification by the American Board of Physical Medicine, Rehabilitation and Spinal Cord Injury.

Dr. Kounang received his training in physical medicine and rehabilitation at McMasters University in Canada and later attended Harvard University School of Medicine in Boston, where he completed a two-year fellowship in spinal cord injury rehabilitation. He provides treatment to different types of disabilities, from catastrophic injuries to birth defects. He holds privileges at Ballard, Casa Colina and Loma Linda University rehabilitation hospitals.

Prior to his appointment as the Rehabilitation Department director at ARMC, he was director of the spinal cord injury program at Loma Linda University Medical Center from 1986 to 1995.

Dr. Kounang has been practicing in the California Worker's Compensation field since 1986 and continues to be a consultant for several local medical groups. He is a qualified medical examiner, AME, and an independent medical examiner with 15 years experience in worker's compensation medical practice.

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Sam Shimomoura, PharmD, FASHP, CGP

Sam Shimomura, PharmD., FASHP, CGP, is a professor of pharmacy practice at Western University. He has held positions as a clinical professor of family mdicine for the College of Medicine at the University of California, Irvine, and as a professor of clinical pharmacy emeritus for the Department of Clinical Pharmacy for the School of Pharmacy at the University of California, San Francisco.

In addition to clinical pharmacy, his specialities include drug information, bioethics, clinical teaching, geriatrics and family practice. Dr. Shimomura attended the University of California, Davis and later received his doctor of pharmacy degree from UC San Francisco.

Dr. Shimomura has been awarded as Pharmacist of the Year by the California Society of Health Systems Pharmacists, received the Long Award for Excellence in Teaching from the UCSF School of Pharmacy Class of 1984 and 1996 and been given an Award of Recognition from the Vietnamese Pharmacist Association. He also is a Fellow of the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (FASHP) and is a certified Geriatric Pharmacist (CGP).

He believes that the CDIHP is important because "most pharmacy students and health care professionals don't understand" the needs of the disabled, he said. Education is necessary to make sure that they are "prepared and knowledgeable and know how to handle any situation, such as planning pharmacy office doors to be wide enough to accommodate wheelchairs and writing prescriptions with large type so the visually impaired can take their medication properly."

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Shirley D. Johnston, DVM, PhD

Shirley D. Johnston, DVM, PhD, is the founding dean of Western University's College of Veterinary Medicine.

Dr. Johnston has 25 years experience in veterinary academics, including advancement to the rank of professor and an appointment as associate dean for academic affairs at the College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Minnesota. Before coming to Western University, she was chair of the Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences at the College of Veterinary Medicine at Washington State University. Her research interests have focused on reproductive endocrinology in companion animals and on the human-animal bond.

At Western University, she has been part of a team to develop an innovative curriculum in veterinary medicine with an emphasis on student-centered learning, a reverence-for-life philosophy and development of strategic partnerships and alliances with stakeholders in veterinary medicine. Her role in the CDIHP will focus on the role of companion animals in the lives of persons with disabilities, such as service dogs, pet-assisted therapy and horseback riding programs.

Her background includes work as an innovative teacher of small animal reproduction to professional students, graduate students and practicing veterinarians in 13 countries. Dr. Johnston has written articles for more than 150 scientific publications and was the two-time winner of the Norden Award for Distinguished Teaching of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Minnesota. Her other awards the Kappa Chapter of Phi Zeta Faculty Award for Teaching also from the University of Minnesota and the Newbrey Teaching Scholar award from Washington State University.

Dr. Johnston received her PhD and master of science degrees in theriogenology from the University of Minnesota; her doctor of veterinary medicine degree from Washington State University; and a bachelor of science degree in zoology from the University of Washington in Seattle, Washington.

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