TASH Regional Conference | Nashville, Tennessee

Description

April 2016
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Date/Time: Friday April 22, 2016 at 8:00 a.m.

Location: Christ Presbyterian Church

Description: For information on sponsoring, contact Dawn Brown at dbrown@tash.org or 202-509-9596.

Who Should Attend?

Congregation Leaders, Lay-Leaders and Members
Parents and Family Members
Self-advocates
Adult service providers
Educators
University students and faculty

This TASH regional conference is for all people interested in helping people with disabilities, their family members, and faith communities flourish together. A spiritual home can meet important needs that otherwise go unmet and by working together, all stakeholders – self-advocates, family members, clergy, congregants, university students and faculty, and disability professionals – can find greater meaning, discover solutions to old problems, and reveal new and important talents. Come to learn and be inspired to put lessons into action.

Registration

Cost
- Student/Self-Advocate/Family & Supporter
  - Early bird rates - $55
  - Regular Rates - $65
- Professional/Associate
  - Early bird rates
  - $75 - Regular rates - $85
To register online please click here
For paper registration please click here

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Schedule

Event	Time
Registration, Coffee, and Networking	8:00 am CDT April 22, 2016
Welcome	8:45 am CDT April 22, 2016
TASH Talks	9:30 am CDT April 22, 2016
Lunch	11:30 am - 1:00 pm CDT, April 22, 2016
How-to Workshops	1:15 pm - 2:15 pm CDT, April 22, 2016
Break and Networking	2:15 pm CDT April 22, 2016
How-to Workshops	2:30 pm - 3:30 pm CDT, April 22, 2016
Wrap Up	3:45 pm CDT April 22, 2016

Speakers

Amy Fenton Lee

Amy Fenton Lee is the author of Leading a Special Needs Ministry and has written extensively on the subject of special needs inclusion in the church. Through her interviews of church leaders, professionals serving the special needs community, and parents, Amy has developed a network of ministry-minded individuals passionate about inclusion of individuals with neurological differences. For three years and through 2014, Amy was the Director of Special Needs Initiatives for The reThink Group (Orange). During her time with Orange Amy created a conference track for special needs ministry leaders, piloted a modified curriculum for students with special needs, and produced two new resources to equip church leaders. In 2012, Amy served as the Special Needs Columnist for Children’s Ministry Magazine. Amy has presented workshops at a number of ministry conferences. In a previous life Amy was a certified public accountant with Ernst & Young and has degrees in accounting from Baylor University and The University of Alabama. Currently, Amy lives outside of Atlanta, Georgia along with her husband and young son.

Bill Gaventa

Bill Gaventa is currently the Director of the Summer Institute on Theology and Disability and the Director of the Collaborative on Faith and Disability. He served as Director of Community and Congregational Supports at the Elizabeth M. Boggs Center on Developmental Disabilities, and Associate Professor, Pediatrics, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in New Jersey until June 30, 2013. He now lives in Waco, Texas. In his role at The Boggs Center, Bill worked on community supports, initiatives in cultural competence, aging/end of life issues, supervision of a program in Clinical Pastoral Education, faith community leadership, and inclusive congregational supports. He has been active in initiatives in workforce development, support of direct care staff, self-directed supports, and staff training. Bill was Coordinator of Family Support for the Georgia Developmental Disabilities Council. Previously he served as Chaplain and Coordinator of Religious Services for the Monroe Developmental Center. He is a graduate of Stetson University and Union Theological Seminary. Bill served as Executive Secretary for the Religion and Spirituality Division of the AAIDD until 2010. He received the Service Award and a Presidential Award from the AAIDD, the COMISS Medal from the Congress on Ministries in Specialized Settings and a Special Recognition Award from the Association of University Centers on Disability. He has also received Outstanding Alumni Awards from his two alma maters. He is currently President Elect of the AAIDD. Bill Gaventa is married with a son, daughter-in-law, and new grandson.

Brianna Griffin

Brianna Griffin graduated from Belmont University in 2013 with a B.S. in Psychology. She is currently attending the Doctor of Occupational Therapy program at Belmont and will graduate in May 2016. As part of her program requirements she is completing work on a residency project on the topic of Inclusion in Faith-Based Communities. In partnership with the Disabilities, Religion, and Spirituality program of Vanderbilt Kennedy Center she has implemented community conversations on topic of faith and disability. She also has created a manual to serve as a guide for congregations to be educated on and advocates for inclusion of individuals with disabilities. She is passionate about ministering to the whole person, which includes addressing their spiritual needs! Brianna lives in Antioch, TN with her husband and two German Shepherds.

Courtney Taylor

Courtney Taylor is associate director of Communications and Dissemination at the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center and coordinator of the Disabilities, Religion, and Spirituality Program. She also serves on the leadership team of the National Collaborative on Faith and Disability. Taylor is a graduate of Vanderbilt Divinity School.

Erik Carter

Erik Carter, Ph.D., is an Professor in the Department of Special Education at Vanderbilt University. He completed his graduate work in the area of severe disabilities at Vanderbilt University and his undergraduate work in Christian Education at Wheaton College. His research and teaching focuses on strategies for supporting meaningful school inclusion and promoting valued roles in school, work, and congregational settings for children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. He has authored more than 150 publications and six books, one of which is Including People with Disabilities in Faith Communities: A Guide for Service Providers, Families, and Congregations (Brookes Publishing). He lives in Goodlettsville, Tennessee with his wife and three children.

Gail Fanjoy

Gail Fanjoy is CEO of KFI, a non-profit agency which provides supports for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities in community living, community employment, and community engagement. Having worked for KFI since 1976, Gail was instrumental in the organization's transformation to one with a national reputation for excellence and cutting edge services and a leader in the revolutionary shift in service delivery away from sheltered and segregated services to customized supports for people. As part of KFI's core leadership, she has tirelessly and passionately advocated for the rights of people with disabilities to lead regular lives. Gail is Past President of Maine APSE, a Subject Matter Expert for the Office of Disability Employment Policy's Employment First State Leadership Program, a member of Maine's Employment First Coalition, and the Maine Partnership for Values-Based Practice. She serves on the TASH national Board of Directors and is Past President of TASH New England. Gail is active in her hometown of Millinocket, serving on various committees and boards in order to improve community living and employment for all its citizens, is still married to her college sweetheart, and is the proud grandmother of a darling nine year old grandson on the autism spectrum.

Jackie Mills-Fernald

Jackie Mills-Fernald has served as the Director of Access Ministry at McLean Bible Church for 12 years. One of the largest disability ministries in the United States, Access provides a broad range of programs to hundreds of families in the Washington, DC area. She has been on multiple mission trips in recent years to India, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Russia, Serbia, Romania, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Ukraine to present workshops for helping churches to reach out and minister to individuals and families impacted by disabilities as well as training sessions for school personnel to help create an inclusive culture.

Mallory Whitmore

Mallory Whitmore is Program Director of the IDEAL Program at Lipscomb University. She has worked with Best Buddies International, Special Olympics Tennessee, and Chicago Public Schools, and is dedicated to ensuring that students with intellectual disabilities have postsecondary education opportunities.

Melinda Ault

Melinda Ault is an assistant professor in the Department of Early Childhood, Special Education and Rehabilitation Counseling. She has co-authored a book related to systematic instruction for students with moderate to severe disabilities, an environmental assessment instrument for early childhood K-3 classrooms, a computer program for single case research design, and an instructional material for the implementation of assistive technology in schools. She has published over 50 journal articles related to her work. She regularly presents at national and international professional conferences. Her current research interests are in systematic instruction, communication, and technology applications for students with significant disabilities, and inclusion and participation of persons with disabilities in their faith communities.

Pamela Harmon

Pamela Harmon is the Vice President of Young Life's Capernaum Ministry. YL Capernaum Ministry is made up of caring people who strive to help provide teens with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities abundant life to the full (Jn. 10:10); a life that includes love, support, excitement, challenge and the opportunity to hear about the God who created each of us and loves us all just as we are. Pam brings with her a vast array of experience serving youth with disabilities across the country and resources to help churches take next steps in becoming more inclusive and welcoming. Pam is married to Mark, and they live in Nashville, TN. They have 2 adult sons and one sweet grandson.

Rev. Peter McKechnie

Throughout his 15 year career serving Presbyterian churches throughout the South, Peter McKechnie has never forgotten the transformative years he spent growing up in humid South Texas, first volunteering and then joining the staff of The Brookwood Community, a residential/vocational campus for adults living with disability, forty minutes outside of Houston, Texas. Today, with a deep love of the Church, the heart of a seasoned pastor, and a rich history of life-on-life relationships with families affected by disability, Peter leads the Knoxville office for Joni and Friends, committed to a singular mission: “…to communicate the Gospel and equip Christ-honoring churches worldwide to evangelize and disciple people affected by disability.” Married to Mindy, a Knoxville native, Peter is the proud father of two boys, Baker Rocket (9) and Bo Rowdy (5).

Whitney Loring

As part of the Treatment and Research Institute for Autism Spectrum Disorders (TRIAD)'s Professional Development and Training team, Whitney Loring's responsibilities include developing and conducting trainings and consultation for parents, educators, and providers in the community regarding evidence-based assessment and intervention strategies for individuals with autism spectrum disorders. She has worked with a variety of faith-based communities to promote inclusion for individuals with disabilities and has utilized these same approaches during her work over the past 15 years as a children's Bible class teacher.

Details

Location

Christ Presbyterian Church

2323 Old Hickory Blvd

Nashville, TN US

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