Winter ADA Coordinator Conference

Melissa Anderson

Melissa is a licensed engineer and owner of a consulting firm specializing in access in the public right of way and pedestrian safety. She has worked for a private engineering firm, the US Access Board, a state Department of Transportation and two municipalities during her 20 plus years as an engineer. Her experience with the Federal government and as a consultant has provided her with the opportunity to serve cities and states across the country and assist them in better understanding pedestrian accessibility.

Bill Botten

An Exercise Physiology graduate from the University of Kansas, joined the US Access Board in May of 2000. Bill specializes in accessibility issues related to recreation facilities and outdoor developed areas including boating and fishing facilities, trails, picnic and camping facilities, sports facilities and play areas. His training experience includes hundreds of presentations over the last 30 years to local, state, and national audiences on injury prevention, disability awareness and sensitivity, and accessibility issues. He was part of a team that developed the new combined guidelines for the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Architectural Barriers Act as well as serving on several ASTM committees for inclusive fitness equipment and play area surfaces.

Julie Brinkhoff

Julie oversees communications, publications, dissemination, data collection, reporting and outreach activities of the Great Plains ADA Center. Julie has a special interest in product development and dissemination through web-based platforms. She develops and produces the ACTCP publication,ADA Nowand serves as content manager for GP ADA Center websites. Julie is versed in all areas of the ADA and has designed and developed numerous materials on ADA related topics as well as on-line courses. She has given presentations and workshops on a wide range of ADA related topics including employment,child care, accessible websites and software, principles of universal design, and k-12 education. She has been involved with the Center since 1995. Julie received her Master’s Degree in Education with an emphasis in Student Services in 1985 from the University of Missouri.

Mike Edwards

Mike has been with the Great Plains ADA Center since 2001 where he serves as Missouri Coordinator and ACTCP Coordinator. In 2010, Mike developed the ADA Coordinators Training Certification Program (ACTCP) in conjunction with the University of Missouri College of Human and Environmental Sciences. He coordinates all ACTCP activities.Mike has extensive experience in conducting access surveys, training on all areas of the ADA as well as providing technical assistance and consultation to individuals, businesses and communities.

Anna Stewart

Anna develops graphics and multimedia content for training, materials, websites, publications, and publicity including fact sheets, posters, videos, slideshows and power-points. She assists in the National ADA Symposium including development of the conference app.

Cheri Hofmann

Cheri began her career in 1976 working with the Federal Government as a training coordinator. During her 16 years with the Federal Government, she worked with the Staff Judge Advocates Office as a paralegal and at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) as a paralegal assistant. Her areas of experience include: legal, technical writing, training, contracting, procurement, and architecture engineering /design. Throughout her career, Cheri has been involved in volunteering, fundraising or assisting with researching laws for people with disabilities. In 2000, Cheri began actively working with the Independent Living Movement as the Advocacy/Outreach Coordinator for the Center for Independent Living (CIL) Disability Resource Center. Cheri began her career with the Southeast ADA Center in 2002 as a part-time ADA Technical Assistant and later became the full-time in 2003. She currently is their ADA Distance Learning and Training Director. Additionally, she is a recognized voice for ADA technical assistance and training for the Southeast ADA Center for eight states for businesses, state and local government and people with disabilities for her knowledge with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and other federal laws. Cheri currently has her ADA Coordinator certification from the ADA Coordinator Training Certification Program through the University of Missouri- College of Human and Environmental Sciences, School of Architectural Studies and the Great Plains ADA Center as well as the University of Alabama Birmingham, ADA Coordinator Program.

Jack Humburg

Jack Humburg is the Executive Vice President of Housing Development and Americans with Disabilities Act Services for Boley Centers, Inc. Boley Centers is a private non-profit community-based organization dedicated to improving the lives of individuals with mental illness. Mr. Humburg has served as the Florida Affiliate for the Southeast ADA Center since 1993. In addition to disability rights advocacy, he has been instrumental in the development of over 1,000 units of affordable housing for individuals with disabilities.

Marsha Schwanke

Marsha Schwanke has been designing, developing, programming, testing and managing content-rich, database-driven web applications and distance education / online training projects since 2000 for the Southeast ADA Center, a project of the Burton Blatt Institute (BBI) at Syracuse University. Her focus is maximizing usability and accessibility based on "best practices" research and established guidelines, such as the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C): Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) and the Section 508 Standards. Ms. Schwanke has a Bachelors Degree in Therapeutic Recreation from Ohio University (1993) and a Masters Degree in Information Technology from American Intercontinental University (2000). She is a Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist (CTRS) and has over 30 years experience as a manager, practitioner, and volunteer working with children and adults with disabilities in hospital, long-term care, and community settings. She has authored and facilitated over 100 presentations and trainings on disability awareness, web accessibility, and assistive technology.

Bryon Scott

Bryon R Scott, ADAC has spent 23 years as construction project manager in the retail environment and was the ADA point on construction issues. Completed the ADA Coordinator Training Certificate Program in August of 2015. Bryon is currently working as a Project Manager at EMG Corporation performing Accessibility Assessments for both Title II and Title III clients.

Barry Whaley

Barry Whaley is the Director of the Southeast ADA Center, a project of the Burton Blatt Institute, Syracuse University School of Law. Previously, he was a research project director at the University of Kentucky Human Development Institute working with the Supported Higher Education Project, the ADA Employment Consulting Project and the Kentucky Post School Outcome Center. He has also worked as a Consultant for Atlas Research providing technical assistance and training for staff working with the Homeless Veterans Supported Employment Project. For many years, he was the Executive Director of Community Employment, Inc. a supported employment provider. Beforehand, he worked for the Kentucky Office of Vocational Rehabilitation and began his career with the “New Neighbors” deinstitutionalization project. He is a founding board member and past president of Kentucky APSE.

Barry holds two Bachelor of Arts Degrees from Indiana University and a Master of Science in Mediation, Arbitration and Dispute Resolution from Sullivan University.

Christine Woodell

Ms. Christine Woodell has been an advocate for people with disabilities all of her life. She is an ADA consultant at ADA Services, Inc. Ms. Woodell has provided extensive consultation and training to state and local government entities across Mississippi and throughout the Southeast. She has trained a cadre of AmeriCorps workers to conduct accessibility surveys in towns throughout Mississippi. She is currently working diligently with federal and local officials to prevent a repeat of the Katrina disaster in which so many people with disabilities were killed and injured. Currently, she is both a reservist and a contractor with the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency (MEMA). Ms. Woodell serves as an ADA telephone technical assistance specialist for the Southeast ADA Center and does extensive training as well. She has received extensive training from HUD, EEOC, the United States Department of Justice and other agencies involved in ADA compliance. Ms. Woodell is a polio survivor and so intimately understands the importance of the ADA. Her training is warm, witty, and very practical.