Justice for child victims with disabilities

The following is a list of presenters' bios along with presentations that will be shared at this conference. Please print and bring copies of them with you.

Mark Coppin

Hands-on with iPad Apps for Students with Special Needs
iPhone, iPad and iPod touch Apps for (Special) Education
Accessing Abilities

Mark has 25 years of experience working in various capacities at Anne Carlsen Center in Jamestown. He began as a special education instructor in 1987, and also served four years as director of summer programming, and two years as interim director of educational services. He was a classroom teacher until 1992 when he became Director of Assistive Technology and Director of IT. As Director of Assistive Technology, he coordinated the provision of assistive technology services for the Center. He is also a member of the outreach technology team, which provides evaluations and consultation services throughout North Dakota. Coppin has attended and presented at state, regional and national conferences on such topics as technology and teaching, special education, video production, assistive technology, iPad and iPod touch and autism. He holds two bachelor’s degrees from Minnesota State University Moorhead in speech communications and in special education and has a Masters in Educational Media Design and Technology. Mark is also a certified ATP (Assistive Technology Practitioner) through RESNA. In 2009, Coppin was chosen as an Apple Distinguished educator. He currently serves on the advisory board for the Apple Distinguished Educator program. Coppin was nominated for the 1988 North Dakota ARC Teacher of the Year and the 1992 National Association of Private Schools for Exceptional Children Teacher of the Year.

Bill Fulbright

Prosecuting Crimes Against Kids: Victims & Witnesses with Disabilities
Critical Evidence & the Child
From Crime To Conviction

Bill Fulbright is the elected County Attorney in Ravalli County, Montana. Crimes against children, including sexual and physical abuse, comprise a significant part of his caseload. He has worked with child sexual abuse victims testifying at trial as young as 5, and as old as 21, and has prosecuted child physical abuse on behalf of victims as young as 7 weeks old. Bill also has presented extensively on the subject of child abuse, including presenting with Victor Vieth the topic of prosecuting without physical findings; as faculty for the NDAA’s “childPROOF course; training prosecutors and law enforcement investigators in various states and jurisdictions; teaching a child abuse lab for registered nursing students each semester; and community presentations. He also received Montana’s 2007 Prosecutor of the Year recognition.

In the community, Bill is an original member of Ravalli County’s first Multi-Disciplinary Team, and a founding board member of “Emma’s House,” Montana’s first stand-alone non-profit Children’s Advocacy Center. For recreation, Bill is a high school and junior high basketball coach.

Bill is a 1988 graduate of from Willamette University School of Law (J.D. – cum laude) and Graduate School of Management (M.B.A. – magna cum laude).

Andrew Gammicchia

Living with Autism and Loving it! Planning for the Future
Child Victims with Disabilities National Trends, Identification, Prevention
CHILD ABUSE VICTIMS WITH DISABILITIES
Disability & Abuse Project: When disability and abuse intersect, we take action.
Diability & Abuse Project

Andrew Gammicchia is the President of L.E.A.N. On Us, a non-profit organization that he co-founded in 2002, which provides information and resources as well as trains first responder personnel on meeting the needs of individuals with disabilities. The organization was one of the first to begin community collaboration to this subject and has shared its model for “Appropriate Response – Appropriate Preparedness” with many agencies to assist with efforts across the country and internationally. He has been a law enforcement officer for more than 25 years and brings his unique perspectives also because his 21-year-old son has autism. Gammicchia has worked on a variety of training initiatives nationally on the subject and serves on several advisory boards as a consultant on disability related matters, presented at national conferences for over a decade and accepted many honors for the organizations efforts. L.E.A.N. On Us has developed two nationally recognized curriculums, one with the DOJ/OVC specific to meeting the needs of victims of crime with autism, and one that offers certified for training on Mental Illness, I/DD, and other disability specific populations which Gammicchia has trained first responders and professionals on for the past 18 years.

Carolyn Gammicchia

Carolyn Gammicchia is the Executive Director of L.E.A.N. On Us. She is a certified Train the Trainer professional via Wayne State University where she was also certified in Sexual Abuse Response Team (SART) training as an officer with the Detroit Police Department. Carolyn is 2002 Partners in Policymaking graduate and has more than 22 years of experience as an officer in the field with numerous specialty trainings and certifications. She co-authored the curriculum “Crime Victims with Autism Assistance, Education, and Training Program” and materials funded under an DOJ/OVC grant. She also authored the curriculum for the MI certified training “Tools for Appropriate Response to Individuals with Mental Illness, Developmental Disabilities, and Special Needs” and delivered the initial trainings. She has served on three OVC project advisory boards specific to training materials to assist victims of crime with disabilities and presented on a variety of related topics across the county for more than two decades. Carolyn has also been the recipient of national and state awards for her volunteer advocacy efforts, including the Volvo Hero Awards and the ACMH Parent Advocate of the Year honors along with serving on many disability organization boards and advisory panels. Additionally, her son has autism and her late brother had epilepsy and Asperger Syndrome.

Scott J. Modell

Crime Victimization and Disabilities
Communication and Behavior: Its Impact on Responding to Crime Victims with Disabilities
Interviewing Children with Disabilities

Scott J. Modell received his Ph.D. from the College of Education at Florida State University in 1997. Dr. Modell is currently serving as the Deputy Commissioner for the Department of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities for the state of Tennessee. Previously, he spent 15 years as a Professor at California State University, Sacramento. Over the last 5 years, he served as Director of the university’s Autism Center for Excellence.

He is an expert in disability etiology, characteristics, interview techniques, and abuse. He has authored five books and has over 100 published articles and abstracts. Dr. Modell has been an invited speaker for a number of conferences for law enforcement throughout the country. He currently consults with multiple law enforcement agencies regarding disability abuse and as an expert witness. Dr. Modell has taught for the Office of Victims of Crime (OVC), California District Attorney's Association (CDAA), National Adult Protective Services Association (NAPSA), New Mexico Crime Victims Reparation Commission, National Organization for Victim Assistance (NOVA), and the Singapore National Council of Social Service. He has conducted workshops and trainings reaching thousands police officers, child protective service and adult protective service professionals across the country. He has received international recognition for his work in the area of disability abuse and interview techniques for individuals with developmental disabilities. In addition to his scholarship, Dr. Modell is widely recognized at the local, state, and national level for the provision of community-based services for individuals with disabilities. Through his community-based programs and public school experience, Dr. Modell has worked with thousands of children and adults with disabilities. He has been highly regarded in his community and throughout the country for his expertise, passion, and quality programs.

Shirley Paceley, M.S.

A Call to Action: Moving Beyond the Myths about People with Disabilities
Counseling Survivors with Disabilities
Creating Welcoming Environments for People With Disabilities
Sexual Abuse Prevention and Children with Disabilities
Sexual Abuse Prevention and Intervention

Shirley Paceley has worked with people with disabilities for 39 years and has a Master’s Degree in Clinical Psychology. Shirley is the founder and director of Blue Tower Training in Illinois which has resources in 48 states and 16 countries. Shirley serves on the Board of Directors of End Violence Against Women International and the Editorial Board of Sexual Assault Report. Shirley is a published author, international trainer, advocate, counselor, and visionary. Shirley is a survivor of childhood incest and has several siblings with disabilities

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