2024 Annual Meeting Program

Pride in Independence

Wednesday, October 23, 2024

WBUR CitySpace, 890 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA

5:00-6:00 p.m.: Registration and Reception in the Lobby

6:00-8:00 p.m.: Annual Meeting Program in the Theatre

Emcee: David Brown

• Welcome: Stephanie Fidel, MAB Board President
• Vote on Board Slate: Jack Corrigan, MAB Board Vice President
• 18 Years of Leadership: Barbara Salisbury, MAB CEO
• Tribute to Bill Raeder: Michael Ellenbogen, MAB Board Member
• Thought Leaders, Funders, and Partners: Barbara Salisbury
• Community Partner Award: Ruth Summers
  Presented by Barbara Salisbury and ADS Participants
• Panel Discussion: The Future of Disability
  • Moderator: Dr. Randy Cohen, MAB Board Member
  • Panelists: Jennifer Lee-Rambharose, Dr. Mona Minkara, Paul Simeone, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, ATP
• Tributes to Barbara Salisbury: David Feldman, Larry Summers, Stephanie Fidel
• Closing Remarks: Barbara Salisbury

8:00-10:00 p.m.: Celebration for MAB CEO Barbara Salisbury in the Theatre

Panelist Biographies

Moderator: Randy Cohen, Ph.D.

Dr. Cohen is a financial economist and Senior Lecturer of Entrepreneurial Management in the Finance Unit at Harvard Business School. He previously held positions as Associate Professor at HBS and Visiting Associate Professor at MIT Sloan. Randy is the creator and host of “Dangerous Vision”, a podcast that explores blindness with fascinating people who have lived experience.

Panelists:

Jennifer Lee-Rambharose

Jennifer is a research associate at the Lurie Institute for Disability Policy at the Heller School at Brandeis University. She works with the national Research Center for Parents with Disabilities and the National Center for Disability and Pregnancy Research. She is passionate about intersectionality, disability justice, and uplifting the voices of all people with disabilities. The motto, “Nothing about us, without us,” has shaped her work as a manager, advocate, and researcher.

Dr. Mona Minkara

Dr. Minkara is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Bioengineering at Northeastern University. She is blind and actively advocates for blind and partially sighted scientists and engineers. Mona also is the creator and star of the YouTube series “Planes, Trains, and Canes”, or PTC, in which she travels alone in cities around the globe, testing the accessibility of transportation for blind and visually impaired people.

Paul Simeone, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, ATP

Dr. Simeone is a licensed speech-language pathologist. He earned his doctoral degree in Rehabilitation Sciences from Mass General Hospital’s Institute of Health Professions. PJ also is the Vice President of Assistive Technology and Allied Health at the May Institute, a national organization that provides services and support to people with disabilities. He is an expert in using assistive technology to help people with disabilities live as independently as possible.

Board Members, Officers, and Committee Chairs