AT Advisory Council

MassMATCH is advised by an AT Advisory Council made up of community members and professionals who understand the importance of assistive technology for people with disabilities. A majority of the council members (not less than 51%) are individuals with disabilities who use assistive technology or are family members or guardians of individuals who use AT. Other council members are representatives of state agencies concerned with creating better access for people who would benefit from AT.

The Council provides insight and recommendations for "best practices" for how to advance the use of AT. Specifically the Council advises on the Commonwealth's priorities for federal AT Act funding, and on the design and implementation of state-level and leadership initiatives funded by the AT Act grant.

Guiding Principles

The Advisory Council adheres to the following principles:

1. Supports (funded programs) should be driven by the needs of individuals and their families, and should be provided within community settings.
2. Partnerships between individuals, families and agency representatives should be based on communication that is open, honest, clear, understandable and timely.
3. All Council activities should respect and respond to the diversity of culture, language and abilities of all partners in order to ensure full participation.
4. All input and contributions should be equally respected and valued.
5. The recommendations and actions of the Council should be based on all partners sharing relevant information.
6. The Council should share responsibility and reasonable risks toward a common purpose, learn from failure and celebrate success.

Ground Rules/Operating Procedures

The Advisory Council conducts business according to the following operating procedures:

Frequency of Advisory Council Meetings

The Advisory Council currently meets quarterly. The meeting location is accessible and geographically reasonable for all members.

Primary Responsibilities of the Advisory Council

Advisory Council members must attend meetings and actively participate. Council members may also provide recommendations to MassMATCH staff through conference calls, e-mails, phone calls and regular postage mail, as necessary. Input sought from Council members includes feedback on the overall vision of the MassMATCH project as well as specific recommendations for implementing "state-level" and "state leadership" activities, as called for by the federal AT Act. Advisory Council members also help staff determine how best to identify consumer needs and what systems to develop to insure broad-based feedback on the effectiveness of MassMATCH's initiatives. The AT Act grant activities that require the Council's attention include the following:

Membership

AT Act Advisory Council Membership List

April 2010

Name	Category
Cathy Mylotte	Consumer rep
Janet Maurer	Workforce rep
Jeanette Beal	Consumer rep
Julian Banerji	Consumer rep
Karen Janowski	Parent rep
Kevin Hatch	Consumer rep
Lee Nettles	Consumer rep
Linda Sakin	Consumer rep
Lisa Chiango	Consumer rep
Melodee Whitman	Consumer rep
Owen Doonan	Consumer rep
Peter Gefteas	Consumer rep
Randi Sargent	Parent rep
Stacey Selfridge	Parent rep
Susan LaSante	Parent rep
Susan Ventura	Family rep
Theresa Eckstrom	Family rep
Valerie Haven	Consumer rep
Agency Reps
Mass. Rehabilitation Commission	Ann Shor
Mass. Commission for the Blind	John Oliveira
Independent Living	Nancy Rumbolt-Trzcinski
Workforce Investment	Janet Maurer
Dept. of Secondary and Elementary Education	Susan Hargrave
Mass. Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing	Jonathan O'Dell
Mass. Office on Disability	Barbara Lybarger
Dept. of Developmental Services	Tom Mercier
Exec. Office of Elder Affairs/Medicaid	Maria Regan
Project Share, Univ. of Massachusetts, Dartmouth	Dr. Les Cory
Disability Law Center	Linda Landry

We Want You!

The AT Advisory Council currently has open positions for individuals with disabilities who use AT. The council meets quarterly to discuss the needs of AT users and make decisions regarding the AT Act programs. If you are interested in serving as a representative of AT consumers in Massachusetts, please email info@massmatch.org.

Printable Nomination Form (a read-only Word doc)

 

Meeting Minutes

December 2009 (Word)

September 2009 (Word)

June 2009 (rtf)

February 2009 (Word)

October 2008 (Word)

February 27, 2007 Meeting Minutes (FlashPaper doc)