As the Director of Education and Transition Team for the Institute for Community Inclusion at the University of Massachusetts—Boston, Debra Hart has over 25 years of experience working with youth and adults with disabilities. Most relevant recent experience includes: Director of a federal Department of Education, Office of Special Education Program (OSEP) funded Model Development grant to determine the effectiveness of the College Career Connection (C3) individual support model on creating access to inclusive postsecondary education options leading to competitive employment for youth with intellectual disabilities; Co-facilitated a Council for Exceptional Children Pre-Conference on postsecondary education services for youth with intellectual disabilities; Conducted a national study on postsecondary education services for youth with intellectual disabilities; Director of an Office of Postsecondary Education grant (Equity and Excellence) focused on providing higher education faculty and disability support personnel training on the application of the principles of Universal Design to create greater access to college courses for students with disabilities; Director of OSEP funded model demonstration project that assisted several urban Massachusetts communities in developing a comprehensive array of services for youth with intellectual disabilities who wanted an inclusive postsecondary education (C3); and Collaboration on two national Capacity Building Institutes on postsecondary education for youth with intellectual disabilities and service integration for transition-aged youth with disabilities, with the National Center for the Study of Postsecondary Education Supports, at the University of Hawaii.
