Coalition for Disability Access in
Health Science Education
Board Members
Treasurer & Chief of Staff to Be Announced
Lisa M. Meeks, PhD, MA
Coalition President
Visiting Associate Professor of Psychiatry, The University of Colorado School of Medicine
Adjunct Assistant Professor of Family Medicine, The University of Michigan School of Medicine
Researcher, The Center for a Diverse Healthcare Workforce, UCDavis School of Medicine
Twitter: @meekslisa
Dr. Meeks is an administrative leader and researcher, who informs policy and best practice in the area of disability inclusion for health professions education. Her research interests include: Improving access to health professions education for learners with disabilities, medical student and resident well-being, reducing health care disparities for patients with disabilities, and the performance and trajectory of learners and physicians with disabilities.
Dr. Meeks is the co-founder, Past President and newly appointed new President of the Coalition for Disability Access in Health Science and Medical Education, co-developer of both the AAMC Disability Webinar Series and edited and authored leading books on the topic, including Disability as Diversity, Disability as Diversity: A Case Studies Companion Guide and Equal Access for Students with Disabilities: The Guide for Health Science and Professional Education, Second Edition. She is also the lead author of the AAMC Special Report: Accessibility, Inclusion, and Action in Medical Education: Lived Experiences of Learners and Physicians with Disabilities co-creator of the social media campaign #DocsWithDisabilities, host of the Docs With Disabilities Podcast and key facilitator of the Equal Access Book Club.
Kristina H. Petersen, PhD
President Elect
Assistant Dean, College Academic Support Programs
Assistant Professor of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Office of Academic Support
New York Medical College
Dr. Kristina H. Petersen is an Assistant Professor in the Biochemistry & Molecular Biology Department and the Assistant Dean of Academic Support Programs at New York Medical College. Since arriving at NYMC in 2014, she received two Student Senate Awards for enhancement of student life, six mentoring/teaching awards, and was inducted into the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society. In 2021, the NYMC AOA Chapter nominated her for the Robert J. Glaser Distinguished Teaching Award.
Dr. Petersen leads a team that focuses on all aspects of academic support, including supporting students who receive accommodations. Kristina is a Co-PI on two IRB-approved research projects with Dr. Lisa Meeks, and is a co-author on two chapters in Disability as Diversity: A Guidebook for Inclusion in Medicine, Nursing, and the Health Professions. She served as Board Member At Large in 2019 and was appointed President-Elect in 2020.
Christine Low, MSW, LCSW-R
Secretary
Director, Disability Services, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Faculty, Environmental Medicine and Public Health at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
Adjunct Faculty, Bank Street College of Education Graduate School
Adjunct Faculty, Columbia University, School of Social Work
Christine is the Director of Disability Services for the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai directing disability initiatives, policy development and program oversight. She earned her BA in Psychology from The University of California Berkeley and her MS in Social Work from Columbia University. She has over 20 years experience working as a clinician, first with abused children and then children with disabilities in K-12, before moving to higher education.
Christine has served on the Board of Directors for the Coalition for Disability Access in Health Science and Medical Education since 2016. She has presented at numerous national conferences on such topics as: professional communication around disability status, and building a robust disability office and has contributed to recent publications including chapters in Disability as Diversity and a chapter in the second edition of Equal Access for Students With Disabilities: The Guide for Health Science and Professional Education.
Zebadiah Hall, MBA
Presidential Appointee
Director, Student Disability Services
Cornell University
Zebadiah Hall is the Director of Student Disability Services at Cornell University. His pronouns are He, Him. Zebadiah has worked in higher education in various departments such as Admissions, Academic Support, Assistant Men's Basketball Coach, and Disability Support Services. He served as the President of the State of Indiana’s Association on Higher Education and Disability's (AHEAD) chapter from 2013 -2014. He is currently serving a three-year term as a board member of AHEAD's national organization as the Equity Officer. Before being the director at Cornell, he was the director of Access and Accommodation Resource Center at Valparaiso University and director at Calumet College of St. Joseph Disability Support Services as well. At Valparaiso, he served as the chair of the Staff Employee Advocacy Council and the chair of the Minority Employee Support Group. At Cornell, he currently sits on the Diversity Working Group for Cornell Health. He is a regular speaker and facilitator on topics around access and opportunity for disabled students as well as other oppressed populations. He is currently pursuing his Ph.D. in Leadership for the Advancement of Learning and Service in Higher Education at Cardinal Stritch University in Milwaukee, WI.
Laura Yvonne Bulk, PhD, OT (Reg. BC), MOT, BSW
Board Member at Large
Accessibility Advisor, Centre for Accessibility
Clinical Assistant Professor, Occupational Science & Occupational Therapy
Faculty of Medicine | The University of British Columbia
xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) Territory
Twitter: @LYBOT
Laura is a scholar, advocate, friend, learner, woman, teacher, mentor, daughter, accessibility advisor, mentee, disabled person, occupational therapist (OT), Christian, artist, and activist. A self-described ‘hat rack,’ Laura wears many hats, playing numerous roles in her academic, spiritual, recreational, professional, and familial communities. Often found preparing food for a small gathering, a meeting with colleagues, or a community event, Laura aims to contribute to shaping a more hospitable world for everyone wherever she can.
Her heart for hospitality and belonging is reflected in her academic and advocacy work with the disability, higher education, and health professional communities. As the Accessibility Advisor for students in health professional programs at The University of British Columbia (UBC), she has the privilege of coming alongside learners and programs to explore how health professions education can be more hospitable and accessible to learners with disabilities. As a scholar, Laura is a Visiting Postdoctoral Fellow with the AcTinSite project exploring access in clinical education; she is the Principal Investigator on a justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion action-research project focused on Vancouver Community College's BScN program; and she is a collaborator on a series of projects pushing toward great access for health professional students with disabilities based at UBC, which includes the use of research-based theatre.
Jennifer E. Gossett, M.S.
Board Member at Large
Director, Office for Student Access
Oregon Health Science University
Jennifer began her career in Higher Education working with new student orientation programs, then went on to the Peace Corps, served in Americorps, and worked in Wilderness Therapy before coming back to Higher Education to work in Disability Services. She received a Master of Science focused in Educational Leadership and Policy and a Graduate Certificate in Student Affairs Administration from Portland State University in 2010. She has over 10 years’ experience working in disability services including work in policy development, training, and accessibility assessments for both the digital and physical environment
Suzanne Hawks, B.S.
Board Member at Large
Disability & Learning Assistance Specialist
Wake Forest University
Suzanne is the Disability and Learning Assistance Specialist for Wake Forest University. She received her BS in Psychology from Presbyterian College and spent several years working with children and adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder before joining the field of higher education. While Suzanne serves students across all programs at Wake Forest, she is the primary contact for students at the Bowman Gray Center for Medical Education (BGCME) in the MD, PA, and DNP programs as well as the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences.
Neera R. Jain, PhD, MS, CRC
Board Member at Large
Postdoctoral Fellow
School of Critical Studies in Education // Te Kura o the Kōtuinga Akoranga Māturanga
Faculty of Education and Social Work // Te Kura Akoranga me te Tauwhiro Tangata
The University of Auckland // Te Whare Wānanga o Tāmaki Makaurau
Neera (she/her) is a researcher and educator in disability studies in education based in Tāmaki Makaurau, Aotearoa (Auckland, New Zealand). She recently completed her PhD at the University of Auckland, Faculty of Education and Social Work. Weaving together perspectives of students with disabilities and school officials, her doctoral thesis, Negotiating the capability imperative: Enacting disability inclusion in medical education (2020), explores the limits of an accommodation-focused approach to disability inclusion and imagines a transformational alternative that is inclusive by design. She co-edited Equal Access for Students with Disabilities: The Guide for Health Science and Professional Education (Springer Publishing, 2020) and co-authored the AAMC special report, Accessibility, Inclusion, and Action in Medical Education (2018). Previously, she led disability services for health science students at U.S. universities: Columbia University in the City of New York and the University of California, San Francisco. In New Zealand, Neera managed a free legal service run by and for disabled people, Auckland Disability Law. For the Coalition, she coordinates the Coalition Corner column in Disability Compliance in Higher Education.
Maria Keller, PhD
Board Member at Large
Associate Director, Student Disability Resource Center
Medical Education, Graduate and Professional Programs Disability Specialist
University of California Riverside
Dr. Keller currently serves as the Associate Director of the Student Disability Resource Center (SDRC) at the University of California Riverside, providing disability services to students in high stakes programs across various disciplines, leading the Disability Specialist team, informs on best practices and provides trainings to faculty and staff in matters of accessibility and inclusion. Dr. Keller has over 20 years of combined experience as a Licensed Clinical Psychologist in academic and community settings, providing mental health services, LD testing, counseling, clinical supervision, program development and oversight.
Areas of specific interest include program oversight, advising, training/teaching, integrative health, trauma, neurological and psychological disabilities, the impact on learning and disability management, specifically as it relates to accessible educational opportunities in high stakes programs.
