Project Director – Southeast ADA Center
Barry Whaley is the Director of the Southeast ADA Center, a project of the Burton Blatt Institute, Syracuse University. Funded by the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living and Rehabilitation Research, the Southeast ADA Center is one of ten regional centers that provide guidance, publications, research, and training on the Americans with Disabilities Act. Previously, he was project director of the Supported Higher Education Project at the University of Kentucky Human Development Institute. This project, one of twenty-six original Transitional Programs for Students with Intellectual Disabilities, explored the supports necessary for students with significant impact of disability to be successful in the post-secondary college environment. At UK he also provided ADA Title I Employment Consulting for employers, employees, and families and also provided analysis of Year One Year Out student data for the Kentucky Post-School Outcome Center. Previously, he was a Consultant for Atlas Research providing technical assistance and training for the Homeless Veterans Supported Employment Project. For many years, he was the Executive Director of Community Employment, Inc. a non-profit supported employment provider that focused exclusively on providing integrated competitive and customized employment and self-employment opportunities for people with significant disabilities. He has worked for the Kentucky Office of Vocational Rehabilitation and began his career with the “New Neighbors” deinstitutionalization project. He is a founding board member and past president of Kentucky APSE.
Barry holds two Bachelor of Arts Degrees from Indiana University and a Master of Science in Mediation, Arbitration and Dispute Resolution from Sullivan University.