2026 TASH Conference: Directory

Welcome to the official website for the 2026 TASH Conference!

Each year, the TASH Conference brings together our constituents to share resources and success stories, learn about field-driven best practices, and network within a community engaged in shared values. The Conference is attended by passionate leaders, experts, and advocates from every corner of the disability community. Conference attendees are influential in their fields and communities, and play an important role in the provision of services and supports for individuals and organizations around the world; and include professors and researchers from leading institutions; those involved in local, state, and federal governments and public policy; special and general educators, and school administrators; self-advocates, adult service providers; students, family members, and many others. This year’s conference theme is Liberty and Justice for All.

On this page you will find information about our Conference location, registration, reserving a guest room, sponsorship and exhibitor opportunities, and more! The full Conference schedule will be published in August. Registered attendees will receive an invitation to log in and create a personalized schedule.

Taylor Bland, M.S.ED. is an educator and executive function coach with a background in Psychology and Social Welfare & Justice from Marquette University and Masters in Education from Johns Hopkins University with over 10 years of experience in helping individuals build confidence in understanding and embracing their unique needs. Taylor uses a holistic, strengths-based approach that centers executive functioning, personal and collective identity, systemic experience, and individual strengths to help clients navigate, locate, and create the tools needed to take off the “mask” and thrive.

Executive function coaching should be an experience of empowerment and healing, led by someone who lives with executive functioning needs herself—because as someone navigating life with AuDHD, Taylor knows how powerful it is to be supported in becoming your best self... Read more

Company B-Empowered Executive Function Coaching & Consulting LLC
Position Founder & Lead Executive Function Coach
Location Detroit, MI

Ruth Bollinger

Hi!
I’m Ruth, a passionate disability advocate who believes strongly in disability pride, self-advocacy, inclusion, and creating opportunities for people with disabilities to have their voices heard. I have experience working in disability advocacy, inclusive postsecondary education, youth leadership, peer mentoring, and supporting young adults with disabilities. I’m especially interested in helping make colleges, workplaces, communities, and public policy more inclusive and accessible for people with disabilities. Talk to me about: disability rights and policy, self-advocacy, disability pride, ... Read more

Position Self-Advocate
Location Columbia, South Carolina

Lisa Carey

I am a mother to three unique and wonderful humans! I am also an Education Advocate and work as a Navigator for Undivided. I love working with families and being a part of their journey.

Company Carey Advocacy, LLC
Position Education Advocate
Location Northridge, California

Olivia Fudge Coleman

Company University of Central Florida
Position Assistant Professor
Location Orlando, FL

Cathi Davis

Cathi Davis is the 2025 Washington State Elementary Principal of the Year and founding principal of Ruby Bridges Elementary, a fully inclusive school in the Northshore SD. Ruby Bridges Elementary is a demonstration school site as a part of the Washington State Inclusionary Practices Technical Assistance Network. As a principal leader, she leads her staff to focus on how universal design, inclusive vision and integrated systems of support can be implemented to dismantle barriers in service to all students. Cathi Davis is an advocate for inclusive education, creating cultures of belonging and relentlessly... Read more

Company Northshore School District
Position Principal, Ruby Bridges Elementary
Location Washington

Meghan Edwards-Bowyer

Company Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools

Susan Gollihugh

Company Sam Houston State Universtiy
Position Doctoral student
Location Willis, Texas

Jonathan Hooper

Aaron Lanou

I'm an inclusive education coach, consultant, and facilitator. I'm a lifelong special educator working to help teachers create classrooms where everyone can learn and be seen and belong. I also helped lead the country's largest inclusion model for autistic students, the Nest program, in the NYC Public Schools. I'm a member of Carol Gray's Team Social Stories and of the Delta Air Lines Advisory Board on Disability and Accessibility.

Company Aaron Lanou Consulting, LLC
Position Inclusive Education Consultant
Location Brooklyn, NY

Jenny Lengyel

Company Total Living Concept
Position Executive Director
Location Auburn, WA

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Rocio Lopez

Molly Lyman

Company Other
Position Program Coordinator
Location Burien, WA

Michael McSheehan

Michael McSheehan’s life work has been at the intersection of disability and K-12 education. He is a systems-thinker, an implementation specialist, and a leader in the field of multi-tiered system of support (MTSS) and inclusive education. Whether it’s assisting with student-specific supports, collaborating with schools and districts, or working with national organizations, Michael brings passion, humor, and insight to the work of promoting equity and inclusion. Michael co-led the Center on Inclusive Education at UNH and helped establish the SWIFT Education Center. Michael founded a consulting... Read more

Company Evolve & Effect
Position Owner/TA Provider
Location Rochester, New Hampshire

Dan Middleton

As the Clinical Excellence Planning and Development Leader at Catalight, I have led new strategies for employment services for neurodiverse adults since December 2021. With over 20 years of experience in process improvement, mentoring, and organizational support, I am passionate about increasing the employment rate and offering innovative services for this diverse and talented population.

In collaboration with my team and partners, I have been breaking down barriers to all employers, small and large, and creating inclusive and accessible work environments. I have also been leveraging my credent... Read more

Company Catalight
Position Senior Director, Clinical Excellence Planning and Development
Location Walnut Creek, CA

Melanie Reeves Miller

Position Independent Monitor
Location Nashville, Tennessee

Joy Pansari

Company Roberts Wesleyan University
Position Assistant Professor Teacher Education

DeVonne Parks

Company TASH
Position Director of Meetings & Membership
Location Washington, DC

Richard Price

Dr. Price (he/they) is a white cis-gendered gay scholar with over a decade of experience supporting the transition from school to work for individuals with disabilities/disabled individuals. He holds Master's degrees in Rehabilitation/Vocational Counseling, Kinesiology - Adaptive Sport, and Applied Behavior Analysis - Autism from Michigan State University, and a Ph.D. in Special Education from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Price is passionate about understanding the diverse identities and experiences of individuals with disabilities/disabled individuals, a commitment shaped by growing... Read more

Company Purdue University

Magen Rooney-Kron

Magen is an assistant professor of inclusive education at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. Her research focuses on the inclusion of students with significant support needs in work-based learning experiences.

Company University of Missouri, St. Louis
Position Assistant Professor
Location Chesterfield, MO

Sheldon Schwitek

Sheldon Schwitek has been supporting individuals with complex behavioural needs in the United Statesb and in Canada for over decades. He was introduced to the founding members of the Marsha Forest Center in 1990 and became a facilitator of the person-centered processes of MAPS, PATH and Circles of Support through Inclusion Press. For almost 10 years, he worked closely with Judith Snow, a pioneer in developing circles of support and helping to identify ways that others could discover their gifts and make contributions to their communities. He continues to hold these initial values of inclusion in... Read more

Company In the Company of Others
Position Co-Founder/ Consultant
Location Kalamazoo, Michigan Area

Hezzy Smith

Hezzy Smith, Esq. is a trilingual attorney, a proud sibling, and HPOD's Director of Advocacy Initiatives. He's responsible for much of HPOD’s self-advocacy programming. He has worked closely with self-advocacy and disabled peoples' organizations both in the United States and abroad to advocate, research, and produce awareness-raising materials. His Spanish, English, and Bangla language materials have shaped disability rights strategic litigation and important decisions by national and regional courts, and his disability rights scholarship has appeared in collections published by Cambridge University... Read more

Company Harvard Law School Project on Disability
Position Director of Advocacy Initiatives
Location Cambridge, MA

Jennifer Sommerness

Jennifer Sommerness is a distinguished educator and researcher at the TIES Center at the University of Minnesota. She is known for her dedication to inclusive education, student success, and educational equity. Jennifer has played a leading role in advancing inclusive education, partnering in state, district, and school initiatives aimed at creating systems where all students, including those with extensive support needs, can thrive. Her expertise and collaborative approach to professional development equip educators to implement inclusive practices and foster a culture of belonging for each and... Read more

Company TIES Center - University of Minnesota
Position Research Associate
Location Minneapolis, Minnesota

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Julia M. White

Company Syracuse University
Position Assistant Professor
Location Syracuse, NY

Fèngxiān 凤仙

I’m Fēngxiān I’m a 30 year old transracial Chinese adoptee I’m a self advocate from Self Advocates Taking Action. I developed my own DEI training. I enjoy talking about diversity equity and inclusion efforts. I’m the Advocacy and Outreach Coordinator for Self Advocates Taking Action.

Position Self Advocate

2026 TASH Conference

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TeMerra Blackwater

Taylor Bland, M.S.Ed.