Board MEMBERS

Rebecca kronk, phd, msn crnp, anef, faan, cne

Immediate Past President

Dr. Kronk is a certified pediatric nurse practitioner with a PhD in Developmental Psychology. Her practice specialty has always been within pediatric genetics and disability nursing. Dr. Kronk was trained as a fellow in the Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities (LEND) at the University of Pittsburgh where her work focused on the clinical application of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) to children with disabilities. She has presented both nationally and internationally on genomics and disability health care with an emphasis on diverse and vulnerable populations. Grant funding has supported her work in creating the Consultant with Disability Simulation Program at Duquesne University School of Nursing and Stages II Camp for youth with disabilities. Dr. Kronk has served on the Board and as president of the Alliance for Disability Health Care Education. To read about her enormous contributions via publications and scholarship Dr Kronk has provided click here (after opening the link scroll down that page to review her abundant contributions).
In her professional role Dr. Kronk is a Professor and Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at Duquesne University School of Nursing, Pittsburgh PA.

Dr. Sarah Ailey, PhD, RN, CDDN, FAAN

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Dr. Sarah Ailey is a professor in the Department of Community, Systems, and Mental Health Nursing at Rush University, Chicago, IL. Her research and scholarly practice are concentrated on improving the lives of people with disabilities, in particular intellectual disabilities, by translating research into practice within community and inpatient hospital settings. She is the Principal Investigator for the Partnering with Persons with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities to Transform Health Outcomes (PATH-PWIDD) Program, funded by the Administration for Community Living. The program addresses gaps in health professions training programs by embedding disability-related content on the health care of individuals with IDD into an interprofessional health education curriculum. Advocates with IDD and family advocates are active in all components of the program. Sarah is also the Principal Investigator for the Steps to Effective Problem-solving (STEPS) program in group homes, funded by an R01 grant from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver Institute. She has been the advisor and/or content by translating research into practice within community and inpatient hospital settings expert for at least 40 PhD, DNP (Doctor of Nursing Practice) and MSN (Master of Science in Nursing) students on projects related to the care of people with disabilities, mostly related to intellectual disabilities. Dr Ailey was a former President of ADHCE.org. To view Dr. Ailey's abundant publications (since March 2025) authored/co-authored click here

Doreen Bestolarides, r.n.

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Doreen is a retired R.N. Active Board member and AADMD executive Board Parent Advocacy; Doreen is an active member DDNA on Nursing Practice Committee. National speaker on topics related to IDD health equity. Doreen also is a parent and professional advocate with over three decades of hospital nursing experience, with a focus in critical care. She has dedicated the direction of her nursing career, by developing a nursing role, to better serve hospitalized patients with Developmental Disabilities. She has continued that advocacy in her personal life to not only be a resource and educator in her own community, but to pursue her vision on the national stage through organizations such as DDNA- Developmental Disabilities Nurses Association on the Practice Committee, defining Nursing practice standards; AADMD - American Academy of Developmental Medicine and Dentistry and serving as Board member for ADHCE- Alliance for Disability in Health Care Education. She is the 2021 recipient of the AADMD Family Advocacy Award. She retired from hospital nursing in 2020.

Dr. Joan Earle Hahn, PhD, RN/APRN, GCNS-BC, GNP-BC, CDDN

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Founding Board Member Chair, Task Force, Alliance Core Competencies Chair, Google Group - 2021 Co-Chair, Google Tech Group 2021 Board Member, 2019 – present

Dr. Hahn earned baccalaureate degrees in psychology and in nursing from the University of Rochester, master's and PhD degrees from Rush University, and a post master’s certificate for gerontological nurse practitioner at UCLA. Dr. Hahn developed a passion for promoting and maximizing the well-being of older adults living with disabilities when she began her nursing career as a rehabilitation nurse at Rush University Medical Center’s Johnston R. Bowman Health Center for the Elderly and worked as a research associate in the early years of the RRTC on Aging and Disability at the University of Illinois at Chicago. She holds ANCC certification as a Clinical Nurse Leader and in advanced practice nursing roles as Clinical Nurse Specialist and Nurse Practitioner in gerontological nursing and earned certification in the specialty practice of developmental disabilities nursing from DDNA. Dr. Hahn’s prior academic appointments were at the University of Cincinnati, at UCLA, and in the University System of New Hampshire. Dr. Hahn held affiliated faculty roles at three University Centers for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities. She is a world-renowned expert on development and testing of home-based nurse-led intervention models to promote health and wellness among people aging with intellectual disability. She is a founding board member of the Developmental Disabilities Nurses Association and the Alliance for Disability in Health Care Education and is a leader in the development of curriculum and competencies on disability in nursing and health education. Dr. Hahn joined the Walden University faculty in health sciences and nursing in 2018. She is the Academic Research Coordinator for the Walden DNP program. and was elected as the first founding board member of the Alliance to rejoin the Board in 2019. Dr. Hahn is a faculty fellow of the inaugural 2021-2022 Golisano Fellowship in Developmental Disability Nursing program. To review Dr Hahn's numerous publications (since March 2025) Click here

Teresa Moro, PhD, AM, LSW

Dr Moro is a social worker and an Assistant Professor in the Department of Social Work in the College of Health Sciences at Rush University in Chicago. Her work focuses on integrating social care into health care with a specific focus on the impact of the environment and lived experiences on chronic illness, disability, and aging. Her primary focus has been exploring larger questions about the health of individuals with intellectual disabilities. At Rush, she is also a program coordinator for the Center for Health and Social Care Integration and as a project coordinator for Dr. Ailey’s Steps to Effective Problem-Solving (R01 HD086211-01A1; PI: Ailey). Dr. Moro is also a member of the Steering Committee for the Partnering with Persons with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities to Transform Health Outcomes (PATH-PWIDD) Program (90DNHE0001-01-00; PI: Ailey). To review Dr Moro's extensive scholarship/publications click here

Cathy Koetting, PhD, DNP, APRN, CPNP-PC, PMHS, FNP-BC

Dr. Cathy Koetting earned her PhD in Nursing from Duquesne University in 2021 and her Doctor of NursingPractice (DNP) from Case Western Reserve in 2010. She is dually certified as both a Family and PediatricNurse Practitioner and has been in practice since 2006. Dr. Koetting has taught in academia since 2003 inboth undergraduate and graduate nursing curriculums. Her research focuses on health outcomes in peoplewith intellectual disabilities particularly those who experience adverse life events and chronic illness. She is arecipient of grant funding regarding education of nursing students in Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referralto Treatment (SBIRT), and her research has been published in several peer-reviewed journals. Dr. Koetting isa member of the editorial board of the Journal of Forensic Nursing where she serves as the Case ReportsEditor. She is also a reviewer for the Journal of Pediatric Health Care as a member of the Expert ResearchPanel. She is an active member of the International Association of Forensic Nurses, The DevelopmentalDisabilities Nursing Association, St. Louis Nurses in Advanced Practice, the Missouri Nurses Association andthe Missouri Nurse Practitioners Association. Dr. Koetting practices with The Judevine Center for Autismproviding healthcare to consumers who are served by Judevine living in community individual supported living.Most recently Dr. Koetting finished a Fellowship as a Faculty Fellow and Mentor in the Golisano Institute forDevelopmental Disability Nursing at St. John’s Fisher University and is recognized as a Fellow in Developmental Disability Nursing.

Linda Long-Bellil, JD, PHD

Linda Long-Bellil is an Assistant Professor at Commonwealth Medicine/University of Massachusetts Medical School. She conducts research and policy analysis on issues related to health care, including reproductive health care, and long-term services and supports as they pertain to people with disabilities. She also teaches in the Shriver Center’s Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities (LEND) program and educates current and future health professionals about providing high quality care to people with disabilities. Linda M Long-Bellil PhD, JD – was an ADHCE.org Founding Vice-President. Click here to review the enormous scholarship/publications that Dr Long-Belil has authored/co-authored.

Rick Rader, MD.

Physician, cross trained in internal medicine and medical anthropology. Board certified in Developmental Medicine
President, American Association on Health and Disability (aahd.us)
Co-founder (and current VP of External Affairs), American Academy of Developmental Medicine and Dentistry
Member, Executive Committee, Friends of the National Center for Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities
National Medical Advisor, National Alliance for Direct Support Professionals (NADP)
Director of the Habilitation Center, Orange Grove Center, Chattanooga TN
Editor in chief, HELEN, The Journal of Human Exceptionality
Board, National Task Group on Intellectual Disabilities and Dementia Practices
Distinguished Practitioner and Member, National Academy of Practice in Medicine
First Special Liaison for Family Health Concerns, Presidents Committee on People with Intellectual Disabilities
Adjunct Faculty, University of Tennessee College of Medicine
Adjunct Faculty, University of Pennsylvania School of Oral Medicine
Published 300 articles on health and disability
Consultant to the office of the Surgeon General (Developmental Disabilities)
Advisor - Council on Dental Accreditation

Former Board Members

Ken Robey - Founding President of The Alliance for Disability in Health Care Education, Inc.
Suzanne Smeltzer (past president and a founding member)
Susan Havercamp (past president and a founding member)
Catherine Graham (a founding member)
Paula Minihan (a founding member)
Carl Tyler (a founding member)
Laurie Woodard (a founding member)
Melissa (Gridley) Desroches, PHD, RN
Alina Engelman, DRPH, MPH
Arielle Silverman, PHD
Priya Chandan, MD, MPH, PHD

About the association

The Alliance for Disability in Health Care Education, Inc. (ADHCE), is a “501 (c) (3) Public Charity” organization of healthcare educators and professionals who are working to integrate disability-related content and experiences into healthcare education and training programs.

Contacts

General Inquiries: Carole Schwartz
Membership Dues / Donations: Andrew Symons