Leadership

Roberta Carlin, MS, MA, JD
Executive Director
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Ms. Roberta Carlin has been the Executive Director of AAHD since 2002, when AAHD received funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, NCBDDD, to provide technical assistance to 16 state funded grantees.  Since that time, under Ms. Carlin’s direction, AAHD has significantly grown and has developed a reputation as a leader in integrating disability into the national public health  agenda. Ms. Carlin has been involved in the disability and health field for over 35 years working in the areas of health promotion and wellness, health equity, policy analysis, disability research, emergency preparedness, women’s health, expanding partnerships, stakeholder engagement, accessible communications and messaging, aging and disability, strategic information dissemination, knowledge translation and expanding collaborative initiatives.  Ms. Carlin has a long standing commitment to eliminate health disparities in people with disabilities, ensure health equity, reduce the incidence of secondary conditions, and advocate for full community inclusion.   Under Ms. Carlin’s direction, the Medline indexed, peer reviewed Disability and Health Journal was created. Before coming to AAHD, Ms. Carlin was the Associate Executive Director and Government Affairs Director at the Spina Bifida Association of America. Ms. Carlin was a Certified Rehabilitation Counselor earlier in her career and worked as Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor for adolescents with developmental disabilities. Ms. Carlin holds a Juris Doctorate (JD) degree, a MS in Rehabilitation Administration and a MA in Counseling and Guidance.

Karl Cooper, Esq.
Director of Public Health Programs
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Karl D. Cooper, Esq. is an attorney and disability advocate. As a person with his own disabilities, he has spent most of his professional career addressing the needs of individuals with disabilities. Currently, he serves as the Director of Public Health Programs at the American Association on Health and Disability (AAHD) where he oversees a number of projects which conduct outreach in the disability community to engage them in public health initiatives. He started at AAHD in October 2013, working as the Project Manager for the National Disability Navigator Resource Collaborative (NDNRC). Prior to moving to DC in 2012, he practiced law for 14 years in the greater Philadelphia area where he was able to devote time to pro-bono advocacy for those affected by physical and developmental disabilities. In addition to his work with AAHD, Karl is the current Chair of the Disability Section of the American Public Health Association (APHA). Karl received his law degree from Villanova University School of Law in 1997 and a BA in Communications/Political Science from Cedarville University in 1994.

Jacob Ditsch, OTD
Senior Research Associate
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Jacob Ditsch, OTD, is a Post-Doctoral Fellow at AAHD, providing his knowledge and skills from a clinical perspective with training in project management and knowledge translation. He serves as Project Coordinator on the VTE KTTU Project and co-facilitates knowledge translation, Coordinator. In addition to the VTE KTTU Project, Jacob Ditsch assists other AAHD staff on knowledge translation, transfer, and utilization for people with disabilities.

Charles E. Drum, MPA, JD, PhD
Director, National Center on Research, Knowledge Translation, & Dissemination
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Charles E. Drum, MPA, JD, PhD, is the founding Director of the National Center on Research, Knowledge Translation & Dissemination at the American Association on Health and Disability (AAHD). Previously, he was Director of the Institute on Disability and Professor of Public Health at the University of New Hampshire (UNH) and Assistant to Associate Professor of Public Health and Preventive Medicine at Oregon Health & Science University. Dr. Drum is an established leader in disability and health issues, focusing on health promotion, health care access, and health disparities. He has produced over 250 peer-review and knowledge translation publications and obtained grant support more than $32 million.

Michelle Eastman, MDiv.
Accessibility and Communications Specialist
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Michelle is a graduate from Boston University from the School of Theology with a concentration in disability studies, focusing on the intersections of environmental justice, race, religion, and higher education. Working for more than 10 years with people with disabilities both nationally and internationally she is passionate about digital content creation and its role in driving different disability justice initiatives. Michelle is excited about the work at AAHD and serves as an Accessibility and Communications Specialist for the All of Us and Community Catalyst projects.

Cassandra Moore, MPH
Project Associate
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Cassandra has a Master’s in Public Health with a concentration in epidemiology and a Bachelor of Science in Biology and Psychology. She is a Project Associate with the All of Us Research Program project. Her experience is in directing public health programs in a community-based setting. She has experience in coordinating and implementing programs. In addition, Cassandra has worked with people with disabilities as a direct support professional assisting with daily living.

Nuria Piracha, MPH
Project Associate
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Nuria is a graduate from George Mason University’s Master of Public Health program, with a concentration in health policy, focusing on health payment systems/economics, program evaluations, and healthcare disparities where she also obtained her undergraduate Bachelor of Science degree in Community Health. Professionally, she has worked within women’s health, specifically in providing healthcare access to women with disabilities, at organizations such as Planned Parenthood Advocates of Virginia and the National Partnership for Women and Families. Nuria currently serves as the Project Coordinator for the Health Insurance Literacy Academy Project, as well as the Community Catalyst project and assists AAHD with their social media.

Allison Poullard
Administrative Manager (Grants/Contracts)
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Allison started with AAHD in November 2021 as the Grants and Contacts Manager. In her previous work, she served as a Senior Program Accounting Manager at a local nonprofit overseeing grant compliance for federal, state, local and private funding sources. She also has 7+ years of experience with billing, budget creation and modification, financial reporting, reconciliations and audit preparation. Allison received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Maryland at College Park in Government and Politics with a minor in Agricultural Economics in 2009. She is currently pursuing a Master of Business Administration from Western Governor’s University.

E. Clarke Ross, DPA
Public Policy Director
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Dr. E. Clarke Ross has worked over 50 years with six national mental health and disability organizations. Since December 2010, Clarke has worked as the public policy director for the American Association on Health and Disability. Clarke and AAHD have served since 2014 as the Washington Representative of the Lakeshore Foundation.  Between 2012-2023, each year, Clarke served on a variety of the National Quality Forum (NQF) committees. Clarke’s work history includes Chief Executive Officer of CHADD – Children and Adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder; Deputy Executive Director for Public Policy, NAMI – National Alliance on Mental Illness; Executive Director, American Managed Behavioral Healthcare Association (AMBHA); Assistant Executive Director for Federal Relations and then Deputy Executive Director, National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors (NASMHPD); and Director of Governmental Activities, United Cerebral Palsy (UCP). Clarke previously served as the Chair of the “Friends of NCBDDD” (National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities) at CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention); then its Advocacy Coalition chair. Dr. Ross was a co-founder of the Consortium for Constituents with Disabilities (CCD) in 1973. A former VISTA volunteer, from 1984-1986, Clarke worked as an Assistant Professor of Public Administration for Troy State University – European Region, headquartered in Weisbaden, Germany. Between 1983 and 2020, Dr. Ross served as an adjunct instructor of graduate public administration for Central Michigan University.

Michelle Sayles, MA 
Communications Manager
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Michelle graduated from McMaster University with a Master of Arts in Globalization Studies in 2018, building on her Bachelor of Arts degree in Geography. Her graduate research explored the relationship between mental health, trauma studies, and climate change. Community outreach, engagement and socially-engaged arts have been central to her work and integrated through professional positions at the Vermont Affordable Housing Coalition and Clark University. She is experienced in non-profit social media management, digital media production, and communications strategy development. Michelle was also a participating artist in The Most Costly Journey non-fiction comics anthology project, and lead author of an accessible education tool for the McMaster University Office of Equity and Inclusion.

Michele Sky Lee, MA
Intern
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Michele Lee is a second year Interdisciplinary Health doctoral student at Northern Arizona University. Michele is also a Research Coordinator at The Institute for Human Development at Northern Arizona University. Her primary research interests include understanding Pap testing in women with disabilities.

Maria Manolatos
Administrative Assistant
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