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In Solidarity With Persons of DisabilityThis conference explores our society's understanding of vulnerability and interdependence through the perspectives of persons with disabilities. Registration form (PDF) March 29, 2007Bent Hall Room 277 A & B - Queens Campus, NY
Photograph by Prof. Belenna Lauto, St. John's College of Liberal Arts and Sciences We all struggle with life. We must carry on this struggle in a spirit of mutual love. In doing so, we build a community of interdependent people and discover the reign of God in our midst . (1978 Pastoral Statement, Persons with Disabilities , U.S. Catholic Bishops) Conference Statement:Too frequently, members of society regard persons with disabilities as "abnormal" or relegate them to a life of rehabilitation to achieve "normal." Society itself, however, has created many of the problems that persons with disabilities encounter. This conference reflects on how society has organized itself to hide, medicalize, and fear persons with disabilities. As a result, not only are persons with disabilities stigmatized but society has an incomplete understanding of itself because it denies its own vulnerability and need for interdependence. Purpose: Participants will enhance their capacity to stand in solidarity with persons with disabilities. Objectives: Conference attendees will:
Planning Committee : James Bethea, Barrett Brenton, Gina Calabrese, Charles Clark, Patrick Flanagan, Belenna Lauto, Marilyn Martone, Brenda Massetti, Regina Mistretta, Basilio Monterio, Kevin Rioux, Robert Tomes S. Margaret John Kelly, D.C., Ph.D., Mary Ann Dantuono, J.D., John Freund, C.M., Rosemarie McTigue, Natalie Boone Special Assistance: Dr. Frederica Bell-Berti, Chair and Professor of the Speech and Communications Department, St. John's College provided Sign Language Interpreters
Bent Hall Room 277 A & B9:15 -9:30 a.m. Opening Prayer and Welcome Sr. Margaret John Kelly, D.C., Ph.D. Executive Director, Vincentian Center for Church and Society 9:30-10:30 a.m. Perspectives from Persons with Disabilities Panel: Melissa Alter, Catherine Carlotti, Tony Curtis, Luqman Salaam and Alan Zweifler Moderator: James S. Bethea, Ph.D. , Department of Human Counseling, The School of Education, St. John's University, Department of Human Services 10:30-10:45 a.m. The Person and Society Speaker: Marilyn Martone, Ph.D., Department of Theology, St. John's College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, St. John's University 10:45-11 a.m. - Break 11 a.m. - Noon The Social and Cultural Construction of Disability Speaker: Kenneth J. Doka Professor of Gerontology, the Graduate School of the College of New Rochelle and Senior Consultant to the Hospice Foundation of America Moderator: Basilio G. Monteiro, Ph.D., Department of Mass Communication, Journalism, TV and Film, College of Professional Studies, St. John's University Noon -1:00 p.m. Lunch and Exhibit Photo I Class Exhibit on "Issues of Disability" Professor Belenna Lauto, Department of Fine Arts, St. John's College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, St. John's University 1:00- 2:15 p.m. Toward Solidarity and Interdependence : Perspectives from Law, Medicine, Education and Information Technology Panel: Nancy M. Maurer, J.D., Michael O'Dell, M.D., Barbara R. Peltzman, Ed.D., Kevin Rioux, Ph.D. Moderator: Regina Mistretta, Ed.D., Department of Early Childhood, Childhood and Adolescent Education in The School of Education, St. John's University. 2:15-3:00 p.m. The Spiritual Dimensions of Disability Speaker: Mr. Joseph Egan, member of L'Arche, Toronto, Canada Moderator: Patrick Flanagan, C.M. , Department of Theology, St. John's College of Liberal Arts and Sciences 3:00-3:15 p.m . Evaluation and Closing Mary Ann Dantuono, J.D. Vincentian Center for Church and Society. KEYNOTE SPEAKERS:
PANELISTS AND MODERATORS: Melissa Alter is a student in the rehabilitation-counseling program at St. John's University. She's currently an intern at Creedmoor Psychiatric Center in Queens, NY. James S. Bethea, Assistant Professor in The School of Education, St. John's University, Department of Human Services, is a 2005 Vincentian Research Fellow. His research interest is in critical success factors for disenfranchised youth. Professor Bethea is the creator of a special mentoring program for the students in the Brooklyn Bridge Program. He received his M.S. from Boston University and a Ph.D. from the University of Iowa . Catherine Carlotti is a former professor at Goddard College in Plainfield, Vermont. Ms. Carlotti is currently a Housing Counselor at Community Access in Manhattan. Tony Curtis is a 5 th Grade English/Social Studies Teacher at P.S. 297 in Brooklyn, NY, where he attended grade school. He holds two Masters Degrees. Patrick Flanagan, C.M., an instructor in Christian Ethics in the Department of Theology at St. John's College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, holds a M.Div. from Mary Immaculate Seminary and is a Ph.D. Candidate at Loyola University in Chicago. His research and teaching interests are Catholic Social Teaching, Business Ethics and Information Technology Ethics. Marilyn A. Martone is a moral theologian and Vincentian Research Fellow whose research and teaching focus on the distribution of health resources and issues of rehabilitation of brain-trauma victims. She is presently serving as a Weill Cornell Medical College Disabilities Ethics Fellow for 2007. She holds a Ph.D. from Fordham University and teaches graduate and undergraduate theology students in St. John's College of Liberal Arts and Sciences holding the position of Associate Professor. She offers courses in Theology in the Marketplace, Health Care Ethics, and Women, Children and Justice. She is widely published in many academic journals and has lectured internationally, most recently in Padua, Italy. Nancy M. Maurer , Clinical Professor of Law and Co-Director of the Albany Law Clinic & Justice Center at Albany Law School teaches courses in Disability Law, Negotiating for Lawyers, Trial Practice, and Legal Issues in Medicine, and directs the Field Placement Clinics. She founded the law school's Civil Rights and Disabilities Law Clinic, a program in which law students, working under faculty supervision, represent clients with disabilities in cases involving special education, discrimination, public entitlements, or other disability rights issues. Professor Maurer has written and lectured in the areas of clinical legal education and disability law, and is Co-Editor of the NYSBA publication, Representing People with Disabilities. Regina Mistretta is an assistant professor in The School of Education of St. John's University and a Vincentian Research Fellow. Her area of interest is Mathematics Education and she teaches graduate and undergraduate courses and conducts mathematics professional development for schools in the metropolitan area. She holds an Ed.D. from Teachers College, Columbia University. Dr. Mistretta is presently involved in a study funded through New York City's Department of Education Title IIA Professional Development under the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 that seeks to strengthen the ways parents can be included in their children's learning of mathematics Basilio G. Monteiro is an assistant professor, Division of Mass Communication, Journalism, TV & Film in the College of Professional Studies at St. John's University and a Vincentian Research Fellow. He earned a Ph.D. at The Union Institute and University (Ohio) in Mass Communication and Media Studies. His areas of particular research interest are International Communication and Development, Media and Public Policy, Theology of Communication. Michael O'Dell received his Medical Degree in 1985 from Indiana University's School of Medicine and is currently serving as Associate Chief and Attending Physiatrist in the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital. His experience and background is in Traumatic Brain Injury and in HIV/AIDS Rehabilitation. Dr. O'Dell is board certified in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and is currently a Professor of Clinical Rehabilitation Medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College. He is a member of the American Academy of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation (AAPMR), the Association of Academic Physiatrists (AAP), and the International Brain Injury Association. Barbara R. Peltzman is an associate professor and program director in the Department of Early Childhood, Childhood and Adolescent Education in The School of Education, St. John's University on the Staten Island Campus. She holds a Ed.D. from Teachers College, Columbia University and a Postdoctoral Professional Diploma from Hofstra University. She was instrumental in developing the dual certification program in general and special education at St. John's. Her research and teaching is focused on reading skills for children with learning disabilities. Kevin Rioux is an Assistant Professor in the Division of Library and Information Science at St. John's University and a Vincentian Research Fellow. Dr. Rioux's research focuses on information behaviors and information access. He positions his work within frameworks that address information services to underserved populations, cross-cultural information transfer, and social justice in the information professions. Dr. Rioux earned his Ph.D. at the University of Texas, Austin. Luqman Salaam holds a Masters Degree in Counseling from Long Island University. He has worked for a number of years as a Health Educator. Alan Zweifler has been employed at St. John's University for 17 years and presently is the Director of Facilities Operations. He is a veteran of the United States Army having served in Vietnam.
In 1994 the President and the Board of Trustees of St. John's University established the Vincentian Center for Church and Society as a response to the urging of Pope John Paul II in Ex Corde Ecclesiae to relate creatively and mutually with the greater Church in a shared pursuit of truth and commitment to rigorous theological and social reflection . At the same time, the Eastern Province of the Congregation of the Mission and the University jointly endowed The Vincentian Chair of Social Justice in the Center to stimulate awareness and commitment to Vincentian ideals and action. The Vincentian Research Fellows' Program was initiated in 2000 to work collaboratively with both the Center and the Chair of Social Justice to animate Vincentian scholarly activity. In keeping with the Vincentian tradition of concern for the poor and marginalized in society, the Vincentian Center for Church and Society and the Chair of Social Justice seek to emulate St. Vincent de Paul, the founder of the Congregation of the Mission and patron of charitable endeavors within the Church, in his unwavering commitment to the dignity of the human person and his insistence on the personal and societal obligation to assist the poor and vulnerable. Both entities seek to imitate Vincent's method of mobilizing cadres of persons with diverse backgrounds and interests to collaborate on a wide range of human needs, advancing the integral development of individuals and communities, and enhancing solidarity. Vincentian Chair of Social Justice Vincentian Center for Church and Society St. John's University St. Vincent Hall Room 108 A 8000 Utopia Parkway Jamaica, NY 11439 Tel. 718.990.1612 Fax. 718.990.1901
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Kenneth J. Doka is a Professor of Gerontology at the Graduate School of The College of New Rochelle and Senior Consultant to the Hospice Foundation of America. A prolific author, Dr. Doka's books include Pain Management at the End-of-Life: Bridging the Gap between Knowledge and Practice, Living with Grief: Ethical Dilemmas at the End of Life , AIDS, Fear and Society; Aging and Developmental Disabilities; and Disenfranchised Grief: New Directions, Challenges, and Strategies for Practice. In addition to his books, he has published over 60 articles and book chapters. Dr. Doka holds leadership positions in professional associations and international committees and has been the recipient of numerous awards and commendations. An international speaker, Dr. Doka has keynoted conferences throughout North America as well as Europe, Asia, Australia and New Zealand and participates in the annual Hospice Foundation of America Teleconference. 
Joseph Egan has been a member of L'Arche, founded by Jean Vanier, since March, 1973. L'Arche communities is an international network of communities within which people with learning disabilities and people who do not share that life experience live together, as fellow human beings who share a mutuality of care and need. The L'Arche experience is underpinned by a profound spirituality and theology of both disability and community. During this time Mr. Egan has had many different roles and responsibilities, including Community Leader of L'Arche Daybreak in Ontario and International Vice Coordinator. Currently, Joe is the Director of Human Resources for L'Arche, Toronto and lives in Toronto with his wife Mary and their three adult sons, David, Kevin & Patrick. 