Author: Kathy Sheppard-Jones
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HDI Staff Spotlight on Adam Potter
For much of his college career, Adam Potter struggled to find the right path. Despite being an avid musician, he didn’t feel like his initial music performance major was a good fit. After changing his major several times, something clicked when he found Broadcasting and Electronic Media. “I don’t like things with one answer. I’m…
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HDI staff spotlight on Carolyn Wheeler
Carolyn Wheeler’s heart broke when she came across a book called Christmas in Purgatory on her mom’s bookshelf. The book was a photographic essay on the conditions in large, state institutions in the Northeast for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. It was first published in 1966. She later had a job in such an institution in…
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HDI Celebrates National Mentoring Month
January is National Mentoring Month, and that makes it a great time to highlight HDI’s Disability Mentoring Program. The program pairs people with disabilities with students who want to learn more about their experiences. “The thing that makes it work is that people that are actually in the program, get that firsthand experience with disability.…
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Making Connections
As Executive Director Dr. Kathy Sheppard-Jones tells it, 2023 was a year of connections for the Human Development Institute. Connections, according to Sheppard-Jones, are a key aspect of how we do our work – one that can extend beyond the needs of individual projects. “Grants end. Leaders will come and leaders will go. If we…
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She got her wish! A staff spotlight on Bethany Hughes
Bethany Hughes always knew to some degree where her life was headed. “People always say, Hey, I always wanted to be a firefighter,” Hughes said. “I didn’t ever know what I wanted to do, I just always wanted to be working with children in some realm.” She got her wish. Hughes now works as a…
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She wears many hats! A staff spotlight on Chelsea Bocard
Chelsea Bocard wears enough hats, she could open her own hatter. Bocard’s technical job title is Disability Program Assistant, but it doesn’t get across exactly how much she assists with. She is involved in numerous projects at HDI, including the Kentucky Post School Outcomes Center (KYPSO), the Supported Employment Training Project (SETP), HDI’s Universal Design…
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Applications being accepted for the 2024 Summer Leadership Experience
The University of Kentucky Human Development Institute in partnership with the Kentucky Office of Vocational Rehabilitation present the Summer Leadership Experience (SLE) in July 2024. All Kentucky high school upperclassmen (entering juniors and seniors) with disabilities are welcome to apply. Camp will take place on the University of Kentucky campus and includes a 4-night stay in a…
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Kindness is Free. A Staff Spotlight on Dr. Angela Cooper
After earning her associate’s degree, Angela Cooper decided it was enough…until she wanted to learn just a bit more. She kept learning just a bit more again and again until she added a Dr. in front of her name. Cooper is a regional childcare administrator for HDI’s Child Care Aware program. Her program provides technical…
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“All people offer perspective that is valuable to the rest of the world.” HDI Staff Erin Fitzgerald speaks on their experience with Neurodiversity and mental health
The following article discusses suicide, which some readers may find distressing. Erin Fitzgerald could always see the signs that she was different growing up – the tools to recognize how simply didn’t exist yet. “I grew up in an era where mental health was talked about very differently from how it is talked about today.…
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Good communication makes the world go round! A staff spotlight on Calisa Fitzpatrick
Calisa Fitzpatrick thinks good communication makes the world go round. For her, there is immense power in a team working together towards a common goal. And as a member of the Evaluations Team, a big part of her job is helping ensure that HDI is doing that in every way it can. “We work with…