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 active board member and AADMD Executive Board Parent Advocacy, She is on the DDNA Nursing Practice Committee. Doreen is a 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

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 Nursing Practice (DNP) from Case Western Reserve in 2010. She is dually certified as both a Family and Pediatric Nurse Practitioner and has been in practice since 2006. Dr. Koetting has taught in academia since 2003 in both undergraduate and graduate nursing curriculums. Her research focuses on health outcomes in people with intellectual disabilities particularly those who experience adverse life events and chronic illness. She is a recipient of grant funding regarding education of nursing students in Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to 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 Reports Editor. She is also a reviewer for the Journal of Pediatric Health Care as a member of the Expert Research Panel. She is an active member of the International Association of Forensic Nurses, The Developmental Disabilities Nursing Association, St. Louis Nurses in Advanced Practice, the Missouri Nurses Association and the Missouri Nurse Practitioners Association. Dr. Koetting practices with The Judevine Center for Autism providing 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 for Developmental Disability Nursing at St. John’s Fisher University and is recognized as a Fellow in Developmental Disability Nursing. Read more about Dr Koetting's research by clicking HERE.

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 ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Cara N. Whalen Smith, PT, DPT, MPH, CHES

Dr. Cara Whalen Smith is an Accessibility Consultant at the Ohio Colleges of Medicine Government Resource Center (GRC). She leads the GRC Access Office where she serves as GRC’s Digital Accessibility Designee to direct all GRC accessibility activities and serves as a Project Director/Principal Investigator for healthcare workforce development and health promotion projects to improve health outcomes for people with disabilities. She is also Adjunct Faculty for The Ohio State University School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences where she teaches the course “Global Health and Disability” for graduate interdisciplinary health professional students. As a public health physical therapist, Dr. Whalen Smith is a licensed physical therapist and a Certified Health Education Specialist with expertise in accessibility, universal design, program planning, implementation, evaluation, and community health assessment. Dr. Whalen Smith has devoted her career to improving access to health care and the community for people with disabilities.

Dr. Whalen Smith brings to GRC more than a decade of experience and expertise in clinical and public health topics related to developmental, mobility, sensory, and intellectual disability. She has treated patients across the lifespan in the clinic, hospital, school, home, and community settings. She has held several academic and clinical teaching appointments locally and internationally on a variety of disability and health topics for interprofessional students and clinicians. Most notably, Dr. Whalen Smith was a member of both the Core Competencies Development Committee as a health professional representative and the evaluation lead of the Ohio Disability and Health Program responsible for establishing national consensus on the Core Competencies on Disability for Health Care Education. Read more about Dr. Whalen Smith Here

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
Teresa Morro, PhD, AM, LSW

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