Society for Disability Studies

Use the link below to download the SDS Fall 2009 Newsletter. For questions or comments contact us.

Joan Ostrove is an associate professor of psychology at Macalester College in St Paul, Minnesota. She received her BA in Psychology from Williams College and her PhD in Psychology and a Certificate in Women's Studies from the University of Michigan. Her research concerns the connections between individual psychology and social structure. Read more

This page is dedicated to information about the SDS board of directors.

Review the following pages to learn more about the dedicated board members and read their biographies.

board lists

• 2007-2008 board list
• 2008-2009 board list

Board member biographies

Visit the biographies page to read the latest bios for current and past board members. You may also visit the board lists linked above to view individual biographies.

The board of directors of SDS is comprised of dedicated member representatives who oversee the running of the organization. Elected by SDS's membership, the board includes faculty members and a student representative. The listing below provides the names and positions of the 2008-09 board of directors.

SDS Board Officers

• R. Noam Ostrander, President
• Pamela Block, Vice President
• Bruce Henderson, Secretary

Chris Rosa, serves as the City University of New York’s University Assistant Dean for Student Affairs. He joined the CUNY Office of Student Affairs in July 2004 after 11 years of student affairs experience at Queens College. While at Queens, Chris served as its Director of Services for Students with Disabilities, as Director of its Student Support Services Program, as its Affirmative Action Officer, and as a Student Disciplinary Officer. Chris has served as Chair of the CUNY Committee on Student Disability Issues (COSDI), Chair of the U.S. Read more

Allison C. Carey, Ph.D. is an assistant professor of Sociology at Shippensburg University in Pennsylvania. Her research focuses on civil rights for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. She is the author of On the Margins of Citizenship: Civil Rights and Intellectual Disability in 20th Century America (Temple University Press, Forthcoming 2009), and has published articles on topics including social networks and employment; access to assistive technology; victimization; eugenics; and compulsory sterilization.

Susan Baglieri became a board member of the Society for Disability Studies (SDS) in June 2008. She is an assistant professor in the Department of Teaching and Learning at Long Island University’s Brooklyn, New York campus. Her professional studies are in curriculum and teaching and areas of interest include inclusive education and teacher education. Baglieri served as the assistant editor for Disability Studies Quarterly during 2005-06. Read more

Michele Friedner is a PhD student in Medical Anthropology in the University of Caljfornia, Berkeley- University of California San Francisco Joint Medical Anthropology program. Michele studies the myriad ways that deaf young adults living in Bangalore negotiate kinship and belonging across family, caste, gender, religion, and caste. Read more

Pamela Block is a Clinical Associate Professor in the Occupational Therapy Program at Stony Brook University teaching in the areas of disability studies, qualitative research design, human subjects research ethics and grant writing. Dr. Block received her PhD in cultural anthropology from Duke University in 1997. Her dissertation "Biology, Culture and Cognitive Disability: Twentieth Century Professional Discourse in Brazil and the United States " addressed the influence of cultural beliefs and professional theories on disability policy and treatment. Read more

Bruce Henderson is Professor of Speech Communication and Coordinator of the Program in Culture and Communication and the Minor in Health Communication at Ithaca College. He has his B.S., M.A., and Ph.D. in Performance Studies (formerly Interpretation) from Northwestern University and a Ph.D. in Disability Studies from the University of Illinois at Chicago. His primary teaching areas include performance of literature, folklore and storytelling, health communication, and interdisciplinary courses in disability studies, cultural studies, and aging studies. Read more