The University of Alaska Anchorage Center for Human Development’s Karen Heath has been selected to participate in the outbound program.

Karen Heath currently works as the Associate Director at the University of Alaska Anchorage Center for Human Development. She also served as host to Fall 2018 Fellow Jeremiah Lwebuga, who traveled from Uganda to the Alaska UCEDD to learn about inclusive employment policy and practice. Ms Heath joined UAA in 2006 and has previously worked as a Research Associate, Research Professional, and Director of Research and Evaluation. She currently leads a team of 11 researchers and 3 board certified behavioral analysts. While in Uganda, Ms. Heath will assist Jeremiah in launching his micro-enterprise project. This project will be situated at the intersection of environmentalism, entrepreneurship, and disability advocacy. They will begin with the employment of 5 individuals in the project and have hopes of replicating the framework in other contexts in and outside of Uganda.

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Located in Anchorage, CHD houses both the federally funded Leadership Education in Neurodevelopment and Related Disabilities (LEND) program and the University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities Education, Research, and Service (UCEDD). CHD’s leadership in inclusive employment in Alaska includes implementation of a variety of innovative projects including a micro-enterprise loan program, research into customized employment and a research project focused on virtual job coaching.  In addition, they can offer Jeremiah the opportunity to connect with the Alaska Training Cooperative, a statewide effort to address workforce needs.

Karen Heath is the Associate Director of UAA’s Center for Human Development and she will be the main point of contact for Jeremiah, the PFP-IDE fellow that is placed at the Alaska UCEDD. She has extensive experience both in being a cultural exchange, as well as hosting other exchanges.