Biographies
Alexander Aikens
Alexander Aikens is in her second year of college at North Dakota State University (NDSU). She enjoys participating in social events, taking music courses, and working in the daycare. Alexander has been actively involved in singing the National Anthem at various NDSU sporting events and is a member of the NDSU choir. Additionally, she works at the NDSU greenhouse and NDSU library.
Mary Hauff
Mary Hauff is the director of the Minnesota Inclusive Higher Education Technical Assistance Center at the Institute on Community Integration. The TA Center is a resource on inclusive higher education and students with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Hauff is collaborating with the Minnesota Office of Higher Education to remove barriers and expand college options for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities. She has been part of the coalition of key stakeholders for over five years. Hauff provided expertise for the Minnesota Inclusive Higher Education Act, which was passed into law during the 2023 legislative session.
Amy Hewitt
Amy Hewitt, PhD, has an extensive background in the field of intellectual and developmental disabilities. She has worked in various positions over the past 40 years to improve community inclusion and quality of life for children and adults with disabilities and their families. Her career began as a direct support professional (DSP), and she currently employs DSPs to support her brother-in-law. She is the Director of the University of Minnesota’s Institute on Community Integration and a Professor in Special Education. Dr. Hewitt conducts research, evaluation, and demonstration projects about community services for children, youth, and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities and the direct support workforce. She has authored numerous journal articles, curricula, technical reports, and several books, including Staff Recruitment, Retention, and Training for community human service organizations. Dr. Hewitt is the editor of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, a journal of the AAIDD. She is a Past President of the Association of University Centers on Disability (AUCD) and Past President of the American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (AAIDD).
Katie Parry
Katie Parry, M.A., is the Community Outreach Coordinator at the Minnesota Institute of Higher Education Technical Assistance Center. She began her career as a special education teacher, dedicating five years to this role before transitioning to the Disability Resource Center at the University of Minnesota. At the University of Minnesota, Parry served as a Manager in Access Assistance, where she supervised staff, led professional development initiatives, and trained personnel in implementing accommodations for students, staff, and faculty with disabilities. Parry is deeply committed to higher education and ensuring it is accessible to individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Josiah Litant
Josiah S. Litant has spent two decades in the education, nonprofit, and government sectors. Since 2023, he has served as the inaugural Executive Director of the Minnesota P-20 Education Partnership, a multi-sector, independent coalition of leaders collaborating to influence change, foster innovation, and advocate for policies affecting learner success and outcomes from birth through the workforce. Before this role, Litant led strategic initiatives and student affairs at Minnesota State College Southeast, a community and technical college, where he helped grow the college, develop institutional resources, reduce barriers, and increase student success. Before moving from Massachusetts to Minnesota in 2018, he co-founded and co-led a learner-centered middle and high school in Massachusetts and worked in student affairs at a liberal arts college. Litant taught early childhood and elementary education and has served on numerous boards. He has a master’s degree in higher education administration and a bachelor’s in elementary education.
Molly McKinnon
Molly McKinnon has devoted her adult life and career to advocating for and accepting people with disabilities. She is the director of the Center for Accessibility at North Dakota State University (NDSU), where she started a program that supports students with intellectual disabilities in attending an inclusive college. Before joining NDSU, McKinnon spent 23 years teaching special education in public schools, supporting students with moderate to severe disabilities. She also supports charter schools as a due process facilitator, physical and health disabilities consultant, deaf and hard-of-hearing consultant, and developmental delay consultant. She also teaches university courses in deaf and hard-of-hearing education and developmental disabilities. McKinnon earned a doctorate in higher education leadership, a master’s degree in special education, and a specialist degree where she became licensed in principalship and special education directorship. In her undergraduate degree, she studied deaf, hard-of-hearing, and elementary education.
Paula O’Loughlin
Paula O’Loughlin, PhD, is the Provost and Senior Vice President at Augsburg University, overseeing academic affairs and student life. O’Loughlin came to Augsburg after serving six years as Provost and Dean of the Faculty at Coe College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. During her tenure at Coe, O’Loughlin also served as Chief Student Affairs Officer and Title IX coordinator between 2020-2022. She was a board member of local non-profit organizations in Cedar Rapids and continued her work with multiple national higher education boards. Prior to her time in Iowa, O’Loughlin spent her entire career in Minnesota higher education. She was on the University of Minnesota Morris faculty between 1996-2012 and spent four years (2012-2016) as Associate Provost and Dean of Arts and Humanities at Gustavus Adolphus College. She is widely published and has been recognized for excellence in teaching, advising, leadership, and scholarship throughout her career.
Michael C. Rodriguez
Michael C. Rodriguez is Dean of the College of Education and Human Development at the University of Minnesota. A professor of educational psychology, he joined the University faculty in 1999 and, in 2013, was named the Campbell Leadership Chair in Education and Human Development. Since 2015, he has helped coordinate campus-community collaborations to address achievement gaps and improve education access and success. His teaching and research focus on education equity, academic testing and assessment, measurement of social and emotional readiness and wellbeing, and school accountability. Rodriguez is a member of the University Academy of Distinguished Teachers, directs the Minnesota Youth Development Research Group, chairs the technical advisory group of the National Board of Professional Teaching Standards, and advises state education departments, the U.S. Department of Education, the National Assessment of Educational Progress, the Association of American Medical Colleges, and the Minnesota Assessment Group.
Paul Shepherd
Dr. Paul Shepherd is the Associate Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs and Enrollment Management at the Minnesota State system office. In this role, he leads system-wide student success initiatives, collaborates with campus leaders, and works with the statewide student associations that represent Minnesota State students. Shepherd has spent his entire career working in higher education in positions that are directly connected to student support. He is passionate about creating inclusive campus communities focused on equity, inclusion, and student success.
Cate Weir
Cate Weir, M.Ed., is a Program Director at the Institute for Community Inclusion, University of Massachusetts Boston. Since 2010, she has directed the Think College National Coordinating Center (NCC). The center provides support, coordination, training, and evaluation services for Transition and Postsecondary Education Programs for Students with Intellectual Disabilities , as well as training and technical assistance to existing and developing college programs for students with intellectual disability, families, students, and educators. For over 20 years, Weir has developed and improved college programs for students with intellectual disability, and her expertise includes program standards and accreditation, person-centered planning, and statewide planning for inclusive postsecondary education initiatives. She received the 2021 George Jesien National Leadership Award, recognizing her national leadership in inclusive postsecondary education.