Robin Jones is the Project Director of the DBTAC: Great Lakes ADA Center and an Instructor in the Department of Disability and Human Development of the College of Applied Health Sciences at the University of Illinois at Chicago. The Great Lakes Center was founded in 1991 and is one of 10 Centers established nationally by the US Department of Education, National Institute on Disability Rehabilitation and Research (NIDRR) to provide technical assistance regarding the ADA. Robin has served as the Project Director since the Center’s inception over 17 years ago.  She became the PI for the project in 2001. Prior to joining the Center she served as founding director of an independent living center in the Chicago area. Other professional experiences include working as an occupational therapy practitioner at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago and as Assistant to the Head within the School of Occupational Therapy at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Robin Jones has extensive experiences as a consultant to business and government entities and has provided over 400 training programs in the past ten years regarding all titles of the ADA for business, government and disability organizations within the Great Lakes Region and beyond. As an instructor within the Department on Disability and Human Development Robin teaches courses related to disability policy and is a guest lecturer within other Departments including Occupational Therapy, Education, Business, Urban Planning and Architecture on issues associated with meeting the needs of people with disabilities in hiring, reasonable accommodations and the built environment.

Biosketch

Professional Experience

1980-84          
Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant, Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois.

1984-86          
Senior Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant, Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois.

1986-88          
Assistant to the Head, Clinical Associate and Coordinator of Graduate and Undergraduate Admissions, Department of Occupational Therapy, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois.

1988-91          
Executive Director, Progress Center for Independent Living, Oak Park, Illinois.

1991   
Assistive Technology Specialist, Assistive Technology Unit, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois

2001-2003      
Co-PI Community Access to Recreation and Fitness Facilities Project (CARFF), Department on Disability and Human Development, UIC (10%)

1988-  
Non-Salaried Clinical Faculty, Department of Occupational Therapy, University of Illinois at Chicago.

1998-              
Instructor, Department on Disability and Human Development, University of Illinois at Chicago

1991-  
Project Director and PI, Great Lakes Disability and Business Technical  Assistance Center, Department on Disability and Human Development, University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC).

Related Grants/Professional Awards/Professional Activities

2008-Present 
Member, Chicago 2016 Olympic Bid Committee.  Serve on several subcommittees related to the accessibility of events/activities, Chicago, IL

2008
Accessible Cities Alliance 2008 Ambassador of the Year Award, City of Joliet, IL

2007-Present
Member, Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities Accessible Information Technology Advisory Committee

2005-2007      
Member, United Way of Metropolitan Chicago Disability Task Force, Chicago, IL

2005-2006      
Member, Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Development (DCEO), Small Business Development Centers Disability Initiative Advisory Board, Chicago, IL

2002-2005      
Chairperson, Supply Side Work Group, Mayor’s Task Force on Employment of People with Disabilities, Chicago, IL

2003-2005    
Customizing Employment for People with Disabilities Advisory Council, Chicago Workforce Development Board

1986   
Roster of Honor, American Occupational Therapy Association

1986   
Award of Excellence, American Occupational Therapy Association

Selected Grants

Principal Investigator of Regional Disability and Business Technical Assistance Center, DBTAC-Great Lakes ADA Center (Region V).  National Institute on Disability Rehabilitation and Research, 10/01/06-09/30/11

Co-Investigator on project within multi-project Center Grant: The Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Technology Promoting Integration for Stroke Survivors: Overcoming Societal Barriers. Project: Evaluating Community Living and Work Participation Environments and Technologies for Use by People who have a Stroke: A Consumer-Directed, Dynamic Assessment Methodology. National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research: 10/2003-9/2008.  (Joy Hammel, PhD PI of Project and Elliot Roth, DO PI of Grant, Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago)

Co-Investigator on project within multi-project Center Grant:  Enhancing the Functional and Employment Outcomes of Individuals who Experience a Stroke.  Project: Examining the return-to-work experience from the perspective of the person who has had a stroke to identify challenges and factors that enable the process.  National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research:  10/2009-9/2013.  (Joy Hammel, PhD PI of Project and Elliot Roth, DO PI of Grant, Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago)

Co-Investigator on project within multi-project Center: The Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Aging with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, Project: Evaluating Community Living and Work Participation Environments and Technologies for Use by People with Intellectual Disabilities.  National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research: 10/2003-9/2008.   (Joy Hammel, PhD PI of Project, Tamar Heller, PhD PI of Grant)

Co-Investigator on project within multi-project Center: Rehabilitation Research and Training Center (RRTC) on Aging with Developmental Disabilities: Lifespan Health and Function, Project:  Healthy Homes & Communities: Examining How Managing the Environment Influences the Health and Participation of People with ID.  National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research: 10/2008-9/2013.   (Joy Hammel, PhD PI of Project, Tamar Heller, PhD PI of Grant)

Co-Investigator, Building Health Empowerment Zones for People with Disabilities.  Longitudinal study looking at interventions which will increase the access of individuals with disabilities to activities which promote their choice of a healthier lifestyle including access to fitness and recreation facilities and improved dietary habits. National Institute of Health, 10/01/05 – 09/30/10, (James Rimmer, PhD, PI)

Professional Publications (Select)

Hammel, J., Charlton, J., Jones, R., Kramer, J., & Wilson, T. (2008). Recognizing the Influence of Social and Political Environments on the Disability Experience: From Disability Rights to Empowered Consciousness.  In EB Crepeau, ES Cohn & BA Boyt Schell (Eds). Willard & Spackman Occupational Therapy, 11th Ed.. Philad, PA: Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins.

Hammel, J., Jones, R., Gossett, A., Morgan, E. (2006).  Examining Barriers and Supports to Community Living and Participation after a Stroke from a Participatory Action Research Approach.  Topics In Stroke Rehabilitation, Sum, 43-58.

Projects

Health Empowerment Zone (HEZ)