Contact CITTI Project

The CITTI Project Current Core Team :

Bridgett Perry, - Director and Founder - Bridgett is an Assistive Technology Specialist for the Mt. Diablo Unified School District in Northern California. Her expertise in assistive technology dates from 1987, when she worked in one of the first assistive technology resource centers in the United States . Ms. Perry is a long-time lecturer in the Special Education Department at San Francisco State University on assistive technology for teachers. She is an associate of the Alliance for Technology Access. Ms. Perry's interest in international disability issues led to a fellowship, the International Disabilities Exchanges and Studies (IDEAS 1989), funded by World Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation International.

Andrea Del Rosario De Leon - Current Core Team & Visual Guide Translator (Ecuador)- is a graduate of University of Virginia in Early Childhood in Developmental Risk. She is a native of Guatemala and is fluent in Spanish. Her main experience with assistive technology comes from working in classrooms with children with special needs who benefit from these tools. Andrea has also participated in the adaptability club at the University, which creates assistive technology models and tools for local teachers and families.

Stacy Springer - Current Core Team & Visual Guide Coordinator (Ecuador) - Stacy holds a masters in occupational therapy from UNC - Chapel Hill. She works for the Charleston County School District as the Assistive Technology Coordinator. Stacy started volunteering and working as as a teacher assistant at a non profit school for children with multiple disabilities in Rochester, NY at the Mary Cariola Children's Center, inspiring her to complete her undergraduate in special education & psychology.

Maggie Morales - Current Core Team (Mexico and Ecuador). Maggie has worked in the field of Special Education for 20 years - in both inclusive and private educational settings. She is currently an itinerant teacher for students with Orthopedic Impairments, from ages 3 to 22. She worked at the Center for Accessible Technology providing support to families, individuals and professionals around the use of computers and assistive technology within the educational and home environments. In her current job with the Mendocino County Office of Education, she collaborates with other educators and specialists as part of an Assistive Technology Team to provide assistive technology services to students and their families in rural areas.

Chaya Spector - Current Core Team & Visual Guide Photojournalist and Founder (Mexico and Ecuador). Chaya has been a photographer/documentarian for over 30 years. She is chronicling the work of the CITTI Project through an extensive photo-journal. Besides capturing the evolution of assistive technology locally and internationally, Chaya enables the voice of people with disabilities to be heard through digital-story-telling. Chaya's photographic travels have taken her to Arizona, The Everglades, Costa Rica, Trinidad and Tobago, Mexico, Peru, and Ecuador. She has exhibited her work in a number of venues in California. Visit her web site at redeyephotos.com

Gladys Cárdenas - Current In-country Director (Ecuador)- is a native to Ambato who has worked as a volunteer with a wide range of non-profit groups in Ambato and the surrounding areas. She has experience in the field of public relations and has also managed a few small businesses, such as selling hot lunches from her home and later running a hardware store. Once an avid andinista (mountain climber), Gladys possesses ample knowledge of the Ecuadorian sierra. Her contacts with different organizations and communities in Ambato and the province of Tungurahua have proven invaluable to the growth of FSD in Ecuador. Gladys is very excited about helping interns have a wonderful experience during their stay.

Diane Dew - - Current Core Team & Visual Guide Photojournalist (Ecuador) - has been with the Center for Accessible Technology for four years, as office manager. She has been a life-long photographer, and has been studying photography seriously for six years. Diane contributes to the CITTI Project documentation and media development.

Russ Holland - Current Core Team (Ecuador) - An educator who has been involved in the field of assistive technology for the past 30 years. Russ holds a Master of Education degree in special education and special education certification . As a classroom teacher, the founder and director for nine years of Techspress (an Alliance for Technology Access (ATA) and Center in upstate New York). As an independent consultant, Russ has been involved in advocacy work, training, consulting and public speaking focused on eliminating barriers faced by people with disabilities and realizing the potential of assistive technology. Related activities include serving on the Microsoft Accessibility Advisory Council and the CSUN Advisory Board. He is the president of Adirondack AccessAbility Inc., an ATA Associate organization providing consulting and training in upstate New York, and currently serves as the Program Director of the Alliance for Technology Access.

Ellen Smith - Current Core Team, Past Team Coordinator and Translator (Ecuador)- Ellen graduated in 2004 from Washington University in St. Louis with majors in anthropology and international studies, and minors in macroeconomics and Spanish. She has lived, studied, and traveled abroad in Ecuador, Bolivia, Peru, Botswana, Zambia, Europe, and the Caribbean. Ellen has been working with the Foundation for Sustainable Development since February 2005, first in San Francisco, then in Ecuador, and currently in Uganda. She coordinated and translated for CITTI's 2005 trip to Ecuador, which opened her eyes to the unique challenges that people with disabilities in developing countries face.

The CITTI Project Home Team and Past Supporters:

Robby Dickinson - Current Computer Technical Support - Robby lives in Oakland California and is a computer technician and trainer. She offers her technical assistance and expertise in preparation of the equipment for our projects.

Chauncy Rucker - Current Blog Technical Support & Past Participant - Chauncy is an Emeritus Professor of Education. He has offered his continued support to the CITTI Project by providing technical assistance in setting up and maintaining our blogs as well as publishing articles about the CITTI Project on the conSense Bulletin Website

Gabriela Nunez - Digital Story Translator and Spanish Narrator - Born and raised in Lima, Peru, Gabriela moved to the Bay Area in her late teens. She began to appreciate her heritage and culture to a greater extend after arrived to the USA While taking English classes, she concurrently studied art, taking classes in drawing, oil, acrylic, watercolor, charcoal and printmaking. As she developed her artistic ability, she primarily focused on the women and children of the Andes, bringing them life through her broad, strong brush strokes and use vibrant colors.

Adam Splitek - Past Team Coordinator and Translator (Ecuador)- originally from San Antonio, Texas, and graduated from Northwestern University in 2005 with a B.A. in Economics. As a student he coordinated several service-learning trips through Alternative Student Breaks and also volunteered with a Chicago-based NGO promoting peacemaking initiatives. Adam spent the summer of 2004 with Centro Warmi in Cochabamba, Bolivia as an FSD intern. He is currently serving as the GradCorps Fellow in Ecuador and is involved in a pilot project to develop community-based tourism within the province of Tungurahua.

Helen Miller - Past Team Leader (Mexico). has been a Special Education teacher for 28 years, college lecturer, and presenter at many special education conferences. She has worked 15 years in the field of assistive technology, 13 years collaboratively at the Center for Accessible Technology, Consultant Specialist in assistive technology in education.

Alicia Contreras - Past Team Leader (Mexico). Program Director, Women Pushing Forward (formerly Whirlwind Women) San Francisco, Ms. Contreras is a wheelchair rider; a citizen of Mexico; and passionate advocate to improve life for people with disabilities in developing countries. She has worked in Thailand , Uganda , Kenya , El Salvador , Nicaragua , Colombia , Chile , and Mexico . In San Luis Potosí , Mexico she negotiated the first city funding for disabled people and founded first independent living center for women with disabilities in Mexico . In 1995, she was the Mexican Delegate to United Nations/NGO Forum in Beijing . She was awarded a New Voices Fellowship in 2000 and was one of the 7 recipients of the prestigious Paul Hearne Disability Leadership Award in 2002.