The School of Health Professions and the Vice President for Equity & Inclusion and Chief Diversity Officer at Stony Brook University are pleased to present:
Optimizing Community-based Inclusion for People with Disabilities Conference
Friday, October 17, 2025
8:00 AM to 3:30 PM
Stony Brook University
Please RSVP by October 10, 2025
The Inclusion Done Right! annual conference provides an integrated bridge between Stony Brook University and community partners to promote inclusive community-based opportunities that align with best practices and optimize participation for people with disabilities. The intended audience is for anyone interested in advancing community-based inclusion: university faculty and staff, community members, providers, and program administrators, as well as individuals with disabilities and their families/caregivers. Stony Brook University is a collaborative knowledge broker alongside community partners in order to promote and optimize inclusive community practice…'Done Right!'
The keynote speakers are recognized innovative experts and passionate advocates for the disability community. They will present on topics specifically identified by participants in last year's Inclusion Done Right! conference. The participant-driven agenda includes presentations, breakout sessions, a free networking lunch, and demonstrations on exciting collaborations between Stony Brook University faculty and staff and members of the community.
For any questions, please contact InclusionDoneRight@stonybrook.edu.
This is being offered as a free event for community members. Those interested in Certificates of Attendance/Continuing Education Units (CEUs) will pay $40 for 5 contact hours/.5 CEUs.
Conference flyer
Inclusion Done Right! 2025 Agenda
8:00 AM: Breakfast and Registration
8:30 AM: Opening Remarks
9:00 - 9:55 AM: Set the Stage for Inclusion: Agnes McConlogue Ferro
10:00 to 10:50: Rewriting the Narrative on Disability in Science, A Conversation with Keri Gray
10:50 to 11:00 AM: Break
11:00- 11:50 A Mom Moving Mountains: Changing the Future of Rare Disease and Disability Inclusion Keynote Speaker: Nicole Johnson
12:00 - 1:20 Networking Lunch and Proceed to Breakout Sessions
1:20 to 2:20 PM: 'Every Voice Matters' Breakout Sessions*
Group A: - Level up! Leveraging Technology and Collaboration to Optimize Inclusion
Group B: - The Real Game-Changers: Parent-led Communities of Action
Group C: - Language is a Mirror: Reframing the Language of Science and Healthcare
Group D: - If Not Now, When? Advancing Community and Vocational Inclusion
2:20 to 2:30 PM: Break/Return to Main Theater
2:30 to 3:20 PM: Continuing the Conversation: a Collaborative Action Plan
3:20 to 3:30: Survey; Performance
* Speakers for Every Voice Matters include Keri Gray, EJ Johnson, Nicole Johnson,Norma Jean Miller, Patrick Bardsley, Lesly St. Louis, Christina Scafuri, Karen Scheck, Chris Marotta, Joe Slaninka, Bea Huste Petersen, Doreen Jaggs, and more!
Nicole Zeitzer Johnson is the Co-Founder and Executive Director of the FOXG1 Research Foundation, a parent-driven global organization she launched from the ground up after her daughter Josie was diagnosed with FOXG1 syndrome—a rare, severe neurological genetic disorder. Under her leadership, the foundation is pioneering a faster, more cost-effective model for rare disease drug development, bringing a gene therapy to patients in under a decade—and currently on track to begin patient clinical trials in 2026.
Inspired by Josie’s journey and the urgent need for greater disability awareness, Nicole also became a children’s book author and inclusion advocate. Her book Joyfully Josie helps parents and educators foster understanding from a young age. Taking it further, she founded Live Joyfully Education, a platform delivering student assemblies and professional development programs that thread disability inclusion into the fabric of schools nationwide. Nicole’s work is redefining how rare disease research and disability education are done—by families, for families—with impact that reaches far beyond her own.
Keri Gray is a nationally recognized disability advocate, facilitator, and cancer survivor dedicated to advancing racial and disability justice. She is the founder and Executive Director of the National Alliance of Melanin Disabled Advocates (the NAMED Advocates), an organization that is reshaping social justice movements’ approach to ableism and building cross-movement solidarity with disabled leaders of color. Through Keri’s leadership, the NAMED Advocates has launched several groundbreaking initiatives, including: the Rethinking Language in Science project, which challenges how medical and scientific language frames disability and pushes for more community-rooted, inclusive narratives.Through Keri’s leadership, the NAMED Advocates has launched several groundbreaking initiatives, including: the Rethinking Language in Science project, which challenges how medical and scientific language frames disability and pushes for more community-rooted, inclusive narratives. Keri’s work has garnered attention from major publications and media outlets such as Teen Vogue, the New York Times, People Magazine, Time Magazine, PBS NewsHour, Madamenoire, and the Diet Coke campaign #Unlabeled.
Instagram: @kerigray90
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/keri-gray-7a33582b/
NAMED Instagram: @namedadvocates
NAMED LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-named-advocates/
Conference Committee Members:
- Agnes McConlogue Ferro, Clinical Associate Professor, Department of Physical Therapy
- Christina Burke, Clinical Associate Professor, Department of Physical Therapy
- Alex Doboli, Professor, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
- Kathleen McGoldrick, Clinical Associate Professor, Department of Health Science
- Katherine Hackett, Staff Assistant, Occupational and Physical Therapy
- Avery Roberts
- Doreen Jaggs
Please contact InclusionDoneRight@stonybrook.edu with any questions and for information about accessibility accommodations. Parking information and a pre-conference survey will be shared a week prior to the conference.
Inclusion Done Right! Conference 2024
SBU News Article: Stony Brook Champions Inclusive Community-Based Opportunities at Annual Conference
Inclusion Done Right! Conference 2023
SBU News Article: Inclusion Done Right!' Offers Insights to the Community
