Meet the AccessADVANCE Team

Leadership Team members work toward the AccessADVANCE goal and objectives by hosting events and presentations, engaging with collaborators, and creating and disseminating resources.

PI Canan Bilen-Green is the vice provost for Faculty Affairs and Equity, professor of Industrial & Manufacturing Engineering at North Dakota State University (NDSU). Her work focuses in areas including faculty policies, recruitment, development, leadership training, promotion and tenure, executive searches, and other issues related to faculty and their concerns. Dr. Bilen-Green also oversees Disability Services, the Equity Office, Faculty and Scholar Immigration, International Student and Study Abroad Services, Multicultural Programs, ADVANCE FORWARD, and the Commission on the Status of Women Faculty. Dr. Bilen-Green serves as the Title IX/ADA Coordinator, and chair of the Senate Coordinating Council and Faculty Awards and Recognition Committee.

PI Brianna Blaser, who works to increase the participation of people with disabilities in science and engineering careers. Her work includes direct interventions for students with disabilities and working with faculty, employers, and other stakeholders to create institutional change. Brianna has a PhD in women studies from UW and a background in broadening participation and career development in science and engineering fields. Before joining DO-IT, she was the project director for the AAAS (American Association for the Advancement of Science) Science Careers Outreach Program.

Co-PI Cecilia Aragon, who is a female faculty member with a disability, is director of the Human Centered Data Science Lab, professor in the Department of Human Centered Design & Engineering, co-director of the UW Data Science Master’s Program, and senior data science fellow at the eScience Institute at the UW in Seattle. In 2016, Aragon was the first Latina to be named to the rank of Full Professor in the College of Engineering at the UW. Her research focuses on human-centered data science, an emerging field at the intersection of human-computer interaction (HCI), computer-supported cooperative work (CSCW), and the statistical and computational techniques of data science.

Lyla Mae Crawford, internal evaluator of AccessADVANCE, runs evaluation activities, coordinates publication content development, and manages the online community engagement. She holds a master's degree in developmental psychology and has a background in disability testing, support services, and outreach activities.

Cali Anicha with a background in special education, psychology, and institutional analysis serves as a research associate at NDSU. Cali’s dissertation considered ways to mainstream critical disability studies. She develops and facilitates educational equity and diversity seminars and served as a member of the NDSU Women Faculty with Disability Task Force and the NDSU anti-racism team.

Mark Coppin is the director of Disability Services at NDSU, bringing a wealth of background on support for students with disabilities and assistive technology. He has been named an Apple Distinguished Educator and served on their advisory board; his leadership was instrumental in the Anne Carlsen Center’s selection as an Apple Distinguished School; and he has been named a Champion of Change by the White House.