Julia Finan

Julia Finan

Julia Finan is a Graduate Research Assistant at the Burton Blatt Institute (BBI) at Syracuse University, where she contributes to a project focused on self-employment among people with disabilities.

Julia’s research interests include disability and medical sociology. Prior to starting her doctoral program, she worked as a community health worker at a nonprofit organization supporting low-income individuals and families in New Jersey. She has also worked as a research assistant at the Aging Studies Institute at Syracuse University.

Julia is currently a Ph.D. student in Sociology at The Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University. She earned a B.A. in Psychology with a minor in Sociology from Rutgers University.

Heather DiBlasi

Heather DiBlasi is the Assistant Project Director for the fiscal administration of the Psychiatric Advanced Directives (PADs) Innovation project in California, a complex, multi-sponsor initiative. Her responsibilities include administration of contracts and subawards, and financial management, including budgeting and cost allocation.

Prior to joining BBI in 2025, Heather spent more than eight years in Syracuse University’s Office of Sponsored Programs, where she served as the lead for subaward management and monitoring across all university research projects. She is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and brings additional experience from her earlier work in financial auditing at PwC.

Stacey Kernisan

Dr. Stacey Kernisan serves as ADA Distance Learning and Training Coordinator at the Southeast ADA Center. She is a seasoned training and development specialist with over a decade of experience advancing innovative learning strategies across government, higher education, and nonprofit sectors.

Stacey brings deep expertise in adult learning, workforce development, and disability compliance. She has trained hundreds of professionals on ADA principles, led innovative instructional design initiatives, and served as a subject matter expert for accessible training programs across the country. Her professional background spans roles with BigBear AI, Integrity Management, and George Washington University.

Stacey holds a Doctor of Education in Adult Learning and Development from Northwestern State University of Louisiana and a bachelor’s degree from Virginia Tech.

She likes to travel so much she became a travel agent. She loves spending time with family and friends.

Ingrid Stefano

Ingrid Stefano is the Director of Research and Budget Administration at BBI. In this role, she oversees financial, strategic, and administrative processes across the institute, serving as a liaison to Syracuse University’s central administration, including Sponsored Programs, Accounting, HR, Compliance, and IT. She leads BBI’s finance and administrative team and collaborates closely with the leadership team, researchers, and staff throughout both pre‑ and post‑award processes.

Ingrid brings to BBI broad international experience in grant management, financial planning and analysis, and financial reporting. She has previously worked in research administration at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences and as a management consultant at Deloitte, among other roles. She holds an M.B.A. from Golden Gate University, and an M.A. from the City University of New York Graduate Center, as well as a B.A. from the University of Stavanger in Norway.

Michele D. Schilling

Michele Dominique Schilling is a Research Associate for the evaluation of the Psychiatric Advance Directives (PADs) Innovation Project in California. The PADs project is designed to support people during a mental health crisis as well as during the recovery process.

Michele brings a unique combination of research and creative industry experience. She previously worked in film as a writer and director, telling stories about the experiences of women and youth within the family unit and the social world, focusing on issues such as the impacts of micro and macro marginalization on mental health. With her business partner, she ran a film production company in Los Angeles and worked as a writer and consultant for media and publishing companies. Her academic research explored the impact of Orthodox religious institutions’ policies, focusing on the areas of rights, mental health, and stigma management using qualitative research methods such as in-depth interviews and thematic content analysis.

Michele holds B.A. and M.A. degrees in Sociology from the University of Colorado Denver.

Samantha Deane

Samantha Deane is a Research Assistant at the Burton Blatt Institute (BBI) at Syracuse University. Her research interests focus on management practices related to, and the workplace experiences of, diverse employees, with particular interest in people with disabilities and sexual minorities.

Samantha brings significant professional experience in human resources. Prior to starting her doctoral program, she worked as Senior Manager of Enterprise Human Resources Strategy and Governance at the McKesson Corporation.

Samantha is a Ph.D. candidate in Human Resources at the School of Management and Labor Relations at Rutgers University, where she began her program in 2022. She earned a master’s degree in Industrial and Labor Relations with a concentration in Human Resources from Cornell University and a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Emory University.

Joseph Battisto

Joseph Battisto, Esq. serves as the Project Director of the Appellate Brief Legal Training Project, Program Director for BBI’s partnership with the Disability Rights Bar Association and contributes as a legal expert to BBI research projects on matters related to the Social Security Administration (SSA). Additionally, he oversees student and temporary staff employment processes at BBI and supervises law student project assistants.

Joseph has been with BBI since 2018. He is a Syracuse University graduate and licensed attorney at law. He completed his B.S. at Martin J. Whitman School of Management, and his J.D. from the College of Law.

Montserrat Avila Acosta

Montserrat Avila Acosta is a Senior Research Associate at the Burton Blatt Institute (BBI) at Syracuse University. She is interested in the use of advanced quantitative methods to address public policy issues.

Montserrat’s research experience spans multiple projects in areas including health, education, and poverty. Prior to joining BBI, she worked on research projects at the Coalition for Applied Modeling for Prevention (CAMP) and The World Bank.

Montserrat is a Ph.D. candidate in Public Administration and Policy at SUNY Albany. She earned an M.A. in Economics from Penn State.

Giuseppe Pagano

Giuseppe Franco “Joey” Pagano is a Program Assistant at the Burton Blatt Institute (BBI) at Syracuse University, where he contributes across a variety of projects. A writer by nature, he assists with knowledge translation efforts, manages social media accounts, develops research and policy briefs, and contributes to academic papers.

Joey seeks to combine his skills, knowledge, and experience to help address barriers to employment, education, and economic empowerment facing people with disabilities.

Joey holds a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism and a Master’s degree in Education and Disability Studies from Syracuse University

Peter Blanck

Dr. Blanck is University Professor at Syracuse University, which is the highest faculty rank, granted to eight prior individuals in the history of the University. He is Chairman of the Burton Blatt Institute (BBI) at Syracuse University.

Blanck holds appointments at the Syracuse University Colleges of Law, and Arts and Sciences, David B. Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics, School of Education, and the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. Prior to his appointment at Syracuse, Blanck was Kierscht Professor of Law and director of the Law, Health Policy, and Disability Center at the University of Iowa. Blanck is Honorary Professor, Centre for Disability Law & Policy, at the National University of Ireland, Galway. Blanck received a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Rochester, a Juris Doctor from Stanford University, where he was President of the Stanford Law Review, and a Ph.D. in Social Psychology from Harvard University.

Blanck has written articles and books on the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and related laws, and received grants to study disability law and policy. Blanck is Chairman of the Global Universal Design Commission (GUDC), and former President of Raising the Floor (RtF) USA. He is a former member of the President’s Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities, a former Senior Fellow of the Annenberg Washington Program, a former Fellow at Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School, and has been a Mary Switzer Scholar. Prior to teaching, Blanck practiced law at the Washington, DC firm Covington & Burling, and served as law clerk to the late Honorable Carl McGowan of the United States Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit.

Blanck’s books include:

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Legal Brief Participation