Project Director
bawhaley@syr.eduBarry Whaley serves as Director of the Southeast ADA Center and BBI Director of Outreach. Funded by the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research, the Southeast ADA Center is one of ten regional centers that provide guidance, publications, research, and training on the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Barry brings extensive experience in disability employment and community integration. He previously served as Project Director of the Supported Higher Education Project at the University of Kentucky Human Development Institute, one of twenty-six original Transitional Programs for Students with Intellectual Disabilities, exploring supports necessary for students with significant disabilities to succeed in the post-secondary college environment. At the University of Kentucky, he also provided ADA Title I Employment Consulting and analyzed student outcome data for the Kentucky Post-School Outcome Center. He has served as a consultant for Atlas Research, providing technical assistance and training for the Homeless Veterans Supported Employment Project, and for many years was Executive Director of Community Employment, Inc., a nonprofit supported employment provider focused on integrated competitive and customized employment for people with significant disabilities. He has also worked for the Kentucky Office of Vocational Rehabilitation and began his career with the “New Neighbors” deinstitutionalization project. He is a founding board member and past president of Kentucky APSE.
Barry holds two Bachelor of Arts degrees from Indiana University and a Master of Science in Mediation, Arbitration, and Dispute Resolution from Sullivan University.