Our Leadership
Dr. Wehman received the 2018 Distinguished Scholarship Award.
Dr. Wehman speaks about the employment of people with physical and intellectual disabilities.
Paul Wehman, Ph.D., has been a tenured faculty member at Virginia Commonwealth University since 1976. Initially with the VCU School of Education, he moved to a joint appointment with SOE and the School of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. He has now returned to an exclusive faculty appointment with SOE. His highly interdisciplinary background and pioneering work in the beginning of supported employment have facilitated millions of persons with neurodevelopmental disabilities, brain injury, and spinal cord injury all over the world to gain and retain competitive employment.
He has been the Director of the Rehabilitation Research and Training Center for 40 years (1983-Present). He has written extensively on issues related to transition from school to adulthood and special education as it relates to young adulthood and employment, and is the founding Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation. Dr.Wehman has been the recipient of numerous awards, and he’s been the Principal Investigator on more than $100 million in federal and state grants since joining VCU.
Lauren Avellone, Ph.D., BCBA, LBA. is a research associate at the Rehabilitation Research and Training Center at Virginia Commonwealth University. She is also a Board Certified Behavior Analyst. The majority of her clinical and professional career has been spent completing research and providing behavioral analytic services to youth and young adults with autism spectrum disorder. Her research interests include improving transition outcomes for students with intensive disabilities and psychological disorders by developing assessments, and implementing behavior management techniques to reduce maladaptive behaviors for individuals with challenges related to impulse control, self-injurious behavior, and aggression. She graduated with a master’s degree in clinical psychology from University of South Carolina-Aiken and a Ph.D. in special education from Kent State University.
Jennifer McDonough, M.S., C.R.C.
PI for ACE; Co-PI & Director for RRTC-IDD
Jennifer Todd McDonough has been a faculty member at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) and working in the field of employment for people with disabilities for over 25 years. She earned her M.S. from the Medical College of Virginia at Virginia Commonwealth University in Rehabilitation Counseling. Ms. McDonough is the Director of Training at VCU-RRTC. She is also the Project Director for a national research study related to employment for individuals with IDD and a subcontract related to providing technical assistance to vocational rehabilitation agencies across the country. Ms. McDonough serves as the business liaison for the RRTC and assists with building business relationships to improve competitive integrated employment for individuals with disabilities.
Additionally, Ms. McDonough provides technical assistance and disseminates resources nationally to individuals with disabilities interested in employment. Ms. McDonough is a national expert on Social Security Disability Benefits and Work Incentives. She also serves as the Virginia Project SEARCH Statewide Coordinator and directly oversees four Project SEARCH sites for youth with autism and/or intellectual disabilities. Throughout her career with VCU-RRTC, Ms. McDonough has worked directly with individuals with disabilities assisting them in locating employment and determining accommodation needs.
Carol Schall
Director of ACE Technical Assistance and Co-Investigator, Research and Project Director of Deployed 2 Work
Dr. Carol Schall is the Co-Director of the Virginia Commonwealth University Autism Center for Education, the Principal Investigator of the Virginia Autism Resource Center, and the researcher in the grant, The Effect of a 9-month Internship Intervention for Military Dependents with ASD. She has over 30 years of experience supporting adolescents and adults with ASD as a teacher, group home supervisor, administrator, researcher, and consultant. Dr. Schall provided positive behavior support consultation and instructional technical assistance for the Project SEARCH Plus ASD Supports program for the past 8 years at Virginia Commonwealth University. Dr. Schall was also the research coordinator for this project.
She is well-versed in completing functional behavior assessments and using positive behavior supports to develop comprehensive plans for individuals from a person-centered approach. She is a state trainer for the Positive Behavior Support project with the Partnership for People with Disabilities at Virginia Commonwealth University.
Her research interests include the monitoring of psychotropic medication for individuals with autism spectrum disorders, transition from school to work and adulthood, and training for parents and professionals on serving individuals with developmental disabilities. Dr. Schall is listed in the 2005 and 2006 editions of Who’s Who in America and has recently been honored by TASH with their Positive Approaches Award. Finally, she is the lead author of the Youth with Autism Chapter in the 4th edition of Dr. Paul Wehman’s popular book Life Beyond the Classroom and Editor of a new book on Transition and Autism by Brookes Publishing. This book, Autism and the Transition to Adulthood: Success Beyond the Classroom, is now available through Paul H. Brookes Publishers.