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Brazos Valley Disability Conference & Resource Fair

Online registration is now closed. Onsite registration will be available to attendees. Please email Megan Orsag if you have further questions.

Agenda

Brazos Valley Disability Conference & Resource Fair “Making Connections” Schedule

Conference Schedule

  • – Check-in, coffee, Meet Resources
  • – Keynote: Justin Romack
  • – Meet resources
  • – Breakout sessions 1 (choose one to attend)
    • Supplemental Security Income- Sandy Smith
    • “Building Blocks: Strategies for Supporting Special Needs Across the Lifespan”
      Speaker: Brynn Biggs
    • “Ability Amplified: Essential Skills for Successful Long-term Employment” – Speaker: Beth Sherry
  • – Meet your Disability Resources
  • – Breakout Session 2 (choose one to attend)
    • Supplemental Security Income- Sandy Smith
    • Financial planning – John Galloway
    • Individualized Education Plan-Family understanding & involvement especially to assist with cultural understanding- Tahereh Boroughani
  • – Meet your Disability Resources
  • – Panel
  • – End of Conference and Resource Fair
  • – BCS Outlaws Beep Baseball demonstration (located in fields next to Central Church). Contact Hillary Oswald for more information

Speakers

Keynote speaker

Justin Romack

Oh, the Places You’ll Go: Fostering Strength, Confidence and Creativity with Disabled Youth and Young Adults


View Presentation: English


Society seems convinced living life with a disability is tragic, unfulfilling and burdensome, which can often influence opportunities and expectations for youth and young adults looking to explore the world and how they will contribute to it. In this talk, Justin Romack will share how he’s worked to reclaim the narrative on disability and use his blindness as a catalyst for the value he brings to his family, workplace and community involvement, and the ways he coaches, consults and advises disabled youth and young adults to understand their disability and the many strengths they possess.

Justin Romack is an Assistant Director with the Department of Disability Resources at Texas A&M University, where he works with faculty, staff and students to promote equitable access to the Aggie experience for disabled students. After losing his eyesight as a college student in 2008, Justin’s skills as a communicator and educator were enhanced through resilience, creativity and courage as he found new ways to explore the world without his vision. Justin has two decades of experience working with assistive technology, technical accessibility and disability education, where he works with students, teachers, businesses and anyone else who will listen about how to ensure what we do, construct and create is accessible to everyone. Justin has a bachelor’s degree in Communications from Stephen F. Austin State University and is currently a graduate student in the Higher Education Administration program at Texas A&M University. He has served on the board of directors for the Assistive Technology in Higher Education Network and the regional affiliate of the Association on Higher Education and Disability, and earned the distinction as a Certified Professional in Accessibility Core Competencies from the International Association of Accessibility Professionals.

Breakout speakers

Brynn Biggs

Building Blocks: Strategies for Supporting Special Needs Across the Lifespan

View presentation: English | Spanish


In this session, participants will receive resources to support their child with special needs throughout various life stages, spanning from infancy to adulthood. The content encompasses practical checklists, effective best practices, and instructional methods tailored to foster skills in choice and decision-making, goal setting, self-awareness, and self-determination.

Brynn Biggs serves as the Project Manager for the Texas Education Agency’s (TEA) Student-Centered Transitions Network, based at Sam Houston State University’s Garrett Center. Holding an undergraduate degree in Special Education and a master’s degree in educational psychology.
With over twelve years of experience in Texas public schools, Brynn has held diverse roles, including secondary special education teacher, transition coordinator, and 18+ Programs Instructional Coach. Her expertise extends to facilitating professional development at district, state, and national levels, covering various transition-related topics.
Beyond her professional accomplishments, Brynn is a self-advocate and a devoted mother to a daughter with multiple disabilities. Her multifaceted background uniquely positions her as both an expert in education and a passionate advocate for individuals with special needs.

Beth Sherry

Ability Amplified: Essential Skills for Successful Long-term Employment

View presentation: English | Spanish

Beth Sherry is the Project SEARCH instructor for College Station ISD, which is a program that prepares young people with significant disabilities for success in competitive integrated employment. In the Project SEARCH program, participants complete internships at Baylor Scott & White Hospital where Beth works closely with hospital staff, mentors, and supervisors to ensure that students are learning the skills needed to gain and maintain employment.

John Galloway

The Essentials of Special Needs Planning

View presentation: English | Spanish

John Galloway, LUTCF a native Texan with over 28 yrs. experience in the financial services industry is committed to providing for his clients a planning experience that is comprehensive and focused on their goals. Helping clients prioritize their goals, showing them the steps, they need to take, and regularly reviewing their progress towards achieving them, is how he passionately strives to impact his client’s ability to embrace the dignified retirement they dream of.
A 1980 graduate of Texas A&M University, John is an Investment Advisor Representative with Voya Financial Advisors. He holds the Series 6, 7, 63 and 66 securities registrations as well as the Life Underwriter Training Council Fellow (LUTCF ®) Designation. He also holds Life, Health and Disability insurance licenses including Long Term Care as required by the State of Texas.
John has 3 adult children and a grandson. When not immersed in his greatest joy; spending time with family, his hobbies include travel, photography and college sports.

Tahereh Boroughani

Enhancing IEPs: Integrating Parents’ Roles in Culturally and Linguistically Responsive Education

View presentation: English | Spanish

Tahereh Boroughani has dedicated over two decades to teaching at various educational levels, encompassing both school and university settings. She established and successfully ran an English academy in Tehran, before deciding to pursue a Ph.D. student in Bilingual/ESL Education at Texas A&M University in the Department of Educational Psychology.
Ms. Boroughani’s scholarly pursuits are centered around teaching methodologies for language acquisition, with a specific focus on the pedagogical approaches for students with special needs. Furthermore, in the realm of Individualized Education Programs (IEP), her research critically examines the cultural and linguistic responsiveness of these programs, advocating for a framework that is both inclusive and reflective of the diverse student population needs. Her academic and professional trajectory is driven by the desire to foster inclusive and responsive educational environments that meet students’ developmental needs; thereby, enhancing the learning experience for a diverse student body.

Craig Davis

Social Security Benefits and Work Incentives

View presentation: English | Spanish

Craig Davis is the Program Manager for Brazos Valley Center for Independent Living.

Craig is originally from Temple, Texas. He started working in the Independent Living Network in 2014 at the State Independent Living Council where he worked as the Project Coordinator with a special focus on accessibility. He started working for the Brazos Valley Center for Independent Living in December of 2022 as the Program Manager where he oversees the day-to-day management of the center’s programs. In his spare time, he enjoys writing and occasionally performing comedy.

Discussion Panelists

Eric Shahid

Self-Advocate, Founder of Shahid Center for Ability and Development

Mrs. Shahid

Parent Advocate

Ernesto C. Chacon

Self-Advocate, Health Inspector for Galveston County Health District

Amparo Chacon

Parent Advocate

Jana Palcer

Parent Advocate

View presentation: English | Spanish

Autism Pre-Screening Registration

The University of Texas Center for Disability Studies is hosting a FREE Autism pre-screening during the Brazos Valley Disability Conference and Resource Fair. The 20-minute autism screening can identify if there are concerns about your child’s development. We will ask you questions about your child’s development and behavior. Your child does not need to be present. You will receive the results of the autism screening and recommendations for next steps. This is NOT a diagnostic evaluation.
View pre-screening registration flyer: English | Spanish
Need more information? Contact Dr. Sandra Vanegas at sandra.vanegas@austin.utexas.edu

BCS Outlaws Beep Baseball Clinic

View event flyer: English

What is Beep Baseball?

Beep baseball is modified baseball for the blind. Athletes use combined skills of strength, auditory senses, and skill both to batter up and to play the field.

About the conference

The Brazos Valley Disability Conference and Resource Fair (formally, the “Success Conference”) is a collaborative between local family groups who support families with children with disabilities, organizations and agencies that serve them, school districts, rehabilitative care, and the Center on Disability and Development (CDD) at Texas A&M University. The purpose is to provide a platform for education, information dissemination, introduction to community and disability resources, and networking with other area families who have children with disabilities. The Brazos Valley Disability Conference and Resource Fair is an opportunity for those with disabilities and their family members to continue to build strong and supportive community, gather meaningful resources, and increase knowledge that will support their decision-making in how they define and plan for a purposeful life.

The conference leadership team organizes and hosts the conference with and for people with disabilities and those who support them in the Brazos Valley. The attendees have an opportunity to visit with local disability and community resources at vendor tables, attend keynote speaker sessions, and learn from area professionals who are also natural supports for the disability community during breakout sessions. Attendees will also connect with resources available to you and your family such as financial resources, respite care, recreational/community inclusion, job training, health care, education, living arrangements and more! 

Conference details

  • Child care will be available for children ages 2-8 with Project Sunshine.
  • Youth Activities will be available for children ages 9+ with Kid’s Klub.
  • Refreshments will be provided!

Who should attend: Everyone! We are all part of the disability community – whether we are disabled, a family member, teacher, student, professional, or community member – we all belong!

Who to Contact: Dr. Meagan Orsag at meaganorsag@tamu.edu

Cost to Attend: FREE for all!

How to Register: Online registration is closed. Onsite registration will be provided for attendees.

Thank you and we hope to see you there!

Leadership Team

The leadership team updates a Brazos Valley Community and Disability Resource Guide (available to print or download) with a list, description, and contact information for Brazos Valley and statewide community and disability resources.

Leadership Team Members

Texas A&M University

  • Meagan Orsag, Ph.D.
  • Robin Miller
  • Lucinda Thelen
  • Justin Romack
  • Morgan Bradley
  • Tahereh Boroughani
  • Xinyuan Yang

Bryan ISD

  • Stephanie Garner
  • Tonnette Smith

College Station ISD

  • Amanda Uresti
  • Vanessa Bazan
  • Chad Gardner
  • Ami Cecil

Easter Seals

  • Rebekah Nobles

Central Church

  • Special Needs Ministry

BVCOG BV Council of Government

  • Barbara Clemmons Partners Resource Network
  • Sabrina Thompson

St Joseph Health- WellFIT

  • Lindsey Armstrong

St Joseph Outpatient Therapy

  • Amy Southard