NIMAS Implementation Advisory Council
The National Instructional Materials Accessibility Standard Implementation Advisory Council (NIMAS Implementation Advisory Council) maintains, advances, and supports the adoption of the NIMAS at the state level.
Chuck Hitchcock, Chair
Chief Officer, Policy and Technology
Director, NIMAS Technical Assistance Center, CAST, Inc.
John Churchill, Senior Vice President
Operations, RFB&D
Jeff Diedrich, Director
Michigan Integrated Technology Supports
Jay Diskey, Executive Director
School Division, Association of American Publishers
Bill East, Executive Director
National Association of State Directors of Special Education
John Eisenberg, Severe Disabilities/Assistive Technology Specialist
Office of Special Education Instructional Services, Virginia Department of Education
Jim Fruchterman, President & CEO
The Benetech Initiative/Bookshare.org
Nicole Gaines, NIMAC Manager
American Printing House for the Blind
Diane Cordry Golden, Consultant
Missouri Assistive Technology
Vicki Hershman, State Project Director
PATINS Project
Charlene Gaynor, CEO
The Association of Educational Publishers
Linnie Lee, Assistive Technology Consultant
Bluegrass Technology Center
Charles Mayo, Manager
Distribution, Accessibility & Finance, Instructional Materials & Educational Technology, Texas Education Agency
Donna McNear
Rum River Special Education Coop
Richard Robison, Executive Director
Federation for Children with Special Needs
David Rose, ex officio, Principal Investigator
NIMAS Development and Technical Assistance Centers, CAST, Inc.
Mary Ann Siller, National Project Manager
Professional Development Department, American Foundation for the Blind
Michael Slade, ex officio (2/23/09)
Project Officer, NIMAS Centers, Education Program Specialist
Office of Special Education Programs, US Department of Education
Skip Stahl, ex officio, Project Director
NIMAS Development Center, CAST, Inc.
Tom Starbranch (2/09/09)
Chair, Association of American Publishers Serving Students with Disabilities Committee
Accessibility and Compliance Manager for Pearson Curriculum Group
Joy Zabala, AIM Project Manager
Assistive Technology & Leadership
Ruth Ziolkowski, Assistive Technology Industry Association (ATIA) Representative; President
Don Johnston, Inc.
The meetings of the NIMAS Development Committee are open to the public and the notes from Committee meetings are posted online after each meeting.
"A diverse committee of stakeholders-including curriculum publishers, disability advocates and researchers, assistive technology developers, policymakers, educators, and parents-will inform the NIMAS Center's work."
-CAST Application for NIMAS Development Center
The NIMAS Development and Technical Assistance Center, supported by the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP), works with states, TA systems, disability advocates, national associations, technology experts, publishers and content conversion houses to improve the timely delivery of high quality accessible educational materials to students with disabilities.The NIMAS Center was launched on October 1, 2004.The project officer for both the Development and TA Centers is Bonnie Jones, Ed.D. Opinions expressed herein do not necessarily represent the Department of Education's position or policy.