Our Team
Our team is made up of people from many different educatonal backgrounds and jobs. Check them out below
Dr. Shu Cole
Project DirectorShu Cole is an Associate Professor in the Department of Health and Wellness Design at Indiana University. She received her Ph.D. from the Department of Recreation, Parks, & Tourism Sciences at Texas A&M University in 1998. Her research expertise is in services marketing with a focus on visitors’/tourists’ travel experiences. Currently, her research interest is in understanding the travel experiences of people with mobility impairments. Her work has been published in the leading journals in travel and tourism studies such as Journal of Travel Research and Tourism Management. She currently serves on the editorial boards of Journal of Travel Research, Tourism Review International, and China Tourism Research.
Gale G. Whiteneck Ph.D FACRM
Gale G. Whiteneck, Ph.D., was the Director of Craig Hospital's Research Department for more than 30 years. Gale attended Rose Polytechnical Institute in Indiana and Manchester College and received his B.A. in Sociology in 1970, and an M.A. and Doctorate in Speech Communication from the University of Denver in 1976. Dr. Whiteneck came to Craig in 1982 and has been Director since 1986. His responsibilities include the management of all research activities and publications for the federally funded Rocky Mt. Regional Spinal Cord Injury System and Traumatic Brain Injury Model Systems Center at Craig and the coordination of 18 clinical research staff. Dr. Whiteneck has authored or co-authored dozens of articles and book chapters that are key resources in the rehabilitation and research literature.
Edward L. Deci Ph.DConsultant
Edward L. Deci is a Professor of Psychology and Gowen Professor in the Social Sciences at the University of Rochester, and director of its human motivation program. He is well known in psychology for his theories of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation and basic psychological needs. With Richard Ryan, he is the co-founder of Self-Determination Theory (SDT), an influential contemporary motivational theory. Self-Determination Theory is a macro theory of human motivation that differentiates between autonomous and controlled forms of motivation; the theory has been applied to predict behavior and inform behavior change in many contexts including: education, health care, work organizations, parenting, and sport (as well as many others).Their work has been translated into seven languages including Japanese, German and Spanish, and scholars from more than 50 countries are doing research on SDT.
Noah HobackResearch Assistant
Noah Hoback is pursuing his Ph.D. through the Indiana University Department of Health and Wellness Design. He received his master’s in outdoor education at Winona State University. His research has focused on motivational changes in decision-making to participate in adventure sports. Currently, his research interest is in tourism barriers for people with disabilities and the aging population. He is the editor for the Illuminare, a student journal in recreation, parks, and tourism studies.
Weixuan WangResearch Assistant
Weixuan Wang is a Ph.D. student studying leisure behavior through Indiana University Bloomington’s Department of Health and Wellness Design. She received her master’s degree in tourism management in 2015. Her research focuses on accessible tourism and how technology and data science can assist in understanding and improving travel experience, as well as the quality of life for older adults and people with disabilities.
Research Assistant
Ozen BasResearch Assistant
Ozen Bas is pursuing her Ph.D. through the Indiana University Media School. She received her master’s in political communication at the University of Leeds. Her research interests lie at the intersection of media (both traditional and new) and democracy.
Yan ZhangResearch Assistant
Yan Zhang is a junior at Indiana University, majoring in finance and operation management with a minor in tourism, hospitality, and event management. He is mainly in charge of the accessible travel news collection, hotel accessible facilities photography, and website user
Kevin LoganWeb Designer
Kevin Logan is a graduate of the Indiana University master's program in human-computer interaction and design (HCID). He is currently employed at Crate & Barrel, where he crafts digital experiences to support the goals of Crate & Barrel’s eCommerce site. Kevin leverages his skill sets in research, user-centered design, software development, and technology entrepreneurship to solve complex problems. In his free time, he likes to work on side projects that benefit peoples' lives. One of his many interests includes accessibility, where he has worked on projects to explore new ways to assist those with disabilities.
Kelly EvanContent Writer
Kelly Evans is a senior pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism through the Indiana University Media School. An east coast native, her primary career interest stems from the crime beat, specifically drug-related crime. She is a former reporter for the Indiana Daily Student and the Spencer Evening World.
Advisory Board
Jennifer Baribeau, OTR
Jennifer Baribeau, OTR, has been a Registered Occupational Therapist for 11 years working with people with neuro trauma injuries and has been caregiving for people with disabilities for over 22 years. She has worked at Craig Hospital since 2006 with spinal cord and brain injury inpatients and outpatients promoting real life perspective to gain independence throughout the rehab process. She has worked as a certified nursing assistant for people with spinal cord injuries (SCI) since 1998 and in various capacities since. She is motivated to teach balance and real life perspective in caregiving, family dynamics, and travel for people with spinal cord injuries. Jennifer graduated cum laude from Boston University with a Bachelor of Science in Occupational Therapy and constantly continues her education.
Joe Entwisie MA
Joe graduated with a Master's degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1995 and began working in outpatient substance abuse and mental health counseling at the Veterans Administration in Madison. He then took a position as a benefits counselor with Employment Resources, Inc. to educate individuals with disabilities on the impact of employment on public and private benefit systems. Joe parlayed that experience into a position as senior policy analyst with the University of WI Madison/WI DHFS for six years. During that time Joe performed one of two roles as senior policy analyst and the interim director of the State Independent Living Council for fifteen months of his six years there, assisting DHFS with a transition of SILC to an autonomous organization. This experience brought him to Chicago's Health & Disability Advocates and The National Consortium for Health Systems Development (now HDA Consulting), which is where he is currently employed.
Janette Lawler, J.D.
Janette Lawler is Advocate and Consultant for Accessible Travel of WheelchairWanderlust.com. She helps people with and without physical limitations explore the world. She tries to inspire people of all abilities to take risks and follow their dreams. She is now an online travel agent dedicated to finding and sharing accessible options for travelers with or without disabilities. She can help people find and book accessible transportation, accommodations, sightseeing, and all things travel related. Now she is also collaborative lawyer/mediator of the Janette K. Lawler, LLC which focuses specially on family issues and is dedicated to avoiding the harmful effects of litigation.
Eric Lipp
Eric Lipp, Founder and Executive Director of the Open Doors Organization (ODO), started the organization after personally experiencing the restrictions that people with disabilities face in everyday life. Eric's single most outstanding contribution to improving the quality of life for people with disabilities is in understanding the need for access into the larger domain of society. His ability to insist on helping businesses achieve equal access beyond simple compliance opens doors for people with disabilities. To this end, he initiated the 2002 and 2005 ODO/Harris Interactive studies on travelers with disabilities, which the travel industry views as the definitive source for statistics on travel by Americans with disabilities.
David Mank, Ph.D
David Mank, Ph.D., is the Director of the Indiana Institute on Disability and Community at Indiana University, Indiana's University Center for Excellence on Disabilities, and Professor in the School of Education. As a writer and researcher, Dr. Mank has an extensive background in the education and employment for persons with disabilities. He has authored or coauthored numerous articles and book chapters. Mank is a member of the editorial boards of the Research and Practice for Persons with Severe Disabilities (TASH), the Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation, the Journal of Disability Policy Studies, and Associate Editor for the Journal on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. He is currently Chair of the U. S. Department of Labor Advisory Committee on Increasing Competitive Integrated Employment for Individuals with Disabilities.
Cecillia Rider, MS, CTRS
As a recreation therapy professional Ms. Rider has worked with both children and adults with disabilities since 2002. For the last eight years, she has worked in inpatient rehabilitation with adults with spinal cord and mild brain injuries as well as various other neurological disorder. In her day to day responsibilities, she provides education on values and benefits of leisure, self-advocacy, disability rights laws, time management, and community accessibility and problem solving. She is also responsible for fostering and maintaining relationships with airline and TSA professionals to advocate for travelers with disabilities and provide clients with the most up to date information and tips for traveling following their disability.