Rehabilitation Supports and Services: Understanding How They Assist Persons with Disabilities for Full Community Inclusion

Ms. Elias provides consultation and management support to health and disability organizations. She has more than 40 years of experience in leading, teaching, providing staff support for research-based studies, counseling individuals with a disability and their caregivers, and educating on the challenges of disability and correction of health care access barriers. She is a policy leader, educator, trainer, and volunteer. As the U.S. DHHS Office on Disability Deputy Director, she stewarded it to become the Administration on Community Living. As Massachusetts Commissioner of Mental Health, she transitioned the Commonwealth to a community-based systems of care. She is an author on health and disability system barriers, including challenges experienced by individuals with intellectual/developmental disabilities, and presents at national and international conferences. Ms. Elias serves as a board member of national organizations including CWLA Mental Health Advisory Board (MHAB) and the International Council on Disabilities. She and her husband provide foster care support services on behalf of children with disabilities, including those with intellectual/developmental disabilities.