EARN Staff
Learn more about the team behind EARN.
Meet the EARN Staff:
Cornell Staff Bios
Susanne Bruyere, Principal Investigator
Susanne M. Bruyère, Ph.D., CRC, is the Academic Director of the K. Lisa Yang and Hock E. Tan Institute on Employment and Disability and Principal Investigator of EARN. For EARN, her efforts are focused on collaborating with project partners, fiscal administration and contributing to research around employment disability nondiscrimination and disability employment policy. As Director of the Yang Tan Institute, Susanne is responsible for the strategic and financial direction of a multi-million dollar research, training, technical assistance and information dissemination organization devoted to improving employment outcomes and inclusive communities for people with disabilities. Susanne is also a Professor of Disability Studies at Cornell. She has a Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin.
Wendy Strobel Gower, Co-Project Director
Wendy Strobel Gower is the Thomas P. Golden Executive Director at the K. Lisa Yang and Hock E. Tan Institute on Employment and Disability and Co-Project Director of EARN. Wendy leads the Development and Dissemination Team and manages the daily operation of the EARN project. Wendy has almost 30 years’ experience in employment and disability and has been with Cornell University for 14 years. She has extensive experience with knowledge translation, product development and project leadership. Wendy has a master’s degree from the Medical College of Virginia at Virginia Commonwealth University.
Sarah von Schrader, Co-Project Director
Sarah is the Director of Research and Program Evaluation for the K. Lisa Yang and Hock E. Tan Institute on Employment and Disability and Co-Project Director of EARN. She serves as EARN's Research and Evaluation Lead. Sarah’s research focuses on employer practices related to employer success in recruiting, hiring and advancing individuals with disabilities. Sarah has a Ph.D. from the University of Iowa.
Ellice Switzer, Development and Dissemination Team
Ellice is a Workplace Disability Inclusion Associate for the K. Lisa Yang and Hock E. Tan Institute on Employment and Disability. In this role, she provides national technical assistance and training on topics related to disability and employment and U.S. disability policy, in addition to developing content and offering trainings for EARN. Her areas of focus include employer efforts to support workforce disability inclusion, demand-side strategies to improve employer engagement among disability service providers and evidence-based practices to support post-school success for youth with disabilities.
Ashley Bryant, Development and Dissemination Team
Ashley Bryant, PhD, CRC is a Workplace Disability Inclusion Associate at K. Lisa Yang and Hock E. Tan Institute on Employment and Disability. Dr. Bryant supports EARN to operate an employer-focused disability policy development and technical assistance center. Dr. Bryant is passionate about workplace inclusion, and she has a wealth of experience working as a rehabilitation counselor to ensure persons with disabilities are included in the workforce. Prior to joining the Yang-Tan Institute, she served as corporate consultant and trainer for Dellanni consulting and a Vocational Rehabilitation Specialist III for the Oklahoma Department of Rehabilitation Services. Dr. Bryant is a licensed mental health counselor. Her dissertation research involved exploring the role of family cohesion in influencing the vocational identity status of emerging adults with autism spectrum disorder.
Jennifer Pawlewicz, Development and Dissemination Team
Jennifer Pawlewicz brings over 2 decades of employer relations experience into her role as Business Outreach Specialist within the K. Lisa Yang and Hock E. Tan Institute on Employment and Disability. Jennifer’s areas of focus include employer best practices to recruit, hire, retain, and advance employees with disabilities, and accessible and inclusive workplace cultures.
Bill Erickson, Research and Evaluation Team
Bill serves as a Disability Data Specialist for the K. Lisa Yang and Hock E. Tan Institute on Employment and Disability. He serves as part of EARN’s research and evaluation team. He has been actively involved with disability research for over 20 years and has extensive experience in employer research, disability statistics, secondary data sources, survey design, web accessibility and youth transition related research. He has been involved in employer research since 2000 in both the private and federal sector in the U.S. as well as internationally. Bill has a master’s degree from Cornell University.
Bryan Bates, Web Team
Bryan serves as a Web Specialist for the K. Lisa Yang and Hock E. Tan Institute on Employment and Disability. Bryan serves as the Project Manager for EARN’s web related work. Bryan joined the Institute in 2019 as a designer working on identity, web and print projects. Prior to this, he was a partner at the brand communication and design company, Ancient Wisdom Productions, for 14 years. Bryan has a master’s degree from Syracuse University.
Michelle Alvord, Media Team
Michelle serves as a Communication Specialist for the K. Lisa Yang and Hock E. Tan Institute on Employment and Disability. Michelle supports EARN's online events. Michelle previously worked at News Channel 34 in Binghamton, NY where she was a Television Director. Michelle has a bachelor’s degree from the State University of New York at Oswego.
Peter Quinn, Media Team
Peter serves as a Multi Media Editor for the K. Lisa Yang and Hock E. Tan Institute on Employment and Disability. Peter supports EARN’s video related project work. Peter previously worked for WIVT/WBGH News Channel 34 in Binghamton, NY where he served as Anchor/Reporter/Photojournalist. Peter has a bachelor’s degree from Binghamton University.
Sara VanLooy, Project Coordinator & Administrative Lead
Sara serves as a Project Coordinator for the K. Lisa Yang and Hock E. Tan Institute on Employment and Disability (YTI), supporting administrative tasks for EARN and leading the administration team. Sara has worked at YTI since 1999 as an administrative assistant and publications assistant, providing administrative, research, editing and writing support on numerous projects. Sara has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan.
Concepts Communications Bios
Melissa Armstrong, Communications Team Lead
Melissa serves as the Communications Director at Concepts Communications (Concepts). For EARN, she takes the lead orchestrating and overseeing all communication initiatives and managing the day-to-day operations for the project. Melissa navigates the realm of communications, from developing impactful outreach strategies and managing engagement to steering media strategy and crafting compelling social media content and campaigns. Melissa brings nine years of experience in public relations and communications with a focus on strategy, brand management, media relations, and message development. Melissa holds a bachelor’s degree from George Mason University.
Allison Wohl, Federal Communications Lead
Allison serves as a Senior Communications Specialist at Concepts and the federal lead for EARN. She manages outreach and engagement efforts focused on advancing employment opportunities for people with disabilities in the Federal Government through EARN’s interagency working group, the Federal Exchange on Employment & Disability (FEED). Allison also supports communications efforts overall to increase awareness of EARN and its employer-focused resources and tools. Allison brings more than eight years of experience to Concepts in advocacy and policy. She holds a bachelor’s degree in special education from Boston University and is pursuing her master’s in organizational leadership and learning from the George Washington University.
Samantha Greenberg, Communications Assistant
Samantha serves as a Communications Assistant at Concepts, offering dedicated support to EARN in communications and outreach. Samantha is responsible for conducting media outreach, supporting social media activity, tracking media, and more. Samantha brings more than five years of experience in the nonprofit and government sectors and is passionate about supporting EARN and disseminating information to help impact disability employment. Samantha holds a bachelor's degree in English with a minor in journalism from West Chester University of Pennsylvania.
Lindsey Brady, Communications Specialist
Lindsey Brady is a Communications Specialist who brings more than three years of experience to the Concepts Communications team. She has a strong background in writing, editing, public outreach, and social media strategy and management for an array of clients, ranging in industry from government, to non-profit, to B2B. Prior to joining Concepts Communications, Lindsey worked at a full-service marketing agency based in Lexington, KY as a Writer and Content Manager. She worked with clients to achieve goals in the media space through social media, public relations, writing and web work. She is passionate about storytelling for all of her clients and works in a results and goal driven manner. She also worked at a Fortune 500 company on their e-commerce team, maintaining the reputation of the brand through digital efforts on a daily basis. Lindsey graduated from the University of Kentucky in 2020 with a Bachelor of Arts in Integrated Strategic Communication. She had a focus in Public Relations and a minor in Writing, Rhetoric and Digital Studies.
Rutgers University Bios
Marjory Palius, Evaluation Team Lead
Marjory Palius, Ed.D. is a Research Project Manager at the Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at Rutgers University. She leads the team in conducting formative and summative evaluations of the EARN project. Marjory has more than 20 years of experience in research and evaluation with expertise in research design, qualitative methods, and project management. She majored in sociology at Smith College and earned her master’s and doctoral degrees in education at Rutgers University.
Grace Maruska, Evaluation Team
Grace Maruska, a Research Project Coordinator at the Heldrich Center for Workforce Development, has extensive experience in project management and qualitative analysis, and has knowledge of social policy and workforce development. They conduct research on workforce development policies and programs, education and training programs, disability employment, education, and clean energy, with skills in conducting quantitative analysis and developing data visualizations. Grace has a Master of Public Policy degree from the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers University.
Renée Edwards, Evaluation Team
Renée Edwards, Ph.D. is an Assistant Director at the Heldrich Center for Workforce Development and the Managing Director of the Employer Disability Practices Center at Rutgers University. She has over ten years of experience in research and evaluation. Her expertise includes qualitative research design, policy analysis, and implementation assessment. Much of her work focuses on equity, including intersectionality and disability research. She earned her master’s and doctoral degrees in public policy from Washington State University.