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NTG Board Members and Leadership

National Task Group

The National Task Group on Intellectual Disabilities and Dementia Practices is 501(3)(c) not-for-profit tax exempt corporation and licensed for charitable solicitations under the laws of the State of Maine.

 

The NTG is governed by a Board of Directors and has a subsidiary Advisory Body, made up of NTG associate members, and a Scientific Consultative Panel.  Its mission is to advocate for services and supports for people with intellectual disability and their families who are affected by Alzheimer's disease and dementias.

Board Announcements

NTG Board Meeting

Thursday, May 15, 2025

7:00 - 8:30pm ET

upcoming:   7/17, 9/18, 11/20

NTG Leadership

NTG Officers

Co-President: Matthew P. Janicki

Co-President: Seth M. Keller

Vice President: Nancy Jokinen

Treasurer: Diane Rubinstein

Secretary: Kathryn P. Service

Our Staff

image_50736641 - photo.JPG
Kathryn Pears, MPPM
Chief Operations Officer

Ms. Pears has been professionally involved in the field of dementia for over 30 years and served as the Director of Programs and Policy for the Alzheimer's Association's Maine Chapter. She previously served on the NTG's Steering Committee and Board of Directors.  

NTG Board of Directors

Board Members on Federal Councils

  • Advisory Council on Alzheimer's Disease Research, Care, and Services - Matthew P. Janicki, Ph.D. (past member)

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  • National Council on Disability - Rick Rader, MD (past member)

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  • RAISE Family Caregiving Advisory Council - Nancy Murray, MS  (past co-chair)

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NTG Scientific Consultative Panel

Lucille Esralew, Ph.D. California Department of Developmental Services, Sacramento, CA - CHAIR

Brian Chicoine, M.D., Adult Down Syndrome Center, Lutheran General Hospital, Park Ridge, IL

Matthew P. Janicki, Ph.D., University of Illinois Chicago

James Hendrix, Ph.D., Denver, CO

Beth Marks, Ph.D., University of Illinois Chicago

Philip McCallion, Ph.D., Temple University, Philadelphia, PA

Julie Moran, D.O., Tewksbury Hospital, and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA

​Micheal Rafii, M.D., Ph.D., Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA

Stephen Ruedridch, M.D., Cleveland, OH

Shahin Shooshtari, Ph.D., University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada

Karen Watchman, Ph.D., University of Stirling, Scotland

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Other panel appointments are currently in process.

NTG Committees

NTG Committees are involved in a variety of NTG affairs, both internally and externally.  Committee membership is limited to active NTG members.

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If you are a NTG member and wish to become involved with a committee and its activities, please contact the Committee Chair via the Contact Us Link on this website or drop an email to our Director of Operations

Applied Research & Clinical Health Committee

    Lucille Esralew, Ph.D. (Co-Chair)

    Kathryn Service, FNP-BC, RN (Co-Chair)

Education Committee

    Kathleen Bishop, Ph.D. (Co-Chair) 

Family Supports Committee

    Marianne Barbera, M.S. (Chair)

International Affairs Committee

    Nancy S. Jokinen, Ph.D. (Chair)

Medical Advisory Committee

    Seth M. Keller, M.D. (Chair)

Nominations Committee*

    Dawna T. Mughal, Ph.D., RDA (Chair)

Public Policy Committee

    Matthew P. Janicki, Ph.D. (Chair)

Scientific Consultative Panel

     Lucille Esralew, Ph.D. (Chair)

Conference Planning Committee

    Seth M. Keller, M.D. (Chair)

Executive Committee*

    Matthew P. Janicki, Ph.D. (Co-Chair)

    Seth M. Keller, M.D. (Co-Chair)

Finance Committee*

    Helen Stepowany, M.S. (Chair)

Marketing Committee

    Colleen Hatcher, M.Ed. (Chair)

Membership Committee

     Christina Marsack-Topolewski, Ph.D. (Co-Chair)

     Jackie McGinley, Ph.D. (Co-Chair)

Personnel Committee*

    Nancy Murray, M.S. (Chair)

Quality Improvement and Analytics Committee

    Adel Herge, OTD, OTR/L, FAOTA (Co-Chair)

    Helen E. Stepowany, M.S. (Co-Chair)

Strategic Planning Committee

     Helen E. Stepowany, M.S. (Chair)

*Denotes statutory committee, Board members only

NTG Stakeholders Advisory Body

The NTG Stakeholders Advisory Body is chartered under the corporate by-laws of the NTG. Its purpose to provide advice and counsel on matters related to programs, services, education, advocacy, and the development of technical and informational materials associated with the NTG's mission. The Advisory Body is composed of NTG members who meeting on an ad hoc basis, when convened by the chairs.

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NTG members interested in joining the Advisory Body on an on-going or ad hoc basis are invited to correspond with the Body's co-chair, Dr. Kathleen Bishop.

Past Board Members
   Paula Gann (CA) 2020-2021
   Jadene Ransdell (FL) 2020-2022
   Nicole Cadovius (CT) 2020-2022

   Andrew Griffin (TX) 2020-2022
   Marissa Parnell (NC) 2020-2022

   Kathryn Pears (SC) 2020-2023

   Ley Linder (SC) 2021-2023

   Helen Stepowany (NY) 2020-2024

   Adel Herge (PA) 2020-2024

From 2011 to 2020, the NTG was managed by a steering committee composed of the following NTG members:

  • Kathleen Bishop, Ph.D.  (NY/FL)

  • Nicole Cadovius, MBA  (CT)

  • Melissa Disipio, MSW  (PA)

  • Lucille Esralew, Ph.D.  (CA)

  • Lawrence T. Force, Ph.D.  (NY)

  • Paula Gann  (CA)

  • Andrew Griffin, Ph.D.  (TX)

  • Rachel Grimm  (DC)

  • Ashley Helsing  (DC)

  • Adel Herge, Ph.D. (PA)

  • Mary Hogan, MAT  (ME)

  • Matthew P. Janicki, Ph.D. (Co-Chair)  (ME)

  • Nancy Jokinen, Ph.D.  (BC)

  • Seth M. Keller, M.D. (Co-Chair)  (NJ)

  • Ronald Lucchino, Ph.D.  (NM)

  • Christina Marsack-Topolewski, Ph.D.  (MI)

  • Philip McCallion, Ph.D.  (PA)

  • Julie Moran, D.O.  (MA)

  • Dawna Torres Mughal, Ph.D.  (PA)

  • Leone Murphy, M.S.W.  (NJ)

  • Melissa Parnell, Ph.D.  (NC)

  • Kathryn Pears, MPPM  (SC)

  • Rick Rader, M.D.  (TN)

  • Mike Rafii, M.D.  (CA)

  • Jadene Ransdell  (FL)

  • Kathy Service, FNP  (MA)

  • Baldev Singh, M.D.  (NY)

  • Kathy Srsic-Stoehr, MSN  (VA)

  • Helen Stepowany, MS  (NY)

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