HDI was an opportunity to build strengths, gifts, and abilities to accomplish some important goals – to share knowledge and expertise, and to learn from the best teachers.
—Jacqui Kearns, HDI Project Director – Principal Investigator TAALC, TIES, SPEAC-IT
What I love most about HDI is the culture cultivated by Dr. Harold Kleinert and nourished by so many other great leaders here—to be kind and nurture partnerships while also taking a stand and sometimes taking risks to make sure we are addressing the most pressing needs for people with disabilities and their families. I will forever be grateful to Harold and HDI for taking a risk and being willing to support our prenatal project and give it a home because it was the right thing to do … even when we had almost no funding. That kind of vision and commitment to helping families is rare and wonderful in an organization as expansive as HDI. —Stephanie Meredith, Information Services Director, KentuckyWorks Staff, and Program Director HDI National Center for Prenatal and Postnatal Resources
Being university-based, HDI has a credibility with policymakers and elected officials that is needed. So often, much of the work done on behalf of those with disabilities is by non-profits, which unfairly are not given the same amount of respect. HDI’s gravitas helps ensure the significance of programs that include those with disabilities is understood and maintained with those in positions of influence. —Mark Leach, Bioethics Specialist, HDI National Center for Prenatal and Postnatal Resources
I was absolutely blessed to have had the opportunity to work at HDI. I cannot imagine a better organizational mission than that of HDI for what I had hoped for my own career – to work with leaders in the field at both the state and national levels; to partner with families, self-advocates, teachers, and other professionals on the front lines of quality services; and to have had the chance to have taught a wonderful set of students here at UK. —Harold Kleinert, HDI Director Emeritus
HDI provided stability to me through several rough life transitions as a single parent and student. Exposure to mentors, exposure to diversity, and the development of long-term friendships have had a significant impact on my life. —Christy Leaver, LCSW, Former HDI Research Assistant and Certificate Student
How did you come to know HDI?
I was a research assistant at HDI throughout my graduate school experience at UK.
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