Our Team
About Our Organization
The American Indian Disability Technical Assistance Center (AIDTAC), a division of the Rural Institute at The University of Montana, is a national technical assistance center funded by the U.S. DHHS Administration for Children and Families. Through the Native American Considerations and the Electoral Process Project (NACEPP), AIDTAC provides activities to fulfill the Administration's priority area of the Help America Vote Act (HAVA), which is Training and Technical Assistance for Protection and Advocacy System (P&As) agencies to establish or improve voting access for individuals with disabilities.
The Rural Institute: Center for Excellence in Disability Education, Research, and Service, is part of the national network of programs funded by the Federal Administration on Developmental Disabilities (ADD) committed to increasing and supporting the independence, productivity, and inclusion of persons with disabilities into the community. Based at The University of Montana since 1979, the Rural Institute advocates and supports full participation in community life by rural Americans of all ages. From integrated childcare to supported employment, the Institute's wide range of grant-funded research, services, and training projects blend innovative approaches and techniques with existing community services.
About Our Team
All activities for NACEPP are accomplished by AIDTAC's staff and collaborating experts who are highly qualified to provide training and technical assistance to P&A personnel and have distinguished themselves as experts on Native American voting issues, providing training and technical assistance in the areas of disability, Native American culture, and program evaluation. They include Project Director Julie Clay, subcontracted Project Evaluator Carol Henderson-Dahms, subcontracted Trainer and Technical Assistance Expert Cinda Hughes, Information Media/Information Specialist Dr. Bill Payne, Administrative Assistant Jordon Lyons, and two former employees who have maintained contact with us this project year.
Julie Anna Clay, MPH
Ms. Clay has directed the American Indian Disability Technical Assistance Center since May 2003. She is an enrolled member of the Omaha Tribe, located in Nebraska. Ms. Clay received her Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and her Master’s degree in Public Health from the University of Oklahoma. She formerly served as the training and dissemination coordinator for the American Indian Rehabilitation Research and Training Center at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff. Ms. Clay has held several relevant positions, among them her service as a National Policy Fellow with the National Council on Disability. She has presented at many professional conferences and has authored numerous publications on issues of importance to American Indians and Alaska Natives with a disability.
Email Julie Clay
Carol Henderson-Dahms, MPA, Evaluator
Carol has both a Bachelor of Science in Advertising and a Master of Public Administration from Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff. She is an independent consultant who works nationally focusing on organizational development and evaluation of public, private, and non-profit organizations. In addition, she provides grant development, proposal training, and technical assistance. Carol is a member of the national American Evaluation Association (AEA) where she has served as the chairperson of the Special Needs Population Topical Interest Group since 2004. In addition she belongs to the Arizona Evaluation Network (AZENET), a statewide evaluation group.
Email Carol Henderson-Dahms
Jeanie Castillo, B.A., M.A., Technical Writer
Jeanie Castillo has a B.A. and M.A. in Linguistics from California
State University, Fresno and is currently pursuing her PhD from the
University of California, Santa Barbara. Her primary area of research
is Native American languages and linguistics with an emphasis on the
Navajo language. Before moving to Montana, Jeanie lived in New Mexico
collecting and analyzing conversational data spoken in Navajo. While
there, she worked as a faculty member at the University of New Mexico,
Gallup Branch teaching developmental writing and before that as a
staff member for Teach For America, New Mexico, a non-profit
organization dedicated to ending educational inequality in America by
improving the educational outcomes of students in rural and inner city
schools. Jeanie currently works as an employment specialist in
Missoula, Montana helping people with disabilities find and maintain
employment.
Email Jeanie Castillo
