Mike Marotta -- I am the Assistant Director of the Assistive Technology Services department at CP of New Jersey. I provide direct services to students and adults with disabilities throughout the state. These services include assistive technology evaluations, one on one training to consumers, and creating customized professional development  workshops for professionals on a variety of assistive technology topics. I have a special interest in computer adaptations and worksite accommodations.

I have been a member of NJCART since 1989. In that time, NJCART has grown to meet the needs of the members. The memories that resonate most with me are not the pieces of technology I have seen through CART (and there have been many!) but the people I have met throughout the years. This network of knowledgeable professionals has been an invaluable resource to me both professionally and personally.

My vision for NJCART is to enable NJCART to grow through increased relationships. These relationships will be twofold. First, there are the relationships that will come from new members. Next, we will explore opportunities for collaboration with other like-minded organizations throughout the state. These relationships will ensure the continued growth of NJCART and foster the networking and information sharing that is truly the cornerstone of our organization.

I look forward to seeing everyone at our meetings and sharing information through the NJCART list serve. If you have any ideas to make our organization even better, please feel free to contact me at mmarotta@cpofnj.org

  Tracy Agate -- I have greatly benefited from being a member of NJCART since 2000 and currently serve as the Vice President on the Executive Board. I served as Recording Secretary from 2003-2006. As Vice President, I assist in the organization of general meetings and network NJCART within the assistive technology community.

Presently I work as the Coordinator of Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) Services at Cerebral Palsy of North Jersey ( CPNJ ). In this role, I provide AAC assessment, intervention, and training services for toddlers, children and adults with  complex communication abilities on an in-house and community basis. Conducting professional development workshops and in-services is another component of my work at CPNJ .

I look forward to meeting you at a future NJ CART meeting and sharing our ideas about the assistive technology field.

Karen Hrank -- I am an Assistive Technology Specialist at the Midland School in North Branch, NJ. Midland School is a private, non-profit school for students with multiple developmental disabilities, ages 5 - 21. I specialize in staff training and integrating AT into the classroom. I have been a special ed teacher at Midland for 7 years prior to my current position. I have also taught deaf students at a public high school, and have worked as a computer programmer and corporate trainer.

I am a relative newcomer (5 years) to the field of Assistive Technology. NJCART has been an invaluable resource for increasing my knowledge of AT and for networking. The members are very helpful and willing to share information.

As treasurer, one of my main responsibilities is collecting membership dues and maintaining a membership directory. Please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns in this regard.

Joanne Castellano -- I am an Assistive Technology Specialist with The TECH Connection at Family Resource Associates located in Shrewsbury , NJ . I have 14 years experience helping individuals with disabilities to find solutions through the use of assistive technology. The TECH Connection is an Alliance For Technology Access center. Our mission is to provide a place for people with disabilities, their families and professionals, to come and learn about assistive technology through hands on exploration and learning sessions. We also provide direct service to schools K-12 in their attempt to use assistive technology in their classrooms helping their students to level the playing field.
I am presently the Corresponding Secretary for NJ CART. It is my hope that I can help to provide good sources of information and materials to share with others in need of resources and information via the NJCart Newsletter.

Deb Bassett -- Deb Bassett has been an Assistive Technology “junkie” since her undergrad courses at Bloomsburg University in the late 1970’s. After graduating with her teaching degree in Special Education, she brought her love for AT into her classroom. Fellow faculty members nick-named her “Mrs. MacGyver” due to her ability to make switches, adapt equipment, find a new technology, and fix almost anything with duct tape and some creativity.

While teaching in Pennsylvania she served as an Assistive Technology Specialist for Schuylkill County Intermediate Unit (I.U) and then accepted a fulltime AT position at the Berks County I.U. Deb also served as the Coordinator for Project REACH a program that helped teenagers and young adults, who were ventilator dependent and quadriplegic, with computer access and pursuing their educational goals thru Reading Area Community College. She has also worked part-time in Group Homes.

Deb has presented at several state and regional conferences in addition to the hundreds of local workshops she has provided the past 14 years as a NJ Representative for DynaVox Technologies. DynaVox is the world leader in Augmentative and Alternative Communication solutions (AAC). Deb currently serves Central NJ as one of three DynaVox and Mayer-Johnson Representatives in the Garden State. She provides assistance to teams and individuals and has trained “everyone from little brothers and sisters to grandparents, to the top AAC evaluators in NJ in her role as the “DynaVox Expert. ” Deb can help with many areas of the evaluation process such as helping SLPs get the latest information on the AAC device selection, research and thru the funding process, assisting OTs and PTs access and mounting considerations, and all those other questions that come up.

Deb is known for her fun and relaxed instructional style and considers comments from other educators such as “you’re a great teacher” as her favorite compliments.
The counties she currently serves are Atlantic, Burlington, Hunterdon. Mercer, Middlesex, Monmouth, Ocean and Somerset counties. Alba Spreen covers the counties to the north and Bridget McCulloch has the remaining southern counties.

When not “on the road” Deb lives in Dayton (South Brunswick) and also enjoys scuba, golf, photography and Apple® computers. Her friends have updated her nickname to “Gadget Girl. ” She is currently looking forward to the return of her sanity when her 15 year-old daughter outgrows her teen years.

Deb has been a NJCART member for many years and currently serves as its Recording Secretary. You can contact Deb at Deb.Bassett@dynavoxtech .com.

   Adam Krass -- I am an assistive technology specialist with Bergen County Special Services, in Paramus, NJ, where I provide AT services to K-12 students with disabilities and their teachers, therapists, and other support professionals. My area of specialty is computer-based AT.

I have been a member of NJCART since 1990. During that time, NJCART has represented many things to me: a gateway to the field of AT, a way to meet others in the field, and an educational vehicle for learning about new technology and methods. Looking back, the most important part of NJCART has been the wonderful people I have met, learned from, and who have become long-time friends and colleagues. After all, AT is all about people-the people we assist and work with.

My goals as president of NJCART are to make it an exciting, stimulating and fun way for people who are interested in AT to meet, share ideas, increase their knowledge and network. Specifically, I would like to improve NJCART’s public face through a well-produced website and brochure, and lay the groundwork for creating the NJ AT Fund to help New Jerseyans with disabilities purchase assistive technology devices and services.