Tamar Heller, PhD, Professor, heads the Department of Disability and Human Development, University of Illinois at Chicago and its University Center of Excellence in Developmental Disabilities. She also directs the Rehabilitation Research and Training Center (RRTC) on Developmental Disabilities and Health, and is Co-PI of two other national centers concerned with disability policies: the RRTC on Community Living Disability Policy and the Family Support RTC. Her research focuses on health and long-term services and supports policies and practices and their effects on individuals with disabilities and their families across the life course.

She has over 200 publications including 5 books. She is past President of the board of the Association of University Centers on Disabilities (AUCD), served as Obama’s delegate to the 2005 White House Conference on Aging, and co-founded the national Sibling Leadership Network (SLN).

Her awards include the 2009 Autism Ally for Public Policy Award of The Arc; the 2008 Lifetime Research Achievement Award, International Association for the Scientific Study of Intellectual Disabilities, Special Interest Group on Aging and Intellectual Disabilities; the 2009 Community Partner Award of Community Support Services, the 2010 Outstanding Researcher Award in the UIC College of Applied Health Sciences, and the AUCD 2012 International Award.