Barry Whaley

Project Director for the Southeast ADA Center

Barry Whaley is the Project Director for the Southeast ADA Center, a project of the Burton Blatt Institute of Syracuse University. Mr. Whaley has over 35 years’ experience enabling people with disabilities to go to work and to live a self-determined life.

Prior to becoming the Southeast ADA Center Project Director, Whaley was the director of the Supported Higher Education Project at the University of Kentucky Human Development Institute. At the University of Kentucky, he also provided training and consultation to employers, service providers, people with disabilities, and families on their rights and responsibilities under Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Additionally, Whaley provided analysis of “Year one Year out” data for the Kentucky Post-School Outcomes Center.

Previously, he worked as a consultant for Atlas Research providing technical assistance and training for staff working with the Homeless Veterans Supported Employment Project at Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Centers. For many years, he was the director of a supported employment provider in Louisville, KY. He has also worked for the Kentucky Office of Vocational Rehabilitation. He began his career with the “New Neighbors” de-institutionalization project that allowed hundreds of people to exit state institutions and return to their home communities. Whaley is a founding board member and past president of the Kentucky Association of People Supporting EmploymentFirst (APSE).

He currently serves, by gubernatorial appointment, as a Member of the Advisory Council for Medical Assistance.

Episode 7: Access to Pools
Episode 43: ADA and Employment: Disclosure and Reasonable Accommodations