KELLY POWELL LOGAN

Vice President for Strategic Workforce Development and University Centers

Kelly Powell Logan served as Cabinet Secretary to three Pennsylvania Governors and now serves as Vice President for Strategic Workforce Development and University Centers at Harrisburg University of Science and Technology (HU).

Kelly is responsible for leading expansion of the existing university centers as well as creating new centers that meet strategic workforce needs. She understands the complexities of the twenty-first-century workforce and uses her vision and experience to guide HU’s centers. Kelly is responsible for forming partnerships with employers–including state and municipal governments–to build and market all manner of education programs that meet employer needs, aligning and connecting HU’s educational programs with the needs of employers.

The HU Institutes and Centers which Kelly directs include the Government Technology Institute, Security Center of Excellence, Analytics Institute, Center for Project Management Innovation, and the Center for Environmental and Geospatial Technology. Kelly began at HU on February 2, 2015.

ELLEN STROM

Chief Accessibility Officer

Ellen Strom was named Chief Accessibility Officer for the commonwealth in January 2020.

In this role, Ellen is focused on ensuring that the state’s digital content is accessible to its citizens and employees alike.  She works with state agencies to define best practices, design and implement strategies to educate and influence organizational culture, improve procurement processes and organize communities of practice.

Ellen has been in the digital customer experience field for more than 15 years.  Prior to joining the commonwealth, she concentrated on designing and implementing a digital program to improve the web and mobile banking experiences for customers with disabilities.  She is a Certified Professional in Accessibility Core Competencies (CPACC).

Ellen earned a master’s degree in business administration from the American University in Washington, DC and a bachelor’s degree in French and German from Millersville University of Pennsylvania.  She spent two of her undergraduate years in study abroad programs at the Université Paul Valéry in Montpellier, France and Phillips Universität in Marburg, Germany.

Lea Sheffield

Lea Sheffield (pronounced lee-a) manages the Special Populations Unit within the Office of Developmental Programs. She has over 15 years of experience in varying roles supporting individuals with disabilities. She is an endorsed Infant Mental Health Associate, a Lifecourse Ambassador, a Capacity Building Institute graduate, and has a degree in social work. Lea serves as a council member on the PA State Interagency Coordinating Council, the PA Developmental Disabilities Council, and the PA Advisory Council for Deaf and Hard of Hearing. Lastly, and most importantly, she is a mother to two wonderful children, one of which is autistic.

Hope Pesner

Hope Pesner works as a Human Services Analyst in the Office of Developmental Programs in the Training and Communication Division. She has been a Commonwealth employee for over 12 years and with the Office of Developmental Programs for nine. Diagnosed in her mid-twenties with Asperger’s Syndrome, Hope has since focused on self-advocacy roles, realizing that it is important to show how neurodiverse individuals and others with disabilities see the world and function in it. Hope also works at a hotel doing night audits, volunteers, writes poetry, and spends time with friends.

Melissa Hawkins

Melissa Hawkins has served as the Director of the Pennsylvania Office for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing since 2018. Previously, she was the Executive Director of the Disability Empowerment Center (DEC),  a private, nonprofit, nonresidential organization and Center for Independent Living providing services and support to individuals in Lancaster and Lebanon Counties. In 2014, Lancaster County Community Foundation selected Melissa as one of its Baldwin Fellows.

Melissa graduated from The Pennsylvania State University with a bachelor’s degree in Applied Behavioral Sciences. Her graduate studies included course work at Gallaudet University, as well as George Washington University. She graduated from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University with a dual Masters of Science in Human Resources and Adult Learning and has earned a Certificate in Competence and Confidence Partners in Policymaking from Temple University. Melissa was recently awarded a Governor’s Award of Excellence for her work to ensure that public information about COVID-19 was accessible for the deaf, hard of hearing and deafblind population. 

Russell Goddard

Russ Goddard works for the Pennsylvania Office of Vocational Rehabilitation (OVR) as the Statewide Coordinator of Deaf, Hard of Hearing, and Deafblind Services.  In his position, Russ provides technical assistance to OVR field staff and central office staff with issues related to the provision of services for deaf, hard of hearing, and deafblind OVR customers.  He also worked in his capacity as the program director for the Summer Academy for High School Students who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing for the past five years. 

Russ has 23 years of experience in vocational rehabilitation, first as a rehabilitation counselor for the deaf and hard of hearing in the state of Ohio, then continuing in the same capacity for OVR before being promoted to his current position.  Russ, who has a hearing loss, brings a wealth of personal and professional knowledge about adult services, educational, and transition services for high school students with hearing loss.

Martin Kearney

Martin (Marty) Kearney is an Equal Opportunity Specialist in the Office of Administration.  In this role, Marty addresses requests for accommodation and provides training on disability-related issues for Commonwealth managers and supervisors.  He also reviews appeals of internal discrimination complaints and provides technical assistance and guidance to state agencies on matters related to equal employment opportunity. 

Marty has been in the civil rights field for over two decades.  Prior to joining OA in 2015, he began working for the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission in 2002, investigating discrimination complaints, providing training and outreach, and consulting with community organizations on civil rights matters.

Rebecca Knaub

Becky Knaub is a Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) Specialist for Accessibility Support. In this role, she focuses on supporting blind/visually impaired staff who use AT and helping to ensure all content distributed to Office of Vocational Rehabilitation (OVR) staff is accessible. Additionally, Becky is often asked to test the accessibility of websites that are being considered by OVR for its customers or staff or by other agencies collaborating with OVR. Becky started in the Bureau of Blindness and Visual Services in the Department of Labor and Industry in 2013 as a Vision Rehabilitation Therapist in the Wilkes-Barre District Office. She transferred four years later to the Special Programs Division,  where she assisted in creating instructional materials, checking the accessibility of websites and documents, training staff on the use of assistive technology (AT), assisting with the development of AT and vision rehabilitation therapist (VRT) curriculums for programs for transition-aged students and training business enterprise program (BEP) clients in both VRT and AT. Becky has a bachelor’s degree in Anthropology with a minor in Spanish from Edinboro University and a master’s degree in Vision Rehabilitation Therapy from Salus University. She received her Vision Rehabilitation Therapy ACVREP certification in early 2013

Lori Milcic

Lori Milcic is a Deaf Services Coordinator for the Office of Developmental Programs. She has been serving the Deaf, Hard of Hearing, and DeafBlind community for over 20 years. Her roles have spanned direct support professional, counselor, sign language interpreter, interpreter educator, and community volunteer. Her specialties focus on language deprivation, non-traditional and complex communicators, and the impact of culture on communication. She is currently pursuing her PhD in developmental psychology with a research focus on language deprivation.