John Morris, PhD, FACRM - Director

John is a senior clinical research scientist at Shepherd Center and project director for several grant funded research and development projects on assistive technology, accessibility and user experience. From 2008-2015, John led the ongoing development of the national Consumer Advisory Network (CAN) and cornerstone Survey of User Needs (SUN) projects for the Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center for Wireless Technologies, which provided the model for the Accessibility User Research Collective (AURC). John earned his doctorate degree in political science at the University of Texas at Austin. He is a user-experience and user-needs research professional with over 30 publications and presentations on disability and technology. Before joining Shepherd Center, John worked for Oracle Corporation as senior product development manager. In collaboration with the rest of the team, John leads the AURC’s overall direction and long-term planning. John’s passions are for travel. He claims it’s to get new perspectives. Sure seems like leisure.

Delaney Cowart - User Experience Research Program Manager

Delaney is a user experience researcher for the AURC at Shepherd Center. She recruits AURC members for studies, manages the database of members, and designs and implements data collection tools. Delaney graduated from the University of North Carolina with a B.S. in Biomedical Engineering, so she loves finding and testing new technology that’s designed inclusively. In 2019, she co-founded Carolina Adapts Toys for Children (CATCH, Inc), a non-profit organization that makes toys more accessible for children with disabilities. In her free time, you can find her hiking in national and state parks, whipping up a cool new recipe, or schooling the boys on the soccer field.

Raeda Anderson, PhD - Project Manager and Senior Consumer Insights Analyst

Raeda is a Research Scientist at Shepherd Center where she also serves as project director for several NIDILRR funded grants on technology and disability. Raeda is an applied sociologist, demographer, and survey methodologist. She earned her PhD in Sociology at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Prior to working at Shepherd Center, Raeda was an assistant professor and Quantitative Data Specialist at Georgia State University. Dr. Anderson has extensive experience conducting quantitative and qualitative research, and publishing and presenting at national conferences on disability, inclusion, social interaction and mental health. Raeda leads research design and data analysis, and she manages engagement with Microsoft product teams and consumers. When not cultivating new insights into research, Raeda nurtures vegetables and hay on her family’s farm south of Atlanta. Raeda also loves national parks and white water rafting. If you have any suggestions for a hidden gem in a national park, let her know!

 

Ben Lippincott - Project Manager and Consumer Engagement Strategist

For over 15 years Ben has worked at the intersection of consumer technology, accessibility, user needs and disability. He has worked on a variety of federally funded RERC and DRRP grants, as well as industry-sponsored research initiatives. He is currently studying how people with disabilities use mHealth apps on their mobile devices for the LiveWell App Factory project on user experience mobile application research. Since 2011, Ben has been disability/accessibility advisor on AT&T’s Advisory Panel on Access and Aging. Prior to working at Shepherd Center, Ben worked as a hardware product representative for IBM. Ben has published and presented at national conferences on assistive technology and accessibility. Ben manages AURC projects and engagement with Microsoft project teams. He also leads the AURC’s consumer outreach program. In his spare time he attempts to lazily perfect the art of smoking pork butts, and is always on the lookout for an accessible spot to go fishing. If you know of one, hit him up, he’ll trade info for delicious BBQ.

 

Kelsey Koupal, MA, CCC-SLP - User Experience Researcher

Kelsey is a user experience researcher for the AURC at Shepherd Center. Her responsibilities include recruiting members for studies, tracking data, and designing and implementing various research projects with partners. Kelsey graduated with a M.A. in Speech Language Pathology at the University of South Dakota, and holds degrees in Communication Disorders, Interpersonal Disability Studies, and Spanish. She led South Dakota in the Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities program during her graduate years. Before coming to Shepherd, she was a practicing speech language pathologist and specialized in pediatric neurodevelopmental disabilities. She also was a program manager for Special Olympics International and ran multiple qualitative research projects over the years.  Kelsey is a transplant to the Atlanta area from northern Minnesota and has enjoyed the fact that she does not worry about getting snowed in during the wintertime here. In her free time, you can find Kelsey at Piedmont Park with her dog, Tucker. She also likes to cook and put out the occasional fire when her kitchen creations get the best of her!