About

Dara Chan, Sc.D., CRC, is leading research on multiple grants focused on improving community participation for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). As a NIDILRR Switzer Research Fellow, she used Global Positioning System (GPS) and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) mapping to understand meaningful participation and service use of autistic adults and is now building on these methods in a multi-PI NIMH R21 examining community participation, social connections, and suicide risk in older autistic and non-autistic adults. Chan is also co-leading the UNC Higher Education, Employment, and Living Success (HEELS) 2 Transition program, an interdisciplinary collaborative funded by Oak Foundation which provides year-round, on-campus programming for individuals with IDD focused on developing critical skills for the transition to adulthood. In partnership with FPG, Chan is Co-PI on a related NIDILRR development project, “HEELS 2 Participation,” converting existing in-person HEELS programming into e-learning modules to increase accessibility and dissemination.