Angelica Downey

Angelica Downey, Ph.D., is an Instructor for the Florida Atlantic University Department of Special Education. She received her Doctorate’s and Master’s degrees in Special Education from Florida Atlantic University and assisted in the development of the Inclusive Post-Secondary Education program, FAU Academy for Community Inclusion (ACI). As one of the original staff since the creation of FAU ACI, Dr. Downey currently instructs courses for the students in the program and coordinates the employment component of the program by mentoring and supervising job coaches and helping students be successful at work. Dr. Downey has experience teaching coursework at FAU to Education majors and 12 years of teaching individuals with disabilities at the high school or post-secondary level. She is the co-author of ten research studies that were conducted at FAU ACI. In 2021, Dr. Downey was awarded the ARDRAW Small Grant Project to conduct research on workplace communication for adults with ID. She has presented her work on Employment for Individuals with ID at various conferences including the Division on Autism and Developmental Disabilities, Florida Division for Career Development and Transition, Eastern Education Research Association, and National Rehabilitation Education Conference.

Key Words: Inclusive Post-Secondary Education, Intellectual Disability, Career Development