Sandra Aldana appointed to the California State Council on Developmental Disabilities

Sandra Aldana, an alumnus of UC Santa Barbara’s Gevirtz School, was appointed by Governor Jerry Brown to the California State Council on Developmental Disabilities.

The State Council on Developmental Disabilities (SCDD) is established by federal law (Developmental Disabilities and Bill of Rights Act) and state law (Lanterman Act at Welfare and Institutions Code, section 4520 et. seq.). SCDD is to ensure that individuals with developmental disabilities and their families participate in the planning, design and receipt of the services and supports they need which promote increased independence, productivity, inclusion and self-determination. Federal law requires SCDD to identify methods to improve and increase services for individuals and their families and to submit these to the federal government in the form of a State Plan. The State Plan is approved by the federal Administration on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (AIDD). AIDD is the funding source for SCDD and its State Plan Activities. SCDD and its regional offices’ primary work is achieving the State Plan goals, objectives, and strategies.

Dr. Aldana received her Ph.D. from the Gevirtz School’s Department of Education in the area of special education, disability, and risk studies, working with advisor Dr. George Singer, in 2012. She also has a Master’s of Public Health degree in health education from California State University, Northridge. Aldana has been a technical assistant at JFA Avionics since 2010. Over her career she has worked with the Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Association's Kern County Patient and Caregiver Support Group, the American Stroke Foundation, the United Cerebral Palsy Chatsworth Chapter, and the World Health Organization. Aldana is a member of the California State Council on Developmental Disabilities Central Coast Regional Advisory Board, American Association of University Women and the American Public Health Association.