Mary Kay Rizzolo, PhD
Associate Director, Institute on Disability and Human Development
Clinical Associate Professor, Department of Disability and Human Development
Phone 312-413-8879
Fax 312-413-1620
Email mrizzo3@uic.edu
Office 245
Bio
Mary Kay Rizzolo is the Associate Director of the Institute on Disability and Human Development (IDHD), the University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities for the State of Illinois. Dr. Rizzolo received her BA and MA in psychology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and North Carolina Central University, respectively. She received her doctoral degree in Public Health from the University of Illinois at Chicago in 2005 where her dissertation research focused on the determinants of state use of nursing homes and state-operated institutions for persons with developmental disabilities.
Research Interests
Dr. Rizzolo has published numerous peer-reviewed journal articles, book chapters, and monographs on financial and programmatic trends in the states and the nation; state commitments for family support, supported living, and supported employment; and assistive technology for persons with cognitive disabilities. Over the past 15 yearsshe has served as a professional research assistant at The Coleman Institute for Cognitive Disabilities, as a policy analyst for The State of the States in Developmental Disabilities Project, as a research assistant in the Kiley Evaluation Project in Illinois, and as a Habilitation Coordinator at a large ICF/MR in North Carolina, where she managed a residential unit for individuals with dual diagnosis.