Ben Schwartzman

Dr. Ben Schwartzman is a Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Special Education at Vanderbilt University and is the Principal Investigator for the Tennessee Employment Pathways Project. Dr. Schwartzman specializes in helping transition-aged individuals with IDD and their families navigate the process of connecting to paid employment. He is currently working with Tennessee’s Department of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (DIDD) to: (a) create an Employment First accreditation program for training job coaches and community provider agencies, and (b) develop a curriculum for community provider agencies to use to train and hire peer mentors with IDD. Prior to his work at Vanderbilt, as a faculty member at Foothill College, Dr. Schwartzman led the Tools for Transition and Work Program which is a community college program for young adults with IDD. Dr. Schwartzman received his Ph.D. from UCLA where he specialized in interventions for youth and young adults with autism.