Interview Series: Sharon Alert-Burgess, Behavior Intervention Specialist
The following is an interview of Sharon Alert-Burgess. Ms. Alert-Burgess is a Behavior Intervention Specialist (BIS) in Queens, New York. We appreciate her for taking the time to answer these questions. JJ: Where did you go for your bachelor's and master's degrees? What did you major in? M.S.Ed., East Stroudsburg University (ESU) B.A. Psychology, York College (CUNY) JJ: How long have you been in the field? What made you select being a BIS as a career? I started working in this field in 1999 after I graduated high school. I began in Early Intervention doing ABA with Children who were diagnosed with Autism. After high school, I
Working with the Developmentally Disabled
November will mark the start of my tenth year working in the intellectually & developmentally disabled field. I spent my 30s, in various shapes and forms, caring for those that are recognized in the general public as the mentally retarded. In fact, using the developmentally disabled to refer to those I serve, generally results in confusion. It requires a longer conversation. Outside of the field, most people don’t know of whom I am referring to with that usage. I don’t blame them. Prior to my entry into the field, I wasn’t familiar with the usage either. I knew only of one such person, and
Should Claude Joseph have Stepped Down?: The Aftermath of the Assassination of Jovenel Moïse (Thus Far)
In the aftermath of President Jovenel Moïse's brutal assassination, speculations have run amok concerning possible culprits. One of the names that seem to be dominating conspiratorial spaces is that of Claude Joseph, Haiti's (now former) Interim Prime Minister. Joseph took up the function of acting president for the period until elections are held in the fall. Joseph earned a Ph.D. in public and urban policy from the Milano School of International Affairs, Management, and Urban Policy at The New School in 2018. His dissertation was entitled Three Essays on Foreign Aid, Institutions, and Development (The New School; see also SAGE). No
Social Justice and North American Haitian Seventh-day Adventism
It is no secret that there is a disconnect between the North American Haitian Seventh-day Adventist church (NAHSDAC) and social justice. I’m specifically speaking of the NAHSDAC in the northeast of the United States since that’s the one I’m familiar with. The reasons as to why aren’t all the same as is with Adventist churches of other nationalities and social-ethnic groups. To be fair, members of the church have participated in protests to support Haitian concerns in the country. For instance, “In 1990, the FDA recommended a policy of banning blood donations from people of Haitian and sub-Saharan African origin,