Donna Doherty, M.S.

College of Education and Human Development
5766 Shibles Hall, Room 326 | Orono, ME 04469-5766

Bio: Donna Doherty’s education, experience, and research interests focus on children’s health and developmental disabilities, and their impact on family life. Past work includes research, program development and support for families affected by disorders of the corpus callosum for the Agenesis of the Corpus Callosum Network at the University of Maine College of Education and Human Development and for the National Organization for Disorders of the Corpus Callosum in Yorba Linda, Calif.

Donna is currently director of MAIER’s Family Partnership (MFP) at the Maine Autism Institute for Education and Research. The MFP works with individuals and families affected by autism spectrum disorders to promote greater awareness, education, support and research. Donna served as project coordinator and co-editor of the “Maine Parent Guide to Autism Spectrum Disorders” booklets. She works to enhance community partnerships with Maine agencies and organizations dedicated to autism spectrum disorders, and partners with UMaine students and faculty to support student experiences in the field of autism.

As a research associate, Donna leads and collaborates in scientific and educational program evaluations. Specific skills include the development of research protocols, online survey data collection, conducting interviews and focus groups, data analysis, and report writing. Recent projects include course and program evaluations for a nonprofit genomics/genetic laboratory, National Science Foundation-funded summer undergraduate research programs, and a U.S.