Dianne Malley

PROJECT DIRECTOR, TRANSITION PATHWAYS, DREXEL UNIVERSITY

Dianne Malley directs the Life Course Outcomes' Transition Pathways initiative, a collection of innovative efforts to improve outcomes for young adults on the autism spectrum. She has years of experience developing family, school and community partnerships to improve outcomes for children.

Dianne has an extensive background in developing partnerships and collaborations with state agencies, schools and communities to improve the authentic engagement of parents in their child's education. For the last ten years, she worked at the Statewide Parent Advocacy Network (SPAN), a nonprofit organization committed to empowering families as advocates and partners in improving education, health, and mental health outcomes for children and youth in New Jersey. During her time at SPAN, she led a number of initiatives that supported the inclusion of students with disabilities to improve college and career readiness; developed family and community partnerships to support students with learning and behavioral challenges; increased family resources and developed efforts to increase the capacity of parents as leaders in their communities to create positive change.

She received a Master of Fine Arts from the State University of New York at Buffalo and has completed a Certificate in Nonprofit Management from the Nonprofit Center at La Salle University’s School of Business. Dianne is the mother of three daughters. As a parent of a young adult with a developmental disability, she has direct experience with the multiple systems that impact children with special needs and their families. Her personal experiences advocating for her daughter to be included in school and the community fuel her commitment to promoting inclusion for all people.