פרופ' כרמית נעה שפיגלמן

Dr. Carmit-Noa Shpigelman is a senior lecturer in the Department of Community Mental Health at the University of Haifa. She completed her B.A. and M.A. in education (Cum Laude) and her Ph.D. in special education and occupational therapy, both degrees at the University of Haifa. She completed her postdoctoral studies in the Department of Disability and Human Development at the University of Illinois at Chicago, USA.

Dr. Shpigleman specializes in disability studies, mental health, and social technologies. Her research focuses on the social and emotional aspects of living with a lifelong disability, including community participation, quality of life, and well-being of adults and older adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) and psychiatric disabilities. She focuses on various life domains such as employment, higher education, and family, especially parents with disabilities. Her research projects promote the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (https://sdgs.un.org/goals ; SDGs-3-5, 10, 14, 16). Dr. Shpigelman has been awarded national and international grant funds and has extensively published articles and book chapters.

As a woman, a single mom by choice, and a researcher with a physical disability, Dr. Shpigelman serves also as a community activist --She is a voluntarily member of Access Israel and accessible community group in Kiryat-Bialik.  She takes part of a group of advocates who promote awareness of the rights of people with disabilities through lectures on behalf of the Israeli Community Centers Association. Dr. Shpigelman is also a member of a local musical ensemble of singers with and without a disability; a group aimed to promote social connections and attitude change toward people with disabilities by inclusion in recreational activities.