April 18, 2017

Jonathan Martinis, Senior Director of Law and Policy at the Burton Blatt Institute (BBI), will serve as a distinguished speaker and expert on Supported Decision-Making (SDM) at the Saks Institute for Mental Health Law, Policy, and Ethics’ Spring Symposium on Monday, April 24. The event, entitled “Supported Decision-Making: Giving Mental Health a Voice,” will be moderated by The New York Times’ Ben Carey and will feature several notable speakers and panelists including Martinis, Director of the Saks Institute and BBI Board Member Elyn Saks, SDM advocates Ryan and Susie King, and Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg. The symposium will have three panels, each of which will discuss a different perspective on supported decision-making. This will include the consumer perspective, the professional/medical perspective, and the legal/international perspective.

Martinis will lead off the panels with a presentation on how supported decision-making protects the rights and increases empowerment for individuals with disabilities. He will also be a participant on the consumer perspective panel.

About the Saks Institute

The Saks Institute for Mental Health Law, Policy, and Ethics is a think tank founded to foster interdisciplinary and collaborative research among scholars and policymakers around issues of mental illness and mental health. As a research institute, the goal is to study issues at the intersection of law, mental health, and ethics as well as influence policy reform and advocacy actions for improved treatment of people with mental illness. Ultimately, an interdisciplinary approach to these important issues will promote a society of well-rounded persons who work with deep satisfaction and integrity and enjoy a clear mind.

About the Burton Blatt Institute

BBI reaches around the globe in its efforts to advance the civic, economic, and social participation of people with disabilities, with offices in Syracuse, NY, Washington, D.C., and Atlanta, Georgia. BBI builds on the legacy of Burton Blatt, a pioneering disability rights scholar, to better the lives of people with disabilities. For more information about BBI and the dates and locations of the seminar series, visit: https://bbi.syr.edu.