Rate My Professor Dr. Angelica Downey

Dr. Angelica Downey, Ph.D., is an Instructor in the Department of Special Education at Florida Atlantic University’s College of Education. Since 2015, she has served as Coordinator, Advisor, and Instructor for the Academy for Community Inclusion (ACI), contributing to its development as one of the original staff members. In this capacity, she instructs courses for ACI students, coordinates the employment component by mentoring and supervising job coaches, and supports students’ workplace success. With 12 years of experience teaching individuals with disabilities at high school and post-secondary levels, her earlier roles include Exceptional Student Education Teacher at Palm Beach County School District (2013-2015), Teacher Assistant there (2012-2013), and Early Intervention Research Coder at Florida State Autism Institute (2010-2012). Downey earned her Ph.D. in Special Education from FAU in 2023, M.Ed. in Exceptional Student Education from FAU in 2014, and B.S. in Psychology from Florida State University in 2012.

Downey’s research focuses on inclusive post-secondary education programs, single-subject design studies addressing employment and independent living skills for individuals with intellectual disability, employment outcomes for adults with intellectual disability, and the Social Security Administration’s Analyzing Relationships between Disability, Rehabilitation and Work (ARDRAW) project. She has co-authored ten peer-reviewed studies conducted at FAU ACI, including Downey, A., Dukes, C., Kearney, K.B., Ramasamy, R., Torres, A., Carey, G., Adams, K., & Kenney, S. (2024), Teaching Workplace Communication Skills to College Students with Intellectual Disability, Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation; Downey, A., Kearney, K.B., Adams, K., Brady, M.P., Berlingo, L., & Kenney, S. (2023), Effects of remote audio coaching on workplace communication for college students with intellectual disability, Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation; Downey, A., Torres, A., Kearney, K.B., Brady, M.P., & Katz, J. (2021), Teaching virtual job interview skills to college students with IDD using literacy-based behavioral interventions, Career Development and Transition for Exceptional Individuals; and Joseph, B.M., Kearney, K., Brady, M.P., Downey, A., & Torres, A. (2020), Teaching small talk: Increasing on-topic conversational exchanges in college students with intellectual and developmental disabilities using remote audio coaching, Behavior Modification. She received the 2021 Policy Research, Inc., ARDRAW Small Grant Program award. Downey has presented at conferences including the Council for Exceptional Children Division on Autism and Developmental Disabilities and the National Rehabilitation Education Conference. Her service encompasses peer reviewing for Career Development and Transition for Exceptional Individuals (2021-2022), participation in departmental committees for doctoral planning, undergraduate planning, and textbook/course materials, and membership in the Council for In Transition Youth of Palm Beach County. She teaches courses such as EEX 4070 Inclusive Education for General Educators, EEX 6210 Assessment of Students with ASD, EDG 6408 Managing Inclusive Classrooms, and ACI employability skills courses including SLS 1304 Career Exploration and SLS 2943 Career Internship.