Joan Beasley received her PhD in social policy at Brandeis University and is the author and co-founder of the START model. The START model, founded in 1988, is a cross-systems crisis prevention and intervention program used across the U.S. to improve the delivery of critical intellectual/developmental disability and mental health (IDD-MH) services and supports. She has published more than 50 articles, numerous book chapters, and policy reports and has led hundreds of presentations on the mental health aspect of intellectual disabilities nationally and internationally. Her service includes work as a subject matter expert for states and federal agencies, advisor to PhD students around the U.S., and consultant to crisis teams who provide critical life and community supports to people with complex emergency needs.