Lauren J. Lieberman Ph.D. is a Distinguished Service Professor in the Kinesiology Department at The State University of New York at Brockport, (SUNY) in adapted physical education. She started her career teaching at The Perkins School for the Blind in the Deafblind program. She is co-director of The Institute on Movement Studies for Individuals with Visual Impairments or Deafblindness (IMSVI)( Seewww.brockport.edu/IMSVI) . She is the founder and director of Camp Abilities: An educational sports camp for children with visual impairments.
Camp Abilities has been replicated in 20 states and eight countries. (www.campabilities.org and www.campabilitiesworld.com) She has published over 200 peer-reviewed articles and 23 books. She has delivered Keynote presentations and was an invited guest speaker all over the US and in over 15 countries. She won an Access Award from AFB for starting Camp Abilities and helping to start camps all over the world, a Professional of the Year Award from The Society for Health and Physical Education (Adapted Physical Education Committee), and a Research Award from the National Consortium for Physical Education and Recreation for Individuals with Disabilities.
She is a Research Fellow with the International Federation of Adapted Physical Activity. In 2017 she won a Points of Light Award for her work with Camp Abilities from the US Government. Camp Abilities has been featured on CNN, HBO Real Sports, and on NBC. In the Fall of 2019, she was awarded a Global Fulbright Scholarship to promote Camp Abilities worldwide. She won the Joy of Effort Award from SHAPE America in 2021 and the Julian Stein Lifetime Achievement Award from SHAPE America in 2023.