Faculty & Staff Details
Nila Benito
Coordinator of Community Supports & Public Policy
Division of Applied Research and Educational Support (DARES)
Brief Biography
Nila Benito is Coordinator of Community Supports and Public Policy for the USF-University Center for Excellence on Developmental Disabilities. She also works on special projects for the University of South Florida, Center for Autism & Related Disabilities 1997-2005. Nila's primary focus is to help her sons with autism, Vincent & Joseph, be the best they can be. Through her work at USF, she promotes positive outcomes for and a greater understanding of people with developmental disabilities and their families. Before working at USF, she was a reporter for the Tampa Tribune and director of public relations at a children's hospital. In 2004, Nila was appointed as chairperson of the Governor's Blue Ribbon Task Force on Employment, Community Living, and School to Work Transition. In 2002, she was elected to two-year term as chairperson of the Florida Developmental Disabilities Planning Council. She serves as a member of the Department of Education's Statewide Advisory Committee. Nila's professional journal publications and primary interests are in family/professional collaboration, inclusion, peer supports, transition, customized employment, and positive behavior supports.
