NR16RoblesJavier0583c6x6Director

Teaching Instructor:  Department of Kinesiology and Health
Area:  Special Populations
End Degree:  Juris Doctorate
Office:  Loree Gym 109
Phone:  848-932-7046
Email:  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Specialization:  Special Populations, Employment and Disabilities

 

Javier Robles is a professor at Rutgers University. He is a Juris Doctor graduate of Seton Hall Law School and a graduate of Rutgers University. Javier Robles is a faculty member and professor of The Kinesiology and Health Department and Co-chair of the Rutgers University Disability Studies committee. He is the Director of the Center for Disability Sports, Health and Wellness at Rutgers University. He is the Chair of the New Jersey Disabilities Covid-19 Action Committee. Robles was appointed by Gov. Murphy to the Puerto Rico commission and was recently appointed to the United Spinal National Board and a Commissioner of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation National Commission to Transform Public Health Data Systems. He the Vice President of the Latino Action Network of New Jersey (LAN) and was on the board of Canine Companion for Independence Northeast Board for 15 years. He is the Founder of the Facebook Group, “People with Disabilities Helping Each Other Survive the Coronavirus.”

Until 2010, he served as the Deputy Director of the NJ Division of Disability Services (DDS), a $370 million division situated in the New Jersey Department of Human Services, and which provides monthly services to over 19,000 people with disabilities. He also worked as the Project Officer for the NJ Medicaid Infrastructure Grant, which sought to change employment outcomes for people with disabilities, and he oversaw the Personal Assistance Services Program (PASP), the NJ Modular Ramp and Low-Riser Step Program, and the Personal Preference Program, and was a member of the Governor’s Blue-Ribbon Panel on immigration.

Robles was also past Chairperson of the Drug and Alcohol Advisory Council for the Deaf, Hard of Hearing, and Disabled, a past member of the Governor’s Working Group on Latino Issues, and he served on the NJIT’s EmployMe! and Business Advisory Council. He was an organizer for both New Jersey’s first Latino Health Conference and the Latinos with Disabilities Employment Conference and was the planning group’s Chairperson for the Governors Conference on Employment of People with Disabilities and for the African Americans with Disabilities Employment Conference. Moreover, he was a delegate and founding member of the Latino Leadership Alliance of NJ, a statewide umbrella organization for Hispanic agencies and businesses, and a board member of both Canine Companions for Independence and Project Freedom.

In addition to his vast experience, Robles has received numerous awards and recognitions, including the Minorities with Disabilities Advocacy Award, the Seton Hall University Ramón Ramos Medal of Courage, the Comité Noviembre Award, the Rutgers University President of the Year Award, the Project Freedom’s Angel Award, and as the northeast Ambassador for Canine Companions for Independence. He has been published in Seleciones, New Mobility, Disability.gov, Survival After SCI, and ThisAbled.com, and has been featured in the Star Ledger, Home News Tribune, and on Despierta America, The Roccio Show, Images/Imagines, Sally Jesse Raphael, and We the People.

Robles is a life-long resident of New Jersey. He has two children and and lives with his wife, daughter and service dog in New Jersey.