Session Sorter
The Session Sorter helps you search through the catalog of OCALICONLINE sessions to find ones that best match your work and interests. Sort sessions by one or more of the fields below. Additional sessions and presenters will be added in the coming weeks. Please continue to check back for more updates throughout the summer.
All times are Eastern Standard Time (EST UTC-5). Presentation days and times are subject to change. All updates will be reflected here in real time.
My Schedule
Use "My Schedule" to save selected sessions to create your own personal schedule. OCALICONLINE participants, log in to access "My Schedule".
Learn more about My Schedule
Save selected sessions to create your own personal schedule:
- Click the "Add to My Schedule" button to save sessions.
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- Master Tip: Save two or more sessions for each time block so you always have a back up session.
Please note that adding a session to "My Schedule" does not reserve a seat for you, but is simply intended to help narrow your choices and decide which sessions to attend.
Total Sessions Found: 1 | Reset Sorter
| Title | Date / Time | Presenters | |
|---|---|---|---|
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Getting Ready for the Annual Federal Quota Census
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Wednesday
8:45 - 9:45 am | Presenters: Jennifer Govender , Kelly Houston , Judy Siens , Sarah Buoni |
Presenter Detail
Josephine Acord
Josephine (Josie) Acord, received her BA in English Literature from Kent State University and is continuing her education through Notre Dame College, pursuing a masters in special education. She worked for two years as a language arts teacher and one year as an intervention specialist. She is passionate about education, specifically helping the special education population.
Presenter Detail
Tabatha Adkins
Tabatha Adkins, MS, BCBA, is a Clinical Supervisor and Associate Researcher at Easterseals Southern California. Mrs. Adkins has been a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) since 2013, worked in the field of applied behavior analysis to provide in-home community-based services to individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and their families since 2010, and supervised a minimum of twelve BCBA candidates. She is currently a doctoral student who is projected to obtain her PhD in Psychology, specializing in Behavior Analysis in 2023. Her research experience is related to the use of conditioned auditory reinforcers, stimulus-stimulus pairing, and telehealth interventions.
Presenter Detail
Michelle Aldridge
Michelle was raised in Columbus, Ohio, and has lived in rural southern Ohio for the last 15 years. She has a bachelor's degree from Ohio University in PreK-3 education and a master's degree from Shawnee State University in Special Education. Michelle has been an intervention specialist for 10 years, starting the first four years of her career working with PreK students to adults with moderate to severe disabilities. She is currently a kindergarten intervention specialist, working with students with mild to moderate disabilities. Michelle is also the Special Olympics coordinator for the Rock Hill Local School District and is a member of the Lawrence County Ohio Special Olympics committee.
Presenter Detail
Mashael Aljuaid
Mashael Aljuaid holds a Bachelor's degree in Libraries and Information from King Abdulaziz University in Saudi Arabia, and a Master's degree in Special Education from Arizona State University, USA. Mashael is now a doctoral student at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Department of Special Education. Mashael worked as a lecturer from 2015 to 2018 at Umm Al-Qura University in Saudi Arabia.
Presenter Detail
Chrissy Allen
Chrissy Beardsley Allen joined Blue Hill Heritage Trust as their first Outreach & Development Coordinator in summer of 2015 and was promoted to Development Director in 2017. She has diverse experience in event planning, marketing, web design, hospitality, development, and community outreach and education. Chrissy grew up on a farm and spent her summers exploring the forests and beaches on her family's land on coastal Maine. This has instilled in her the importance of farmland protection and made her an advocate for land preservation and access for all in public open spaces.
Presenter Detail
Jenna Allen
Jenna Allen is a transition to adulthood consultant at the OCALI Lifespan Transitions Center. Her professional experience includes provision and supervision of services to youth and adults with disabilities, with a primary focus on community inclusion and integrated employment, and frontline roles in the fields of education and community health. She is a certified Charting the LifeCourse Ambassador.
Presenter Detail
Ashley Anderson
Ashley Anderson is a part-time doctoral student at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. She has 10 years of experience teaching in the classroom, serving students with extensive support needs. Her research interests include supporting students with extensive support needs, communication, early transition-based skill learning, and community-based instruction. In her spare time she serves as the local coordinator for Special Olympics Gaston County and participates in several professional organizations. She enjoys spending time with my family and friends, participating in sports and outdoor activities, baking, and crafting.
Presenter Detail
Rob Anderson
Rob Anderson has a master of social work from the University of Pittsburgh and has been a counselor in the state of Pennsylvania. Over the course of the last decade, he has worked in a high school with students with autism, developmental disabilities, and others who need emotional support. Rob is the director, trainer, and part of the authoring team for the Healthy Relationships Curriculum and a counselor utilizing the unique approach to educating life-skills. As a brother of an individual with autism, Rob has seen firsthand the impact life challenges can have on a family, as well as the individual trying to understand the world around them.
Presenter Detail
Andrew Arboe
Andrew Arboe is the Founder of Driving with Autism. An autistic self-advocate, Andrew has worked in the autism community as a job coach, a director of community outreach, and a consultant for autistic adults over the last several years. He engages new autistic drivers and their families with his webinar series that goes over the driving journey, which is based on his own experiences driving and consulting with individuals. Andrew has been featured on several podcasts nationwide like "Autism Live", and written articles for the Autism Spectrum News. He has also presented at conferences such as the US Autism Association, as well as for local nonprofits that serve the autistic community.
Presenter Detail
Brenda Armas
Brenda Armas received her BA in Communicative Disorders from CSU Northridge in 2012. In 2014, she received her MA in ABA from National University. She began in the field of ABA in 2012 and has experience in schools and in-homes working with children with ASD. In 2018, she became a board certified behavior analyst. She is currently a Clinical Supervisor for Easterseals Southern California in San Diego, CA. Her role is consulting with Child Development Centers, providing trainings to staff on behavior management strategies. Additionally, she provides on-site support to train staff on implementing behavior plans.
Presenter Detail
Lisa Arthur
Lisa Arthur is an educational consultant with the State Support Team, Region 16. She coaches educational leaders in system-wide UDL implementation and coaches teachers at the classroom level. She is a member of the Ohio UDL Collaborative. Arthur also provides learning and support to districts in the area of autism and other complex needs. She earned a master's degree in counseling from Cincinnati Christian University and worked as a licensed professional counselor in the mental health field for 10 years prior to her teaching career. Arthur entered the education profession as a paraprofessional and has been licensed as an intervention specialist for the past 16 years.
Presenter Detail
Iryna Ashby
Dr. Iryna Ashby holds an advance degree in curriculum and instruction (focus on learning design and technology) from Purdue University. She has extensive experience with educational research, course development for online and face-to-face learners, data visualization, and information architecture to support diverse learners. Her research interests include competency-based education, interdisciplinary education and collaboration within and across interdisciplinary teams, lifelong learning, and improvement of online learning experiences and environments. Iryna currently pursues these interests through her position with HANDS in Autism (IU School of Medicine) as an instructional designer.
Presenter Detail
Jennifer Ashley
Jenna Ashley is an instructional technologist with the Center for Learning and Teaching at Old Dominion University (ODU), and a former secondary inclusion mathematics teacher. Jenna is a Google Certified Trainer, Google Certified Coach, a Global GEG Leader, and a Canvas Certified Educator. She graduated ODU with her EdS in educational leadership. She is also physically disabled, autistic/ADHD, and hearing impaired and enjoys helping others make content that is accessible to all. She has presented on digital accessibility at conferences including OETC, VSTE, VCLD, and ISTE.
Presenter Detail
Emily Askea
Emily Askea has been a transition coordinator working at Medina City Schools for the past 13 years. She earned her MEd and Transition to Work Endorsement from Kent State and co-chairs the Medina County Transition Team (MCTT) and Collaborating Agencies for Postsecondary Success (CAPS), Medina county's multi-agency planning team (MAP team). In addition to her work in special education, Emily has a background in vocational assessment and mental health services.
Presenter Detail
Ruth Aspy
Ruth Aspy, PhD, is a licensed psychologist specializing in transdisciplinary assessment and intervention for individuals with ASD. She is co-author of The Ziggurat Model, which earned the Autism Society Literary Achievement Award. Her focus is on understanding underlying strengths and characteristics of those with ASD and designing supports and strategies with these differences in mind. She believes that kindness is at the heart of all good intervention strategies. She has an emphasis on working with females with ASD and on catatonia.
Presenter Detail
Kara Ayers
Kara Ayers, PhD, is the Associate Director and an Associate Professor at the University of Cincinnati Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCCEDD), part of Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center. She is Director of the Center for Dignity in Healthcare for People with Disabilities and co-founder of the Disabled Parenting Project. Dr. Ayers' interests include disability identity, bioethics, inclusion, and the use of media to reduce stigma. Dr. Ayers had an opportunity to spread her work widely this year, speaking at the White House and to news outlets. She infuses the mantra "Nothing about us without us" into all her pursuits.
Presenter Detail
Tammy Bachrach
Tammy Bachrach is an Associate Professor of Special Education at Azusa Pacific University (APU) in Southern California. Before assuming her position at APU, Tammy was a general and special educator for 18 years, working with both primary and secondary students with disabilities. Tammy grew up in the disability community as the daughter and sister of individuals with intellectual disabilities. Her scholarly work has focused on examining the lived experiences of children raised by parents with intellectual disabilities, disability studies, faith communities, inclusive schools, and family studies.
Presenter Detail
Amanda Baggett
Amanda is the transition to work coordinator at the ESC of the Western Reserve. Previously, she was a job training coordinator and career assessment specialist. During this time, she obtained her TTW, master of education, and became a certified rehabilitation counselor. In addition to administering assessments, Amanda serves as a resident educator and is part of a multi-agency planning team that is working towards the goal of closing the gap between adult service agencies and teachers. In her current role, Amanda provides transition services to programs and districts in Lake/Geauga counties in Ohio. Amanda was a recipient of the Franklin B. Walter Outstanding Educator Award in 2017 and 2021.
Presenter Detail
Deborah Bailey
Deborah Bailey serves State Support Team Region 9 as an educational consultant with a primary focus on early learning, social emotional learning, and positive behavior interventions and supports (PBIS). She supports districts in the areas of PBIS at both the state and regional levels. Prior to joining the state support team, Debbi spent almost 20 years providing much needed support to teachers and young children who experienced behavioral and social emotional challenges. With her master's degree in educational leadership, Debbi's goal is to partner with districts to provide coaching and professional development around systems and structures that support high quality teaching and learning.
Presenter Detail
Alicia Balfrey
Alicia Balfrey is a training specialist for STAR Autism Support (SAS). She provides workshops and coaching to educators across North America and internationally, supporting implementation of evidence-based strategies for students with ASD and other developmental disabilities pre-K through post-secondary. Alicia previously taught an autism classroom using the STAR Program and served as a training site model for other educational teams around the state of Oregon. She has a background in ABA and received her master's in EI/ECSE from the University of Oregon. As Diversity Manager, Alicia facilitates diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives at SAS.
Presenter Detail
Keith Banner
Keith Banner is the Employment First and Community Life Engagement project manager with Employment First/Ohio Department of Developmental Disabilities. He has worked in the DD field in Ohio for over 28 years, including positions as a work incentives practitioner, employment services coordinator for Butler County Board of DD, and project lead for the Employment Navigation Technical Liaison Project. Banner occasionally teaches disabilities studies and other courses at Miami University. He helped co-found Visionaries + Voices and Thunder-Sky, Inc., two community-based arts organizations in Cincinnati.
Presenter Detail
Damilola Banwo Oyalaja
Damilola Banwo Oyalaja is a seasoned disability management enthusiast, focused on empowering, coaching, mentoring, and supporting individuals living with disabilities, and training professionals who support persons with disabilities. She holds a master's of psychology degree from University of South Wales, UK, and a bachelor of occupational therapy degree from SRM University, India. Damilola is an ardent advocate for vocational skills development as a means of facilitating functional independence, emotional wellbeing, and sustainability amongst individuals living with a disability.
Presenter Detail
Erica Bardon
Erica Bardon is one of two assistive technology teachers at the Ohio State School for the Blind (OSSB). Prior to that she was an English teacher at a Columbus charter school and then at OSSB. She completed the Shawnee State TVI program in 2018. She is passionate about accessibility, braille literacy, and the future well-being of her students.
Presenter Detail
Jennifer Barnes
Jennifer Barnes is an education program specialist at the Ohio Department of Education in the Office of Early Learning and School Readiness. Jennifer coordinates, trains, supports, and monitors compliance with IDEA, federal, and state law for early childhood preschool special education throughout the state of Ohio.
Presenter Detail
Julian Barton
Julian is the founder of autism-positive.com, presenting "Spectrum Voices" on Autistic Radio, a radio station focused on the voices of autistic groups and individuals. Jules also leads "Spectrum Voices Forum," where autistics represent themselves in cooperation with researchers & autism professionals. He is the joint founder of the twice-weekly "Spectrum Voices Conversation," which encouraging diverse autistic inclusion. Autistic Radio Day was his latest project, launched earlier this year. Julian describes his passion as the positive representation of the autistic identity and working to enable a cooperative interface between autistic people and autism professionals.
Presenter Detail
Suzie Beaumont
Suzie Beaumont is a qualified careers advisor and lead. She has worked with students at Doncaster Deaf Trust who are deaf, hard of hearing, and those with different communication difficulties for the last 19 years. She is a qualified teacher and British Sign Language user. In her current role, she leads the Careers Programme at Communication Specialist College, ensuring all students have access to a meaningful careers education with access to real employers.
Presenter Detail
Isaac Beavers
Isaac Beavers is a graduate of Alabama School for the Blind, the University of Alabama (BA, psychology), and Auburn University (MEd, rehabilitation counseling). In 2013, Isaac became a certified rehabilitation counselor and currently serves on the national CRCC board. Isaac has worked for the Alabama Institute for Deaf and Blind (AIDB) for over 25 years as a case manager and a regional director at the Huntsville Regional Center.
Presenter Detail
Tabitha Belhorn
Tabitha Belhorn, BA, studied psychology and vocal performance at Heidelberg University and is currently working on her master's degree in business psychology. She has three children, the oldest of whom is deaf. Tabitha is the executive director of Ohio Hands & Voices and a Parent Mentor at the Ohio School for the Deaf. She has worked with families of children who are deaf, hard of hearing, deaf plus additional disabilities, or deaf-blind for almost 15 years. She serves on multiple advisory committees and has been a member of the SAPEC, and served as the co-chair for the UNHS Subcommittee.
Presenter Detail
Shawna Benson
Shawna Benson has worked at OCALI since 2008, where she is the program director for the Teaching Diverse Learners Center. In addition to working at OCALI, she has also worked within Ohio school districts, ESCs, SSTs, DODD, private preschool and higher education as an educator, assistive technology specialist, autism/low incidence specialist, literacy specialist, associate professor and director of disability services. She has experience co-teaching in inclusive settings and providing academic instruction/intervention to students with a wide range of exceptionalities, ages, strengths and needs, which has provided her with a wealth of information that she now applies to her current work.
Presenter Detail
Layla Besson
Layla Besson, PhD, professor of education, spent most of the past 25 years as special education teacher. She also served as a special education administrator, a gifted teacher, and an ELL teacher. Layla joined the faculty at Wittenberg University in 2020. Since 2001, Layla has also taught as an adjunct education professor for various colleges and as a professional development instructor at districts across Ohio. She is passionate about providing teachers with the tools they need to succeed. Layla completed her BS in education at the University of Southern California. She earned her MA in special education from the Ohio State University and her PhD from Capella University in Minnesota.
Presenter Detail
Stacey Betts
Stacey Betts is an assistant principal with Doncaster Deaf Trust.
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Rachel Bigham
Rachel Bigham, MEd, TVI, COMS, serves Zanesville City Schools in southeastern Ohio. Rachel has taught as an adjunct faculty member and consultant for The Ohio State University program in orientation and mobility. Rachel received her bachelor's degree in psychology from Ohio University and her master's in visual impairments education from The Ohio State University with a focus on CVI. Rachel has served across age settings and seeks to provide valuable information and ideas into all areas of visual impairment services. Rachel has presented on numerous occasions, including OCALICON 2018, 2019, and 2020, and has published several articles and book reviews.
Presenter Detail
Amy Bixler Coffin
Amy Bixler Coffin, MS, is program director of the Autism Center at OCALI. An educator in special education for 32 years, Coffin has served as an intervention specialist, low-incidence supervisor, director of special education, and autism program director. She currently coordinates and provides regional and statewide professional development for districts, families, and organizations. Coffin has presented at state, national, and international conferences, contributed to several articles and book chapters, and has authored a book on supporting individuals with ASD in the community.
Presenter Detail
Christianna Blanchard-Alworth
Christianna Blanchard-Alworth is an award-winning adapted physical educator with over 20 years of teaching experience using evidence-based practices to improve students' physical fitness and wellness, social-emotional growth, and independent functioning. She is a doctoral student in special education at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia. She is proud to hold several professional certifications, including Autism Fitness Certified Professional, Certified Adapted Physical Educator, and Yoga Kids Tools for Schools Instructor. Currently she serves as the Adapted Physical Education Section Chairperson for the Virginia Association for Physical Education, Health, Recreation, and Dance.
Presenter Detail
Grace Blatt
Grace Blatt has been a Good Life Ambassador for the Cuyahoga County Board of Developmental Disabilities since the creation of the role in 2016. She advocates and promotes the acceptance and embracement of people on the autism spectrum as well as all people with disabilities. Blatt hopes to attain a PhD in neuroscience and is currently attending Cleveland State University in pursuit of a major in psychology and a minor in neuroscience. She hopes to go into the research field and study movement disorders such as Parkinson's disease.
Presenter Detail
Bill Bogdan
Dr. Bill Bogdan began his career as a special education teacher working with students with multiple disabilities, learning disabilities, and significant emotional disturbances. For over 30 years, Bill has served in administrative roles which focused on the provisions of special education services at a local, regional, and state level. As his career progressed, he moved into central office positions, finally serving as assistant superintendent and chief operating officer of a large regional educational service center in the greater Cincinnati area. Simultaneously, he served as executive director of a federally funded regional special education resource center in southwest Ohio.
Presenter Detail
Barbara Boone
Barbara Boone is a strong advocate for family, school, and community partnerships as a mother and professional. She is the director of Ohio's Statewide Family Engagement Center at The Ohio State University. She has 25 years of experience in education, family engagement, learning supports, and delivering training for professionals and parents. At OSU, Boone is researching and working with the Ohio Department of Education and national partners to build the capacity of professionals and families to be partners in supporting each child's learning and healthy development.
Presenter Detail
Shirley Bowald
Shirley Bowald is the employment and community inclusion manager for the Columbiana County Board of Developmental Disabilities, where she is responsible for coordination oversight of employment initiatives. She has over 20 years of experience working with transition youth in a variety of capacities, including coordinator, counselor, consultant and director, and is a successful grant-writer, having written grants for both state (Governor's Drug-Free Schools and Communities, Community Connectors, Straight-A) and federal levels (Workforce Investment Act Youth Program). Bowald has a master's degree in counseling from Asbury Seminary and a bachelor's in English from the University of Kentucky.
Presenter Detail
M. Gayl Bowser
Gayl Bowser, MEd, is an independent consultant whose work focuses on the creation of effective, legal and high-quality service systems to encourage integration of technology into programs for people with disabilities. Formerly the coordinator of the Oregon Technology Access Program (OTAP) and Oregon's Specialist in Assistive Technology, Gayl provides consultation, training and technical assistance throughout the United States and internationally. She is a teacher by training, a founding member of the Quality Indicators for Assistive Technology (QIAT) Consortium and a co-author of several books about AT services.
Presenter Detail
Denia Bradshaw
Denia Guadaluple is an educator, education consultant, disability and performing arts advocate, and a UDL facilitator. She plays flute professionally in the Los Angeles region, and is currently researching and consulting on research-based theories and practices around inclusion, diversity, belonging, and student empowerment.
Presenter Detail
David Brauer
David Brauer is an assessment developer at the Ohio Department of Education in the Office of Assessment, where he manages Ohio's English language proficiency assessments. Previously, David administered the Department's Lau Resource Center for English Learners and coordinated Ohio's Title III grant program, which supports language instruction for English learners. David is chairperson of the English Language Proficiency Assessment for the 21st Century (ELPA21) Governing Board. Before his service at the Department, David directed The Ohio State University's American Language Program, an intensive English program for international students. David also is a former Ohio TESOL president.
Presenter Detail
Kate Brenner
Kate Brenner is currently the supervisor of a multiple disabilities program through Muskingum Valley Educational Service Center where she previously was an intervention specialist for 11 years. She also taught at the program's Camp Grand SLAM for 6 consecutive summers. Brenner co-presented at OCALI in 2010 about unit bin planning, and has assisted in writing an article about implementation of a curriculum map that was published in The Sphere.
Presenter Detail
Kelly Breunig
Kelly Breunig is a transition coordinator with the Educational Service Center of Lorain County. She is contracted to Keystone Local Schools, Avon Lake City Schools, and Firelands Local Schools. She has 14 years of classroom experience in general and special education, working with middle to high school students. The 2022-2023 school year is her fifth year as a transition coordinator. Kelly has a bachelor's in history and secondary education from Mount Union, a master's in mild/moderate special education from Baldwin Wallace, and a transition to work endorsement from Bowling Green State University.
Presenter Detail
Brandy Brewer
Brandy Brewer is an OSEP scholar in her final year of doctoral study at the University of Louisville in the UofL evidence-based practice project. Brandy is pursuing a PhD in curriculum and instruction with specialization in special education. Her advisor is Dr. Tim Landrum. Brandy is passionate about serving students with extensive support needs and their families and is pursuing this work in her dissertation proposal, "Using Remote Teaching to Improve Caregiver Implementation of System of Least Prompts."
Presenter Detail
Sandy Brickner
Sandy Brickner is an information specialist and statewide trainer with the Ohio Coalition for the Education of Children with Disabilities. Throughout the past 20 years with OCECD, she has provided resources, information, technical assistance and statewide training for students, families, parent mentors and other professionals. Prior to working for OCECD, she guided families through the special education process as a Parent Mentor. Sandy's involvement in the educational field started much earlier when she served children and their families as an early childhood educator. It is her belief that ALL students have immense value and unique gifts to share within their community and the world.
Presenter Detail
Julia Brolin
As a former journalist, storytelling is at the core of everything Julia does. She currently works as the marketing manager for Robokind, focusing on using her passions and talents to leverage the power of assistive technology to support students with autism. She is a graduate of St. Cloud State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in mass communication and Bachelor of Arts in communication studies, broadcast journalism.
Presenter Detail
Sarah Brooks
Dr. Sarah Westerfield Brooks is the Assistant Director of Supports and Monitoring at the Ohio Department of Education, Office for Exceptional Children. Sarah has a PhD in special education from the University of Pittsburgh and has a range of experience from early intervention through college transition for individuals with differences. She specializes in family-professional partnerships and collaboration between teams in special education.
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Christine Brown
Christine Brown, a clinical research assistant and self advocate faculty at The Ohio State University Nisonger Center, has been speaking out for the disability community since she was 14. She is focused on seeing people with disabilities know different resources and not having fears of whatever they might be afraid of. She graduated from LEND and was offered to work at the Nisonger Center where she reviews documents for language clarity. She also did a COVID-19 survey of how the public health emergency was impacting people physically, emotionally, psychologically, and also found out how technology has gone from an accessory to being a necessity.
Presenter Detail
Teresa Brown
Teresa Brown, PhD, is the director of State Support Team Region 4. She earned her doctorate in special education from Kent State University, where her research focused on authentic assessment practices, development of quality and legally defensible IFSPs and IEPs, inclusive practices, and promoting early literacy in preschool special education programs. Dr. Brown has training and experience in working with individuals with disabilities from birth through age 21, and has consulted with programs to create high-quality inclusive environments.
Presenter Detail
Grant Bruno
Grant Bruno is a registered member of Samson Cree Nation, one of the reserves that makes up Maskwacis, Alberta, Canada. As a first generation residential school survivor, he is currently pursuing a PhD in Medical Sciences in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Alberta. His research will explore redefining autism through a Nehiyaw (Plains Cree) lens, engaging with key individuals from the autism community, as well as gathering qualitative data on autism in First Nations communities, specifically in Maskwacis. He is a father to two autistic children and his personal philosophy is that autism is not something to be viewed negatively, rather, autism is an adventure to be embraced.
Presenter Detail
Ginny Bryan
Ginny Bryan is the Resource Specialist for the Autism Society Central Ohio and the Information and Referral Coordinator for the Autism Society of Ohio. She has worked in the field helping families affected by autism for over 10 years. Bryan helps advocate and educate families, promotes autism awareness, plans monthly family activities, organizes workshops, coordinates the Coffee, Tea, and Autism support groups and provides information and referral to families, educators and providers. She sits on the executive board of the Ohio Coalition for the Education of Children with Disabilities. Bryan is also a parent of an individual with autism.
Presenter Detail
Wendy Bumbico
Wendy Bumbico, TVI, works for the Early Intervention Program at Ohio State School for the Blind. Using family-centered practices and the primary service provider approach to teaming, Wendy serves babies and young children who are blind or visually impaired throughout multiple Ohio counties. Wendy's specific interests and ongoing education include assessments and interventions for children with neurological visual impairments and dual sensory loss (deafblindness). Wendy most recently participated in the Neurological Visual Impairments in Children Ohio Cohort course through Salus University in Spring 2022.
Presenter Detail
Myra Beth Bundy
Myra Bundy, Ph.D., BCBA is a professor of psychology at Eastern Kentucky University, a Board Certified Behavior Analyst, and a licensed psychologist with specialization in autism and developmental disabilities. She interned at the University of North Carolina's TEACCH program. In the EKU psychology clinic, she works alongside graduate students with individuals with ASD across the lifespan. She researches autism topics, and coordinates the EKU ASD certificate program. She is a clinician with the Kentucky OCSHCN autism clinics. Bundy and her students enjoy spending time with individuals with autism and their families.
Presenter Detail
Sarah Buoni
Sarah Buoni, MEd, is the assistant director for the Diverse Learner Team with the Office for Exceptional Children at the Ohio Department of Education. She has worked in the area of low incidence disabilities for thirteen years as both an administrator and an itinerant teacher. Sarah provides technical assistance to families and districts and informs policy and procedures for the education of children who are deaf/hard of hearing, blind/visually impaired, have traumatic brain injuries or have autism spectrum disorder. Sarah participates on statewide meetings including the Interagency Workgroup on Autism, the Ohio Brain Injury Advisory Committee, and the Communicative Competency Taskforce.
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Sarra Burnham
Sarra Burnham is a Community Life Engagement Project Manager at the Ohio Department of Developmental Disabilities. Before joining DODD in January 2022, Sarra worked at the Lucas County Board of 22 years as an Early Intervention Developmental Specialist, Service and Support Coordinator, and Community Inclusion Manager. She has a bachelor's degree in Social Work and a Master's Degree in Special Education from Bowling Green State University. She is a licensed social worker and has held certifications in Early Intervention, Service and Support Administration, and Adult services.
Presenter Detail
Jon Busack
John Busack is a Registered Professional Electrical Engineer, Engineering Consultant, designer and inventor, for construction, commercial, architectural, retail, government and industrial clients. He has special interests in virtual reality creations and programming and the field of neurolinguistics.
Presenter Detail
MoE Buti
Mo Buti has been a practicing professional in special education for over 32 years. She has served as director of Neumann Family Services and Director of Autism and intellectual disabilities at Chicago Public Schools. She possesses an MEd-BD, MEd-Administration, QIDP certification, Director of Special Education degree/certificate from Illinois, and Type 75 Administrator Certification. Buti is a dynamic speaker and well-respected authority on autism, intellectual disabilities, adult services, behavioral strategies, educational supports, and more.
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Mark W. Butler
Mark Butler is the Director of Founded Ministries for the Dominican Sisters of Peace. In this capacity, Mark oversees governance and mission identity for 21 non-profits in 8 states, including Ohio. He spent 20 years working in Catholic religious education and youth ministry on the parish and diocesan levels. A parent of two young adults with autism, he advocates for the rights of parents and youth with disabilities across Ohio. Mark is a Board Member of the Autism Society of Central Ohio and serves on a number of advisory councils. In 2019 he received the Champion of Children and Youth Award from the Ohio Children and Family First Coordinators Association for his multi-system youth advocacy.
Presenter Detail
Marbella Caceres
Marbella is the Assistant Director of OCECD. Marbella is involved in the daily operations of the Coalition, working closely with all the staff to ensure the best services for families of children with disabilities. She serves all families across the state by providing opportunities for professional development to the staff, as well as current special education information. Marbella is involved in the development of trainings that address the cultural needs in the state of Ohio. Marbella is the mother of a child with special needs, as well as a gifted child. Most recently she has served as a volunteer for the National Alliance on Mental Illness in Franklin County.
Presenter Detail
Jenifer Call
Jen Call is a Service Support Administrator for transition-aged youth at the Medina County Board of Developmental Disabilities. She serves as co-chair of the Medina County Transition Team and co-chair of Collaborating Agencies for Postsecondary Success (CAPS) – Medina County's MAP (multiagency planning) team. Prior to her time at the County Board, Jen was a Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor at Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities. Jen holds a master's of Rehabilitation Counseling degree and Bachelor of Science in Communication Disorders both from Bowling Green State University.
Presenter Detail
Mark Campano
Mark Campano, M.Ed., is the statewide coordinator of the Delaware Program for children with deaf-blindness. He has served children with deaf-blindness in five states in a variety of roles, such as technical assistance specialist and project director. Prior to working in the field of deaf-blindness, he worked with emotionally challenged deaf adolescents in a 24/7, therapeutic milieu in a variety of roles. Campano's education includes a B.A. in psychology/sociology and an M.Ed. in severe intensive special needs. He has a certification for K-12 in deaf-blindness.
Presenter Detail
Amy Campbell
Amy Campbell earned her Master of Education degree from Peabody College at Vanderbilt University and has been in the field of visual impairment, including blindness for over 20 years. Her experience ranges from teaching itinerantly to residential school settings, working with children from birth through high school graduation, and leading educators as a state vision consultant. Currently, she is the learning management system administrator for the American Printing House for the Blind, the world's largest distributor of products and services for individuals with visual impairment.
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Thomas Capretta
Thomas Capretta joined the Center on Education and Training for Employment as the Family Engagement Project Coordinator at the Ohio Statewide Family Engagement Center. Tom previously worked for the Ohio Department of Education where he supported schools to serve students in foster care. Tom, a Cleveland native, holds a BA in religious studies from Seton Hall University and an MPA from the John Glenn College. As a 2012 Teach for America Mississippi Delta Corps Member, Tom taught 4th and 5th grade math and science for three years. Tom lives in the Southern Orchards neighborhood of Columbus with his cats, Maude and Jasper, where they enjoy an extensive collection of records.
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Megan Carpenter
Megan Carpenter, PhD, BCBA, is a post-doctoral researcher at the University of Kansas. Her research focuses on behavioral supports and educator training to support the inclusion of students with extensive support needs.
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Lindsay Carr
Dr. Lindsay Carr has been in the field of education for nearly 20 years. She holds a PhD in Special Education and two teaching licenses in the state of Ohio. She works with neurologically diverse and at-risk student populations and in public schools and higher education. Lindsay has provided professional development trainings throughout her career. She is currently the PLUS Connections Coordinator at Muskingum University working with neurologically diverse students to build success strategies that support transitioning success. Her research focus is on transitioning students with disabilities to college and adulthood, specifically related to self-determination and self-advocacy skills.
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Elizabeth Carter
Elizabeth Carter has been the Parent Mentor for the Parma City School District for the last 7 years. Previous to that, Elizabeth participated in a parent advocacy group based out of her son's non-public charter school, developing and hosting presentations based on her family's experiences having a child on the autism spectrum. Elizabeth is wife to Troy and proud mother of two young men, Drew and Gabe, both of whom have exceptionalities.
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Tami Childs
Tami Childs is a psychologist, autism spectrum specialist, and state leader in ASD in Minnesota. She has worked as a school psychologist and spent 12 years directing autism services for over 500 students in the Minneapolis Public Schools, grades K-12. Currently, Childs coordinates the Minnesota Low-Incidence Project for ASD as well as an Evidence Based Practices grant. Her passion is working with educators and parents to improve outcomes for students with ASD and other disabilities.
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Mina Chun
Dr. Mina Chun is Assistant Professor of Special Education in the Division of Education. Before joining the GSU, she taught at the University of Lynchburg and Austin Peay State University. Dr. Chun received her Ph.D. in Education with an emphasis in Disability Studies at Chapman University, and M.Ed. in Special Education with an emphasis in Low Incidence Disabilities and B.S. Ed. in Special and Elementary Education at Northern Arizona University. Her research centers around exploring ways to promote access, equity, and inclusion for students with autism spectrum disorder and other developmental disabilities in the current diverse society.
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Kim Clairy
Kim Clairy, occupational therapist, international and keynote speaker, private consultant, and self-advocate has unique expertise in understanding the intersection of autism, mental illness, and trauma. Diagnosed with ASD with catatonia, ADHD, SPD, Kim broke through barriers as she struggled with an eating disorder under a system uneducated on neurodivergent populations. She went from being told "Your ASD is severe, you need to live in a nursing home" to educating the community at large through didactic and experiential workshops. Kim gives voice to those unable to articulate their inner worlds by sharing her personal journey and professional expertise as an occupational therapist.
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Amy Clausen
Amy Clausen is a doctoral candidate in the area of special education at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. She holds a Masters of Education in behavior analysis from the University of Cincinnati. Amy's research interests include general curriculum access for students with extensive support needs, and personnel preparation with a focus on inclusive education. Amy has published in Research and Practice for Persons with Severe Disabilities and Education and Training in Autism and Developmental Disorders.
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Amy Clawson
Amy Clawson, BA, is the Northern Ohio Family Support Specialist for Ohio Family to Family. Amy assists families in navigating disability, community and health systems for their children who have disabilities. As a parent of an adult with a disability, she draws on her personal experiences in health and service systems and community integration. Amy leads activities and trainings on topics of importance to individuals with disabilities and families, with special interests in transition to adulthood. Amy serves on local and statewide committees including the Cuyahoga County Committee on Disabilities and the Ohio Department of Health's Transition Workgroup.
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Josh Cobbs
Josh Cobbs is Senior Manager of Employment Initiatives at Autism Speaks. His work encompasses leading day to day operations and implementation of Autism Speaks Workplace Inclusion Now (WIN) digital and virtual programs and platforms, as well as the production and implementation of virtual and hybrid Pathways to Employment events. His past work includes serving as a vocational counselor for the state of Iowa, working with post-secondary institutions on transition and employment programs for individuals with barriers, and founding an autism center. Cobbs resides in Iowa with his wife and three children.
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Bobbi Colatruglio
Bobbi Colatruglio is a speech language pathologist at the Ohio School for the Deaf. She has worked with students with hearing loss for over 10 years at both OSD and Nationwide Children's Hospital. She currently serves students at OSD and is on the team for OSD Statewide Services, providing evaluations and consultations as well as training & support for staff across the state of Ohio. Bobbi is fluent in American Sign Language. She completed the FIRST YEARS program (University of North Carolina) to receive a Certificate in Auditory Learning in Young Children with Hearing Loss. She serves as an advisory council member for the Outreach Center for Deafness and Blindness at OCALI.
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Misty Cole
Misty Cole, MSW, LSW, has been in the field of early childhood education for almost thirty years. Misty has enjoyed supporting children, families, and professionals in each position she has held. Misty works for Hopewell Health Centers in Athens, Ohio, as the Infant & Early Childhood Mental Health Cross Systems Manager. Misty has had the opportunity to provide hundreds of professional development opportunities for professionals working with children and families, and has presented in both statewide ad national arenas. Misty is particularly interested in the topics of trauma, implicit bias, and Appalachian culture but provides training on many other topics.
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Heather Coleman
Heather Coleman, Ph.D., worked as an educator before pursuing a doctoral degree. She taught in an autism specific classroom which confirmed her passion for early childhood autism. Coleman completed the Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities program where she served as an Autism Fellow. She was trained as an Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS) assessor and is research reliable. Coleman's research focuses on young children with autism. She is interested in communication interventions, parent coaching, and personnel preparation. She currently teaches classes related to infant and toddler development and is interested in early and appropriate autism diagnosis.
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Stacy Collins
Stacy Collins is responsible for leading the Community Life Engagement Team at the Ohio Department of Developmental Disabilities. The team's primary focus is to ensure that individuals eligible for DD services in Ohio will have increased opportunities to live, work, and thrive in their homes and communities through state-of-the-art planning, innovative technology, and supports that focus on their talents, interests, and skills. Her goal is to develop a system of continuous innovation and responsiveness, through both the Employment First and Technology First initiatives.
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Lisa Comes
Lisa Comes has been the SSA Advisor for the Ohio Association of County Boards since January of 2020. She has 24 years experience at the Lucas County Board of DD in various positions including eligibility specialist and SSA. Lisa enjoys being the mother of 4 children who are all unique in their own way. Her son is 24-years-old and has Prader Willi Syndrome. Her passion for the field of disabilities started long before she had children and has intensified throughout her parenting experience. As a board member on the Prader Willi Syndrome Association of Ohio for the past 12 years, she has supported people across Ohio with disabilities.
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Alesha Cooper
Alesha has worked within support for a number of years, holding posts from support worker and autism practitioner to Positive Behaviour Advisor, and more recently, service delivery manager. Alesha's most recent post is within Life-Pod, a social enterprise, community interest company, based in Edinburgh, Scotland, offering support to people with chronic disorganization and hoarding behaviors. Alesha has began collaboratively working on research looking at hoarding and autism. Alesha is also currently working on another project looking at hoarding behaviors as a result of trauma and how we can implement safe strategies to support people who experience trauma and hoarding.
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Alex Corwin
Alex Corwin, M.A., is the Program Director at OCALI's Lifespan Transitions Center. Alex has been a professional in the developmental disability field as a job coach, adult day services manager, service and support administrator (SSA), SSA supervisor, and previously oversaw the Ohio Transition Support Partnership for Ohio's Department of Education and Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities, which promotes competitive, integrated employment outcomes for students with disabilities and supports transition planning for students as early as 14 years old. He continues to promote multi-agency planning to help youth with disabilities fulfill their potential and reach their adult life goals.
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Marion Cosgrove Rauch
Marion is a Community Engagement Specialist at Cincinnati Children's Hospital. She is a 2017 graduate of the UCCEDD LEND (Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and related Disabilities) program. Since joining the team at CCHMC, Marion has acted as both the Ohio F2F and P2P Program Coordinator. In these roles she has provided direct support to families, organized disability awareness events, brought the fledgling P2P program to fruition, become a CtLC Ambassador, and taught numerous workshops on topics ranging from self-care for caregivers to supported decision making.
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Joshua Counceller
Joshua Counceller is a project manager and manager of pperations with the Ohio Commission on Fatherhood (OCF). He started public service nearly fifteen years ago. His passion and heart for fatherhood, both personally and professionally, drives him to further the mission of OCF to help fathers be the best parents, partners, and providers. He primarily focuses on all operational aspects for OCF. Counceller earned his B.S. in Psychology, Biology, and Human Development and Family Services, as well as his Master of Business Administration.
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Ginevra Courtade
Ginevra Courtade is a professor in Special Education at the University of Louisville. She specializes in general curriculum access for students with extensive support needs.
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Sarah Cox
Sarah Cox, Ph.D., is an assistant professor of Special Education. Prior to becoming a faculty member, she taught mathematics and science in inclusive K-12 classrooms. Her scholarly interests focus on academic supports for students with autism spectrum disorder. Her current projects explore how explicit instruction of mathematical practice standards (e.g., representation of mathematical thinking, problem solving, mathematical discourse, and abstract reasoning) can help students with ASD enhance their mathematical proficiency. Her dissertation was recognized by the Council for Exceptional Children with the 2020 Division of Research, Student Award for Single Case Designs.
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Christine Croyle
Christine Croyle, CCC-SLP, Ed.D., currently serves as the Program Director of the Outreach Center for Deafness and Blindness. She provides leadership to the team as they work to build capacity at the local level for learners who are D/HH or B/VI. Christine has served as a school administrator for Pickaway County Board of Developmental Disabilities and as a speech language pathologist at The Ohio State School for the Blind (OSSB). She has presented at state, national, and international conferences on topics including leading inclusive models of education, instructional strategies, and designing spaces with accessibility in mind.
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Conner Cummings
Conner is 29-years-old and proud to be an autistic advocate. He was recently honored with a commendation from the state of Virginia House and Senate. Conner serves on the Virginia Disability Commission. He facilitates disability forums to include presidential, federal, and state level, advocating to ensure a sensory-friendly forum. Conner has won numerous awards, including 2015 Advocate of the Year by the Autism Society of America and the Coordinator/Photographer for Zoom Autism Magazine. He accomplished all this and more despite struggling with verbal communication. He instead utilizes his writing skills, organizational abilities, unique viewpoint and perspective to respect all sides.
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Robin Cunconan Lahr
Robin Cunconan Lahr is attorney and founder of Innovating for Justice, LLC, providing legal advocacy in special education and disability rights on behalf of children and adults with disabilities and their families. She provides representation on a diversity of issues, such as the rights of students with disabilities to be included and educated in general education settings. Robin also teaches in higher education preparing the next generation of teachers to successfully educate all students. Robin emphasizes the role of collaboration, the UDL framework, and honoring learner and family voice as key to equitable and successful inclusive education for all.
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Shannon Cuniak
Shannon D. Cuniak, M.Ed., is a Teacher of the Visually Impaired (TVI) and a Certified Orientation and Mobility Specialist (COMS) in Canonsburg, PA. Formerly an Outreach Specialist at the Ohio State School for the Blind (OSSB), Cuniak currently works at The Intermediate Unit 1 in Washington County, PA, as a TVI/COMS in multiple districts. Cuniak is an adjunct faculty instructor with both The Ohio State University and the University of Pittsburgh programs in visual impairments teaching courses in the area of braille and O&M. She has presented in a variety of settings on topics including Functional Vision Assessments, Blindness 101 and multiple teacher in-services.
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Lisa Curtis
Lisa is a Behavior Services Manager with the Cleveland Metropolitan School District, as well as an ABA tutor. Before becoming a manger in behavior with CMSD, she was an Intervention Specialist and Wilson Dyslexia Practitioner for CMSD for 19 years. Her experience includes over 20 years specializing in language development and reading for students that are deaf and hard of hearing, as well as students with learning disabilities, cognitive differences, and behavioral needs. In 2018, she joined a group of BCBAs and did a research study on the how Language Development in Students that are Deaf or Hard of Hearing Effects Prosocial Behavior Coping Strategies.
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Amy D'Agati
Amy Dwyre D'Agati is a Senior Faculty Specialist in the College of Education, University of Maryland, Center for Transition and Career Innovation. She has her MS in Supported Employment and Transition from the University of Illinois. Amy has been providing direct employment services to students and families, partnering with businesses, training transition personnel, and researching and implementing best practices strategies in the field. She established and directs UMD TerpsEXCEED program, an inclusive postsecondary experience for students with I/DD who could not access college in a traditional manner. She is also a Technical Assistance Provider on NTACT:C.
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Susan Daniels
Dr. Daniels serves as the Acting National Autism Coordinator for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, a role created by Congress to facilitate coordination and implementation of autism activities across federal departments and agencies. She also is Director of the Office of Autism Research Coordination (OARC) at the National Institute of Mental Health and Executive Secretary of the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC), a federal advisory committee created by Congress to provide advice to the Secretary of Health and Human Services on issues related to autism. She received her Ph.D. in molecular and cell biology from Brandeis University.
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Catherine Dart
Catherine Dart holds a bachelor's degree in special education from University of Cincinnati. Cadi taught for Warren County Social Communication Secondary Classroom, where she worked with students' significantly impacted by autism. While working for Warren County Educational Service Center, Cadi had the opportunity to develop a transition classroom. In 2015, Cadi transitioned back to the University of Cincinnati to pursue her master's degree in special education and the transition to work endorsement. While working on her master's, Cadi developed a high school transition program, Collaboration for Education and Employment Synergy (CEES).
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LaShell Dauterman
LaShell Dauterman, Ed.D. is a diverse educator with 20 years of experience as a teacher and administrator in both Japan and Ohio. Passionate about the field, she completed a dissertation that focused on ELL students with communication disabilities and Augmentative and Alternative Communication devices. Dauterman has been published in the Journal of Research in Music Education and continues to expand her knowledge in educational leadership and special education. She has participated in the "Leading Change" program offered through Harvard School of Business and Graduate School of Education, serves as a member of the Dayton Autism Society, and is the parent to a child diagnosed with ASD.
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William Dauterman
William T. Dauterman, Ph.D. is an accomplished network engineer with a major telecom company where he serves as a Principal Equipment Design Engineer. His dissertation research focused on the influences of symbol selections by SLPs on AAC devices, specifically with individuals diagnosed with ASD. As a parent of a child diagnosed with ASD who utilizes an AAC device, Dauterman explored this phenomenon to better understand the design and implementation of language systems on these devices. He currently serves as a member of the Dayton Autism Society to help support individuals with ASD.
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Carrie Davenport
Carrie Davenport, Ph.D., is a postdoctoral research fellow at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center in the Department of Otolaryngology. Dr. Davenport is a trained teacher of the deaf. She is a founding board member of Ohio Hands & Voices and has served on committees including the advisory council for the OCALI Outreach Center for Deafness and Blindness, Ohio's Universal Newborn Hearing Screening subcommittee, and the steering committee for the Children's Hearing Language Development Resource Network (CHLDRN of Ohio). Her research focuses on parent-to-parent support and parental self-efficacy.
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Nathan DeDino
Nathan DeDino began his work for the state of Ohio at the Ohio Department of Health in 2011. He worked in various roles at ODH supporting the Early Intervention program before becoming the Part C Coordinator in 2015, a role he continues in at the Department of Developmental Disabilities. Nathan serves on several boards including as President of the Infant and Toddler Coordinators Association (ITCA), a not-for-profit corporation promoting cooperation and the exchange of information and ideas in the administration of Part C. Nathan obtained his bachelor of arts from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. He also holds a law degree from the Moritz College of Law at the Ohio State University.
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Alaina Deighan
Alaina Deighan serves as the Youth Program Manager for OhioMHAS in the Bureau of Children, Youth, and Families. In this role, she oversees funding and programming for: Strong Families, Safe Communities; SAPT System of Care; Behavioral Health and Juvenile Justice treatment; and Parent Peer Support. Prior to this role, she worked at the Ohio Association of County Behavioral Health Authorities, the statewide organization that represents Ohio county ADAMH Boards. Alaina has a B.A. in Sociology from Otterbein University. She also is working on completing a master's degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling at the University of Dayton.
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John Dellick
John Dellick is currently a student at Cleveland State University studying for his Master's in Business Administration. He is very active in his community and currently serves on the YouthMOVE Ohio State advisory board and several state and national youth advocacy committees.
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Rene DeLoss
Rene DeLoss has worked with individuals on the spectrum since 2005 as a special education teacher, an editor, an author, and an in-home tutor. She specializes in individualized instruction, effective teaching strategies, and collaboration with families.
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Lynn DeMange
Lynn DeMange, OTR/L, CAS, graduated from Shawnee State University and worked for 4 years as an OT in clinical care at The Ohio State University Harding Hospital. In 2006, she transitioned to school-based therapy and worked for 10 years through the Miami Valley Regional Center. DeMange currently works for the Montgomery County Educational Service Center as a consultant on the Autism/Low-Incidence Coaching Team.
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Jessica DeMarco
Jessica DeMarco, M.A.T., is a second-year doctoral student at Georgia State University. As a former special education teacher, she has served a wide variety of students with disabilities. She currently trains RBT's and is obtaining hours to sit for the BCBA credential. DeMarco has presented at state and national conferences and has authored two book chapters. Her research interest includes early intervention, Applied Behavior Analysis, and the sexual health and education of individuals with disabilities, including supporting parents to facilitate this.
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Michael Demczyk
Michael Demczyk is a Program Specialist for Gifted Services in the Office for Exceptional Children at the Ohio Department of Education, where he provides extensive support to educators and parents and presents frequently on gifted education topics. Prior to joining the Department, he was a Project Coordinator for the University of Dayton - School Study Council of Ohio, where he collaborated on a published journal article related to testing accommodations and students with disabilities. Demczyk earned his Ph.D. in Political Science from Miami University and he taught several courses at Columbus State Community College.
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Lawrence Dennis
Lawrence Dennis is an educational consultant with expertise in secondary transition services and special education program development. As transition coordinator with ODE, he supported systemic change to improve access to Career and Technical Education for students with disabilities and supported cross-agency efforts to improve the post secondary outcomes of students with disabilities. As assistant director, he was responsible for the monitoring and development of special education services. He developed the Least Restrictive Environment Decision Tool initiative. He currently is working with State Support Team Region 7 in Ohio to coordinate the implementation of the LRE Decision Tool.
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Kasia Derbiszewska
Kasia Derbiszewska is the owner of Learning Key Educational Consulting. She is a member of the CAST National Faculty and coauthor of Supercharge Your Professional Learning. She is an internationally recognized expert in UDL and collaborates with school districts to scale education reform. Her work also includes implementing UDL in alternative learning environments, such as fitness instruction and workforce development. She earned her Ed.M. in Mind, Brain, and Education from Harvard University. In the past, she served as a project manager and researcher at the CLiC Lab and was a high school English teacher. She may be reached at kasia@learningkeyworks.com.
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Janet DesGeorges
Janet DesGeorges is the parent of a daughter who is deaf/hard of hearing. She is a co-founder and Executive Director of Hands & Voices (H&V), serving families who have children who are Deaf/Hard of Hearing (D/HH). Ms. DesGeorges is the co-author of the book, Educational Advocacy for Students who are Deaf and Hard of Hearing: The Hands and Voices Guidebook. Janet currently serves as a trainer for the H&V Advocacy, Support and Training (ASTra) Program. As an educational advocate, Janet believes in the principles and guiding philosophies of Hands & Voices towards a parent-driven, professionally-collaborative approach when supporting families in the education years.
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Michele Dew
Michele Dew M.S., CCC-SLP, is the Director of Therapy Services - South at Easterseals Southern California (ESSC). Michele, a graduate of Howard University, has worked in many states across the Unites States. Michele is part of the Inclusion, Equity, Diversity and Accessibility work group, and the American Speech and Hearing Association Continuing Education Administrator for ESSC. Michele presented a poster at the 2011 District of Columbia Speech and Hearing Association conference. She has held board positions with the District of Columbia Speech and Hearing Association, Hawaii Speech and Hearing Association and the California Speech and Hearing Association.
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Krista Dickens
Krista Dickens is a consultant for the State Support Team for Region 4 - Lake and Geauga County, providing professional development and technical assistance to early childhood and elementary administrators and staff. Dickens' membership on the Ohio Early Childhood Positive Behavior Intervention and Support Workgroup provides her experience with PBIS and behavior at the state, regional, district and classroom level. She has held positions as a special education supervisor, preschool coordinator, intervention specialist, and adjunct instructor.
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Mike DiMauro
Mike DiMauro was diagnosed with autism at the age of 22. Mike graduated from Westfield State University in 2010 with a bachelors degree in liberal studies. Mike also has a driver's license and has been driving since he was 17. Mike likes to spread autism awareness no matter where he goes. Mike is a former Autism Speaks walk committee members for the Central Florida walk. Mike is currently an Autism Speaks Volunteer Advocacy Ambassador for the state of Florida. When Mike is not spreading autism awareness, he likes to go camping and traveling. Mike is also an UberEats driver since January 2018 and looking at going on a cross country road trip to do UberEats deliveries in all 50 states.
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Jaclyn Disibio
Jaclyn DiSibio graduated from Youngstown State University with a degree in Early Childhood Education. After working with students with disabilities and feeling called to ensure access for all, she also added a licensure of Intervention Specialist K-12. She went on to earn a Master's in Educational Administration and has a principal licensure for grades K-9. She has worked as an Intervention Specialist, a Consultant for the State Support Team Region 5, and currently as a Director of Student Services.
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Carol Dittoe
Carol Dittoe has over 35 years of experience working as an SLP in both medical and educational settings. Her focus has been autism, augmentative communication, and assistive technology. She currently serves on an autism and low-incidence coaching team helping educators in the west central Ohio region implement evidence-based practices to support their students. Carol is certified as an autism specialist and has presented at both state and national conferences. She has co-authored two books with AAPC Publishing, including the winner of the 2018 Teacher's Choice Award, Show Me: A Teacher's Guide to Video Modeling.
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Pamela Dixon
Dr. Dixon is the Director of Clinical Services and Inclusion at Autism Speaks, where her portfolio focuses on disseminating community-based best practices to increase access to evidence-based services and supports for the Autism and Developmental Disability communities, domestically and internationally.
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Starr Dobush
Starr Dobush is a Transition and Adult Living Specialist at OCALI. She has filmed the "Take 5" webcast on OCALI Lifespan Transitions Center's webpage covering essential topics for transition into adulthood. Content can be used when planning for post-school goals in independent living and competitive employment. Dobush has received a master's in special education with an emphasis in transition to work (TTW) and is licensed as an intervention specialist mild/moderate K-12. Dobush is also certified through Association of People Supporting Employment First Initiative (APSE) as a Certified Employment Support Professional (CESP).
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Peter Doehring
Peter Doehring, trained as a clinical psychologist, has worked with people with ASD for almost 30 years. He has led the development and expansion of school-, hospital-, and university-based programs, integrating services, research, training, and policy. He has presented internationally and published books evaluating evidence-based treatments for ASD and the development of innovative ASD programs at the state and national level. Peter is now continuing his work as an independent researcher, with a new focus on adaptive outdoor recreation. He is also helping to develop new programs of work and recreation for young adults with I/DD, like his daughter Margot.
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Sheri Dollin
Sheri S. Dollin, M.Ed., is an educational consultant and mindfulness facilitator with experience teaching, training, developing programs and creating innovative materials related to inclusion, disabilities, autism, and parenting. Sheri's role as a mindfulness facilitator is enhanced by her long-term and deeply rooted career in autism and early childhood education and care. She is also a strategic partnership lead and statewide trainer for a nonprofit and is the co-author of the Southwest Autism Research & Resource Center (SARRC) FRIEND Program.
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Claire Donehower
Claire Donehower is an assistant professor in the Department of Learning Sciences at Georgia State University. She received her doctorate from the University of Central Florida in the Exceptional Education Program. Her research focuses on improving academic, social and behavioral outcomes for students with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) using innovative technology. She received a B.A degree in psychology from Boston College and an M.S. degree in special education of severe and profound disabilities from the Johns Hopkins University. Additionally, Dr. Donehower is a board certified behavior analyst (BCBA).
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Sarah Douglas
Sarah N. Douglas, PhD, is an Associate Professor at Michigan State University. She started her career as a special education teacher for children with disabilities and and continued to academia, obtaining a degree in Special Education from Penn State University. Her research focuses on communication partner interventions, paraeducators, and technologies to support social skill development for children with disabilities. Within her work, Dr. Douglas explores how to best utilize, supervise, and train paraeducators. She has 15 published articles related to paraeducators with more research underway.
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Kathryn Doyle
Kate Doyle is a Special Education faculty member at the University of Cincinnati. Dr. Doyle is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA-D) and a licensed intervention specialist. Subsequent to her roles in higher education, she taught in the public-school system for 12 years and worked in the adult developmental disability system for 3 years. She has worked in center-based services, home-based services, and in the community with individuals with disabilities across the lifespan. Her research interests include developing academic and social communication interventions for individuals with significant disabilities, as well as teacher and paraprofessional training.
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Monica Drvota
Monica Drvota is an associate director in the Office for Exceptional Children at the Ohio Department of Education.
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Melissa Dubie
Melissa Dubie is an educational consultant at Indiana Resource Center for Autism. Her areas of interest include: Evidence-based practices, coaching, social skills (PEERS provider), puberty and sexual health. She had the opportunity to publish a book, Intimate Relationships and Sexual Health: A Curriculum for Teaching Adolescents/Adults with High-Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorders and Other Social Challenges (AAPC, 2012). Currently, she is creating materials to educate adult women with IDD on comprehensive sexual health.
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John Duby
John Duby, MD, FAAP, is Professor and Chair of the Department of Pediatrics at Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine and Vice President for Academic Affairs and Community Health at Dayton Children’s Hospital in Dayton, Ohio. He has a clinical practice in Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics. A graduate of The Ohio State University College of Medicine, he completed his pediatric residency at Baylor College of Medicine and a fellowship in Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics at Boston University School of Medicine. He is a past president of the Ohio Chapter-AAP and the Society for Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics.
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Michelle Duda
Michelle A. Duda, Ph.D., BCBA-D, is the of Founder and President of Implementation Scientists, LLC. She is an internationally known leader in the field of Implementation Science and is a highly sought-after systems coach. For the past two decades, Dr. Duda has contributed to evolution of the field of Implementation Science through her work as a Scientist/Associate Director (UNC-Chapel Hill), and a member of international advisory boards, evaluator and content developer. Dr. Duda has published several articles, assessments, and book chapters across human service sectors (early childhood, autism, education, health, mental health). Her goal is to empower others and leave a positive impact.
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Zackary E
Zackary E was diagnosed with Asperger's and was unable to attend public school until third grade. However, with determination and help from faculty at Fairhaven, he made the transition. He worked a variety of retail jobs, undergoing training for general management. His ultimate dream, however, was to be in the medical profession. He eventually became a corrections officer, as well as an elite task force member there, and went back to school to receive his RN licensure. He plans to stay as a corrections nurse, attend graduate school for his nurse practitioner licensure, all while being a special task force medic in the corrections department.
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Scott Eldredge
Scott Eldredge has been an educator for 35 years as a teacher, Principal, and Consultant for State Support Team 12. He works primarily with PBIS and School Improvement but is also involved with Secondary Transitions and is an OLi4 coach. As a high school principal, he was instrumental in implementing PBIS and witnessed firsthand the benefits of the PBIS framework as attendance increased each year, test scores climbed, and there was a drastic reduction in discipline issues, suspensions, and expulsions. It was with this background that he began working with SST 12 and has brought his expertise to training and coaching districts around southeast Ohio in the PBIS framework.
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Michelle Elia
Michelle Elia works on behalf of the Ohio Department of Education as one of two Ohio Literacy Leads, a role that allows her to work with district administrators, teachers, and regional consultants across the state. Elia serves as Vice President of The Reading League Ohio, a board member of the Northern Ohio branch of the International Dyslexia Association, a national literacy trainer (LETRS, The Reading League, Tools for Reading), and literacy advisor for multiple universities. Elia is passionate about reading science and evidence-based instructional practices that are inclusive of all students.
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Andrew Ellis
Andrew Ellis is a Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor who has been working for Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities since 2015. He obtained his Master of Education from Bowling Green State University in 2009. Andrew serves transition-aged youth across seven counties in the Northwest Ohio area. His caseload focuses on youth who are attending career tech centers, including Apollo Career Center, Vantage Career Center, and Tri Star Career Compact. Andrew also serves as the primary contact for the Project Search programs housed at Mercy Health-St. Rita's in Lima and Mercer Health in Coldwater. He has long been a part of multi-agency planning teams in both Allen and Auglaize counties.
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Kelly Elton
Kelly Elton, Ms.Ed., holds a graduate certificate in autism spectrum disorders and master's degree in special education from Bowling Green State University. She has worked with adults and adolescents with autism for well over a decade at Bittersweet, Inc. and Avenues for Autism. Kelly developed and implemented the Venture Bound program in northwest Ohio high schools, and currently is the Community Inclusion Coordinator overseeing Employment Navigation for the Lucas County Board of Developmental Disabilities. She is the Chair of the Toledo Regional Autism Network and is a member of the Toledo-Lucas County Commission on Disabilities.
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Judy Endow
Judy Endow, LCSW, author and international speaker on a variety of autism-related topics, has been providing trainings for mental health clinicians and school staff for more than 20 years. She has written numerous articles and books, including award winners. Institutionalized as a youngster, she has emerged as a leader in the autism community. Endow was the first autistic to receive the Autism Society of America's Cathy Pratt Professional of the Year Award. She has appeared in New York Times: Patient Voices. The Art of Autism awarded Endow as one of the most influential bloggers on the web. She has made over 400 presentations all over the world.
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Arianna Esposito
Arianna Esposito, MBA, BCBA, is the Vice President, Services and Supports, Lifespan Programs at Autism Speaks. She brings to Autism Speaks over ten years of experience working with individuals with across the spectrum and the lifespan. She holds a master's degree in Educational Leadership and an Executive MBA from Saint Joseph's University. She is a member of Beta Gamma Sigma and Alpha Sigma Nu honors societies. Her work is focused on developing, test, and scaling evidenced-based programs that provide strategic information and support services to people with autism and their families across the spectrum and at pivotal points in the developmental trajectory across their lifespan.
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Julia Ezzo
Julia Ezzo, M.Ed, is an Intervention Specialist and Transition Coordinator in the Mentor Exempted School District in the Mentor, Ohio. An Intervention Specialist for 9 years, Ezzo has worked with individuals with disabilities from ages 3 to 22. She currently provides core academic instruction for high school students, mentors teachers working with special education students in Career Technical Education for The Lakeshore Compact, coordinates school and community-based work programs, oversees transition planning and instruction for the district, collaborates with local agencies on district initiatives, and co-founded the Lake County Transition Network.
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Jill Farber
Jill is the Executive Director of Autism Speaks Canada and has over 25 years of experience working with the autism community. Since joining the organization in 2006, Jill has been credited with growing Autism Speaks Canada into one of the largest national autism organizations in Canada. She has improved Canadians' access to necessary information and resources through the development of initiatives supporting individuals and their families, across the spectrum and along the lifespan. In her role, she has also been the catalyst for the funding of over $14 million to support research and building service capacity for Autistics and their families across Canada.
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Kathleen Farrand
Dr. Kathleen Farrand is an Associate Professor in the Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College, Arizona State University. She has a Ph.D. in Language, Education, and Society from The Ohio State University. She is interested in practices that improve the social and academic success of all learners. Dr. Farrand is editor for the Visual Impairment and DeafBlind Education Quarterly journal, secretary for CEC-DVIDB, and president for CEC-DARTS. Her latest articles can be found in TEACHING Exceptional Children and Multiple Voices for Ethnically Diverse Exceptional Children. She has presented at conferences, such as the Council for Exceptional Children Conference and EXPO, and AERA Annual Meeting.
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Erin Farrell
Erin Fitzgerald Farrell, M.A., BCBA, is the Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) Specialist and a member of the Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) State Leadership Team at the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE). Erin holds a teaching license in autism spectrum disorders, and is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst with many years of experience working with students of all ages in clinical and educational settings. In addition to her role at MDE, Erin is a doctoral student in educational leadership and an adjunct professor with the University of Saint Thomas.
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Danene Fast
Danene Fast, PhD., is a clinical assistant professor and faculty lead for the Programs in Visual Impairments at The Ohio State University. A dually certified teacher of students with visual impairments and orientation and mobility specialist, she has received both local and national awards for her teaching, including a fellowship with the National Leadership Consortium for Sensory Disabilities (NLCSD). Fast has published and presented at local, national, and international venues, with a research agenda that focuses on accessibility and inclusion.
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Jacquelyn Fede
Jacquelyn Fede, PhD is a super fun, Autistic Self-Advocate and developmental psychologist. She works as a community engagement research associate on an Institutional Development Award (IDeA) from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Rhode Island. Her research interests include immigration policy, autism, and program evaluation. She uses her experience to help educate others about autism through lecturing, blogging and consulting on evaluation projects in school districts and communities. A full scholarship Division I athlete in college, Dr. Fede continues to meet her sensory needs by seeking extreme physical activity.
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Corey Ferguson
Corey Ferguson works at the Ohio Department of Developmental Disabilities focusing on educating, engaging, and empowering Ohio families. His experience includes supporting people with IDD and their families via multiple programs and initiatives implemented to support them in pursuing their best lives. He received his Master of Health Administration-Health Services Management & Policy at The Ohio State University. While at OSU he pursued a graduate minor in Public Policy and Management at the John Glenn School of Public Affairs, and participated as a LEND trainee within the Nisonger Center. Corey is the proud dad of 3 children with various medical diagnoses.
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Chris Filler
Chris Filler is the program director of the Lifespan Transitions Center at OCALI. She has worked with individuals/families with ASD and developmental disabilities for over 30 years as an early intervention service coordinator, family resource specialist, autism/behavior consultant, and private consultant. Currently, her focus is transition to adulthood and creating supports that promote a meaningful adult life. To this end, Filler is working extensively with the Ohio Employment First Initiative targeting community employment and community membership.
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Caroline Fitchett
Caroline Fitchett is a doctoral student at the University of Louisville. She is currently pursuing an Ph.D in Special Education Curriculum and Instruction.
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Megan Flowers
Megan Flowers is an Education Program Specialist in the Office for Exceptional Children at the Ohio Department of Education. Megan is certified as a K-12 Moderate to Intensive Special Education Intervention Specialist (Reading Endorsement) and a PreK-6 Principal. She holds a Master's Degree in Educational Leadership from The University of Cincinnati. She has experience working with students that have orthopedic impairments, multiple disabilities, are medically fragile and have complex communication needs. She is currently serving on the Diverse Learner team as the low incidence and sensory disabilities consultant.
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James Flynn
James Flynn has been working in the field of mental health for 32 years and in the past 20 years, his practice has been almost exclusively in the field of Early Childhood Mental Health. He is currently a master trainer for the State of Ohio under the Whole Child Matters Grant. James has a Master's Degree in Social Service Administration from the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences. James is a Licensed Independent Social Worker with a supervisory designation and he has certifications in Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation and Infant Mental Health through the State of Ohio. James works for the Positive Education Program in Cleveland, Ohio.
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Lynne Fogel
Lynne Fogel is a parent of a young woman with I/DD and a Family Support Specialist with Ohio Family to Family. With a previous career as a librarian and a long history of running CP Parent Columbus, a family support group for Cerebral Palsy, she is called to helping people find the information, resources and support they need to live their best lives. Lynne is a Charting the Lifecourse ambassador and serves on the parent advisory council for the Children with Medical Handicaps program under the Ohio Department of Health. She is a trained support parent with Ohio P2P and is a parent mentor with the Connecting Families program at Nationwide Children's Hospital.
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Stephanie Fojas
Stephanie Fojas is an Education Program Specialist in the Office of Educator Effectiveness at the Ohio Department of Education. Her focus is on educator equity, diversifying the education profession, and improving human capital systems in Ohio’s districts and schools. Prior to her work at the Department, Stephanie taught seventh and eighth grade social studies and mathematics.
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Cate Fopma
Cate Fopma has been working for 30 years in social service administration, coalition building and advocacy since receiving her B.S. in Urban Administration from the University of Cincinnati. She was the Ohio Executive Director of Prison Fellowship and Executive Director of CASA in Cincinnati. She has done speaking and training, including a pilot program at the Cincinnati Police Academy and a plenary speech for the Office of the President. Since her son was diagnosed with ASD, her advocacy efforts have been focused on developmental disabilities. She's been with the Ken Anderson Alliance since its beginning in 2014 and is excited by its growth.
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Jessica Foster
Dr. Jessica Foster is a developmental-behavioral pediatrician and is Director of the Division of Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics in the Neurodevelopmental Science Center at Akron Children's Hospital. Prior to her current position, she worked as Ohio's Title V Children with Special Health Care Needs Medical Director at the Ohio Department of Health (ODH). Prior to her role at ODH, she worked at Nationwide Children's Hospital and Nisonger Center at The Ohio State University. She completed her Pediatrics residency, Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics fellowship and Master of Public Health at the University of Kansas.
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Catherine Fowler
Catherine Fowler is project co-director for the NTACT:C. Dr. Fowler is also an adjunct instructor of graduate and undergraduate courses in transition methods and collaborative service delivery at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and supports technical assistance and research on other U.S. Department of Education funded projects related to secondary students with disabilities. Her work as a practitioner included early intervention service coordination and classroom teaching of students with autism and intellectual disabilities. Her work focuses on the successful, respectful, and meaningful integration of individuals with disabilities in society.
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Christine Fox
Christine Fox is the Project Director for the Center on Inclusive Technology & Education Systems (CITES) at CAST. Christine manages the evaluation, reporting, budgeting, and partnerships related to this project. Prior to joining CAST, she was the Senior Director of External Relations for the Consortium for School Network (CoSN), where she was responsible for corporate partnerships, professional advancement programs, and supported advocacy efforts. Previously, she served as the Deputy Executive Director for State Educational Technology Directors Association, where she led the strategic direction of the organization, professional learning and product development.
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Robert Frantum-Allen
Robert W. Frantum-Allen has over 33 years experience working in public and private schools. He most recently retired from Denver Public Schools but resumed working for the district as an interim director of gifted and talented/school nursing. He has experience developing long-term strategic plans for two school districts as well as a history in innovation in education. When not working to improve education, you can find him volunteering at the Denver Zoo as a keeper assistant working with elephants.
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Suzzanne Freeze
Suzzanne began her public systems work with the state of Ohio by visiting all 88 counties to strengthen quality of life outcomes. She then joined the Institute for Community Inclusion at the University of Massachusetts, Boston, to lead the newly formed State Employment Leadership Network. Her work across the U.S. with 43+ states over the last 29 years spans many key topics including focused quality management, leadership development, data driven decision making, organizational transformation, community engagement and systems change. Her most valued influence and grounding comes from her family's experience supporting her twin sister to live a full and meaningful life.
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Ed Freniere
Ed Freniere is a Physicist and Optics Specialist. He is also the President of Lambda Research Corp. in Littleton, MA. He designs optical and illumination systems. He has particular expertise in stray light analysis of optical imaging systems from the ultraviolet to the far infrared for clients in industry, government, and academia worldwide. He has worked with NASA for years to develop the recently launched James Webb Telescope. He is also a serious photographer, with a special interest in large format sheet film images. Ed is an autistic adult who has been involved with the AANE community since 2019.
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Andratesha Fritzgerald
Andratesha Fritzgerald is the author of Antiracism and Universal Design for Learning: Building Expressways to Success (CAST, 2020). She has served as a teacher, administrator, and director. She holds an Ed.S in administration and M.Ed, in curriculum. As a presenter at Milestones National Autism Conference and the Annual Symposium on Universal Design for Learning, Fritzgerald exhibits an audacious perseverance that calls organizations to evolve into inclusive antiracist safe zones for all learners. Her work appears in ASCD Express and in What Really Works in UDL (Corwin Press, 2019). For more information, go to www.buildingblocksofbrilliance.com and @FritzTesha on Twitter.
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Lisa Froehlich
Dr. Lisa Froehlich has spent the last 31 years working with students with disabilities in school systems. The last 14 years have been at Cincinnati Public Schools working with high school students. She currently is the Department of Student Services Manager who supports post-secondary transition services.
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Michelle Frygier
Michelle Frygier joined the ESC for the Western Reserve as Parent Mentor in August 2020. As Parent Mentor and a special needs parent, Michelle utilizes her unique background of work, training, and personal experience to guide families through all facets of the special education process. She helps families hone their skills as an advocate for their child, facilitates communication within the special education team, and develops programming and resources to aid families. She volunteers for Geauga ACHIEVE and HELP Foundation, programs assisting individuals with disabilities. Michelle holds a B.A. in Psychology and Art History and a M.A. in Art History from Case Western Reserve University.
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Marcus Fuller
Dr. Fuller's research focuses on empowering families, educators, and researchers by helping them increase their implementation skills during interventions through utilization of coaching and performance feedback with children with behavior disorders, autism, and/or complex communication needs. His work includes featured presentations on the effectiveness of implementing culturally-sustaining coaching practices. Currently, his research focuses on using coaching and performance feedback to increase the use of social, academic and culturally appropriate EBP with stakeholders involved in special education.
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Julie Fulton
Julie is a special education supervisor, having been involved in the field of education for 22 years, including teaching fourth, fifth, and eighth grades, and then high school. This is also her ninth year in administration. She believes every child is a unique human being with special talents and abilities that will grow and develop into crucial members of our future lives and society. Learning is not always easy and all children approach, explore, experience, and achieve in different ways. She strongly values the relationship between home and school and within the greater scope of an entire community, and the positive impact it has on the education and development of the whole child.
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Amy Gaffney
Amy Moore Gaffney, M.A., CCC-SLP, a Speech-Language Pathologist and a TEACCH Certified Advanced Consultant, is employed as an educational consultant for the Indiana Resource Center for Autism, Indiana Institute on Disability and Community at Indiana University. She has experience working with children, young adults, and their families in a variety of settings, including in-home, public and private schools, private clinics, and in the community. Amy brings to her presentations experiences that she has learned as an autism consultant, as well as from being a parent of a child with a disability. Amy has presented nationally and internationally.
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Angelica Gagliardi
Angelica Gagliardi, M. Ed, provides outreach services specifically for the needs of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing community for The Outreach Center for Deafness and Blindness at OCALI. She was a Teacher of the Deaf for ten years serving students in residential programs, day school programs, and mainstream programs throughout her career. Angelica has a passion for literacy, which was the focus of her graduate degree, and is a Master Teacher for the Fairview Learning Program. She works as adjunct faculty at Kent State University helping our soon-to-be educators develop high expectations for DHH students by using research-based strategies to provide full access to grade-level standards.
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Will Gallup
Will is a self-advocate and serves as an inspiration to others who desire to live independently. He enjoys discussing the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the latest in legislation and encourages others to build relationships with their elected officials. Will has worked for the Cuyahoga County Board of Developmental Disabilities as a Good Life Ambassador for the past five years. In addition to advocating, Will has played boccia for seven years. He recently started learning how to do adaptive hand-cycling and looks forward to learning other adaptive sports in the future. Will also enjoys listening to old school music, especially Paul Simon/Simon and Garfunkel.
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Cathy Galyon
Dr. Cathy Galyon, Assoc. Professor at ETSU & earned a M.Ed. (TTU), & an Ed.D. in Early Child. Spec. Ed. & post doc in Distance Education (UK). She has taught : 6-8 Reading, B-3 early intervention, preschool spec.ed., & K-5 students w/ significant disabilities. She researches and presents on assistive technology, online learning, & spec ed in rural areas. Her most recent publication: Floyd, K., Galyon, C., & Floyd-Norris, K. (2020). Overcoming Barriers: Use of Assistive Technology to Access Curriculum. Teaching Exceptional Children, 52(6), 436–439. She is the Chair of the Executive Board of American Council on Rural Special Education (ACRES).
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Victoria Gao
Victoria Gao is an innovative leader focused on transforming the role that students play in shaping and positively disrupting the world around them. She is a strong advocate for social awareness, equity, and inclusion. Victoria specializes on topics such as ADHD, autism spectrum and mental illnesses in girls and teens, and also founded and established innovative thinktanks whose sole focus is to tackle difficult, wide-spread issues such as cognitive disorders and access to education. As an avid, unrelenting community volunteer, she has dedicated her life to completely rewriting the narrative that children with ADHD and autism experience.
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Julie Gentile
Julie P. Gentile, M.D., is a Chair and Professor at Wright State University, Department of Psychiatry. She is the psychiatrist for the Montgomery County Board of DODD Mental Health Program and Medical Director for Ohio's Telepsychiatry Project for IDD. Dr. Gentile is also the project director for Ohio's Mental Illness Developmental Disabilities Coordinating Center of Excellence and provides psychiatric assessments for dual-diagnosis individuals for the state of Ohio. She has been awarded more than $9 million for the support of her work with IDD and has received multiple national awards for clinical excellence in MI/ID.
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Barb Gentille Green
Barb Gentille Green is a UDL Professional Learning Facilitator and Coach, and the Director of Student Services and Accountability for Bexley City Schools in Ohio. Through collaboration and coaching, Gentille Green focuses on improving outcomes for all learners, especially those who are eligible for special education services. The most common PD and coaching topics addressed are UDL, specially designed instruction, autism, and positive behavior interventions and supports. Her 38+ years of school experience include the roles of OT, intervention specialist, curriculum coordinator, preschool director, special education director and director of teaching and learning.
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Stelios Georgiades
Positioned within the Learning Health Systems framework, Dr. Georgiades conducts research that examines Autism heterogeneity over time and aims to generate knowledge that will lead to more equitable, personalized, and evidence-based interventions, services, and supports for Autistic children and their families. Dr. Georgiades is the founder and Co-Director of the McMaster Autism Research Team. He is the inaugural McMaster Children's Hospital Chair in Autism and Neurodevelopment. As Chair, Dr. Georgiades uses participatory research methods and stakeholder collaboration to connect research, policy, and practice to improve the lives of children with autism and neurodevelopmental conditions.
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Cyndi Gerlach
Cyndi Gerlach is a resident of North Vancouver, British Columbia. Her two younger children were both diagnosed autistic, which brought her into the world of advocacy, policy change, and breaking down barriers faced by autistic people. In learning to understand her children's autism and how it impacts them, she began to question why there were more males than females being diagnosed. She started a five-year journey of questioning her own identity and was diagnosed in 2021, at 57-years-old, as autistic. She believes strongly in breaking down the stigma surrounding diagnosis and helping women on the journey embrace their own uniqueness and their own identity.
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Karla Giese
Karla earned a BA in Deaf Education, Elementary Education, and Special Education from Augustana College, her Master's in Early Childhood Special Education from Northeastern Illinois University, and her doctorate in Special Education from Illinois State University. She also received her Early Intervention credentials as a Developmental Therapist and Deaf Mentor. Karla has coordinated and taught in various Deaf Education teacher certification programs in Wisconsin, Illinois, and Florida. She is also an educational advocate that supports Deaf, DeafBlind, and Hard of Hearing people in Illinois. She now works with the National Deaf Center on Postsecondary Outcomes as an Instructional Designer.
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Marleigh Gilyard
Marleigh Gilyard, MS, CAS, is the partnership success manager at RoboKind, ensuring every school and district implementation is a success by providing tips and strategies to facilitators. Gilyard achieved her masters at the University of Arkansas. As a certified Autism Specialist, certified rehabilitation counselor, and registered behavior technician, Gilyard served as a transition counselor for the Kansas City Public School District focusing on the next stage of life for high school students exiting special education. Her education and professional experience is fueled by Gilyard's first-hand, personal experience of growing up with her Autistic brother, Roman.
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Haben Girma
Haben Girma, the first Deafblind person to graduate from Harvard Law School, is a human rights lawyer advancing disability justice. President Obama named her a White House Champion of Change. She received the Helen Keller Achievement Award, a spot on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list, and TIME100 Talks. President Bill Clinton, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and Chancellor Angela Merkel have all honored Haben. Haben believes disability is an opportunity for innovation, and she teaches organizations the importance of choosing inclusion. The New York Times, Oprah Magazine, and TODAY Show featured her memoir, Haben: The Deafblind Woman Who Conquered Harvard Law.
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Kate Gladstone
Kate Gladstone, MLS, is a self-advocate and internationally-respected specialist in handwriting instruction and remediation. Her advocacy work includes publication in the Autism Advocate. Her handwriting intervention materials include published courseware as well as a peer-reviewed journal publication, the cursive comprehension guide Read Cursive Fast (National Autism Resources, 2021), and the first volume of a resource series on handwriting topics, slated to be published in 2023.
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Lisa Golden
Lisa Golden, LISW-S, is a skilled clinician, program administrator and trainer with 20 years' experience working with children, families, and professionals. She currently leads OhioMHAS Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health (IECMH) Initiative, The Whole Child Matters. Prior to joining OhioMHAS in 2021, Lisa provided treatment and prevention services at Nationwide Children's most recently leading the IECMH Consultation Team providing consultation, parent education and training for early childhood programs across Central Ohio. Lisa holds a Master's of Science in Social Administration from Case Western Reserve University, and a Bachelor's in Social Work from Capital University.
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Hillary Goldthwait-Fowles
Hillary Goldthwait-Fowles, PhD, ATP, is an accessibility accomplice providing training, support, and consultation to organizations around assistive technology, accessible educational materials, and universal design for learning. She is passionate about ensuring teachers are empowered to create learning experiences that are accessible, engaging, and fun. She is an instructional designer at the Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore, Maryland. She is also an adjunct faculty member for the University of New England's graduate certification programs in inclusion, as well as the University of Maine at Farmington's graduate programs in Inclusion.
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Maggie Gons
Maggie Gons, M.A., CCC-SLP, is the Early Childhood Professional Development Manager in OCALI's Center for the Young Child. She coordinates and provides training opportunities for the Autism Diagnostic Education Program (ADEP), PLAY Project autism intervention, and Pivotal Response Treatment (PRT) for Ohio Early Intervention professionals. Maggie continues to practice as a speech-language pathologist and certified PLAY Project/Teaching PLAY consultant in private practice. In addition, Maggie is a trained PLAY Project supervisor and master trainer and is a graduate of the ASHA Leadership Development Program.
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Emile Gouws
Emile Gouws is a specialist educator, international disability activist and final year PhD student. Emile has been a guest speaker at the Autism Symposium at North-West University, attended the UN State of Parties conference, and been a member of INSAR International Autoethnography conference since 2020. She has also been a speaker at the annual SAHLSA conference, been elected as Vice-Chair of A'SA, served as a guest speaker at the annual ICDL conferences. She is an honorary lecturer at Wits University, and has co-presented with Jeff Guenzel at the Annual Pesi autism symposium. Emile had the privilege of traveling to Kenya and speaking with the Commonwealth Ministers of Education: Kenya.
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Jennifer Govender
Jennifer Govender, M.Ed., is an AEM Specialist for the AT&AEM Center. Throughout her education career, she has worked as an early intervention specialist, assistive technology specialist, and a teacher for students with visual impairments. These experiences have aided her in becoming a well-rounded and compassionate individual, who takes each student's unique goals, needs, and interests into account to allow them to be successful in the educational setting.
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Patrick Graham
Dr. Patrick Graham is the Department Chair of the Master of Science in Secondary Education at the Rochester Institute of Technology's National Technical Institute for the Deaf. A long-time advocate of educational equity for deaf and hard of hearing children, Dr. Graham is interested in social emotional learning, culturally responsive education and combating language deprivation through optimal access. In his free time, he enjoys traveling and interacting with his family.
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Temple Grandin
Temple Grandin, professor of Animal Science at Colorado State University, is the most accomplished and well-known adult with autism in the world. Facilities she designed for handling livestock are used by many companies around the world, and she has been instrumental in implementing animal welfare auditing programs used by McDonalds, Wendy's, Whole Foods, and other corporations. She has appeared on TV shows such as 20/20, Larry King Live, and Prime Time, and has written numerous books. Her book Animals in Translation was a New York Times best seller. Grandin was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame in 2017, and in 2022 was named a Colorado State University Distinguished Professor.
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Sophie Graves-Clore
Sophie Graves-Clore is employed by the Tuscarawas County Board of Developmental Disabilities, where she is a paraprofessional in Starlight's 5 Star Preschool Program. She has 13 years of experience as a classroom assistant. Graves-Clore received her paraprofessional license in 2019. Graves-Clore has served as the student liaison for Starlight School's Gold Level PBIS program for the past 5 years.
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Michelle Gregory
Michelle is an elementary school tech associate with 7 years of experience managing a K-5 building's technology needs. After receiving her Associates Degree in Electronic Media, she took her passion for technology and turned it into a career teaching students and teachers to become skilled digital citizens. She is experienced in solving software issues and assisting teachers in researching and implementing the best tech resources. During the LCS district's PD, Michelle is most often found giving a hands-on presentation to teachers across the district over a wide variety of tech tools including G Suite for Education, Edpuzzle, WriteReader, Kahoot, Flipgrid and more.
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Meg Grigal
Meg Grigal, Ph.D. is the Co-Director of Think College, a research, technical assistance, and evaluation hub on inclusive higher education at ICI/UMASS Boston and the principal investigator on multiple federally funded projects focused on higher education, transition, and employment for students with intellectual disability. She has also led the work of the Think College National Coordinating Center, evaluating over 70 TPSID model demonstration projects. She provides professional development to secondary and transition, as well as high education personnel supporting use of evidenced based practice related to transition services, inclusive college access, and employment.
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Barry Grossman
Barry G. Grossman, PhD, is a licensed psychologist and author. He specializes in counseling and assessment for individuals on the spectrum and has an emphasis on working with females on the spectrum. Dr. Grossman has authored books, textbook chapters, and journal articles. Dr. Grossman, along with his co-author, Dr. Aspy, wrote The Ziggurat Model. The Ziggurat Model, which earned the Literary Achievement Award from the Autism Society, is being used successfully throughout the United States and internationally. Dr. Grossman serves on the Autism Society of America's Panel of Professional Advisors.
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Jeffrey Guenzel
Jeffrey Guenzel, MA, LPC, DIR-Expert, is the Chief Executive Officer of the International Council on Development and Learning (ICDL) and Director of the DIR Institute. He is a professional counselor and has worked as a psychotherapist for 30 years. He was formerly the Deputy Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Children and Families and Director of the New Jersey Division of Child Behavioral Health. He lectures and provides consultation throughout the United States and internationally on autism, child development, mental health, and program development.
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Jennifer Guettler
Jennifer Guettler is a special education teacher and coach for students with significant learning and behavioral needs. Jen has developed a model program for her students that includes implementing evidence-based practices and focusing on functional routines. Her goal for her students is to learn and practice skills that lead to independence. Jennifer has a BS in Family Social Science and an MA in Special Education. She has over 18 years of experience working with children and adults with disabilities and is passionate about guiding students to become successful, contributing members of their community.
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Christina Gulley
Christina served the Ashtabula Area City School district for 15 years as a School Psychologist and recently moved into a supervisory role. She is particularly interested in low incidence disabilities and Gifted/Talented evaluations and education. Her experience includes the development and support of an intervention program in her district, and providing direct intervention for children struggling behaviorally or academically.
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Karen Haines
Karen B. Haines is a speech-language pathologist who has worked in the public schools, an acute care hospital, and as a Teaching Associate Professor and Speech Clinic Coordinator for the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders at West Virginia University. She recently retired from WVU after 39 years; although, she remains active in the field particularly in the area of AAC. She continues to teach graduate level AAC coursework and to provide AAC consulting services. She also teaches professional development coursework in Assistive Technology and AAC in partnership with the West Virginia Department of Education.
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Jeanne Hall
Jeanne Hall is a Work Incentives Consultant with Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities (OOD), where she has been employed in various positions over the past 25 years. Her current work centers around educating individuals with developmental disabilities and their families about the intersection of employment and public benefits. She enjoys illustrating the positive financial impact of employment and supporting individuals in reaching their goals. Jeanne also has a 15-year-old daughter with Cerebral Palsy.
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Stefanie Hall
Stefanie Hall received her BS and MA degrees in education from The Ohio State University. She earned National Board Certification from the National Board of Professional Teaching Standards in 2005 and again in 2015. Stefanie earned her MA Educational Administration from Concordia University. In 2001, Stefanie became a Grief Recovery Method Specialist certified by The Grief Recovery Institute. Using The Grief Recovery Handbook by John James and Russell Friedman, Stefanie teaches the Grief Recovery Method 8-week program. She also facilitates the 4-week Helping Children with Loss program.
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Elaine Hamilton
Elaine and her husband, Reginald, have a daughter Maliyah who was diagnosed with autism at 3 years of age. Elaine is a trainer and information specialist for The Ohio Coalition for The Education of Children with Disabilities, the parent training and information center for the state of Ohio. She provides special education information, assist with understanding the special education evaluation process, parents' rights, educational programs, services and supports to parent/guardians of students with special needs. She is a trainer and presenter for Nationwide Children's Hospital and The Ohio State University in the area of family-centered care and autism.
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Tony Hamilton
Tony Hamilton is an internationally experienced, MBA-awarded chief executive, marketing and media professional with a progressive background in the professional sports, charity, and media industries.
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Ma'Taya Hammond
Ma'Taya Hammond is an Education Program Specialist for the Ohio Department of Education in the Office for Exceptional Children, where she sits on the Diverse Learners Team. On this team, Ma'Taya facilitates the 1% work and provides support to schools, districts, and other stakeholders regarding special education policy, accessibility, and accommodation compliance and implementation. Alongside the Office for Exceptional Children, Ma'Taya sits in the Office of Assessment on the Special Populations Team, focusing directly on the Alternate Assessment for Students with The Most Signification Cognitive Disabilities.
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Sarah Hansen
Sarah Hansen is Assistant Professor of Early Childhood Special Education at Georgia State University. She has her Bachelor's of Science in Psychology from the University of California at Davis, her Master's of Arts in Early Childhood Education from Mills College, Oakland, and her PhD in Special Education with a focus on Early Intervention from University of Oregon. Sarah has over ten years' experience in preschool, clinical and home intervention settings. Sarah's research focuses on intervention on early social communication skills in young children with autism spectrum disorder and other developmental disabilities mediated by natural change agents.
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Jeff Harbal
Jeff Harbal is the high school principal of Perkins High School in Sandusky, Ohio. Jeff has a BA of Science in Education and Integrated Math along with a Masters of Administration from BGSU. He is currently in his 20th year working in education. Mr. Harbal taught math for 12 years including six at Margaretta High School and six at PHS. He served as assistant principal for two years and currently in his 6th year as principal. Jeff's passionate about helping his students be successful both academically and outside of the classroom.
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Elizabeth Harkins
Elizabeth A. Harkins, Ed.D., is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Special Education, Professional Counseling, and Disability Studies at William Paterson University. She is currently the program director of the autism and developmental disabilities advanced master's program. She is a former special education administrator, classroom teacher, and family advocate who has served students with autism and developmental disabilities in a variety of settings. Dr. Harkins' scholarship focuses on the critical importance of intersectional pedagogy, disability studies and teaching and learning strategies that combat implicit bias and incorporate multiple, overlapping social constructs.
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Krushawna Harper
Krushawna Harper, a community coordinator in an elementary school, is passionate about helping and serving others, especially children with disabilities. As a mother of five, who has multiple children with disabilities, Harper has participated in many parent-based research projects. She served 3 years on Cincinnati Children's Hospital Division of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics Family Advisory Council, and she began Winner's Circle Ministry, a Sunday school ministry that provides a spiritual education, while addressing the developmental and physical challenges of children with disabilities. She also serves as a Support Parent for Ohio Parent to Parent and a member of Autism and WE.
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Brittani Harris
Brittani Harris is a Board Certified and Licensed Behavior Analyst. She graduated from ASU in 2011 with a Master in Special Education, Consultation and Collaboration. Brittani has presented at ABAI and Four Corners ABA, and supported in the publication of the outcomes of participation in a 6-week parent training program. Her experience ranges from supporting families who have recently received a diagnosis of autism to consulting with adults who have received intervention for years. Brittani is most passionate about empowering, educating, and supporting caregivers who are navigating their child's diagnosis.
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Jessica Harris
Jessica Harris has worked as a paraprofessional with Dublin City Schools since 2016. Jessica has been a home provider to elementary-aged children with special needs for the past 5 years. She earned a BFA at Marshall University where she facilitated community involvement with arts and disability awareness. Jessica shared her passion for the arts when she presented with Lisa Orem at OCALICON 2019, on how fine motor activities can be differentiated to accommodate all students.
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Gwendolyn Harshaw
Gwendolyn Harshaw is a wife and mother to Zayne Harshaw, who was diagnosed with Autism over 20 years ago. The diagnosis transformed their lives. Gwen left the corporate world of finance to begin educating herself about ASD in order to help her son. This led to becoming an advocate for other families dealing with ASD. She has served as a parent mentor for the autistic teen group, Aspirations. She is a frequent attender and participant in ASD seminars in order to be a source of information for others. She currently serves as Program Director for OCALI's Family & Community Outreach Center Program.
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Susan Havercamp
Susan M. Havercamp, PhD, is a professor of psychiatry and behavioral health at the Ohio State University Nisonger Center. Her research explores physical and mental health issues in people with intellectual and other disabilities. Dr. Havercamp is a consulting editor for Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, the Disability and Health Journal, and Inclusion. She is past president of both the American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Board of Directors and the Alliance on Disability in Health Care Education.
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Lyndsay Havey
Lyndsay Havey is an education program specialist at the Ohio Department of Education in the Office for Exceptional Children. Havey previously worked as a legal guardian representative for adults with developmental disabilities and then as an intervention specialist in the Cincinnati area. She currently works collaboratively with urban districts across Ohio as a member of the Urban Support Team. Additionally, Havey supports the Ohio Parent Mentor program and other family engagement work through the Office for Exceptional Children.
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Wren Hawkins
Emily Wren Hawkins Lead Family Coordinator Ohio Training Coordinator / FREDLA Parent Peer Support Provider & Supervisor Practice Model My role as Lead Family Coordinator is to provide the family Voice & Choice in behavioral health advocacy in our county. Through “The Mosaic Project” (4-year SAMHSA Youth Systems of Care Grant), we work collaboratively with youth partners, county school districts, and behavioral health providers to serve the families and youth of Union County. I am able to bring my own experiences to the table, and make decisions for parents and families in Union County who have had similar life experiences.
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Todd Haydon
Todd Haydon, PhD, LISW, BCBA-D, is a professor of special education at the University of Cincinnati. His research interests include effective teaching practices, positive behavior and supports, and trauma informed care for students with disabilities. He has published over 50 research papers and book chapters. Dr. Haydon is an associate editor of the Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions. He provides mental health counseling to students with disabilities in the schools on a part time basis.
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Jerry Hayes
Dr. Jerry Hayes is a clinical psychologist in private practice at C.H.A.N.G.E.S. Psychological Services and Consultation. He received his BA from the University of Florida, a master's degree in mental health counseling from Gannon University and his Doctor of Psychology(PsyD) degree from Wright State University School of Professional Psychology. Dr. Hayes has worked with the deaf and hard of hearing community since he began his doctoral studies in 1997. Currently, Dr. Hayes is a long time member of the Deaf Advocacy Committee with the Cleveland Hearing and Speech Center and a team member of the more recent mental health and deafness training efforts through ODMHAS.
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Jennifer Heim
Jennifer Heim has over 30 years experience in AT and has supported students with a wide range of disabilities in school districts as well as county board of developmental disability settings. Heim holds master's degrees in both speech-language pathology and AT. She is currently the assistant director for State Support Team Region 2, which serves Erie, Huron, and Lorain counties in Ohio. In that role, she assists school districts in ensuring that all students have access to high-quality first-time instruction.
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Donna Marie Henry
Donna-Marie Henry is Head of Business Development and Projects for Celtic FC Foundation. Henry has spent over 20 years working at a senior level within Employability and Community Development across the public, private and voluntary sectors. Her current goals are to develop new and existing business, generate income, and to manage the Projects Team, which delivers a portfolio of community based projects that address issues across the Foundation's four key priority areas of Health, Equality, Learning and Poverty. She is committed and passionate about using the power of football for good and to improving the quality of life for those most disadvantaged in our communities.
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Kristine Henry
Kristine Henry attended California State University, San Bernardino, and graduated with a BA in Psychology in 2011. Between 2010 and 2012 Kristine began working as a skills trainer for adults with disabilities and then behavior interventionist for children with ASD. In 2012, Kristine began her ABA course work at National University. In 2014, Kristine became a board certified behavior analyst and began to service clients from regional centers, and then to insurance providers. Kristine has 10 years of experience in the field of ABA. Currently, Kristine is working as a behavior analyst at two child development centers in Southern California.
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Meghan Herron
Meghan Herron, associate director of research at Easterseals Southern California, has a bachelor's degree in psychology with a minor in education and applied psychology from the UC Santa Barbara, and a master's degree in counseling, applied behavior analysis, from California State University, Los Angeles. Her research interests include organizational behavior management and she has published in the Journal of Organizational Behavior Management and Behavior Analysis: Research and Practice and has presented at several international behavior analytic conferences. Herron also works as an adjunct professor for The Chicago School of Professional Psychology's ABA master's program in Anaheim, CA.
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Tina Herzberg
Dr. Tina Herzberg is a Professor and Coordinator of the Visual Impairment Program at the University of South Carolina Upstate. Her research focuses on braille literacy, STEM braille codes, assessment of students with visual impairments, tactile graphics, and efficacy of continuing professional development. She is also currently serving as the principal investigator of the federally funded braille training grant, Project INSPIRE: Increasing the STEM Potential of Individuals Who Read Braille. She was previously a general education math and English teacher, a teacher of students with visual impairment, and specialist/team leader for a regional service center in Texas.
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Thomas Hess
Tom Hess brings 20 years of experience working with Ohio agencies, individuals, and families with disabilities. He has national and international program development experience specific to autism and leadership experience with programs that cross multiple systems. Hess previously held the position of director of transition services at the Licking County Board of DD. Prior to that, he was the disability program manager at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. Hess is the national co-chair of the Autism Treatment Network Family Advisory Committee.
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Judy Heumann
Judy Heumann, a lifelong advocate for the rights of disabled people, has been instrumental in the development and implementation of legislation, such as Section 504, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Rehabilitation Act, and the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Her memoir, "Being Heumann: An Unrepentant Memoir of a Disability Rights Activist" was published in 2020. She is featured in the Oscar-nominated documentary, Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution, directed by James LeBrecht and Nicole Newnham. Judy produces a podcast called The Heumann Perspective, featuring a variety of members from the disability community.
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Lisa Hickman
Lisa is the Executive Director for the OCECD as of August 2019. She holds a Bachelor's, Master's and Ph.D. in Sociology. For over 11 years, Lisa was faculty at Grand Valley State University and additionally served as chair for her department for two years. She taught courses and conducted research in the areas of education, children and families. Lisa moved back to Ohio and worked for the Ohio Criminal Sentencing Commission, conducting research to help inform criminal justice policy in Ohio.
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Gabrielle Hicks
Gabrielle Hicks is a postdoctoral scholar at the Center on Education and Training for Employment where she works as a member of the Equity, Engagement, and Evaluation Team. Gabrielle possesses a longtime passion for the pursuit of equity, social justice, and systemic change in education which led her to earn her PhD in Educational Studies, School Psychology. Her dissertation research emphasizes the urgency to prepare school psychologists and related school-based mental health professionals for the implementation of trauma-informed practices in urban schools.
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Leah Hicks
Leah Hicks is a licensed speech-language pathologist who has supported students with significant learning and behavioral needs for over 10 years. She is experienced in implementing evidence-based practices in a collaborative and push-in approach that focuses on functional communication to increase student independence in the classroom and community.
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Jennifer Hight
Jennifer Hight, OTD, OTR/L, is an assistant professor in the Department of Occupational Therapy at Eastern Kentucky University. Her clinical practice includes pediatrics, with a focus on early intervention and community-based practice.
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Kristin Hildebrant
Kristin is an experienced senior attorney practicing for 33 years in education law, focused on disabilities and special education. She is a subject matter expert in state administrative hearings and federal litigation under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Kristin is the education practice team leader, and oversees the representation of families and children with disabilities in all special education matters at Disability Rights Ohio. Kristin is a past chair of the Education Law Committee of the Ohio State Bar Association.
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Jeffrey Hine
Dr. Hine is an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) and is the Director of Primary Care Outreach within the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center/Treatment and Research Institute for Autism Spectrum Disorders (VKC/TRIAD) at VUMC. Dr. Hine is a psychologist and specializes in assessment and treatment of children with autism spectrum disorder and other neurodevelopmental disabilities. He is recognized as a leader in developing and implementing novel models of service delivery and training, specifically through telemedicine and integration of medical homes.
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Erin Hinkel
Erin works for Ohio Coalition for the Education of Children with Disabilities in the West Central office as an Information Specialist/Trainer. Her responsibilities include providing resources, training, and guidance to families that have children, teenagers, and young adults with special needs. She also attends school meetings and collaborates with school personnel to improve outcomes for children. Erin is a graduate from North Olmsted High School and a graduate from Cleveland State University with a Bachelor in Fine Arts. Erin has two children; her son was diagnosed with moderate autism at age two, and her daughter experienced developmental delays early in life.
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David Hoff
David Hoff, M.S.W., is a Program Director for the Institute for Community Inclusion at the University of Massachusetts, Boston. Mr. Hoff has an extensive background in working with public systems and community agencies to enhance employment outcomes for people with disabilities. He has done work across the United States and internationally, providing technical assistance and training on effective practices in human services and workforce development. Mr. Hoff is a Past President of APSE, a 3,000+ member national organization focused on integrated employment of people with disabilities.
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Ryan Hoffman
Ryan Hoffman is a Best Buddies Ambassador and volunteer.
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Lori Hogenkamp
Lori Hogenkamp is the Founder and Director for the Center for Adaptive Stress. Lori is an autistic individual with a degree in psychology from Miami University. She has studied neuroscience and stress-related behaviors for over 20 years. Her love of science drives her passion for understanding the complex patterns of abilities and disabilities of those on the autism spectrum.
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Roya Hood
Roya Hood is a Rehabilitation Program Specialist in the Supported Employment and Transition Unit at Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities. She specifically works with the Transition division, which oversees programs for students with disabilities. This division includes the Ohio Transition Support Partnership (OTSP) with Ohio Department of Education. She also serves as the statewide coordinator for Project SEARCH. Prior to her current role, she was employed as a Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor for 15 years. Roya has an undergraduate degree in Rehabilitation from Wilberforce University and a Master's Degree in Rehabilitation Counseling from the University of Kentucky.
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Sue Hope
Sue is Development Manager for a Scottish charity called IWORK4ME. IWORK4ME is Scotland's only charity to champion self-employment as an achievable and beneficial career solution for autistic adults. IWORK4ME provides regular, one-to-one business mentoring sessions, tailored to individual needs. We enable clients to develop existing skills and talents and create viable micro-enterprises, offering open-ended support, taking clients from abstract ideas to business launch and beyond. This results in the acquisition of fresh life skills, personal growth, engagement with wider society, improved mental health, a sense of purpose, belonging and fulfilment and some financial independence.
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Brittany Hott
Brittany L. Hott, Ph.D. is an associate professor of Special Education in the Department of Educational Psychology at the University of Oklahoma. She is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst-Doctoral (BCBA-D) with interests in rural school-based interventions, program evaluation, and the effective translation of special education research to practice. Her work is predominantly with deep east Texas and south east Oklahoma schools. Dr. Hott is a member of the executive board of the American Council on Rural Special Education.
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Kelly Houston
Kelly Houston is a Project Assistant at the AT&AEM Center at OCALI. She supports the operation of the AT&AEM Center's delivery system of accessible educational materials to Ohio school districts. Kelly carries out the annual Federal Quota Registration of Legally Blind Students on behalf of ODE-OEC, resulting in Federal Quota Funds for AEM for Ohio students. She maintains the AT&AEM Clearinghouse of braille, digital, and large print textbooks and educational aids for loan to eligible students, and provides technical assistance related to AEM. She also assists with data collection for the AT&AEM Center. Kelly has supported the Federal Quota program for 18 years.
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Jim Howell
Jim started teaching in 1998 and is currently the band director/music teacher at Claymont City Schools. In 2009, Jim created a music class that includes a performance group for students with special needs at the middle and high school levels. This group provides opportunities to students that did not have a chance to participate in a musical performance. Jim presented his methods in a documentary film and at professional conferences for educators in Ohio, such as OCALICONLINE Artist Spotlight, Milestones National Autism Conference, OCALICON, OMEA Mini-Conference. Jim has also created a performing group at Advocates for Success, a vocational program for adults with disabilities.
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Stephanie Howell
Stephanie is the CEO of Gold EDU, a Google for Education Partner, a founder of Global GEG, and the EdTech Lead for Pickerington Local Schools. She is key to the embedding and implementation of EdTech tools across her schools and organizations. She has a master's in curriculum and instruction.
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Jacqueline Howley
Jacqueline Howley is the mother of 2 children with disabilities and grandmother of a child with autism. Howley has served as a Parent Mentor for Champaign County for over 22 years, building bridges of communication between home, school and community. She has extensive training and experience, working to make a difference for students with unique needs by collaboration within local system supports, advocating for all children to have meaningful inclusion in school and community.
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Bobby Huffman
Bobby Huffman is an intervention and behavioral specialist at Jones Middle School in the Upper Arlington School District with 16 years of teaching experience. He holds a master's degree in ABA from The Ohio State University. During his studies at Ohio State, Huffman's research interests targeted behavioral interventions, leading to the publications of one of these studies in the journal Behavior Analysis in Practice. Bobby Huffman has presented at various conferences in Ohio and the Midwest, including OCALICON, the OHABA Conference, and the ABAI Conference.
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Richard Ibbotson
Richard Ibbotson has an extensive background in the development and delivery of services to autistic people in Scotland. Originally nurse-trained with a degree in autism studies, he has presented at national and international conferences. As Director of Autism Network Scotland, he led the response to key strategic autism priorities across Scotland. In addition, he is chair of a charity supporting self-employment for autistic adults (IWORK4ME) and chair of a UK-wide network of senior autism professionals (CoSPPA). Richard also runs his own autism training, advice and support consultancy.
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Samhita Ilango
Samhita Ilango is responsible for assisting with healthcare transition research related to national health survey analyses, state Title V agencies, and quality improvement efforts. She previously worked in autism and reproductive health research. Ms. Ilango received her master's degree in Public Health, focusing on health policy, from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. She is a co-lead author of Outcomes of Pediatric to Adult Health Care Transition Interventions: An Updated Systematic Review.
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Melissa Jackson
Melissa Jackson is a Parent Consultant at the Ohio Department of Health in the Maternal, Child, and Family Health Bureau. Melissa enjoys bringing the family perspective and voice to the bureau's 40+ programs. She finds great comfort in this work, as she is also the mother of a child with special healthcare needs and the founder of the nonprofit, Feel Better Foundation. Feel Better serves children with life-threatening diseases/conditions and provides no-cost therapy and programming. Melissa loves that she can combine her background in early childhood education, communication, nonprofit outreach, as well as her lived experience, to support and amplify the voices of families.
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Emily Johnson
Emily Johnson was born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio. She attended The Ohio State University for her undergraduate degree, specializing in special education with a focus on moderate to intensive disabilities. Emily is currently employed as an intervention specialist at Princeton City School District in Cincinnati, Ohio. She has been working at Princeton since 2015, and was promoted to special education department chair in 2020. She works closely with high school students and their families on their transition to adulthood.
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Holly Johnson
Holly Johnson, Ph.D., is a clinical assistant professor of special education at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Her research focuses on positive behavioral interventions and supports within a multi-tiered framework, teacher support using effective professional development and coaching, and student academic engagement.
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Alisa Jones
Alisa M. Jones, MEd, is an Intervention Specialist and Generalist who is passionate about developing proactive solutions to increase learner engagement through innovative instructional and social emotional learning practices. Alisa graduated from Robert Morris University with a BS in Elementary Education and MEd in Special Education, and is endorsed by ASSET Science, Yoga4Classrooms and KAY. She is pursuing a degree in Educational Leadership through Cleveland State University. Alisa co-authored SETT: A Framework for Capacity Building Partnerships in collaboration with CWRU and established a partnership to develop assistive technology for learners with moderate to severe disabilities.
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Kari Jones
Kari Jones serves as the President & CEO of DSACO. Prior to her start with DSACO, she served as Executive Director for Embracing Autism and Director of Supported Living at Goodwill Columbus. As President & CEO, Kari is charged with providing strategic direction, development, and ensuring membership needs are satisfied. Through community partnerships, DSACO strives to fill the gaps in systems that serve the I/DD community. Kari is a graduate of Leadership Columbus (2015), a 40 Under 40 Honoree (2018), and serves on various boards and committees at the local, state, and national level.
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Lindsay Jones
Lindsay Jones is the Chief Executive Officer of CAST, where she works with innovative educators and researchers across the globe to design education systems that are learner-centered, flexible, accessible, and rooted in Universal Design for Learning. Lindsay is a sought after education and disability policy expert. She currently sits on the National Advisory Committee of the Science of Learning and Development Alliance and is an Advisor to the Progress Center. She is a regular presenter at conferences across the nation and often appears in print and on air, including in publications including The Washington Post, US News and World Report, NPR and Education Week.
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Melissa Jupp
Melissa Jupp is the Chief Operating Officer for Potential Development School for Students with Autism, and has been employed by the school since 2006. She has served in a variety of roles, most recently overseeing the daily operations of three buildings, which include preschool through grade 12. Through this experience, Melissa has developed a passion for Social Emotional Learning in the classroom, and is involved in the implementation of strategies to improve these skills for students with autism. Melissa earned her Bachelor's Degree in Social Work and her M.S.Ed in School Counseling, both from Youngstown State University.
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Jasmine Justus-McDowell
Jasmine Justus-McDowell is a licensed and board-certified behavior analyst and a special educator. She earned a bachelor's degree in early childhood education and a master's degree in special education from the University of Oklahoma. For the past five years, she has taught in an elementary setting as a general and special education teacher. For the 22-23 school year, she will serve the students and educators within Moore Public Schools as a Behavior Support Specialist. Currently, she is pursuing a doctoral degree in special education at the University of Oklahoma, where she focuses her research on classroom management and rural special education.
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Sarah Kaiser
Sarah Kaiser graduated from the University of Louisville with a B.S. in Early Elementary Education with a concentration in Learning & Behavior Disorders (P-12). Sarah began her teaching career as a teacher for Henry County Public Schools providing services for students with autism, as well as students with learning and/or behavioral disabilities in resource and co-taught settings. While teaching, Sarah received an M.Ed. from the University of Louisville Autism and Applied Behavior Analysis. She currently works at the Kentucky Autism Training Center as a Field Training Coordinator to provide training and technical assistance to local school districts and other community agencies.
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Elli Kalas
Ellethea (Elli) Kalas, MEd, has 20+ years' experience as an Intervention Specialist with specialization in Visual Impairment. Elli is also a Certified Orientation & Mobility Specialist, currently serving as a TVI/COMS for the Educational Service Center of Central Ohio (ESCCO). Elli recently completed the Neurological Visual Impairments in Children Ohio Cohort course through Salus University, and is currently collaborating with AER Ohio to share information learned in this course with administrators, district staff, colleagues and related service personnel across the state.
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Ed Kapel
Ed Kapel, an employee of 25 years for the Office for Exceptional Children, continues his lifetime work of improving the delivery of services for children with disabilities, which includes classroom experience, supervision and organizational leadership. His time at the Ohio Department of Education culminated with serving as the interim director of the office. Currently serving as an assistant director for Region 7 State Support Team, Kapel provides professional development regarding instructional leadership, integration of students with disabilities, and parent support.
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Lauri Kaplan
Since 2003, Lauri Kaplan has been a Parent Mentor at the Ohio State School for the Blind. Mrs. Kaplan enjoys working with Ohio parents of visually impaired students to guide them through the special education process, helping them understand their rights and responsibilities. She loves helping parents feel empowered and ready for the next adventure in special education. Assistive technology is of particular interest to Lauri (she's kind of a tech geek). She has watched her son benefit from alternative computer input devices utilizing morse code, screen readers, and Alexa. She holds a BFA from The Ohio State University.
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David Kappel
Dr. David Kappel is presently co-chairman of the West Virginia State Trauma Advisory Council (STAC) and has acted in this capacity since 1998. He also serves on numerous other Trauma Committees in West Virginia and the American College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma. He is closely involved in the Medical Policy and Care Committee which has oversight of all EMS Policies and Procedures. Kappel has published manuscripts in the communication field and also contributed to curriculum and education for health care systems. He is a Clinical Professor in the Department of Surgery at West Virginia University.
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Audra Karam
Audra Karam, BA, holds a degree in Child Development and Family Ecology with a minor in psychology with a specialization in child life. This background helped develop the Character Development curriculum at her family's martial arts school. Audra has worked with school districts, teaching students how to stand against the dangers of alcohol, tobacco and other drugs. Audra is a Certified Dale Carnegie Facilitator and has trained many Fortune 500 Corporate Leaders how to be better presenters and foster better leadership. Audra is the recipient of numerous awards for her success with Dale Carnegie in promoting this International Leadership Program.
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Alyssa Kavner
As the Vice President of Clinical Training and Quality, Alyssa is responsible for the oversight of the training curriculum for Easterseals staff, quality assurance, and DEI initiatives. Alyssa manages projects in assessment, scorecards, leadership development, and retention. Alyssa has expertise in research, graduate level teaching, and training. Her publications include "The Benefits of Teaching Self-Management Skills to Students of Psychology" published in the Journal of Instructional Psychology and "Predictors of Intention to Turnover in Behavior Technicians Working with Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder" published in Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders.
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David Kearon
Dave Kearon, Director of Adult Services at Autism Speaks, focuses on national initiatives promoting solutions for the needs of individuals with autism and their families across the spectrum and throughout the lifespan. Kearon's work in recent years has included the development of an autism-led corporate employment consultancy, an online job search tool for autistic job seekers, and an autism small business accelerator. Current initiatives include the development of digital, interactive developmental pathways for the transition to adulthood, as well as a larger employment collaboration with other nonprofits for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities called Delivering Jobs.
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Janet Keeler
Dr. Janet Keeler is a licensed psychologist in the state of Ohio and has worked extensively in both the mental health and developmental disabilities systems. She has worked at the Cuyahoga County Board of Developmental Disabilities for 26 years. From 2015-2020, she provided program oversight and execution of the strategic direction of Cuyahoga DD's large adult services division. Since 2020, Dr. Keeler has managed the newly developed Community Development Division which works to increase individuals' access to competitive employment, community membership and independent community travel.
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Dan Kelley
Dan is a proud father of 2 boys. He has been a teacher of the visually impaired and assistive technology specialist at the Ohio State School for the Blind for the last 24 years. Dan is also an adaptive technology trainer and specialist for the state of Ohio and the I Can Connect program. He has many years of being a guest lecturer at The Ohio State University and Shawnee State University. Dan loves a challenge and has a passion to help empower people to meet life challenges with the correct tools, and encourage them in their critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Hobbies and interests include outdoor activities like biking, camping, fishing and taking his new puppy for long walks.
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Stacy Kelly
Stacy Kelly, Ph.D. completed her doctoral degree as a National Center for Leadership in Visual Impairment (NCLVI) Doctoral Fellow. Prior to coming to Northern Illinois University, Kelly worked as a faculty member at Illinois State University and a disability policy researcher in Washington, DC. She taught students who were blind or visually impaired as a teacher of students with visual impairments (TSVI) in the Chicagoland area. Most recently, Kelly has been appointed as an Assistive Technology Certification Subject Matter Expert (SME) by the leading credentialing organization for vision rehabilitation and educational professionals.
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Alexia Kemerling
Alexia Kemerling is a disabled woman and passionate disability justice advocate who currently serves as the Community Engagement Coordinator for Disability Rights Ohio. She co-authored the study "Hostile, Benevolent, and Ambivalent Ableism: Contemporary Manifestations," published in 2019 in A Journal of the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues (SPSSI), and contributed research and writing to Ableism: The Causes and Consequences of Disability Prejudice by Dr. Michelle Nario-Redmond, Wiley-Blackwell, 2019. She has presented at a variety of conferences on topics ranging from disability inclusion to responding to ableism to disability pride and grassroots advocacy.
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Alana Kennedy
Alana Kennedy, Ed.S., is a doctoral candidate specializing in Special Education at the University of Cincinnati. Prior to returning to academia, Kennedy worked as a school psychologist where she served students in grades K-12. Her interests center around supporting educators to connect meaningfully and empathetically with students who may struggle behaviorally in a typical school setting. She has taught at the college level and supports student teachers in their special educator preparation. She has presented at state and national conferences and has contributed to various articles and books concerning proactive behavior management strategies that support the whole child.
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Patrick Kilbane
Patrick Kilbane is a Service and Support Administrator at the Miami County Board of Development Disabilities. He is a father of three children. Two of his children are complex medical that receive county board services and went through Help Me Grow and worked with Early Intervention through the local county board of developmental disabilities system. He has a background in special education as a former teacher and transition specialist.
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Molly King
Molly King is a clinical psychology graduate student at Eastern Kentucky University. Molly is interested in autism spectrum disorders and has assisted with some of the autism and other developmental disorders social skills groups at Eastern Kentucky University. She is currently conducting a teen friendship group for individuals on the autism spectrum.
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Alexis Kirk
Alexis Kirk has worked for Region 14 State Support Team for the last 9 years. She is an advocate for the whole child through the lens of Multi-Tiered Systems of Support. She believes each child can achieve their fullest potential when the right supports are in place as early as possible. Her professional interests include PBIS, Social-Emotional Learning, and Early Childhood Education. She taught diverse learners for 13 years and earned her Master Teacher Designation. She is a parent of a child with autism who has overcome many challenges. Alexis' best days are working alongside professionals coaching them toward their goals and celebrating their successes.
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Ally Kirk
Ally Kirk is a pharmacy technician at CVS Pharmacy. Kirk graduated with an Associate of Arts Degree from Southern State Community College in May of 2022. She wants to continue going to college to get a Bachelor's in Social Work. Kirk is a person with autism.
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Ted Klopp
Ted Klopp has worked with teachers and therapists in the special education area for the past decade. As the right-hand man for his wife's company, he is tasked with doing a little of everything. His experience includes, but is not limited to sales, marketing, training, and demonstrations. Most specifically, he works to make sure customers are successful with the products they use.
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Teresa Kobelt
Teresa Kobelt directs OCALI's Office of Policy. Prior to joining OCALI, she was Deputy Director of Policy and Strategic Direction at the Ohio Department of Developmental Disabilities, overseeing key initiatives such as Early Intervention, Family Engagement & Support, Trauma-Informed Care, and Employment First. Kobelt has a master's degree in social work from The Ohio State University, and got her start in the field as a LEND trainee at OSU's Nisonger Center.
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Karen Koehler
Karen E. Koehler, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor at Shawnee State University and the Project Director of the TVI Consortium - a multi-university collaborative for teacher preparation. She has presented at state and national conferences on topics related to education and supports for students with visual impairments and creating collaborative partnerships in educator preparation.
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Karl Koenig
Karl Koenig is the director of the Office of Community Schools at the Ohio Department of Education.
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Andrew Komarow
Andrew is the founder of Planning Across the Spectrum. From his personal experience as an individual with ASD, he was inspired to create Planning Across the Spectrum to specifically work with individuals, families, and care teams of those with special needs. Andrew is a known national advocate for autism awareness and serves on various boards and advisory committees. Andrew is CFP, Behavioral Financial Advisor (BFA), and Chartered Special Needs Consultant (ChSNC), among his other designations.
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Tara Konstantakopoulos
Tara Konstantakopoulos is a Teacher of the Visually Impaired and Orientation and Mobility Specialist at PNW BOCES in New York. After attending The Ohio State University programs for both her M.Ed. in Visual Impairment and Certification for Orientation and Mobility, she taught at Ohio State School for the Blind. Upon her return to New York, Mrs. Konstantakopoulos worked in District 75 of NYC Public Schools as an Itinerant Teacher of the Visually Impaired and Orientation and Mobility Specialist. She has presented on a variety of topics at various in-services and conferences throughout the country.
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Heather Koren
Heather Koren began her career as an SLP assistant for individuals with severe and profound disabilities. While at UCP, she worked as an AT Specialist and developed communication and vocational training programs. Heather assisted in the computer access lab at the Center for Technology and Disability Studies and provided training to hospital and school professionals. Heather taught AT classes in the Special Education Department at East Carolina University, directed the AT lab, and developed an online graduate certificate program. She is currently the Director of Assistive Technology for Westminster Technologies. She conducts AT assessments and training.
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Colleen Kornish
Colleen Kornish, M.Ed., is a consultant with State Support Team 9. She assists schools in utilizing the Ohio Improvement Process to meet the needs of each LEA that she serves to improve student outcomes. She is a member of the Ohio UDL Collaborative and works to help teachers remove barriers and provide access for ALL students using the principles of Universal Design for Learning. Colleen is an equity and inclusion advocate. She is an OLi4 coach. She also helps support Community Schools in Region 9. Colleen was an elementary principal prior to becoming a consultant at SST9. She is a mom to two teenagers.
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Cara Koscinski
Cara, a mother to two autistic sons, earned her post-professional Doctorate in Occupational Therapy in 2019, and a Master's degree in OT in 1997. Cara recently earned her certification as an Autism Specialist. She is a former professor at the University of St. Augustine's MOT and OTD programs. Cara enjoys speaking at conferences for therapists, teachers, and special needs organizations across the country. Her website www.PocketOT.com provides continuing education and strengths-based approaches for kids with special needs. Cara authored six books and is the OT advisor for Autism, Asperger's Digest Magazine. Her new book, The Train Model for Executive Function will be released this fall.
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Sydney Krebsbach
I was born in Renton Washington, grew up in Juneau Alaska lived there for 23 years I went to Thunder Mountain High School and graduated with honors. I worked several different jobs like Temsco Helicopters, The Alaska State legislature, and served on the Alaska Governor council on disabilities and special education. Finally after 23 years in Alaska I moved to Spokane Washington and started a new life with serving on the Washington State Developmental Disabilities Council and working at SNAP. I was born with Autism but was not diagnosed until I was 8. I struggled with a lot growing up with my autism but I didn't give up. My motto if you don't get it the first time, Keep trying.
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Michelle Krefft
Michelle Krefft is the Director of Business Relations for Iowa Vocational Rehabilitation Services (IVRS). Prior to this role, she was a rehabilitation counselor and has been with IVRS for 21 years. As the director, she represents Iowa on the National Employment Team and leads disability and inclusion efforts with businesses across Iowa. She received her Master's Degree from Drake University.
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Karen Kritzer
Karen L. Kritzer, Ph.D. is the director of the Deaf Education Program at Kent State University. She has taught deaf and hard-of-hearing (D/HH) students from preschool to upper elementary grade levels. At the university level, she teaches courses including Deaf Studies, Language Development, and Curriculum Design. Dr. Kritzer's research is focused on mathematics education for young D/HH children and family/home-related factors that contribute to early learning and development of critical thinking skills for this population. She has a variety of publications and has presented nationally and internationally on related topics.
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Stephen Kroeger
Steve Kroeger's experience as a faculty member at University of Cincinnati includes developing cultural competence and critical thinking with preservice teachers to unleash the academic excellence of their students. Work among teachers in the Palestinian West Bank has been a highlight of the past several years. Current endeavors embrace microteaching, cartooning, and visual facilitation.
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Kitty Kromer
Kathryn Kromer, M.Ed., TTW, has served as an intervention specialist and transition and employment services coordinator for Columbiana County Educational Service Center. She has co-authored several grants, including Ohio Straight A and Community Connectors. The CCESC obtained CARF Accreditation in 2017 to provide employment services for OOD. Kromer manages both OOD services and school-age services and is a certified Work Incentives Planner and Employment Support Professional. She has developed innovative transition programming, including a student-run entrepreneurial gift shop and art gallery. Kromer has presented at various conferences in Ohio and the International Transition Conference.
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Brenny Kummer
Brenny Kummer is the Coordinator of Instructional Technology for Bartholomew Consolidated Schools in Indiana. She is a former social studies teacher, graduate of the University of Arkansas Educational Technology Master's program. In her role, she trains staff on how to use UDL to guide technology, supports assistive technologies, and coordinates eLearning. Brenny has a passion for UDL and experience teaching in a full inclusion setting. She has presentation experience at various levels: PATINS Access to Education, HECC conferences, Indiana Connected Educators, ISTE, IMS Global, UDL-IRN international summit, UDL-IRN Great Lakes, UDL-CAST events, and CoSN diversity and inclusion panels.
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Al LaBarre
Alison B. LaBarre, Ed.D., Executive Director of Statewide Services & Outreach for the Ohio State School for the Blind and the Ohio School for the Deaf. She has presented at state and national conferences on topics related to middle-level education and the educational needs of the exceptional child.
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Aaron Lanou
Aaron Lanou is an educational consultant working to implement inclusive, strengths-based supports for autistic students and all kids with academic, executive functioning, and social support needs. A former special educator, Aaron was Director of the ASD Nest Support Project at New York University, supporting the nation's largest inclusion program for autistic students, where he coordinated all staff training and support, and oversaw the program's expansion to over 50 K-12 schools across New York City. He has written several articles and presented nationally and internationally, including in Aarhus, Denmark, where he led the adaptation of the ASD Nest model to Danish schools.
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Susan Larson
Susan Larson is a UDL and School Improvement Consultant with State Support Team Region 12. She has delivered professional learning focused on the UDL Framework, Inclusive Instructional Practices, Using Data to Create Sustainable Change, and several sessions aligned to gifted competencies. In addition, Susan is a Regional Data Lead with the Ohio Education Data Professionals Network and an OTES 2.0 credentialed evaluator. She is a participating member of family and community engagement networks. Susan holds a B.S. in Elementary Education from Bowling Green State University and an MAE in Talented and Gifted from Muskingum University. She also is licensed as an Administrative Specialist.
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Bernadette Laughlin
Bernadette Laughlin is the Related Services Specialist in the Office for Exceptional Children at the Ohio Department of Education. A school speech-language pathologist before becoming a special education attorney, Laughlin has served in many roles at the Department including overseeing special education related services, dispute resolution, complaint investigation, coordination of Ohio's due process hearings, training of hearing officers, improving literacy outcomes, addressing personnel shortages in special education and equity issues in special education. Laughlin holds a B.S. and M.A. from the Ohio State University, a Juris Doctorate from Capital University and presents nationally.
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Amy Laurent
Amy Laurent, PhD, OTR/L, is the co-director of Autism Level UP! an autistic/allistic partnership dedicated to the provision of education, accessible resources, and practical strategies focused on increasing active engagement for autistic individuals and the members of their communities. She is a co-author of the SCERTS Model and frequently lectures internationally. She is passionate about neurodiversity and helping others to honor and understand the implications of "different ways of being" in relation to navigating the physical and social world. Dr. Laurent strives to practice what she preaches and uses her love of play and movement to meet her own regulatory needs.
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Sheena Leedham
Author of "The Power of a Note," Sheena Leedham earned her Master's degree in education at Edinboro University with a concentration in elementary education and recreation administration. Through Ohio State University's Nisonger Center, she coordinates Men's Aspirations, a social support group event for teens and young adults with autism to experience the Greater Columbus Area. Sheena also serves as an education consultant for OSU's Autism College Experience (ACE!) and PLAN programs where she creates a physical and nutritional curriculum to educate young college students with autism on the importance of habitual fitness and proper nutrition.
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Mallory Legg
Mallory Legg is a staff attorney at Project HEAL (Health, Education, Advocacy, and Law). Mallory earned a bachelor's degree in sociology from the University of Delaware and a Juris Doctor at the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law. She interned at Project HEAL during her second and third years of law school, and started as a staff attorney in August 2014. Mallory received The Maryland Daily Record's Leading Women Award in December 2017, the Association of University Centers on Disabilities (AUCD) Young Professional Award in November 2017, the Maryland Legal Services Corporation's Rising Star Award in 2018, and the Daily Record's VIP List Award in 2019.
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Kayley Letcher
Kayley Letcher graduated from Eastern Kentucky University (EKU) with a Bachelor's Degree in Occupational Science in 2021. She is currently enrolled as a graduate student in the Master's of Occupational Therapy program at EKU. She is also working towards an Interdisciplinary Certificate in Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). She currently works as a part-time Graduate Assistant and Direct Support caregiver with neurodiverse individuals. Ms. Letcher has had current and past experience with working with individuals of with ASD, sensory processing/regulation deficits, and ADHD.
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Maria Lohr
Maria Lohr is the Assistant Director for gifted services at ODE-OEC, providing technical assistance to school administrators, educators, and parents regarding state laws, rules, policies, and best practices for gifted education. She previously worked in the North Carolina public school system providing gifted services to identified students in general education settings at the elementary level. She serves on the board of the Council of State Directors of Programs for Gifted, a national organization of state education agency personnel in public school programs for the gifted and talented.
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Amanda Lowery
Amanda Lowery received a Master of Curriculum and Instruction with a focus in Autism Spectrum Disorder at Arizona State University. Prior to that, she received a Bachelor of Science in Education at Wright State University. She began as a teacher in an integrated third grade classroom and later created academic and enrichment curriculum for summer and after school programming. Amanda currently works as a developmental specialist and PLAY Project Consultant for Montgomery County Board of Developmental Disabilities Services. She works with families and children who have recently received a diagnosis of autism to provide strategies and intervention.
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Meghaan Lurtz
Meghaan Lurtz, Ph.D., FBS, is a Professor of Practice at Kansas State University, where she teaches courses for the Advanced Financial Planning Certificate Program. She is a lecturer at Columbia University where she teaches Financial Psychology, and an undergraduate adjunct professor through the University of Maryland system in their CFP program. Dr. Lurtz is also a writer and Senior Research Associate with Kitces.com, a financial planning blog. She is also a past president of the Financial Therapy Association.
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Kathi Machle
Kathi Machle's interest in child advocacy began as student at The University of Michigan Law School. When her third child was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, her vocation and avocation expanded to include the needs of the disabled. She has been active for many years with the Autism Society of Central Ohio, Worthington Special Olympics and various other community groups. She is managing director of Autism Society Central Ohio.
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Shelley Mack
Shelley Mack, M.Ed., is a Teacher of the Visually Impaired and Library of Congress (NLS) certified braille transcriber (Literary). Besides her work as a private contractor, she is an instructor and presenter for workshops and the BEST Grant Summer Institute braille courses. Shelley provides consultative support to AT&AEM and the BEST Grant in areas pertaining to braille, large print, AT and materials for students with visual impairments.
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Kelly Mahler
Kelly Mahler, OTD, OTR/L, has been an occupational therapist for 19 years, serving autistic children and adults. She is winner of the 2020 AOTA Emerging and Innovative Practice Award. Kelly is an adjunct faculty member in the Department of Occupational Therapy at Elizabethtown College and is a co-principal investigator of multiple research projects pertaining to topics such as interoception, trauma, autism and social skill development. She is an international speaker, presenting frequently on topics related to the eight, award-winning resources she has authored including The Interoception Curriculum & My Interoception Workbook.
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Tracy Mail
Tracy Mail has been employed at State Support Team Region 8 for 26 years as an educational consultant. Her responsibilities involve professional development, technical assistance, and coaching in the areas of service delivery models for inclusionary practices, including co-teaching, assistive technology and access to the curriculum, multi-tiered systems of support, universal design for learning, executive functioning, and literacy. Ms. Mail also serves as an adjunct instructor for Ashland University.
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Janet Maine
Janet Maine is the Parent Mentor for Princeton City Schools in Cincinnati, Ohio. She comes to this position with 9 years of experience as a Parent Mentor in Princeton, 5 years experience as a Job Coach for Project SEARCH (at Children's Hospital), and 24 years as the mother of Matthew, who has Down Syndrome. Janet also serves on the panel for Diversity and Inclusion within the Down Syndrome Association of Greater Cincinnati. Janet believes that positive educational and social outcomes are created in a team atmosphere (parents, students, schools, and the community) where all participants work together to improve the lives and futures of individuals with disabilities.
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Marie Manning
Dr. Manning is an Assistant Professor as Eastern Kentucky University. She serves as an undergraduate coordinator for P-12 programs. She teaches courses in behavior disorders, using the principles of applied behavior analysis, both at the undergraduate and graduate levels.
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Chelsea Marelle
Chelsea Marelle, M.Ed., is a PhD student at Georgia State University. She was a special education teacher for 5 years, where she served as an elementary resource, cross category, specific learning disability, and autism self-contained classroom teacher. Her research interests include special education teacher preparation programs and professional development, behavior and classroom management, and autism specific classroom interventions. Marelle has presented at state, national, and international conferences, contributed to several articles, and built a collaborative platform for thousands of special educators around the world through her @MrsSpecialEducation Instagram account.
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Camille Marie Brandt
Dr. Camille Brandt is an Assistant Professor of Education in Special Education at Bemidji State University, Bemidji, Minnesota. She has taught in both public and private sectors as a special education teacher and consultant in the area of autism spectrum disorders. She has led efforts in her community for inclusiveness and has developed partnerships between early education and services for children and families. Dr. Brandt has presented on topics ranging from community inclusiveness to due process for parents and families impacted by autism.
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Dee Marks
Dee Marks, mother of 2 children with significant disabilities, has advocated for her children to be fully included in their school and community. Marks has a strong background in special education law and the ability to foster positive, collaborative communication. She is an Ohio Parent Mentor for Dublin City Schools, helping families navigate the special education process. Marks also provides specialized education services for adolescent students in a mental health treatment center and previously taught at Ohio Dominican University.
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Jason Martin
Before joining the Center for Assistive Training Technology (CATT) for Special Projects at the Alabama Institute for Deaf and Blind, Jason served as the Statewide Assistive Technology Specialist for the Blind for seven years at the Alabama Department of Rehabilitation Services. He is a certified Teacher of the Visually Impaired and is currently the first and only Certified Assistive Technology Instructional Specialist in the state of Alabama. He is a nationally known speaker in the field of Assistive Technology, transition, and STEM programs for students with visual impairments.
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Rachel Martin
Rachel completed her undergraduate studies at the University of Akron, with her Master's Specialist degrees in School Psychology from Gallaudet University, currently the only program specializing in Deaf/Hard of Hearing in the world. While there, she trained at the Model Secondary School for the Deaf. Rachel has obtained additional training in the area of blind/visual impairment, while serving as the school psychologist at the Ohio State School for the Blind. She is currently the school psychologist for the Ohio School for the Deaf, The Early Learning Center/Alice Cogswell Center, and both the OSD and OSSB's Statewide Service and Outreach Team.
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Andy Masud-Werner
Andy Masud-Werner is a doctoral student in special education at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Her research interests include behavior interventions to support students and adults with IDD.
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Kim Mathews
Kim is a Parent Consultant at the Ohio Department of Health (ODH). She serves individuals and families involved in the Maternal, Child and Family Health programs within ODH. Kim has almost two decades of experience supporting families who have children with medical complexities/special health care needs. One of her specialties at ODH is serving families who participate within the Children with Medical Handicaps Program at ODH.
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Lou Maynus
Dr. Lou Maynus has served as Superintendent for OSD and OSSB since July 2018. Prior to coming to OSD and OSSB, Dr. Maynus was the Assistant State Superintendent, Division of Teaching and Learning at the West Virginia Department of Education. She also worked in several positions at Kanawha County Schools and Marshall University, as well as the West Virginia Department of Education as a Lead Coordinator. From 1984-1998, she worked as a Teacher of the Deaf and the Case Manager for Special Education at Fayette County Schools. Among her awards are the RESA IV Carla Sweet Special Educator of the Year in 1998 and the West Virginia Presidential Award for Math and Science in 2005.
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Kathleen McClaskey
Kathleen McClaskey, MEd is CEO and Chief Learning Officer of Empower the Learner, LLC (empowerthelearner.com), founder of Make Learning Personal (kathleenmcclaskey.com) and co-author of bestsellers Make Learning Personal and How to Personalize Learning. She is an innovative thought leader, international speaker, professional developer, and UDL consultant with over 35 years experience in creating learner-centered environments as a teacher, K-12 administrator and consultant. Kathleen is passionate in empowering ALL learners to thrive with tools, skills and practices so they become self-directed learners, learners with agency, who are future ready for college, career and life.
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Tricia McCollum
Tricia McCollum, M.Ed., works as a consultant with Ohio's State Support Team, Region 4. She specializes in the areas of early learning school readiness, special education, and family and community engagement. She is also a doctoral candidate in special education at Kent State University. She has worked in the field of special education for 16 years as a teacher, administrator, and consultant, and has spent the past 8 years working with preschool children with ASD. Her research interests include supporting young children with ASD and the adults who work with them, peer-mediated interventions, and creating structured early childhood settings.
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Harry McCormack
Harry presents "Spectrum Voices" on Autistic Radio. He co-founded the Authentically Autistic speech radio station with exclusively Autistic partners. Harry also co-leads the "Spectrum Voices Forum," where autisitics represent their own views and experiences in working partnership with researchers and autism professionals. Additionally, Harry co-founded "Spectrum Voices Conversation," which meets twice a week with the aim of encouraging diverse inclusion in autism. Autistic Radio Day is his latest project, launched earlier this year. Harry is passionate for a more positive outlook on the personal experience of autism and the life opportunities it can bring.
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Marie McCumber
Marie McCumber is an elementary teacher at the Ohio State School for the Blind. She has also worked as a multiple disabilities teacher, serving students from PreK through 7th grade, working in both public and private school settings. She has a Bachelor's of Science in Early Childhood Intervention from Ashland University, a license for Teacher of Students with Visual Impairments from The Ohio State University, and is currently obtaining a Master's of Arts in Leadership in Technology. She is the 2021 recipient of the State Support Team Region 7 Outstanding Educator Award and a 2022 nominee for Ohio Teacher of the Year. She believes in the capability, competence, and potential of all students.
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John McNaught
John received his undergraduate degree from the University of Richmond, his Master of Education Degree from James Madison University and his doctoral degree in School Improvement with a focus on Special Education from the University of West Georgia. He was one of the first individuals in the state of Virginia to implement student-directed IEP meetings, and he worked diligently as an educator to bring the student's voice to the forefront. John is currently the director at the Training and Technical Assistance Center at James Madison University and is a founding member of the Virginia Department of Education I'm Determined Project where he serves as the principal investigator.
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Emily Meier
Emily Meier is an instructor at the USD Sanford School of Medicine. She works extensively in healthcare transition and individual healthcare plans. Meier instructs healthcare professionals in caring for patients with disabilities, chronic health conditions and genetic disorders. She serves as South Dakota's ASD Program Coordinator. She has academic appointments as Pediatrics Instructor and Adjunct Graduate Faculty. Meier began her career teaching children with ASD. She then served as Ed. Coordinator/Sp. Ed. Director. Meier provides training in the areas of healthcare transition, individual healthcare plans, ASD, challenging behavior, social skills and educational programming.
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Emily Menker
Emily Menker, MSW, LISW, is an Education Program Specialist with the Ohio Department of Education. Ms. Menker investigates complaints and provides technical assistance regarding restraint and seclusion and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. She has experience working in both community mental health and education settings. Prior to transitioning to the Department of Education, Ms. Menker served as the mental health counselor at the Ohio School for the Deaf. In that role, she co-led the school's Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) Leadership Team and the led the Crisis Response Team, overseeing the safe use of restraint and seclusion.
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Steve Mentrek
Steve Mentrek is a Multisystem Youth and Family Regional Coach with OCALI. He received his B.A. from Slippery Rock University and his M.A. from the University of Toledo. Steve has over 20 years of experience assisting individuals with developmental disabilities to integrate in their communities. Through this work he has identified risks associated with human trafficking and has assisted with the coordination of supports and resources needed to aid victims with developmental disabilities gaining freedom from these situations. His goal is to educate professionals, individuals and their families on the risks of human trafficking and how to respond when these situations arise.
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Tricia Merenda
As a Literacy Specialist at the Ohio Department of Education, Tricia Merenda promotes her motto, Inspire Students though Literacy, as she serves Ohio's Regional Early Literacy Specialists and schools districts in her work with state-level initiatives in curriculum, evidence-based instruction, assessment, and professional learning. With extensive teaching experience at all levels of pre-k though 12, Literacy Administrator experience, and a background in museum program design for young children, Tricia enjoys supporting schools in lifting literacy for all students.
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Joann Migyanka
Dr. Migyanka is a Professor of Special Education at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. She taught for eight years in the public school system working with students on the autism spectrum. In 2000, she was awarded the National Professional of the Year from the Autism Society of America (ASA). Dr. Migyanka developed and teaches courses for an Autism Endorsement Certificate. She continues her work with adults with Autism as the Director of the IUP Labyrinth Center a support program for IUP students with ASD.
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Alyssa Mikolsky
Alyssa Mikolsky, B.A., is a Mild/Moderate Intervention Specialist K-12, certified through the Ohio Department of Education. She is a current 9th grade intervention specialist who works primarily with students who have high-incidence disabilities. A first year educator, Mikolsky earned her Bachelor of Arts from Notre Dame College located in South Euclid, OH. She currently serves populations of students in English Language Arts, Physical Science, and Global Studies. She strives to ensure integrated education and inclusion in all of her classroom environments as well as taking the time to create and implement differentiated strategies amongst students in her target population.
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Lisa Milliron
Lisa Milliron is a Teacher of the Visually Impaired and President/Owner of Inspired Vision Services. Lisa's passion for working with children with brain-based visual impairments began when she worked at Cincinnati Children's Pediatric Low Vision and CVI clinics. Lisa was a part of a multidisciplinary team collaborating with doctors, occupational therapists, and orientation and mobility instructors specializing in CVI. Additionally, Lisa was a Perkins-Roman CVI Range Endorsed professional and recently completed the Neurological Visual Impairments in Children course through Salus University. Lisa is an active member of AER and the Pediatric Cortical Visual Impairment Society.
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Emma Misegadis
Emma Misegadis is a sibling to a twin brother with autism, Jack. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Nebraska Medical Center and works as a critical care registered nurse. Before her career in nursing, she held a variety of positions in education and transportation. At a young age, she began volunteering and has worked with over a dozen local and statewide organizations including the Autism Society of Nebraska. In 2013 she received the Autism Advocate of the Year award.
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Megan Misegadis
Megan Misegadis is the parent of a 23-year-old son on the spectrum and his twin sister. Her experiences as a mom, Family Resource Liaison for an early childhood autism grant, and her current work as an Assistant and Project Coordinator at the Nebraska Autism Spectrum Disorders Network continue to inspire her to learn and grow in the area of autism advocacy and support. Megan is the president of the Autism Society of Nebraska and serves on several statewide autism committees. She enjoys finding humor in most things and spending time with her husband, kids, and pets.
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Sam Mitchell
Sam Mitchell has autism. He was diagnosed at the age of 4, and today at 19 years old, is a student, but also a well-known podcaster, entrepreneur, public speaker, TEDX Speaker, and Executive Director of Autism Rocks and Rolls NonProfit 501c3. His official Website is autismrocksandrolls.com. Sam also has a published TED Talk called Souled Structure. Sam is also gearing to host his first GALA in Bloomington, Indiana, called "Success for All and How We Get There," with his keynote speaker being Dr. Temple Grandin. Sam has also spoken at The Griffin Promise Conference in OK and will speak in May 2022 at the ASET conference in Ontario, Canada and the Podfest conference in Orlando, FL.
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Khrystle Montallana
Khrystle Montallana, M.A., is the Clinical Director of Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Access at Easterseals Southern California. As a Board Certified Behavior Analyst, she has served as a trainer, clinician, and instructor. She currently leads initiatives focused on decreasing disparities in access to autism services and increasing health and social care equity. Her work also includes recruiting and retentions strategies to increase diversity in the autism services workforce. Khrystle has presented at state, national, and international conferences.
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Eric Moore
Eric Moore has spent the last 20 years working with the Deaf community. He started his career as an ASL/English Interpreter working in K-12 Education, VRS, and Post-Secondary Education. He has his AAS in Deaf Interpretive Services and holds his NIC and Ed:K-12 from RID. After obtaining his BS in Deaf Education, he began working as a ToD. His experience in preK-12 education has allowed him to work in all grades and subjects with a variety of diverse learners across many spectrums. Most recently, Eric furthered his education by pursuing and completing his MAE program focused on TESOL to develop unique strategies and approaches for how to instruct Deaf students.
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John Moore
John L. Moore is an experienced non-profit administrator with over 25 years of executive experience in working with non-profit organizations and boards. He is a subject matter expert in the field of deafness and disability issues. Recently, Mr. Moore has worked with ODMHAS in developing video training modules and live trainings to prepare providers in providing culturally and linguistically appropriate services to clients who are deaf or hard of hearing. Mr. Moore has a BA in Government and History from Galluadet University. In addition, he received his Master's in Public Administration from Northeastern University. He and his wife, Marsha, live in Columbus and have four children.
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Angel Morgan
Angel Morgan is a PhD candidate in the Learning Design and Technology Program at North Carolina State University (NCSU) and the mother of two high school students with diverse learning needs. In collaboration with the Center on Inclusive Technology & Education Systems (CITES) Project at CAST, she recently completed a research study about family engagement by district and school leaders in inclusive technology efforts. She has presented at two CAST UDL symposiums and the NCSU College of Education Research Celebration. Angel also works for 2U, Inc. as a Senior Curriculum Engineer designing and developing a curriculum for an online Technology Project Management boot camp.
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Mary Morningstar
Dr. Mary E. Morningstar is a Professor in Special Education at Portland State University and Co-Director of the Career and Community Studies program, a fully inclusive postsecondary education program for youth with intellectual disability. She is Director of the Transition Coalition, a national center offering online, hybrid and in-person professional development and resources for secondary special educators and transition practitioners. She is currently co-director of the OSEP and RSA jointly-funded National Technical Assistance Center on Transition: The Collaborative. www.transitioncoalition.org
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Tim Morse
Tim Morse, Ed.D., has worked as a university professor, district-level special education administrator, and special education teacher. He founded and, for 7 years, directed an Autism Demonstration School for the Mississippi Department of Education. He has authored three books addressing remedial instruction for students with disabilities and those manifesting learning challenges, and over 75 articles published in peer-reviewed journals and other professional publications. Additionally, he has made presentations about various special education topics at state, national, and international conferences.
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Maggie Mosher
Maggie Mosher is the Social Skill Content Strategist for the Virtual-Reality Program VOISS. She specializes in social-emotional development, technology integration for diverse learners, and individualizing instruction. Passionate about fully including all learners, Mosher worked as a special education teacher and later school administrator from 2001 to 2017. Mosher was named a Horizon Award Recipient for the State of Kansas in 2005 and went on to become the Executive Director of the nonprofit EMBRACE in 2017. She has been awarded the Simon Fellowship, the Kansas Intervention Specialist of the Year, TASN Special Educator, and the University of Kansas Chancellor Fellowship.
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Ryan Murphy
Ryan Murphy, M.Ed., is the Special Education Director for grades PreK-12+ at the Fairless Local School District. He has been a special educator for the past ten years. He coordinates the services for over 350 students and oversees 22 intervention specialists and multiple support staff. Murphy is an advocate for inclusive education and has worked to give ALL students access to the core curriculum. He is passionate about early childhood education and implemented the SPARK program at Fairless. He volunteers as the SPARK administrator. He has previously presented throughout Region 9 on Social Justice, RTI, and Freshman Academy. Murphy also sits on several educational and philanthropic boards.
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Anne Nagel
As a cognitive engineer, Anne works at creating workplaces that are designed for all humans. She applies the principles of universal design to improve the employment opportunities for autistic and neurodivergent populations.
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Eric Neal
Eric Neal has been focused on improving outcomes for students in low-performing schools for the last 11 years. Starting as a School Improvement Grant manger in Columbus City Schools, and currently serving as a consultant for State Support Team 11, he has helped school and district teams use data to create improvemt plans and monitor them for effectiveness. Eric is currently a member of the State-wide UDL Collaborative, serves Region 11 as a Regional Data Lead, and produces and hosts the state support Team 11 Podcast. Eric holds a BA in History from California State University Long Beach and a MS in Management and Leadership from Western Governors University.
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Tiffany Neal
Dr. Neal has a rich background in clinical neuropsychology, school psychology, and applied behavior analysis with experience across a range of service and treatment settings. In addition to service and training roles, she has been active in teaching and serving as an invited member or representative among local, state and national associations, task forces, and committees focused on autism, dual diagnoses, policies and funding, diversity and equity, implementation science, and program evaluation. Among various roles as the Assistant Director at the HANDS in Autism Center, Dr. Neal lends oversight to the approach, curriculum, partnerships, research and dissemination efforts for the Center.
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Andrew Nelson
Andrew Nelson, Ed.D, CCM, is the Director of the Autism Response Team (ART) at Autism Speaks, where he and his team provide best-in-class information and referral resources for the autism community. Dr. Nelson, a Board-Certified Case Manager, has worked locally and globally to help grow autistic leadership, train others in self-advocacy principles, and teach theatre-based approaches in the autism community. He founded the Autism Theatre Network and is the author of several papers and chapters on autistic resilience, self-advocacy, theatre, and role play.
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Loui Lord Nelson
Loui Lord Nelson, Ph.D., is an internationally recognized leader in UDL implementation. A former special education teacher, she originated the role of UDL Coordinator, completed her post-doctoral fellowship at CAST, and is part of the UDL-IRN Leadership Committee. Some of her publications include: Design and Deliver: Planning and Teaching Using Universal Design for Learning, Culturally Responsive Design for English Learners: The UDL Approach, and A Tree for All: Your Coloring Book of UDL Principles and Practice plus the card game, "Go Fishing with UDL." She hosts the popular podcasts "UDL in 15 Minutes" and "UDL Research in 15 Minutes." Find out more at www.theudlapproach.com.
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Michael Nikson
Michael is the Instructional Technology Coordinator of the School District of Sheboygan Falls. He is a member of the district's UDL implementation team, which works to implement UDL at-scale for all students.
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Stacy Nonnemacher
Stacy L. Nonnemacher received her Ph.D. from Lehigh University. She is currently the Clinical Director for the Bureau of Supports for Autism and Special Populations in Pennsylvania's Office of Developmental Programs. Stacy is the Editor in Chief of the Positive Approaches Journal. She has been involved in the field of disabilities for over twenty five years supporting children, adolescents and adults in home, community, and school settings. Dr. Nonnemacher has conducted applied research and trainings on Positive Behavioral Support, fostering self-determination, Functional Behavioral Assessment, and the needs of and support for individuals with autism.
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Anastasia O'Melveny
In 2001 Anastasia was diagnosed with autism (Asperger's). In recent years, she has become even more active in the Autism/Asperger Network (AANE) organization, attending conferences, speaking on panels, being part of many groups, and eventually becoming a group leader herself. In 2018 she was asked to become a Member of AANE's Board of Directors and is currently serving a second term. It is her great privilege, on behalf of AANE, to lead a nationwide 250+ member online support group for older people like herself who are on the autism spectrum. She also leads the large and growing group AANE hosts for artists and creatives who are on the autism spectrum - The AANE Artist Collaborative.
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Maria O'Neil Ruddock
Maria O'Neil Ruddock, PsyD, is currently the Director of Community Center for the Deaf & Hard of Hearing (CCDHH) at the Cleveland Hearing & Speech Center. The CCDHH provides support services, vocational rehabilitation & advocacy to individuals and families in both the Deaf and Hard of Hearing communities as well as information and referral, consultation, training, and education to agencies and organizations that interface with individuals who are Deaf or hard of hearing. Dr. Ruddock oversees the staff and all programs and services in the CCDHH. She has been working in the Deaf community for more than 40 years.
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Kelly O'Reilly
Kelly O'Reilly is the President and CEO of the Ohio Association of Health Plans (OAHP). At the start of her career, Ms. O'Reilly worked as a federal judicial clerk and as an associate at the law firm, Vorys, Sater, Seymour & Pease. Kelly then served for 18 years as the Senior Director of Government Affairs for Governmental Policy Group, representing many healthcare provider organizations. In addition to leading the day to day operations at OAHP, Ms. O'Reilly works with OAHP members on executive branch and legislative strategies and enhancement of collaborative partnerships with healthcare stakeholders.
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Allison Officer
Allison Officer is a certified autism specialist, licensed intervention specialist (K-12), and member of the MCESC Autism & Low-Incidence Coaching Team. The ACT Team provides ongoing coaching and professional development to educational teams throughout the Miami Valley in using evidence-based practices. Prior to joining the ACT Team, Officer taught in Mad River Local Schools in Riverside, OH, as a K-4 intervention specialist in a cross-categorical resource room. Officer received a B.S. in education from the University of Dayton and an M.S. in education from Walden University.
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Shakeysa Ogletree
Shakeysa Ogletree is currently the District Transition Intervention Specialist for Cincinnati Public Schools, working with high school buildings on post-secondary transition services. She has been an Intervention Specialist working with students with disabilities in various academic settings. She is the recipient of the 2021 Kathe Shelby Leadership Award, presented by the Ohio Department of Education Office for Exceptional Children.
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Allison Oliver
Dr. Allison N Oliver obtained her PhD in Special Education and is currently an Assistant Professor at Austin Peay State University. She has worked in K-12 education for over 16 years in varied roles. Allison's research interests involve special education evidenced-based behavioral interventions, behavioral disorders, and disproportionalities within minoritized populations. She is a licensed teacher and school administrator and holds a specialized credential in emotional distrubance. In her spare times she facilitates and co-facilitates presentations with The League of Advocates and records content for stakeholders with her budding podcast, Lessons Beyond the Eligibility.
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Stefanie Olson
Stefanie Olson is a speech-language pathologist and contracts with The Center for AAC and Autism as a LAMP trainer. She has worked primarily with individuals with significant and/or multiple disabilities for the past 19 years. She previously worked at the Oklahoma Assistive Technology Center, University of OK Health Sciences Center, as the program director of a statewide contract with the OK State Dept of Education providing assistive technology evaluations, consultations and professional trainings. Stefanie has also worked as a special education teacher, clinical, school and early intervention based speech-language pathologist, contract SLP providing AAC intervention services.
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Lisa Orem
Lisa Orem has been teaching for 29 years in the field of special education. In 2015, she participated in the filming of the ASD Strategies in Action training series for OCALI. Lisa has presented for the past 7 years at OCALICON on parent-to-home connections, empowering students, classroom strategies, building capacity within teams, and data collection strategies via technology resources. She has also presented in Dublin City Schools to her colleagues about data collection and organizational skills within the classroom setting. She is the lead intervention specialist at Thomas Elementary as well as the ESY Administrative Intern for Dublin City Schools at the Elementary level.
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Kristin Oriani
Kristin Oriani, M.Ed, TTW, is an Intervention Specialist and Transition Coordinator at T.W. Harvey High School in the Painesville City Local School District. An Intervention Specialist for 10 years, Oriani has worked with individuals with disabilities from 3 to 22. She currently provides core academic instruction for juniors and seniors, coordinates the in school and community based work programs, oversees transition planning and instruction for the district, collaborates with local agencies on district initiatives, and co-founded the Lake County Transition Network.
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Heidi Orvosh-Kamenski
Heidi Orvosh-Kamenski, Ph.D., is a consultant with Northwest Ohio Computer Association (NWOCA). She coaches teachers and supports schools in meeting their improvement goals. Her primary focus is in the area of technology integration and Universal Design for Learning. She has over 20 years of professional expertise in the area of education. Her previous experience includes State Support Team Region 7, teaching at the secondary and post-secondary levels, and serving as an administrator. Her doctorate is in Curriculum and Instruction from New Mexico State University. She has published several journal articles and book chapters in the area of culturally relevant pedagogy.
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Alissa Otani-Cole
Alissa Otani-Cole has worked at OOD since 2006, when she was hired as a vocational rehabilitation counselor to work with students and adults. She became a rehabilitation program specialist in 2012 and a Vocational Rehabilitation Supervisor in 2020. She has worked in different units including Contract Services, Field Office, and currently in the Supported Employment and Transition Unit managing the Employment First Partnership with DODD and Work Incentives Program. She graduated from The Ohio State University with her bachelor's and master's degrees. She received her Work Incentives Practitioner credential from Cornell University.
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Colin Ozeki
Colin Ozeki is an NYU Stern graduate, NYCDOE paraprofessional, and aspiring special educator. He is an autistic self-advocate with a desire to promote neurodivergent inclusion, acceptance, and understanding. Colin believes in a kinder inclusive world, where people are accepted for their differences and encouraged to embrace their strengths. That's why he continues to share his story of how he overcame challenges to become the success he is today, in hopes that others can learn to understand each other, highlight their best aspects, live their own success story, and find their own happiness.
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Danielle Pearlston
Danielle is currently the Research Coordinator at CASDA. She works across several research initiatives aimed at increasing community engagement in research and generating evidence to fill critical knowledge gaps in the autism sector. Her research interests lie in the areas of child health promotion and developmental disorders, having gained fundamental skills to collaborate and work in this field from her Bachelor of Health Sciences degree (Child Health Specialization) at McMaster University. Danielle has experience developing communities of practice through her pedagogical research at the MacPherson Institute, and her continual work on the Autism Data Collaborative Steering Committee.
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Shirley Peganoff O'Brien
Shirley Peganoff O'Brien, Ph.D., OTR/L, FAOTA, is a professor of Occupational Therapy at Eastern Kentucky University. She has clinical, research, and teaching expertise in sensory modulation, leadership, and student development theory and practice. She is published and presented on ASD, sensory issues, leadership, and implications for school performance.
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Cecelia Peirano
Cecelia Peirano is a 5th/6th grade teacher at the Ohio State School for the Blind. She has taught students with visual impairments for over 40 years in both the classroom and math and science camps. Cecelia has participated in numerous research studies and grants in the STEM fields. She co-leads the 3D Printing Model Club at OSSB. She has been awarded the AFB Arlene Cohen Art of Teaching Award, AERO Judy Cernkovich Excellence in Education Award, AERO Kenneth Cozier Memorial Award, and was named the Ohio 2020 District 6 Teacher of the Year.
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Elijah Penix
Elijah is a singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist from Columbus, Ohio. At age 3, he was diagnosed with autism. Having just graduated high school in 2021, he took a year to write and prepare several songs for release, as well as learning how to market his own music. His other plans include exploring the possibility of becoming an ASL Interpreter.
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Robert Pennington
Robert Pennington, PhD, BCBA-D, is the Lake and Edward J Snyder, Jr. Distinguished Professor in Special Education. He has over 30 years of experience working with individuals with disabilities, their families, and teachers, including over 70 publications. Robert has provided hundreds of refereed and invited presentations to researchers, practitioners, and families and values service to the field through membership on advisory and editorial boards, leadership in professional organizations, and consultation. His current research interests involve communication instruction and improving educational programming for students with ESN.
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Samantha Perry
Samantha has 34 years of lived experience with a disability. As a strong and independent person, she has focused in recent years on getting her own guardianship, which she finally received in May 2022. She graduated from the Project STIR advocacy and leadership training. She works with the Ohio Self Determined Association and with The Ohio State University. At OSU, she works with doctors to help them better understand and care for people with disabilities and help others to use people-first language. She is also an artist with Open Door Art Studio in Grandview, Ohio. Samantha is currently looking for a job in her community in the area of food prep or working with dogs.
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Joseph Petrarca
Jospeh Petrarca is an associate director in the Office for Exceptional Children at the Ohio Department of Education. He is a seasoned school administrator with over 30 years experience in public education. Some of his responsibilities include program and staff supervision, compliance monitoring, monitoring and management of federal funds, grant writing, professional development, and program development. Petrarca received a master's degree in speech-language pathology from Cleveland State University
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Logan Philipps
Logan Philipps assists individuals and families in planning for their lives and legacies through various estate planning strategies, including revocable living trusts, wills, and custom powers of attorney. An area of concentration for Logan is work concerning individuals with special needs including guardianship, alternatives to guardianship, and special needs trusts that allow continued eligibility for government benefits while providing funds for quality-of-life enhancements. Logan frequently speaks to parents, educators, lawyers, and financial advisors about planning for children with special needs.
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Maggie Pickett
As a Senior Technical Assistance Specialist for the Center on Inclusive Technology & Education Systems (CITES), Maggie explores systemic integration of Assistive Technology, Information Technology, and Educational Technology systems, in partnership with districts. Maggie is a certified speech-language pathologist. Her passion in education resides in creating engaging and accessible learning opportunities for all learners. For over a decade, Maggie has worked with teachers, students, administrators, para-professionals, families, and community partners to build a common understanding of how creating engaging and accessible learning for ALL is possible.
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Monique Pinczynski
Monique Pinczynski is a first generation doctoral student at the University of North Carolina Charlotte. She was previously a classroom teacher in Henderson, NV where she taught students with autism and extensive support needs as well as students with learning disabilites. Monique earned her B.S. and MEd. in Special Education at the Unviersity of Nevada Las Vegas, where she also attained her Board Certified Behavior Analyst certification. Her research interests include implementing evidence-based practices with students with autism and extensive support needs with a focus on communication as well as supporting teachers in this area.
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Amy Pleet-Odle
Dr. Amy Pleet-Odle is passionately committed to renovating educational inclusive practices. Her consulting company, Inclusion Focused Coaching, LLC, provides online school-wide professional development packages for faculty using Inclusion Coaches to increase teacher satisfaction, improve student outcomes, and build family partnerships. She draws on 50+ years of experience as an English teacher, special educator, transition specialist (local district and state), university professor, empowerment coach, author and parent to integrate cutting-edge, evidence-based practices into practical strategies.
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Jennifer Polak
Mrs. Jennifer Polak is entering her 16th year in education and is the Director of Pupil Services and Special Education for the Ashtabula Area City Schools. With experience as a teacher, building principal and district leader, she is passionate about ensuring success for every child. Mrs. Polak has a bachelor's degree in Early Childhood Education from Notre Dame College and a master's degree in Educational Administration from Ashland University. She is currently working on her doctorate at Ashland University in Educational Leadership. Her goal is to build learning environments that celebrate diversity, encourage belonging, and serve the needs of every learner.
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Paula Pompa-Craven
Paula Pompa-Craven, Ph.D., is a licensed clinical psychologist who specializes in the assessment and diagnosis of individuals with autism and other developmental disabilities. She is the Vice President and Chief Clinical Officer of Easterseals Southern California's Autism Therapy Services, where she supervises a staff of over 1,400. Pompa-Craven earned a Doctorate of Psychology and master's degree in psychology at Pepperdine University and a bachelor's degree in psychology from UCLA. She received Pepperdine University's Wave of Service award and Pepperdine's Graduate School of Education and Psychology's Alumni Award.
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Kevin Potts
Kevin Potts is the Executive Director of the Ken Anderson Alliance where the mission is to grow the Alliance's vision of "creating live, work, engage opportunities for adults with developmental disabilities." He has led several organizations, including his own business, in major growth and extension of equitable services for those with IDD. Kevin has dedicated his career to a vision of creating the best experiences for those society often neglects. He attended Carson Newman University and Alabama A & M, ultimately achieving graduate degrees in Counseling and Clinical Psychology.
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Tulika Prasad
Tulika Prasad is a mom of 13-yr-old boy on the autism spectrum. She is a software engineer by education and an autism advocate by passion. She volunteers in different capacities across various organizations like Autism Speaks, Autism Society of Greater Cincinnati & Regional Autism Advisory Council. Tulika is also a blogger and runs a blog at www.braindroplets.com where she shares stories, experiences and opinions related to her autism journey with her son.
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Cathy Pratt
Cathy Pratt, Ph.D., BCBA-D, is director of the Indiana Resource Center for Autism, a state-wide training and technical assistance program. She has served on the board of the national Autism Society, and is immediate past chair. In 2010, she was invited to the White House. Pratt has been honored by the Autism Society, received the 2005 Princeton Fellowship Award, and has been recognized by the United States House of Representatives. In 2008, she was awarded the Distinguished Service Award by the Indiana Council of Administrators of Special Education.
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Makenna Presley
Makenna Presley graduated from Eastern Kentucky University (EKU) with a Bachelor of Science in occupational science in 2021. She is currently enrolled in graduate school at EKU in the Master's of Occupational Therapy Program. She is also working towards an interdisciplinary Certificate in Autism Spectrum Disorders. Mrs. Presley is working as a full time graduate assistant and as a part-time instructor for the department of biological sciences. Mrs. Presley has current and past experience working with individuals diagnosed on the autism spectrum, sensory processing disorders, ADHD, down syndrome, and other diagnoses through working in outpatient pediatric clinics as a therapy technician.
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Milli Protheroe
Milli Protheroe is Best Buddies International's Director of Volunteer Engagement, working to build inclusive communities across the US. Prior to this role, she served as Director of Programs & Operations for Best Buddies PA. She's a graduate of Temple University & previously worked as Community Relations Coordinator for The Arc of Philadelphia. She has served on Philadelphia’s Communication Champions Committee and was a recipient of the Points of Transformation Award and the Philadelphia Alliance Team Spirit Award. As a sister to someone with down syndrome, Milli has a passion for ensuring that all people can live to their fullest potential and feel a sense of belonging.
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Ruth Prystash
Ruth Prystash is an autism specialist, author, and editor who has worked as a classroom teacher, university instructor, and private consultant. She was a co-founder of the Reach Autism Program and a finalist for the 2011 California Teacher of the Year. She graduated from Stanford University and has worked in the field of autism for over 40 years with individuals of all ages in a variety of settings. She is known as a lively and entertaining presenter, whose audiences are constantly surprised by her unpredictable antics and bag of toys. Ruth is a passionate advocate for the right of every individual to have a rich and meaningful life.
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Dawn Puster
Dawn Puster is the Deputy Director of OhioRISE at the Ohio Department of Medicaid. She has worked in the behavioral health field for 25 years, 19 of which were at a national non-profit agency working in crisis intervention, trauma, and intensive in-home therapy. Most of her career has focused on multi-system youth in both Tennessee and in Ohio. She is a licensed independent social worker dedicated to working with youth and families. She moved to Ohio 4 years ago and has experience with Ohio's multi-systems that support families including juvenile justice, developmental disability, school systems, and child protection in Franklin and surrounding counties.
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Kara Putinsky
Kara Putinsky has worked at the Ohio Department of Education for seven years, starting in the Office for Exceptional Children and currently in the Office of Educator Effectiveness. The focus of her work has always been equity, diversity, social justice, and inclusion. Kara received her Bachelor of Arts degree and her Master of Arts in Education from Otterbein College. Her master's thesis, "The Underrepresentation of Sexual Minority Youth in Middle Level Health Texts," was published in Otterbein's Journal of Teacher Initiated Research.
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Amanda Randall
Dr. Amanda A. Randall, BCBA-D, is a behavior analyst and consultant who works with schools, families, and organizations to improve the lives and outcomes of individuals with disabilities. Dr. Randall is the Co-Director of the Virginia Department of Education's Region 5 Training and Technical Assistant Center at James Madison University. In addition, she teaches adjunct autism and behavior analysis courses. Dr. Randall has spent years working with adolescents and adults with disabilities. Her primary work is program development, behavior-based programming, transition and functional skills of individuals with disabilities, self-determination, and program development.
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Kathy Randolph
Kathy is currently an Assistant Professor at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs (UCCS). Her research interests focus on supporting teacher implementation of evidence-based practices using iCoaching. She has over 20 years of public school experience, as a teacher, administrator, and delivering professional development. Kathy earned her doctorate in Exceptional Student Education with an emphasis in Applied Behavior Analysis from Florida Atlantic University. She is the treasurer of the Teacher Education Division of the Council for Exceptional Children and the Historian for the American Council for Rural Special Education.
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Brigid Rankowski
Brigid Rankowski, MS, is an artist, educator, and advocate living in Maine. Rankowski participates on state and national disability boards, as well as working with several research groups addressing intersectional topics, such as healthcare barriers and suicide prevention. She is the founder of The Way We Move, a social circus promoting the circus arts for marginalized communities. When not doing advocacy work, Rankowski is a professional mermaid and is the reigning Miss Mermaid Maine and Merfolk Maine.
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Ashley Rector
Ashley Rector just celebrated six years at the Ohio Department of Education, serving as an Education Program Specialist with the Office for Exceptional Children's Data Team. She earned her doctoral degree in experimental psychology and started her career in higher education. Ashley rerouted to K-12 education and is now leading the disproportionality work with the data team while co-leading the Special Education Profiles and Special Education Ratings. Ashley also contributes to various federal and state reports. As a charter member of the Discrimination, Equity and Race Advisory Group, Ashley is passionate about equity and inclusivity and is continually striving to learn more and do better.
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Maridith Resendez
Maridith Resendez is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst who has worked with individuals with disabilities across the lifespan. Maridith received her MS from St. Cloud State University and BA from UCLA. Maridith currently works for Easterseals Southern California as a Regional Vice President of Behavioral Services. Maridith has been the Director of two non-public schools, developed infant/toddler programs for children considered at-risk for a diagnosis of autism, and provided training in behavior analysis across California, Nevada, and internationally in Russia. Maridith has presented at conferences on the topics of TAGTeach, center based services, and school based services.
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Mary Helen Richer
Mary Helen Richer is an entrepreneurial business leader with a record of success in growing small and start-up organizations. With an MA in Communications and over 25 years experience in nonprofits, she understands the ins and outs of growing revenue, developing infrastructures and creating sustainable organizations that are responsive to their community needs and built to last. She is currently based in Cincinnati, OH, where she leads the Autism Society Greater Cincinnati as they work to improve the lives of all impacted by autism.
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Laura Ridenour
Laura Ridenour holds a Ph.D. in Information Studies. She has successfully navigated self-advocacy, single parenthood, and advocating for her child while preserving as much privacy as possible.
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Valerie Riedthaler
Valerie Riedthaler is the independent hearing officer at Akron Public Schools. She has been an administrator for 16 years and has served on the OAPSA executive board for 12 of those years.
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Kate Roberto
Kate Roberto, MSW, LSW, has a deep emotional passion to help others identify strengths and discover a healthy, total well-being of mind, body and spirit. Kate believes it's her calling in life to help enhance human well-being; particularly the vulnerable, oppressed and impoverished. Kate enjoys assisting others to creatively solve problems using programs, tools and art-related interventions. Kate acknowledges each individual's needs are unique and understandably difficult to share; which is why she stresses the importance of honesty, open-mindedness, and acceptance in her personal practices.
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Emma Robinson
Emma currently holds the post of Specialist Speech and Language Therapist at Doncaster Deaf Trust in the UK. She works in a multidisciplinary team supporting children and young people with complex communication needs including deafness, autism spectrum conditions and/or learning disabilities. Emma uses a variety of assessments and therapeutic approaches in spoken English and British Sign Language to support the children and young people she works with.
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Jade Robinson
Dr. Jade Robinson is an Associate Professor in the Communication Sciences and Disorders Program at Eastern Kentucky University. Jade received her Ph.D. in Communication Disorders from Florida State University. She is a licensed and certified speech-language pathologist. Her primary clinical research interests include early intervention and parent-implemented strategies that facilitate language development. She teaches a variety of courses, including language development, language assessment, diagnostics in communication disorders, school-based services, and augmentative & alternative communication.
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Katie Robinson
Katie Robinson works at the AT&AEM Center at OCALI in accessible materials production and has worked in the field for twelve years, producing educational materials in braille and large print. She is certified in both EBAE and UEB literary braille production. She serves on the Transcriber and Educator committee for the National Braille Association. She speaks to university students about her experiences as a disabled person in the education system, and is an active disability advocate. Robinson received her degree in Computer Networking Administration from DeVry University. Robinson is a member of her local Lions Club and enjoys reading, baking, knitting, sewing, and gaming.
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Terri Robson
Terri Robson, an autistic advocate who struggled to accept and understand the personal impact of Asperger Syndrome, became determined to share her life experiences with others. She considers herself a non-ableist Aspie. Robson is the founder and owner of Awkward Spirit: Looking Beyond the Mask and an international presenter. She has presented for the Alberta government, Alberta Teacher's Conventions, Children's Autism Services of Edmonton, and a webcast panel for the Employment First Symposium. Robson received the Alberta Premiers Council on the Status of Persons with Disabilities Award of Excellence for Public Awareness. She has also mentored young men and women on the spectrum.
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Ron Rogers
Ron B. Rogers, Ed.D., is the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) program director for OCALI, working directly with Ohio's 16 state support teams on Universal Design for Learning, and collaboratively leads the Ohio UDL Collaborative, which braids UDL into the overall system of support. In the past, Rogers worked with district leadership teams through the Ohio Improvement Process. Rogers received a master's of education from The Ohio State University and a doctorate from the University of Findlay. He has over 33 years of professional expertise in the areas of education and criminal justice, and has served as a curriculum specialist, director, principal, and consultant.
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Janette Rondy
Jan Rondy is a mother to two girls with autism spectrum disorder. Her youngest daughter was diagnosed in 2012 at the age of 3, and in 2015, her oldest daughter received an autism diagnosis on the heels of also qualifying for gifted academic services during her first grade year. She has experience navigating IEP services in both the private school setting and in public districts, and has attended several parent trainings in using AAC and participated in academic studies with The Ohio state University on the effects of using AAC in the home.
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Nancy Roop
Nancy Roop has a BA in Interdisciplinary Studies from Oakland University. After supporting students with autism for ten years, she found that students would benefit from books formatted and structured differently. She researched psychology, linquistics, and literacy while studying creative nonfiction. Her thesis, "Developmental Texts for Students with Autism; a Safe Space in the Written World," is the basis of her sensory-friendly chapter books for students with learning differences. The Big Aquarium Adventure is publishing fall 2022. She is also a Guest Teacher in a center-based ASD program, and provides resources for parents and educators at DevelopmentalTexts.com.
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Marla Root
Marla Root is the founder of the Ohio and Illinois Autism Insurance Coalition, whose purpose is to support families, providers, state agencies, and health care systems in building service capacity to ensure access to prescribed treatments, such as mental health, behavior analytic treatments, and speech and occupational therapies. Experiences as an administrator, advocate, and program development led to Root's Implementation Award from Autism Speaks in 2018, Advocate of the Year award by the Governor's Council for People With Disabilities and public policy work with the Autism Society. Root's son, Eli, is 22 years old and has severe ASD/ID.
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Jessica Roth
Jessica is a University of Toledo graduate. She is an elementary school Intervention Specialist with 13 years of experience with self-contained behavior and self contained multi-handicap classrooms. She is currently teaching a self-contained, multiple handicap class room with students in grades K-3. She has helped with developing curriculum and IEP goal banks for 5 subject areas to help students of all abilities reach their full potential. Jessica currently resides in Canal Winchester, Ohio, with her husband, 3-year-old daughter, 1-year-old son, and 2 cats.
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Chloe Rothschild
Chloe is an adult with autism who is on a mission to advocate and teach others about autism from her perspective. Chloe is one of the co-authors of the My Interoception Workbook for Teens, Adolescents, and Adults. She also serves on the Arc of the United States national board and the OCALI advisory board. Chloe works as a teacher's aide at an autism school 3 days a week. When Chloe is not presenting or working, she enjoys spending time with her friends and family, participating in adaptive ice skating and dog agility for individuals with autism.
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Dawn Rowe
Dawn A. Rowe, PhD, is an Associate Professor at East Tennessee State University. Her research is focused on evidence-based practices and predictors of postschool success for students with disabilities, life skills interventions (e.g., goal setting, communication skills), and professional development (e.g., families, in-service/pre-service educators). She has over 20 years' experience working in the adult service system and public-school system. Dr. Rowe serves as the academic editor for the TEACHING Exceptional Children journal. Dr. Rowe's publications have focused on transition assessment, transition skill instruction, and family engagement.
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Amber Rowland
Amber Rowland, Ph.D. is an Associate Research Professor at the University of Kansas. She specializes in collaborative, practical and engaging adult professional learning with an emphasis on current instructional practices and the powerful integration of technology. She is particularly interested in virtual instructional coaching of educators and also in exploring how virtual reality can be used to teach social competency skills to middle school students.
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Emily Rubin
Emily Rubin, MS, CCC-SLP is the Director of Communication Crossroads in Atlanta, GA, a private practice specialized in providing professional learning to school systems and agencies serving children and their families. She is a speech-language pathologist who is passionate about the relationship between engagement and the development of language, learning, and well-being. She is a co-author of the SCERTS Model and a co-developer of the Social Emotional Engagement – Knowledge and Skills (SEE-KS). These approaches provide frameworks that are sensitive to the unique needs of neurodivergent children and can serve as a universal design that benefits all learners.
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Tara Ruckman
Tara is currently the CPI certified instructor and a behavior coach in a district of 14 schools. She provides multiple verbal de-escalation trainings, is a youth, teen, and trauma informed yoga educator, serves as the co-leader of the district behavior team, and trains with parents and the district as the RE Program Coordinator. In addition to her roles in the public school she is also an adjunct Professor for AU. Tara is key to embedding, training and implementation of Tier 1, 2, and 3 behavior interventions and supporting PBIS. Tara has a background in ABA and Special Education.
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Cady Russell
Cady Russell is a 19-year-old sophomore student at Daemen University, studying natural sciences specializing in environmental science and triple minoring. At Daemen, Russell is the president of the Environmental Club, Vice-President of Beta Beta Beta, a Diversity Ambassador for her campus, and more. She took up disability advocacy work as a teenager and gained a following on Tik Tok under the handle @cadywithac regarding dysgraphia and ADHD education and content. Russell has presented at several seminars with YETI and NTACT:C, most recently at the opening and closing keynotes of the 2022 Capacity Building Virtual Institute, where she also created the welcome video.
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Megan Rutschilling
Megan Rutschilling is a graduate of The Ohio State University, now serving Washington State as a TVI and COMS. Megan found a passion for serving the vision community after working at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, OH, as a Therapeutic Recreation Specialist before getting her M.Ed and TVI. Megan works as an itinerant for ESD 105, which serves 25 public school districts, and up to 21 state-approved tribal and private schools. Megan assists in running PLC's and trainings for her area TVI's.
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Vincent Sabino
Vincent is a 20-year veteran of the Franklin County community mental health system and has extensive experience in working with highly vulnerable populations such as those who have severe and persistent mental illnesses, dually diagnosed individuals, severe substance use, the chronically homeless and the deaf/hard-of-hearing populations. Vince has a deep passion for those struggling with addiction and mental health, and has admiration for those in recovery. Currently Vince is the State Director of Ohio at RI International tasked with bringing the full continuum of crisis care.
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Amy Sager
Amy Sager is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst and has been in the field of ABA since 2005. Starting her career as a 1:1 behavior therapist, Amy discovered a passion for working with individuals on the autism spectrum and was inspired by the evidence-based ABA strategies that resulted in observable outcomes and a better quality of life for those receiving ABA services. Amy went on to pursue her M.A. in teaching with an emphasis in ABA at National University and is currently a doctoral candidate working towards a Ph.D. in behavior analysis at Capella University. Presently, Amy is the Regional Clinical Director of Autism Services in San Bernardino County for Easterseals Southern California.
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Elizabeth Sailer Agnew
Dr. Elizabeth Sailer Agnew is an Educational Program Specialist in the Office of Early Learning and School Readiness at the Ohio Department of Education. She supports state-wide implementation of the Early Learning Assessment the Kindergarten Readiness Assessment Revised. Previously she worked in the Office of Educator Effectiveness and before joining the Department, she was a Curriculum Implementation Specialist in grades K-8 and taught elementary grades. Elizabeth earned her BS at Ohio University in Early Childhood Education, and a Masters and an Education Doctorate in Curriculum and Instruction, both from the University of Phoenix. She has presented at many conferences.
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Mackenzie Salt
Mackenzie Salt (PhD) is an autistic autism researcher and a postdoctoral Health System Impact Fellow with CASDA and the McMaster University Autism Research Team. He is currently working on a number of projects involving the experiences of autistic adults, aimed at informing future research as to areas of priority within the autistic community as well as to inform policy. He recently completed a Certificate course in Family Engagement in Research and has been advocating for and working to improve research engagement with the autism community since. He is also the Editor-in-Chief of the all-autistic editorial board of the Canadian Journal of Autism Equity.
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Andre Sam
Andre Sam is a comprehensive disability and special needs planner with the Disability and Special Needs Project. Sam has 17 years of experience working with individuals who have a disability or special needs and has been in the industry for 10 years now working and planning with individuals and families with special needs and disabilities. Sam works with 120+ organizations nationwide that cover approximately 60 various types of disabilities, disorders, and diseases, speaks at conferences annually, and works with families throughout the country to help them plan for a better future.
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Janet Sanchez Enriquez
Janet Enriquez is a Bilingual Board Certified Behavior Analyst and doctoral student at The University of North Carolina at Charlotte. She has a Master's degree in Special Education with a specialization in Autism Interventions and Applied Behavior Analysis. Janet has over 15 years of experience working and supporting families and professionals in a variety of settings in the school districts and within various community organizations.
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Siva Priya Santhanam
Siva priya Santhanam, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, is an Assistant Professor at the Dept. of Speech, Language, Hearing Sciences at Metropolitan State University of Denver, Colorado. She is the director of the Integrated Supports for Students on the Autism spectrum in College (ISSAC) program. Her research focuses on: (1) developing, implementing, and evaluating strengths-based communication supports for autistic adults, and (2) promoting equity in access to communication for autistic children from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds.
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David James DJ Savarese
DJ co-chairs The Alliance for Citizen Directed Supports, directs the Lives-in-Progress Collective, and teaches poetry writing at Listen2Us and the LYNX Project. He co-produced, narrated and starred in Deej: Inclusion Shouldn't Be a Lottery, and founded Listen2Us: Writing Our Own Futures as an OSF Human Rights Initiative Fellow. Recent publications include "Disrupting the Garden Wall" (LOGIC Magazine), "Enmeshing Selves, Words and Media, or Two Life Writers in One Family Talk about Art and Disability" (Er(r)go Teoria); and "Unearthing the Concepts That Bury Us." He graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Oberlin, double majoring in Anthropology and Creative Writing.
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Sue Savinsky
Sue Savinsky, MA, Education has worked in the DD field for 15 years. Her career began in the business world with a degree in Marketing. As a strong advocate of education, she returned to school and earned her Master's degree. Sue has served as an intervention specialist with Lima City Schools and as the instructor with Project Search at Lima Memorial Health System. She currently works as a Transition Coordinator and Educational Consultant with the Allen County Board of Developmental Disabilities. Sue has presented on transition topics at schools and with community agencies.
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Denise Sawan Caruso
Denise Sawan Caruso is a licensed speech-language pathologist in the state of Ohio. She also provides supports/services, professional development, and trainings as a consultant with OCALI. She currently provides consultations, in-services, and workshops to schools and families living and working with individuals with developmental disabilities. She has presented nationally on behavior, autism, social communication and emotional interventions as well as parent-professional collaboration. She has served as a member of the Autism Society of Ohio board of directors for 20 years and an ad hoc board member with the Autism Society of America.
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Lisa Saylor
Lisa Saylor, M.S.Ed., is a school psychologist at MCESC & Coordinator to the Educational Assessment Team (EAT) & Autism and Low-Incidence Coaching Team (ACT). As an intervention specialist for the past 25 years on EAT, she specializes in autism evaluations including the ADOS-2. As a member on the OSPA Autism Task Force, Lisa is working on statewide efforts to support school personnel in conducting educational identification of autism. She is passionate about helping families & school professionals in conducting school-based evaluations for autism in order to identify the strategies & interventions to support a student in their lifelong achievements.
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Michael Scanlon
Michael Scanlon is an advocate and project coordinator at Connecticut Parent Advocacy Center (CPAC) with a passion to make a positive difference in the lives of others. Michael draws upon his lived experiences from a brain injury and mental health challenges to create positive change by participating in individual and state level advocacy projects. Off the clock, Michael can be found either whipping up something in his kitchen, drawing, or reading from his huge collection of books.
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Katie Scheetz
Katie Scheetz is the Manager of Deaf Services with Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities (OOD), overseeing contracts with Ohio's Community Centers for the Deaf and the Personal Care Assistance Program and coordinating several statewide initiatives designed to improve services to deaf, hard of hearing, and deafblind Ohioans. Previously, she served as an employer services specialist and rehabilitation counselor for the deaf at OOD. Scheetz holds a postgraduate certificate in rehabilitation administration from San Diego State University and a master's degree in rehabilitation counseling from Wright State University.
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Celia Schloemer
Celia works at the University of Cincinnati UCEDD, with 16 years' experience supporting families of school-aged children with disabilities as an educational advocate. Currently she supports individuals with disabilities and their families across the lifespan, connecting them to resources and sharing information and trainings that improve outcomes. She is a certified Charting the LifeCourse Ambassador and Coach, is on the statewide Community of Practice (COP) Supporting Families and is an active member of the National COP Supporting Families. Celia is also a sibling, sister-in-law, aunt and mom to individuals with developmental and learning disabilities.
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Annie Schmidt
Annie Schmidt is a Health Research/Policy Associate at The National Alliance to Advance Adolescent Health and Got Transition, the federally funded national resource center on health care transition (HCT). She worked on recent grants from the Lucile Packard Foundation for Children's Health, one on HCT and value-based payment and another on HCT quality measurement. She has published several peer-reviewed articles and reports, including a systematic review of health care transition intervention outcomes, a guide for designing a value-based payment initiative for HCT, a report on Medicaid managed care contract language, and tip sheets on transition coding and payment.
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Grace Schoessow
Grace Schoessow, M.S., is an early childhood mental health consultant and certified trauma practitioner with a master's in clinic psychology and specialization in intervening early to support mental health, equity and inclusion. She has 20+ years of experience serving children and families facing emotional, developmental, mental, and behavioral health challenges. Grace is the ECMH project director for the Greene County ESC, and is actively involved in advancing Ohio's efforts to integrate early childhood systems to best meet the complex needs of children and their caregivers.
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Shauna Schramke
Shauna Schramke is an Education Program Specialist with the Office for Exceptional Children at the Ohio Department of Education. In her seven years with the Department, she has focused on facilitating stakeholder engagement, collaborating with districts to assess areas of need, and connecting agencies for support. Shauna assists districts with satisfying required activities related to Ohio's Special Education Profile indicators. Currently, her attention is on developing supports that facilitate a reflective process by which districts explore current policies and practices as they relate to indicator data regarding student outcomes, compliance, and disproportionality in education.
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Brooke Schroeder
Brooke began working with students who are deaf during the 2014-2015 school year, when she was hired by the Cleveland Municipal School District. Part of her placement was at Willson School, which houses approximately 99% of students who are qualified for special education services as students who are deaf. Prior to being placed at Willson, she had no previous experience in working with or assessing students who are deaf. She has now been working at Willson for 8 years and is learning more and more every year.
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Tammie Sebastian
Tammie started with OCECD in September, 2011 and is the Statewide Program Coordinator for OCECD and also manages social media. She previously provided information, training and support for parents in Cuyahoga County. Tammie was an advocate for the Tapestry System of Care before coming to OCECD. Her focus was the juvenile justice system and helping families getting the schools to evaluate children that were not getting the proper services they needed and therefore ended up in the court system. Tammie has two daughters, one who is challenged with AD/HD and one who was diagnosed with autism, anxiety, and sensory processing disorder.
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Sharon Secrist
Sharon Secrist is a dually certified Teacher of the Visually Impaired (TVI) and Certified Orientation and Mobility Specialist (COMS) with the Allegheny Intermediate Unit in Pittsburgh, PA. Sharon has been in the field for 24 years working with students from birth to 21. Sharon is also an adjunct faculty instructor with the O&M program at the University of Pittsburgh.
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Sue Seelig
Susan Seelig, M.Ed., is a consultant for State Support Team, Region 10 in Ohio where she supports district and building leaders with developing, using, and sustaining systems to improve the implementation of effective practices that lead to improved outcomes for all learners. Before joining the State Support Team, Sue served as an intervention specialist, a school improvement coach, and a curriculum, instruction, and assessment specialist. Sue is a member of the Ohio UDL Collaborative and has been involved in the creation of tools and documents to support teams and individuals with the implementation of UDL in a variety of settings.
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Debra Shirley
Debra has been with The Ohio Department of Education for over 15 years, the last 7 working in the Office for Exceptional Children. She has worked in the Office for Federal Programs, 21st Century Community Learning Centers and currently focuses on Special Education Indicators within OEC serving SST Regions 1, 6, 7, 11, 14, 15 and 16. She enjoys developing and presenting training for stakeholders, as well as proving technical assistance to school districts as they reflect on processes and services to serve and support Ohio's students.
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Jeffrey Shoemaker
Jeffrey Shoemaker, M.Ed., is a program specialist for Gifted Services with ODE-OEC, providing support to districts and families across Ohio. He has earned a Bachelor's and Master's Degree in Elementary Education from The Ohio State University, and a Master's Degree in Education with an emphasis in Gifted Education from Bowling Green State University. He was a teacher and gifted intervention specialist in middle school setting. Jeffrey was involved with Ohio Association Gifted Children and has written several articles for the OAGC Review.
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Julie Short
Julie Short is a regional consultant for the Autism Center at OCALI. She coordinates and provides regional and statewide professional development, consultation services, and technical assistance to improve outcomes for individuals with ASD. Short has participated on the National Community of Practice of Autism Spectrum Disorder. She is a member of the National Autism Leadership Collaborative and Statewide Autism/Low-Incidence Collaborative and is an adjunct professor at Ashland University. Prior to OCALI, Short taught elementary and middle school, both general and special education. She has a daughter on the autism spectrum.
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Leigha Shoup
Leigha is the Deputy Director of the Adult Advocacy Centers. Leigha holds a master's in ABA and Behavior Therapy from Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, and a bachelor's in Hearing, Speech, and Language Sciences from Ohio University. In July 2018, she co-published "Serving Survivors with Disabilities - An Advocate's Guide," and in 2019, she co-authored a first-of-its-kind protocol for interviewing individuals with disabilities called "Advanced Forensic Interviewing Individuals with Disabilities" (Project FIND). As a member of the disability community, her extensive knowledge of educational and victim advocacy for individuals with disabilities propels her to lead in this movement.
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Susan Siemer
Susan Siemer, M.A.Ed, is passionate about learning and creating educational environments for teachers and learners to thrive. She is a former high school classroom teacher for 13 years in the area of social studies. For the past 7 years, she has worked as a School Improvement and Universal Design for Learning Consultant with the State Support Team Region 12, working with seven school districts and two community schools in Muskingum, Perry, and Morgan counties in Ohio.
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Judy Siens
Judy Siens works as the Project Assistant at the AT&AEM Center at OCALI. She manages the operation & delivery system of accessible educational materials (AEM) to Ohio school districts, and is responsible for carrying out the annual Federal Quota Registration of Legally Blind Students for the Ohio Department of Education, Office for Exceptional Children, which generates supplemental Federal Quota Funds for AEM for Ohio students. Judy also maintains the AT&AEM clearinghouse of braille, digital, and large print textbooks and educational aids available for loan to eligible students. Judy has worked for OCALI for 20 years, 16 of which have been for the Federal Quota program.
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Rebecca Silva
Rebecca Silva, Ph.D., is an educator with over 40 years' experience working with students with special needs in the roles of special education teacher, grant coordinator, university instructor, school principal, and administrator. She developed and coordinated the Reach Autism Program, providing evidence-based interventions in classroom and in-home settings. In addition, Dr. Silva directed the professional development program providing intensive training for teachers, staff, and parents. She currently consults with school districts across the US and recently co-authored two books: FLIPP 2.0: Mastering Executive Function Skills and Life After Lockdown: Resetting Perceptions of Autism.
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Kate Silver
Kate Silver delights in the complexities of being immersed in special education. After graduating from Miami University with a degree in Special Education, she worked in a large urban district where she focused on changing systems that served students with significant mental health and behavioral needs. Kate pursued her administrative license, culminating in being tasked with redesigning and leading the district's behavior high school where her goal was to eliminate exclusionary discipline and increase access to Tier 1. She currently serves as Lead Special Education Consultant for State Support Team in Region 16.
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Brenda Simmons
Brenda Simmons, M.S., currently works for The George Washington University as a Senior Technical Assistance/Research Analyst for the National Technical Assistance Center on Transition:The Collaborative (NTACT:C). Brenda provides training and technical assistance to state VR agencies and their education partners to collaborate and successfully implement pre-employment transition services and transition services requirements of the Rehabilitation Act, as amended by WIOA. Ms. Simmons previously worked as the Director of Transition Services for Missouri Vocational Rehabilitation.
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Erin Simmons
Erin Simmons is married with six children. Her two oldest girls are academically gifted, her two younger daughters have dyslexia, her fifth child has severe non-verbal autism, and her youngest also has autism - she is quite literally raising children on every end of the spectrum. She is a passionate parent advocate, who works to help others understand what it is like to be a parent to children with special needs. Simmons sits on the Ohio Governor's Early Childhood Council, Ohio Early Intervention Council, Seneca County Board of Developmental Disabilities, Family and Children First Council, and is a Peer Mentor.
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Deepa Singal
Dr. Singal is the Director of Scientific and Data Initiatives at CASDA, where she leads the scientific strategy and direction with a focus on advancing Learning Health Systems in the Canadian autism sector. She is also a Research Scientist at the Manitoba Centre for Health Policy, a world renowned Centre for population-based research. Dr. Singal has a breadth of experience working in multiple jurisdictions with senior level policy makers and key change makers in the health data science sector. She has a demonstrated history of leading multidisciplinary teams and her work has informed government policy and has been widely disseminated among media outlets throughout the country.
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Victor Skowronski
Victor Skowronski was born in Jersey City, NJ. Following high school, he attended Stevens Institute of Technology, where he earned a bachelor's and a master's degrees in engineering. He later received a PhD in computer engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Victor has worked at Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory in the nuclear program and at Hanscom Air Force Base for the defense industry. An avid cyclist, he also enjoys English country dancing and has choreographed many dance routines over the years.
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Catlin Skufca
Catlin Skufca is the State Director for Best Buddies in Ohio, a 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to establishing a global volunteer movement that creates opportunities for one-to-one friendships, employment, leadership, and inclusive living for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Skufca oversees development, programs, marketing, and volunteer management for Ohio. Previously, Skufca has worked on two national political conventions and has experience in membership organization management. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in history from the University of South Florida and currently resides in Cleveland, Ohio, with her husband Tim and their dog Putter.
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Lindsay Slater
Dr. Lindsay Slater is the school improvement coordinator for State Support Team 3, where she provides coaching, professional development, and technical assistance for districts and schools in the areas of universal design for learning, school improvement, and special education. Prior to her work with SST3, Dr. Slater was an adjunct instructor, special education consultant, and SLP. She is a member of the Ohio UDL Collaborative and the UDL-IRN SIG on UDL Implementation.
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Cherie Smith
Cherie Smith is a regional school improvement consultant who supports schools the implementation of Universal Design for Learning. She has a master's of education in both educational leadership and the inclusive classroom. Her experience as a special education supervisor, adjunct instructor, consultant, and intervention specialist at the secondary level in both Florida and Ohio has helped her coach and train school districts in designing for a variety of learners. She has been a member of the Ohio UDL Collaborative for 8 years and she has been the co-chair of the UDL-IRN Implementation Special Interest Group for 6 years.
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Derrick Smith
Derrick Smith is a professor and Associate Dean in the College of Education of the University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH). He started his educational career as the Secondary Mathematics teacher at the Alabama School for the Blind. Upon earning his doctorate in special education in visual impairments from Texas Tech University, he started his research and development career at UAH. Dr. Smith runs the STEM-VI Mathematics Research Laboratory where his team focuses on research on STEM education for students with visual impairments and blindness. He is the coordinator of the UAH M.Ed. in Differentiated Instruction, Visual Impairments and Orientation and Mobility Concentrations.
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Katie Smith
Katie is a graduate student at The Ohio State University, pursuing her PhD in visual impairments and adapted physical education. She is simultaneously finishing her orientation and mobility certification to become a COMS. She enjoys working in the field of adapted sports and physical education, specifically through the City of Columbus Therapeutic Recreation program, where she runs all blind sports and outreach. She loves what she does and is excited to do more research to further inclusion in Columbus, Ohio.
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Kelly Smith
Kelly Smith is the External Affairs Administrator of OhioRISE at the Ohio Department of Medicaid. She is a passionate advocate with over ten years of experience in state government. In her role at Medicaid, she leads stakeholder engagement activities implement the OhioRISE program ensuring all community partners, providers, and systems are ready to serve youth with complex behavioral health and multisystem needs and continue to grow the system of care. Kelly holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of Akron.
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Michelle Smith
Michelle Smith is an early childhood consultant for the State Support Team Region 8. She has provided technical assistance and professional development to early childhood programs at the state and regional level for the past 11 years in the areas of early childhood PBIS, special education, family and community engagement and curriculum and assessment. Smith has held positions as consultant, adjunct instructor, preschool teacher, itinerant intervention specialist, and child life specialist.
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Sean Smith
Sean J. Smith, a professor of special education at the University of Kansas, has a background in special education and technology. He is a Project Director on several US Department of Education program initiatives and has authored and presented hundreds of articles/papers on special education technology. He has served in Leadership (e.g., President) of the Council for Exceptional Children's Division on Technology (ISET) and currently serves on the Board of the National Down Syndrome Congress. He is the proud parent of four children, one having an intellectual disability.
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Sheila Smith
Sheila M. Smith, Ph.D., is a Senior Director, leading OCALI's Research & Impact Team; a new office for OCALI. She continues to support the Outreach and AT&AEM Centers as they work to build capacity to serve the B/VI or D/HH communities. Previously, Dr. Smith led internal operations and development of OCALI's online learning (Autism Internet Modules - AIM) and collaborated with state agency partners to build OLAC, OASC-E, and other initiatives. Prior to OCALI she held positions as PD specialist, administrator, university instructor, and teacher across seven states. Her numerous presentations and publications reflect her wide-range of experiences within the field of special education.
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Stevie Smith
Stevie Kathlynn Smith, Masters of Arts in Teaching, is an Intervention Specialist for Warren County Educational Service Center. A special educator for 8 years, Smith has served as an Intervention Specialist in high school classrooms and transition classrooms and a paraprofessional in elementary, middle, and high school. She currently teaches daily living skills, self-determination and vocational/career skills to 18-22 year old students with autism to prepare students for adulthood, both in the classroom setting and in the community with the CEES program at the University of Cincinnati.
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Leigh Ann Smoot
Leigh Ann Smoot, Cross System Regional Liaison with the Ohio Department of Developmental Disabilities, has worked in the field of DD for 16 years. Leigh Ann graduated from Wright State University with a BA in Psychology and Indiana Wesleyan with an MPA. Leigh Ann has served as an independent provider, court-appointed guardian, SSA, QIDP, and Community Resource Coordinator. Leigh Ann holds certification in Trauma-Responsive Care and her career has focused on de-institutionalization and community transition. Leigh Ann served as Positive Behavior Supports trainer and the Human Rights Committee at Southwest Ohio Developmental Center.
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Melinda Snodgrass
Melinda R. Snodgrass, PhD, is an Assistant Professor at Illinois State University in the Department of Special Education. Her current research focuses on building inclusive schools through family-school partnerships, systematic supports planning, and anti-ableist work, with a particular interest in supporting students who use augmentative and alternative communication (AAC). She also explores issues of methodology in mixed methods and single-case research.
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Jeffrey Snyder
I was born on March 27, 1989 in Providence, RI and have lived my entire life in Seekonk, MA. I was diagnosed with Autism in 1990 and ever since then, I have achieved multiple successes in my life in areas of education, long term employment, independent living, and speaking/panel engagements. *Disclaimer: I am not a medical professional. This content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your health care provider. …
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Emily Sobeck
Emily Sobeck, Ph.D., is an associate professor of special education at Franciscan University. Sobeck earned her doctorate in special education from the University of Pittsburgh and has special education teaching experience at both the elementary and secondary level. Her research interests include paraeducator training and supervision, extended school year programming, teacher preparation, and classroom behavior management. She serves as an editorial review board member for several peer-reviewed journals, including the Journal of Special Education. Sobeck teaches courses related to intervention and instruction for students with disabilities, classroom organization, and behavior management.
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Melissa Solazzo
Melissa Solazzo, M.Ed., is a Career Technical Planning District Consultant (CTPD) at Ohio State Support Teams 10 and 13. An Ohio educator, Ms. Solazzo has served as a classroom instructor, supervisor of satellite programming, coordinator of professional learning, and director of human resources all within a career tech environment. She currently coordinates and provides regional support to schools offering career technical programming while focusing on equity, access, and achievement of students with disabilities. In addition, Ms. Solazzo has presented at regional, state, and national CTE conferences.
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Laura Sorg
Dr. Laura Sorg is the Medical Director for the Ohio Department of Developmental Disabilities. Throughout her career as a family physician, Dr. Laura has had a focus on care for those with intellectual disabilities. Her goals are to expand awareness of preventative care to the over 90,000 Ohio citizens with developmental disabilities in the state, as well as education to those health care professionals serving them. Raised on a farm in southwest Ohio, her passion for caring for others started as a classroom assistant in fourth grade to children with special needs. Dr. Laura's devotion was cemented when her youngest son was diagnosed with autism at the age of two.
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Laurie Sparks-Dennison
Laurie Sparks-Dennison, MSW, LISW-S, is a neuro-affirming licensed mental health professional, registered yoga teacher and late-diagnosed autistic adult. Laurie has a passion for working with neurodivergent humans of all ages and has found that mindfulness, meditation, and yoga have been intensely helpful in promoting self-regulation and reducing symptoms of anxiety for herself and those she serves. One of Laurie's passions is to support the creation of communities that feel safe and inclusive for those who identify as on the fringe of life, who will never be able to fit their square peg into generic round holes.
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Gwenn Spence
Gwenn Spence has an undergraduate degree from the University of St. Catherine and a master's in education from the University of St. Thomas. Her teaching experience is from early childhood special education in Minnesota. She has over 28 years of experience as a director of student services in the public school setting in Minnesota, Rhode Island, and Ohio. She has been the director of student services in Granville Schools since July 2014. She has been an OAPSA member for 10 years and the treasurer for 8 years.
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Michele Spencer
Michele Spencer is a Special Education Consultant at North Central Ohio Educational Service Center. She has formerly served as a(an) Educational Consultant at State Support Team Region 7, VOSE Coordinator, Adjunct in higher education and Intervention Specialist. Michele has achieved National Board Certification, a master's degree in Special Education and bachelor's degree in Elementary Education. Michele has a strong passion for increasing learning experiences and outcomes for individuals with disabilities. She proudly brings to her work the perspective that equity and access promotes learners who are in pursuit of acquiring a fulfilling career and a leading a productive and purposeful life.
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Margie Spino
Margie Spino is an education program specialist with the Office of Early Learning and School Readiness at ODE, providing professional development and technical assistance on topics related to preschool special education. As a member of the Ohio Early Childhood PBIS Workgroup, she is especially interested in adult implementation and determining what is required to ensure that any child can access, participate, and make progress in meaningful learning environments with peers. Margie has held positions as a special educator, regional consultant, and adjunct instructor.
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L. Lynn Stansberry Brusnahan
Lynn Stansberry-Brusnahan, Ph.D., is the parent of an adult with autism and a professor at the University of St. Thomas, where she directs the ASD license, certificate, and master's program. Stansberry-Brusnahan has served on numerous boards, including the Autism Society of America, Autism Society of Wisconsin, Autism Society of Southeastern Wisconsin, Council for Exceptional Children-Division on Autism and Developmental Disabilities, Wisconsin Board for People with Development Disabilities, and Minnesota Life College. In 2012, she was the Autism Society Professional of the Year.
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Beth Stark
Beth studied Psychology as an undergraduate, holds a Masters of Science in Special Education, and is an ISTE certified educator. She is passionate about igniting inclusive inquiry through the implementation of Universal Design for Learning, the use of adaptive technology to empower all learners, and supporting agency and advocacy for students with low-incidence disabilities. She serves as the MYP and DP Learning Support Coordinator at the Dresden International School.
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Nancy Steele
Nancy Steele is an Educational Consultant, with expertise in children with significant disabilities. She was a Project Specialist for the National Center on Deaf-Blindness for 14 years. She served as the Lead on the Literacy Initiative, which included development of the website "All Children Can Read." She also worked on the Open Hands, Open Access Intervener Modules. Prior to that, she taught deaf and deaf-blind children in Kentucky for 17 years. She lives in Tennessee with her husband, Stuart. Together they have 7 children and 10 grandchildren.
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Pat Stephens
Pat Stephens is the Director of Provider Supports for the Lucas County Board of Developmental Disabilities. She completed her undergraduate studies at Slippery Rock University and Master's in Education from Spring Arbor College. Pat has eight years of experience in Mental Health field and 22 years in her current position. She is a member of the Lucas County Human Trafficking Coalition and part of the Partners Against the Trafficking of Humans. Pat's goals are to do outreach in the areas of Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking, train staff and providers, work with other DD Counties in establishing protocols, and work with victims who have been traumatized by trafficking.
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Julie Stewart
Julie Stewart, M.S., is an ASL Specialist at Ohio School for the Deaf, having 10 years of classroom teaching experience and 5 years of education consultant working with professionals/parents with DHH learners. Julie works with National Deaf Education Conference planning committee as one of the chairs. One of Julie's passions is to have each deaf learner have literacy skills in ASL/English to improve their quality of life. She grew up using all of the communication modalities - ASL, Signing English, spoken English, English in print and attended mainstream schools and a residential deaf school.
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Lynsey Stewart
With a Masters in Autism (Adults), Lynsey is currently undertaking research for her PhD. Both her Masters and PhD focus on improving detection of dementia in the autistic population. This is an area which has almost no research globally and is an exciting and innovative focus. Lynsey was the author of the "Autism Supplement to the Principles of Good Transitions 3" and co-produced "Because Life Happens: Autism Across the Lifespan" e-learning resource. Outside of her research, Lynsey is a freelance neurodiversity consultant and trainer. Lynsey strongly believes in the importance of participatory research and of ensuring autistic people are at the heart of all work and research.
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Michael Stoehr
Michael Stoehr, M.S., is a Knowledge Development and Technical Assistance Specialist with the National Technical Assistance Center on Transition: the Collaborative (NTACT:C). He has worked in the special education field for the past 37 years and has extensive experience in the areas of secondary transition, assessment, job analysis, supported and customized employment, transition communities of practice, effective transition planning, inter-agency collaboration, transition practices for students with complex support needs, family engagement, and youth leadership and self-advocacy.
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Wendy Stoica
Wendy Stoica is an Assistant Director at the Ohio Department of Education in the Office of Assessment. She supervises the Special Populations and Projects Team that focuses on state assessments of English learners and students with the most significant cognitive disabilities.
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Elizabeth Stout
Elizabeth is a young adult who acts as an advocate for children and youth with disabilities. She graduated from Albion College in 2022 with a bachelor's degree. In the fall, she will attend the University of Michigan for a master's of public health. Elizabeth participates in various projects, including acting as a member of the Youth Engagement Transition Initiative. She also is a consultant for Michigan Children's Special Health Care Services and serves on councils for the American Academy of Pediatrics. These involve presentations, including at the 2021 and 2022 Adolescent Health Initiative and Michigan Pediatric Epilepsy Project Quality Improvement Network Conferences 2019-2021.
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Marci Straughter
Marci serves on the Franklin County Board of DD Self-Advocate Advisory Council, and in January 2022, she became a member of the Franklin County Board of DD, the first person with a disability to be on the board. She is a Project STIR statewide trainer and has trained over 150 people with disabilities in Ohio and 5 people in North Carolina. She presented at the Missouri People First Conference about Charting the LifeCourse. She is on the Ohio Self Determined Association's Council of Ohio Leaders (COOL), which oversees the planning and activities for Project STIR.
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Alisha Stubbs
Alisha Stubbs, MSW, RSW is a second-year Ph.D. student in the Faculty of Social Work at Wilfrid Laurier University. Clinically, Alisha has worked in various sectors as a social worker, including much of her career being focused on developmental disabilities as well as crisis response. Alisha serves as board chair for her local community healthcare center and is a sessional lecturer at the university and college levels. Alisha has worked on both a volunteer and research assistantship basis for the Laurier Autism Research Consortium. She has an extensive personal interest in autism, including being the mom to a daughter with autism amongst other personal investments in the autism world.
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Jim Sullivan
Jim Sullivan is currently the Director of Social Enterprise for the American Printing House for the Blind (APH). Before joining APH Jim worked for several assistive technology companies. Those companies included HumanWare, Optelec, Texthelp and Kurzweil Education Systems. Jim has presented nationally at conferences such as CSUN, ATIA, and OCALICON. He holds a Master's of Education in Rehabilitation Counseling and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology. Jim and his wife Mary reside in Hudson, OH, and are the parents of three young adults.
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Laurene Sweet
Laurene Sweet serves as Behavior & Curriculum Intervention Specialist for the Cuyahoga County Board of DD where she designs positive programs with coaching for parents and professionals. Dr. Sweet formerly served as an Educational Program Development Manager, providing services as an Intervention Specialist, RESNA Certified Assistive Technology Professional, and Doctor of Physical Therapy. She earned a Master’s in Special Education, concentrating in Autism and Assistive Technology (AT). Dr. Sweet is a published author and presents at local & national conferences. As a mom of six children, including a college student with complex needs, she supports inclusion via UDL and AT.
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Naomi Swiezy
Dr. Swiezy specializes in Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA), caregiver training, and local to global implementation and systems change. She provides consultation, training and services within the HANDS in Autism(R) Interdisciplinary Training and Resource Center that she founded and directs. She presents and publishes widely in the area of autism and is committed to evolution of the HANDS Model, composed of a framework, curriculum and process essential to the development of local capacity in implementation of evidence-based practices, bridging of diverse community stakeholders, and mentoring service providers in helping individuals with ASD to achieve full potential.
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Wendy Szakacs
Wendy Szakacs is an OCALI regional consultant for northeast/eastern Ohio. She develops evidence-based materials and provides technical assistance and professional development, leading projects in social competence, bullying, behavior, communication, and executive function. Szakacs collaborates with regional partners, including State Support Teams and Educational Service Centers, in the creation and presentation of professional development to local school district staff and families. Prior to OCALI, Szakacs has held positions as a consultant, adjunct instructor, and intervention specialist.
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Amy Szymanski
Amy Szymanski, M.Ed., has over 25 years of experience in education, primarily in the area of special education and secondary transition for students with disabilities. Ms. Szymanski currently works as a secondary transition and workforce development consultant contracted by the Ohio Department of Education, Office for Exceptional Children.
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Sherine Tambyraja
Sherine Tambyraja is the Dyslexia Administrator in the Office of Approaches to Teaching and Professional Learning at the Ohio Department of Education.
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Anne Tapia
Anne Tapia serves as the Coordinator for the Regional Autism Advisory Council (RAAC) for Southwest Ohio, where she connects stakeholders in the autism community to identify gaps and opportunities across the lifespan and offers training to build capacity. Her previous work has included developing and implementing services within home and school environments for children and young adults with intense support needs. Anne has a bachelor of arts degree in psychology from The Ohio State University and a master's in social work from the University of Cincinnati; she is also a licensed independent social worker.
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Melissa Tapp
Melissa Tapp is an Assistant Professor of Special Education at Catawba College. She has over 15 years experience working directly with students, teachers, and families. Her research interests include increasing engagement of students with extensive support needs within school settings, with a focus on communication and behavioral interventions as well as improving teacher education.
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Jim Taylor
Having worked in the field of Autism for more than 40 years, Jim Taylor has extensive experience in providing and promoting high quality services to autistic people, their families and to professionals. He advises many Education Authorities and other providers whilst contributing and leading a number of outstanding projects in schools, adult services, in employment and in the Criminal Justice system throughout the UK. He is currently Chair of the National Autistic Society's Expert Advisory Group. In 2015, Jim was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award by the NAS (UK) and the Award for Excellence in Educational Leadership from OCALI. He is proud to have presented in Ohio since 2007.
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Molly Taylor
Molly Taylor was a Intervention Specialist for 10 years before she brought her daughter, Lily, home from China. Molly then transitioned into a Reading Specialist career as she entered the world of being a special education parent. She then went back to being an Intervention Specialist with a new spark for teaching and including all students. Lily is a spunky and tenacious 4th grader who is deaf and blind. Molly has 2 other children, a 16-year-old son and a 7-year-old son, both also from China. The Taylor family enjoys spending time playing board games and going to sporting events.
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Shaye Taylor
Shaye Taylor is one of the newest member of the Good Life Ambassadors for the Cuyahoga County Board of Developmental Disabilities. Taylor enjoys sports and singing. She is a Special Olympics figure skater competitor and has sung the Star Spangle Banner at four Cleveland Indians games. When asked what it takes to be a strong self-advocate, she responded "It takes a lot of courage and audacity to be a self-advocate. You have to understand the role of a self-advocate is to promote the inclusion of people with developmental disabilities (DD) and teach people about being neurotypical."
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Travis Taylor
Travis Taylor is the Graduation Administrator in the Office of Graduate Success at the Ohio Department of Education, with his primary focus on Ohio High School graduation requirements. He joined the Department of Education in 2021. Prior to working at the Department, he worked with youth in the non-profit sector in central Ohio for 8 years.
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Deborah Telfer
Deborah Telfer, PhD, is the Director of the UC Systems Development & Improvement Center. She directs numerous federal/state-funded projects to increase equitable opportunities to learn for all students, particularly those from marginalized groups. Telfer served as director of the NCEO initiative - Moving Your Numbers - and is a partner in the national TIES Center. Prior to working in higher education and during her 25-year tenure at ODE, she served as interim state director of special education and executive director of the Center for School Improvement where she was responsible for the development and growth of Ohio's statewide system of support and the Ohio Leadership Advisory Council.
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Rachael Theis
Rachael Theis, BS, is currently an Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Master Trainer. Working in mental health for over 14 years, Rachael has been a parent educator, an IECMH consultant, and a trainer. She currently provides professional development for educators, parents, and others that work with and support infants and young children on topics such as self-care, trauma-informed care, challenging behavior, and social and emotional development. Prior to working in mental health, Rachael taught preschool in special education and was an administrator for a private preschool.
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Rachael Thompson
Rachael is autistic and an Occupational Therapist. Following completion of her PGCert in Sensory Integration, Rachael has specialized in providing sensory processing assessment and intervention for autistic teenagers and adults. Rachael presents regular webinars on sensory processing in the UK where she brings together both personal experience and professional practice. Rachael's personal journey to developing interoceptive awareness has been facilitated by her interests in outdoor swimming, climbing and yoga.
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Tanya Tiegler
Tanya Tiegler is a Teacher of the Visually Impaired for Dublin City Schools in Dublin, OH. Tanya earned her M.S. degree in Education, emphasis in Orientation and Mobility, from Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL. She also earned her B.S. degree in Special Education, emphasis in Blind and Visually Impaired, from NIU. She has been employed as a TVI for the past 24 years working with students aged 3-22. Tanya has provided workshops on the assessment and strategies for students with neurological visual impairments at Shawnee State University. She recently completed the Ohio Cohort course titled "Neurological Visual Impairments in Children" through Salus University in Spring 2022.
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Jesse Torisky
As President of the Autism Society of Pittsburgh, Jesse provides advocacy, support and information on care, treatment, educational and habilitative service options available for those with autism spectrum disorders, autism-involved parents and families, and to professionals who work with them. Jesse has a BA in Communications from Penn State University and a JD from Duquesne University. Jesse was a prosecutor for ten years, and has been a civil litigator for 27 years. Jesse is an instructor at the Community College of Allegheny County in their Paralegal and Criminal Justice programs. Jesse is an instructor at the Judicial Training Center in Harrisburg, PA.
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Jen Townsend
Jennifer C. Townsend, M.Ed., Consultant and owner of Universal Access Consulting, LLC and LOOPS Together. She's the author of Think Differently: An educator's approach to appreciate what works, co-author of SEE-KS and contributing author to Changing the World for Parents, and People with Autism, SEL Competencies for WI DPI and A Spectrum of Solutions for Clients with Autism. Jen has a Master's in Education and Autism Spectrum Distorder graduate certification - Johns Hopkins University, Director of Special Education - University of Wisconsin EauClaire and is currently adjunct faculty at Carroll University. Jen believes that together we will be the difference.
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Chrystal Trapani
Chrystal Trapani is an Instructional Technologist with the Center for Learning and Teaching, an adjunct instructor in the Department of English, and a doctoral student in the Instructional Design and Technology program at Old Dominion University, and she is one of Instructure’s Educators of the Year. She blends her experience working with a diverse group of students, creating interactive and accessible online course content, digital accessibility, and training faculty in order to help facilitate positive student outcomes and success. Since 2020, Chrystal has presented nearly 30 times on digital accessibility including a five-part series for Hawkes Learning, VSTE, OETC, VCLD, and ISTE.
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Elizabeth Trende
Elizabeth "Emy" founded The Mother Ship in 2015, after reading a news story of a despondent mother of a child with special needs who harmed the child and then harmed herself. She was surprised at the lack of supports available for caregiver health, wellness, personal and career success. A corporate health care lawyer by trade with the global firm of Squire Patton Boggs, Emy enjoys advocating for continued life and career success of men and women who take on an extra-special degree of parenting. She is the mother of three boys, and her oldest son is significantly impacted by autism spectrum disorder.
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Megan Trowbridge
Megan Trowbridge, Ed.D., has served for 9 years as the autism/low-incidence consultant for Region 14 State Support Team. She was previously an intervention specialist in a social communication classroom and a district-level autism/behavioral consultant. She most recently attended Northern Kentucky University where she earned her Doctor of Education in educational leadership with a focus on special education. Trowbridge presents regularly on special education topics in her region and statewide.
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Carolyn Turner
Carolyn Turner works on behalf of the Ohio Department of Education as one of two Ohio Literacy Leads, allowing her to work with district administrators, teachers, universities, and students across the state. Carolyn serves on the literacy advisory board at Mount St. Joseph University and works as an adjunct professor. She also provides professional learning in literacy as a national LETRS trainer. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, yoga, watching college football, and spending time with her husband, children, and dog, Crosby.
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Jennifer Turner
Jennifer "Jenny" Turner is a Senior Research Associate at the UMKC-Institute for Human Development, UCEDD. She specializes in organizational and systems change, supporting and training professionals, and is the co-director for the National Community of Practice for Supporting Families. As the Assistant Director of the LifeCourse Nexus team, Jenny leads the development and dissemination of promising practices to enhance person-and-family centered policies and practices. She received her MSW from Missouri State University and is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. Her passion originates in growing up as a sibling of a sister with a developmental disability.
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Kent Turner
Kent Turner is a former classroom teacher with over a decade of experience in curriculum design. Gamification, the process of adding game-design elements to school curriculums, is his passion and he wrote his thesis on this approach at University of California, San Diego, where he received his M.A. in Bilingual Education. Kent's idea of dungeon crawling is coordinating NDC's development of Deafverse, an educational game that allows players to make choices and navigate life as a deaf person.
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Mary Turner
Mary C. Turner, Director of Missouri Family to Family (MOF2F) is a mom of a daughter disabilities. She holds a master's degree and her clinical license is as a Certified Co-Occurring Disorder Diplomat and a Certified Family/Civil Mediator. She is a Charting the LifeCourse (CtLC) Ambassador and CtLC Foundation Presenter Badge. Mary was the director of mental health, substance abuse and foster care programs prior to joining MOF2F. Mary has taught at the university level and has trained frontline workers for over 20 years.
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Janet Uher
Janet Uher is an active and energetic parent of two children. When it became apparent that her son had medical and educational issues, she left no stone unturned to seek solutions. Janet has been a passionate advocate for him with medical and educational professionals. She has reached out to organization professionals to further her understanding, which has led her to become a source of information in helping many other parents. She currently serves as a family representative on Family Child First Council and on the State Advisory Panel for Exceptional Children.
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Michael Uher
Michael Uher, a high school junior in Northeast Ohio, utilizes life experiences to advocate for himself and others. Michael's 17-year journey through life has been challenging. He reminds us that with every setback, there is good to come from it. Through the years, his journey navigating medical and traumatic experiences has instilled hope in others facing similar situations, both nationally and worldwide. Serving as a teen ambassador with the OCECD, Michael discovered his voice. He has shared his story in two webinars: "Michael's Journey - A Story of Strength, Courage and Bravery" and "Actually, I Can." Michael encourages others to start small and dream big.
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John Mitchell Ulibarri
John "Mitchell" Ulibarri is Teacher Support at New Story Schools (Ohio). Mitchell was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder at the end of 6th grade, and he has had many life experiences that have helped him get to where he is today. Through his personal blog (Mitch97u.blogspot.com), podcast ("Rules for a Greattastic Life"), and book (The Greattastic Adventures: Miracle Child), he documents his life experiences to illustrate that even people who are disabled can be valued members of society.
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Anna Vagin
Anna Vagin, PhD, is a licensed speech/language pathologist. In her private practice she provides individual sessions and social learning groups to children and young adults. Her particular interest is using media to support social thinking in students with diagnoses such as ASD, ADHD, NVLD, Language Disorder, Anxiety Disorder, Social Communication Disorder or Twice Exceptional. She is a frequent speaker in the US and Canada on topics related to social cognition, and is the author of Movie Time Social Learning (2013) and YouCue Feelings: Using Online Videos for Social Learning (2015).
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Maureen van Stone
Maureen is the director of the Maryland Center for Developmental Disabilities (MCDD) at Kennedy Krieger Institute and the founding director of Project HEAL (Health, Education, Advocacy, and Law), an MCDD community-based program. Maureen earned a bachelor's degree in psychology at the University of Southern California, a master's degree in developmental psychology at The Johns Hopkins University, and a Juris Doctor at Whittier Law School. Maureen is an associate faculty for the Department of Mental Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and affiliate faculty for the Wendy Klag Center for Autism and Developmental Disabilities.
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Mary Vaughn
Mary has taught for 31 years. She has worked with PreK, kindergarten, and seventh-grade students as well as students in a second/third-grade looping classroom. Since retiring from the classroom, Mary has served as an instructional coach with Ideastream Public Media for five years, has presented the "Ohio Ready to Learn" series for early childhood teachers and caregivers, and has written and edited math and science lessons for an online platform. She is passionate about math and science education for children of all ages and looks forward to sharing that passion with children and adult learners.
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Megan Vermillion
Megan Vermillion is a Program Specialist for Gifted Services at the Ohio Department of Education. She joined the Department in 2021 after five years in the classroom- three years as a gifted intervention specialist and two years as a general education teacher. Prior to working as an educator, Megan earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Early Childhood Education and Intervention Education from Capital University, as well as her Master’s Degree in Curriculum and Instruction with an emphasis in Gifted Education from Cleveland State University. Megan has previously presented at the Ohio Association for Gifted Children's Annual Fall Conference and Teacher Academy.
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Mary Vicario
Mary Vicario, LPCC-S, has a Certificate in Traumatic Studies from The Justice Resource Institute and has 30+ years experience turning the latest research into interventions for all ages and abilities. She was an American Counseling Association delegate to China and Mongolia, and has participated in a conference on human trafficking in Germany. She received training at International Trauma Conferences and Harvard Medical School. Mary is a trainer for Ohio Child Welfare and co-authored the Foster Parents Survival Guide, articles, curricula and a textbook chapter in Counseling Children and Adolescents: Connecting Theory, Development and Diversity.
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Tera Viola
Tera Viola is the Founder & Executive Director of Autism Life Center. She's also a wife and mother to 4 children, one with autism. Tera has an associate degree in human services. She has served on the West Central Ohio Autism Community board for 9 years as President and Vice President. In 2018, she started the non-profit Autism Life Center, for which she is the Executive Director, support group facilitator, and program director. She is also a two-time past presenter at OCALICON 2019 & 2020.
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Valerie Violi-Satkoske
Valerie Satkoske serves as Vice President for Ethics for UPMC Mercy Hospital, UPMC Presbyterian University/Shadyside Hospitals, and the UPMC health system. Valerie is also core faculty in the University of Pittsburgh Center for Bioethics and Health Law. Dr. Satkoske's research interests include medical decision-making involving patients with cognitive difference, ethical issues in substance use disorder treatment, rural health disparities, and ethical management of delirium. Valerie holds a Master's in Social Work from the University of Pittsburgh and PhD in Healthcare Ethics from Duquesne University, in Pittsburgh, PA.
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Corey Walker
Corey Walker is an autistic self-advocate from Prince George, BC. Diagnosed with Asperger's in 2001 while in his early 20's, his life mission is to empower autistics to live the best life possible, and to educate others about what makes autistics such unique people. Walker's most recent position was with the Pacific Autism Family Network's Employment Works program. He is also the author of Success in the Workplace Employer Toolkit: Strategies from Autistic Employees available on the Worktopia website. Walker is also an engaging and dynamic public speaker/trainer who is available for hire.
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Kenyona Walker
Dr. Kenyona Walker is a scholar on the intersections of race and education, leveraging her passion for education and equity by building the capacity of others to foster equity in education contexts. She serves as an invited speaker at the national and local levels. She teaches Urban Issues in Education at The Ohio State University. A licensed school psychologist, Dr. Walker uses her school-based experience and a scholarly approach to work collaboratively with educators across the state to address issues related to the evaluation of students regarding Special Education. She develops blueprints for the intersection of research and practice to reimagine what equity in education can be.
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Sarah Walker
Sarah Walker is the Director of Student Services in the Amherst EV School District. She began as an Intervention Specialist, where she spent eight years working with the Avon Local Schools. Following that, Sarah became a Supervisor of Special Education. From there, she worked with the SST Region 2 as the Regional Director of Special Education and Family Services. While with the SST, Sarah was able to establish a vast professional network; however, she missed working with teachers, students, and families. She received her undergraduate degree from Ohio University and her Master's degree from Cleveland State University. She lives in northeast Ohio with her husband and three kids.
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Sean Walker
Sean Walker is a strong, energetic, young man that enjoys sports and work. When he is not working one of his three part-time jobs, you can find him somewhere watching a sports game or reading up on the latest statics related to people with developmental disabilities. With a degree from Wright State University in organizational leadership, Walker finds pleasure analyzing data and applying it to the real-life situations. His insight on integration and inclusion has proven to be invaluable to stakeholders and community members. He has worked for the Cuyahoga County Board of Developmental Disabilities as a Good Life Ambassador for the past four years.
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Virginia Walker
Virginia L. Walker, PhD, BCBA-D, is an associate professor in the Department of Special Education and Child Development at UNC-Charlotte. Walker's research has focused on PBIS, supports planning to enhance the inclusion of students with extensive support needs, and effective training practices for school staff supporting these students. She serves as an editorial review board member of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, a primary publication of the American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, Research and Practice for Persons with Severe Disabilities, the primary publication of TASH, and Inclusive Practices, a practitioner-oriented publication of TASH.
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Jo Hannah Ward
Jo Hannah Ward serves as the director of the Office for Exceptional Children, Ohio Department of Education. Her background includes direct classroom experience, building level leadership, and mental health services in schools. Ward most recently served as the executive director for the Center for Continuous Improvement, and previously served as director of the Office for Improvement and Innovation, assistant director in the Office for Exceptional Children, and as the deputy superintendent at the Ohio Department of Youth Services and the Franklin County Court Juvenile Detention Facility. Ward received a M.Ed. from the University of Dayton and has a B.S. from The Ohio State University.
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Theresa Warren
Theresa Warren is the Director of Special Education with Princeton City Schools. During her career, she has worked as a social studies teacher, intervention specialist, school improvement consultant, and special education coordinator prior to her current role. She received her Master's in Special Education and then Administrative Leadership and Policy Studies from University of Colorado Denver, while working as an intervention specialist for Denver Public Schools. Theresa is committed to empowering teams to make student-centered decisions, engaging families in the special education process, and improving academic, social-emotional, and transition outcomes for students with disabilities.
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Alisha Waugh
Alisha Waugh is a COMS, PT, Perkins-Roman CVI Range-endorsed practitioner, and has a teen son with CVI. Through the Ohio cohort of Salus University's NVI Spring 2022 course, she was awarded the NVI in Children badge. Her company, Fundamentals First, provides O&M, NVI/CVI-related services and PT to VI agencies, districts and families. Alisha frequently presents on CVI, offers in-services to other vision professionals and coauthored the O&M chapter in Dr. Christine Roman-Lantzy's book, Cortical Visual Impairment: Advanced Principles. She has served on the board of The Pediatric Cortical Visual Impairment Society and currently serves on AERO's board.
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Sarah Waugh
Sarah Waugh has been a Transition Coordinator for the South-Western City School District for seven years and also served as an Intervention Specialist for nine years. Sarah's work focuses on coordinating transition programming including Career Development, Project LIFE, and Project SEARCH, developing and facilitating professional development opportunities, participating in multi-agency planning meetings, and collaborating with local businesses to create work-based learning opportunities.
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Lydia Wayman
Lydia Wayman is an autistic advocate with a B.S. in education and an M.A. in English and nonfiction writing. Through her presentations, writing, and art, she uses her experience to support families and professionals by helping them understand how autistic kids see the world. She has worked at an autism resource center, mentored youth with disabilities, and spoken at Girl Scout events, parent-led groups, and multiple times with her autistic peers at OCALICON. Her writing has appeared in magazines, books, and newspapers, and she has helped to develop several training programs and professional courses.
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Victoria Webster
Victoria Webster is an autistic self-advocate from Dallas, TX. She received her diagnosis later in life, discovering that many of her life-long struggles with anxiety and depression were related to undiagnosed autism. With a background in biomedical science, she is passionate about research, education and raising awareness of the unique needs of girls and women on the spectrum, and of older autistic adults.
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Leeann Weigman
Leeann Weigman is a consultant for State Support Team 9, where she provides professional development and coaching to school districts. She has a bachelor's degree in early childhood education, a master's of education in early childhood special education from Bowling Green State University, as well as a master's degree in educational administration from the University of Cincinnati. Weigman has worked as an early intervention specialist, preschool special education teacher, and an early childhood special education director.
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Julie Weyandt
Julie Weyandt is an educational consultant with the State Support Team Region 9. She designs and facilitates professional development on Universal Design for Learning (UDL). She is a member of the Ohio UDL Collaborative and a national presenter. Prior to joining the State Support Team, Julie worked as a curriculum director, gifted coordinator, RE coordinator, testing coordinator, elementary principal, third grade teacher, and adjunct professor for Walsh University. She earned her Master's Degree in School Administration from Ashland University.
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Abby White
Abby White is a teacher for deaf and hard-of-hearing students employed by the South Central Ohio Educational Service Center. She has a Master's of Deaf Education from The Ohio State University and a B.A. in Speech and Hearing Sciences. In addition, she has an Advanced Plus rating on the Sign Language Proficiency Interview, is a trainer for Visual Phonics, and has over 15 years of experience teaching. She serves as secretary for Ohio Hands & Voices, is a member of the State Literacy Team for ODE, and founding member of Deaf Education Ohio.
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Kristin White
Kristin White is an Instructional Technologist with the Center for Learning and Teaching at Old Dominion University (ODU). Kristin has been an integral part of ODU's transition to remote teaching during the pandemic and continues to develop and facilitate faculty support on topics including digital accessibility. She graduated from Indiana State University with her M.S. in Educational Technology. Kristin has noticed the absence of basic accessibility knowledge and strives to help others create content that is accessible for all. She has presented on digital accessibility including at the Innovative Educators Virtual Summit and a five-part series for Hawkes Learning.
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Elizabeth Wietmarschen
Elizabeth Wietmarschen, M.Ed, is a Transition to Adulthood Consultant at the OCALI Lifespan Transition Center. Within her career, she has worked with youth and young adults with disabilities in various capacities from providing direct care to supervising and training professionals in the field. She has extensive experience in developing programs that help promote successful post school outcomes for youth with disabilities and has a deep working knowledge of developing transition plans by using age-appropriate transition assessments. Wietmarschen is a licensed intervention specialist with her transition or work endorsement and is a Certified Employment Support Professional.
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Tiffany Wild
Tiffany Wild, Ph.D., is an associate professor in the Department of Teaching and Learning and the program in visual impairment at The Ohio State University. She was awarded a doctoral fellowship with the National Center for Leadership in Visual Impairments, and her dissertation received the Dissertation of the Year award by CEC's Division on Visual Impairment. Her research on science education for students with visual impairments has resulted in numerous publications and presentations.
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Cami Williams
Cami Williams, Project Specialist at the Training and Technical Assistance Center at William and Mary (TTAC-WM), is an advocate for inclusion, diversity, and equality in education. She coordinates the MOVE Summit, a mentor-based program that empowers differently-abled African American males to unlock their potential. Cami also provides instructional guidance in secondary mathematics to teachers and administrators via the TTAC-WM Link Lines newsletter, workshops, and coaching. She taught secondary mathematics for 14 years, where she had inclusive co-taught classes every year. Cami left the classroom to support other math teachers, serving as an instructional math coach for four years.
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James Williams
James Williams was born in 1988, and diagnosed with autism in 1991. He graduated from Glenbrook North High School in Northbrook, Illinois, in 2010, with a modified high school diploma. He gave his first presentation on autism in 1999. Today, he travels around the U.S. lecturing on autism. He is the author of two autism-related novels, Out to Get Jack and The H.A.L. Experiment, and is the co-author of the autism-related novel West High Story with fellow self-advocate Alex Phillip. In addition, he serves on the staff for multiple anime conventions throughout the U.S., and is a member of the Steering Committee for Wisconsin's Community of Practice on Autism Spectrum Disorders.
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Sondra Williams
Sondra Williams is an individual with ASD and PTSD. She is a national speaker on autism and trauma related topics. She has been employed for many years in educational settings. She is currently unemployed and under total disability. She is married, and has 4 adult children, all diagnosed with ASD. Sondra is a grandmother to 3 beautiful granddaughters and will be welcoming her first grandson in August of 2022.
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Staci Wills
Staci Wills has been a dually licensed TVI/COMS since 2013, working as an itinerant in northeast Ohio. She is the AERO 2022 Past President and Conference Chair. Most recently, she worked with Salus University to bring Ohio the first ever state-specific cohort for the Salus Neurological Visual Impairments in Children course. Staci has worked diligently to improve the Child Find process by helping district personnel, classroom teachers, and service providers identify students in need of a FVLMA. She has taught in Pitt's O&M program, and shares her knowledge and experience by mentoring students from both the Ohio State O&M program and the Ohio TVI Consortium.
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Graham Wood
Graham Wood is a program administrator with the Ohio Department of Education. Prior to joining the Department in 2017, Graham was a Kindergarten and 5th grade mathematics teacher in Dayton, Ohio, through the Teach for America program. Graham has worked in the Office of Career Technical Education and now works in the Office of Graduate Success, managing Ohio's graduation requirements and the College Credit Plus program for the Department. Graham lives in Worthington, Ohio, with his wife and two dogs.
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Liz Yoder
Liz is a Certified Financial Planning Professional and is serving clients at Planning Across the Spectrum as the Director of Financial Planning. Liz joined Planning Across the Spectrum in February 2021 after working with two traditional financial planning firms.
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Josh Young
Josh Young is the Director of Operations for the Ohio Network for Innovation (ONI), a nonprofit organization which ;loves to challenge norms to find creative solutions to problems. For OCALICON, he is also representing the Supported Decision-Making Network of Ohio, whose members are interested in promoting Supported Decision-Making across the state. Josh specializes in helping people learn and practice supported decision-making using a variety of practical approaches. He has worked in the field of I/DD for over 20 years in a variety of roles and is also autisic. He earned his B.A. in Sociology from Kent State University.