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.
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Use "My Schedule" to save selected sessions to create your own personal schedule. OCALICONLINE participants, log in to access "My Schedule".
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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. All sessions are first-come, first-served.
Total Sessions Found: 15 | Reset Sorter
Presenter Detail
Chris Abildgaard
Chris Abildgaard, EdD, NCSP, LPC, is the owner and clinical director of the Social Learning Center, LLC, located in Cheshire, CT. Abildgaard earned his doctor of education in school psychology from Loyola University Chicago, is a nationally certified school psychologist, and a licensed professional counselor with a specialization in autism spectrum disorders and neurodiverse learners. Abildgaard has appointments as an adjunct professor in the psychology department at the University of Hartford and in the special education department at the University of St. Joseph. His duties at both universities include teaching, curriculum development, and supervision.
Presenter Detail
Pamina Abkowitz
Pamina Abkowitz is an assistant professor of childhood education at St. Bonaventure University. She has been an active member of the American Council on Rural Special Education since 2015. She is passionate about rural special education and providing support for teachers to create engaging lessons to develop lifelong skills.
Presenter Detail
Katie Adams
Katie Adams, MS, CCC-SLP, is the education specialist for speech-language pathology and related services at Education Service Center Region 11. She received her master of science from the University of Texas at Dallas and her bachelor of science from The University of Texas at Austin. She has served as a public-school speech language pathologist at The Laurent Clerc National Deaf Education Center in Washington, DC, Richardson ISD, and Round Rock ISD. She is a member of the Texas Education Agency's Child Find, Evaluation, and ARD Supports Network. She has presented on assistive technology, speech-language pathology, and autism at local and statewide conferences.
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Diane Adreon
Diane Adreon, EdD, is the associate director of the University of Miami-Nova Southeastern University Center for Autism and Related Disabilities. She presents and consults internationally on high-functioning autism and Asperger syndrome. Adreon is co-author of Asperger Syndrome and Adolescence: Practical Solutions for School Success (2001), winner of the Autism Society of America Literary Achievement Award.
Presenter Detail
Michelle Aldridge
Michelle Aldridge has a bachelor's degree from Ohio University in PreK-3 education and a master's degree from Shawnee State University in special education. Aldridge has been an intervention specialist for 11 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. She is also the coordinator for Lawrence County Special Olympics and is the district representative for the Rock Hill Local School District.
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Alyssa Allen
Alyssa Allen is a thrid year doctoral student at Wright State University pursuing her PsyD in clinical psychology. She obtained her bachelor's of science degree at West Chester University, where she was involved in a research lab examining the effect poverty has on emotional regulation in preschool children. Allen's first practicum placement was at a private practice providing adherant DBT to clients who struggle with emotion dysregulation. Allen's current practicum is at the Center for ADHD at Cincinnati Children's Hospital where she is involved in clinical research and diagnostic evaluations. She is in the child emphasis of her program and enjoys working with youth populations.
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Ruth Allison
Ruth Allison, MBA, is a senior faculty specialist at the University of Maryland. Currently, Allison is primarily working as a technical assistance provider for the National Technical Assistance Center on Transition: the Collaborative (NTACT:C). Additionally, she provides technical assistance for the implementation of the System Capacity Building Initiative, designed to improve coordination of transition services and employment outcomes for students with disabilities. Prior to joining the University of Maryland, Allison's career focused on developing, implementing, and evaluating programs and services for both students and adults within the VR system.
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Bruce Alter
Bruce Alter has worked as a pediatric physical therapist in special education since 1988. He currently works as a physical therapist and assistive technology consultant for two different districts in Oregon - Woodburn, a rural community near Salem, and Tigard-Tualatin, one of the larger districts near Portland. In 2017, he received the Judy Rowe Exemplary Therapist Award. In 2022, he received the Penny Reed Award for Excellence in Assistive Technology Innovation and Leadership. In his spare time, he trains in two Japanese sword arts, Kendo and Iaido, and is passionate about mixing 1930s tiki drinks.
Presenter Detail
Lindsey Althaus
Lindsey Althaus is the northwest regional director for The Arc of Ohio. She focuses on education and federal policy. She loves being able to advocate for families so they can have a better future. She lives in Wood county with her husband, Jeremy, and two children: Whitman, who is 9, and Genevieve, who is 6. Whitman was born at 33 weeks and has autism, apraxia, and epilepsy. He is the reason she got into advocacy. She chronicles her crazy, messy, cry until you laugh, laugh until you cry life on her blog page "The Althaus Life."
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Jenna Alvarez
Jenna Alvarez, PhD, is an assistant professor at the University of Cincinnati. Previously, she worked as an elementary school counselor and intervention specialist. Alvarez has presented over 30 presentations related to current and relevant topics for school counselors. She has four manuscripts under review or in development. Her passion for supporting practitioners extends to the macro-level through the publication of The Ultimate School Counselor's Guide to Assessment and Data Collection, a book she co-authored with her colleague to continue to provide practitioner-focused resources. She has published in peer-reviewed school counseling journals on disability and trauma.
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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. Anderson 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, Anderson has seen firsthand the impact life challenges can have on a family, as well as the individual trying to understand the world around them.
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Natalie Andzik
Natalie Andzik is an associate professor in the department of special and early education at Northern Illinois University. Her research interest grew from being a special educator in California. Andzik's research focuses on supporting communication independence among individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. She believes that teachers, paraeducators, and other school-based practitioners benefit from support when implementing evidence-based practices and once trained, school-based practitioners can make a profound change.
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Andrew Arboe
Andrew Arboe is a self-advocate who worked in various settings for the autism community for over four years. Arboe has job coaching, outreaching, and even self-employment experiences that showcase his focus on transitioning to adulthood for individuals. He is also known for talking throughout the New England area about autism and driving, having given talks about strategies and his personal experiences. He started an online program during 2021 called Driving with Autism, which he ran for a year, and it taught him various lessons. He also worked in various organizations like Autism Services & Resource Connecticut, Planning Across the Spectrum, and Plainville Community Schools.
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Carol Armann
Carol H. Armann, OTR, is a pediatric OT with experience in outpatient and school-based practices. She is the director of the Handwriting Collaborative. She participated in the development of training and policy for motor service delivery for the Ohio Department of Education, and is a published author of Creating a Team Approach to Handwriting Instruction. She has presented at 25 state OT association conferences to address the fine motor skills requisite for all children to learn legible handwriting through formal handwriting training as related to reading and literacy, and has presented at AOTA on collaborating with teachers in developing effective handwriting instruction.
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Kristie Asaro-Saddler
Kristie Asaro-Saddler, PhD, is an associate professor in the division of special education at the University at Albany. Her research interests focus on strategies to support autistic students, particularly in the areas of writing and self-regulation. She has over 50 publications and 100 presentations at state, national, and international conferences, and has received several grants to support her research. She is an officer for the Neurodiversity and Autism Research in Education Committee of the American Educational Research Association. She teaches courses in special education and autism; prior to joining the faculty she taught children with autism and developmental disabilities.
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 has an emphasis on working with females with ASD and on catatonia.
Presenter Detail
Monika Aune
Monika Marino is a nationally certified school psychologist with ten years of experience. While from Ohio originally, she initially trained and practiced as a school psychologist in Charleston, SC. She moved back to Ohio in 2016 and since then has worked for the Madison Champaign County ESC and the East Central Ohio ESC as a school psychologist, director of a school psychology department, and a student services consultant. She has provided professional development on MTSS and has helped local school districts in completing thorough educational autism evaluations.
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Erin Babbitt
Erin Babbitt is a board certified clinical neuropsychologist who assesses children through young adults with a variety of medical, neurological, and developmental disabilities. She has a special interest in adolescents with autism. Babbitt directs the Smooth Transitions into Adulthood with Rainbow (STAR) clinic at Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital. She has presented locally and nationally on transition and has developed a curriculum for pediatricians to better support families of children with autism as they transition into adulthood.
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Susan Baker
Susan Baker has worked for the Elyria City Schools as a speech-language pathologist since 2001. She received her undergraduate degree from Northern Arizona University and her master's degree from Cleveland State University. Currently, Susan works at a K-8 campus servicing a variety of students with speech and language needs. She has previously presented with her team at OCALICON. The team was the recipient of the 2014 Franklin B. Walter Outstanding Educators Award from SST2.
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Stephanie Bare
Stephanie Bare is a speech-language pathologist who specializes in working with adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. She received a bachelor's in science in communication sciences and disorders from the University of Cincinnati and a master's in science in speech-language pathology from East Tennessee State University. In her professional career, she was worked in a variety of settings as a speech-language pathologist and as the young adult coordinator at the Down Syndrome Association of Greater Cincinnati. Bare is passionate about working with people with disabilities because she has a sister with cerebral palsy.
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. Barnes 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
Christina Barr
Christina L. Barr is a board certified behavior analyst and a teacher of the deaf. She received her bachelor's from Ohio State University and her MA in special education from Illinois State University. She completed her applied behavior analysis coursework through Florida Institute of Technology and earned her BCBA in 2014. She has previously presented at Illinois Teachers of Hard of Hearing/Deaf Individuals (2006, 2009, 2010), and OCALICON (2019). Presently, she is on the board for Deaf Education Ohio, a teacher mentor for Shawnee State University, and leads a deaf disabled preschool classroom in Dayton, OH.
Presenter Detail
Charles Barrett
Charles A. Barrett, Ph.D., NCSP, now a district-level administrator, practiced as a school psychologist for 13 years at the elementary and secondary levels. He also serves as an adjunct lecturer. Barrett was named School Psychologist of the Year by the Virginia Academy of School Psychologists and received the Rookie of the Year Award from NASP. His past leadership positions within NASP include co-chair of the Social Justice Task Force and African American Subcommittee, chair of the Multicultural Affairs and Social Justice Committees, and Virginia Delegate to the NASP Leadership Assembly. Barrett serves on the editorial boards of School Psychology Review and School Psychology.
Presenter Detail
Julian Barton
Julian Barton 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. Barton also leads Spectrum Voices Forum, where autistics represent themselves in cooperation with researchers and autism professionals. He is the joint founder of the twice-weekly "Spectrum Voices Conversation," which encourages diverse autistic inclusion. Autistic Radio Day was his latest project, launched earlier this year. Barton 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
Jen Bavry
Jen Bavry, an OCALI special projects manager, provides strategic project management supporting organizational endeavors. She formerly served as OCALI's Family Center Program Director. Bavry has been instrumental in supporting OCALI initiatives to equip families and professionals with resources and tools. She has led efforts to enhance community awareness and access, such as building the knowledge of future hospitality industry leaders and increasing accessibility at fairs across Ohio. As a parent of an autistic son, Bavry is a strong advocate for individuals and families having access to supports in their homes, schools, and communities leading to greater opportunities and outcomes.
Presenter Detail
Bobbi Beale
Bobbi Beale, PsyD, is a clinical psychologist and a co-director of the Center for Innovative Practices and the Child and Adolescent Behavioral Health Center of Excellence at Case Western Reserve University. Beale has over 30 years of practice and expertise in trauma, resilience, system of care, and behavioral health treatments for children, youth, and families, specializing in intensive home-based treatment and adventure therapy. She spends most of her time training, consulting, and providing technical assistance across Ohio to support behavioral health providers serving youth and their families that are involved in multiple service systems.
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Stephen Bedard
Stephen Bedard is a pastor, teacher and a disability advocate. He has two adult children with autism and is also on the autism spectrum. He has a doctor of ministry degree from Acadia University, where he looked at disability ministry in the small church context. He has published on disabilities in Faith Today and Autism Parenting magazines. He has spoken at retreats and conferences on disabilities and has presented papers on disabilities for the Canadian-American Theological Society and the Centre for Autism and Theology (University of Aberdeen). He has upcoming presentations for the Canadian Autism Leadership Symposium and Disability and Spirituality conference at Fordham University.
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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
Mikaella Besson
Mikaella Besson has worked as key support personnel for Our Space Our Place (OSOP), a non-profit organization offering a respectful, accessible, and fun environment for elementary, middle, and high school students who are legally blind in the Boston-area. Besson's journey with OSOP began as a student in the program. As she prepared to transition out of high school, she took on additional responsibilities to support the organization's mission of providing students opportunities to participate in team sports, the arts, community service, and mentoring activities. Besson has planned and managed activities, provided teaching assistance, and maintained the program's presence on social media.
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Elizabeth Biggs
Elizabeth Biggs, PhD, is an assistant professor of special education at Vanderbilt University and a member of the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center. She started as a special education teacher on the Navajo Nation in New Mexico and has over 13 years of experience working with students with disabilities. Her current research focuses on improving outcomes for students who have complex communication needs, and she also teaches classes focused on inclusion and general education access for students with autism, intellectual disabilities, and multiple disabilities. She has more than 40 publications on the topics of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC), inclusion, and peer relationships.
Presenter Detail
Rachel Bigham
Rachel Bigham, MEd, TVI, COMS, serves Zanesville City Schools in southeastern Ohio. Bigham has taught as an adjunct faculty member and consultant for The Ohio State University program in orientation and mobility. She 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. Bigham has served across age settings and seeks to provide valuable information and ideas into all areas of visual impairment services. She has presented on numerous occasions, including OCALICON 2018, 2019, and 2020, and has published several articles and book reviews.
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Victoria Boehlert-Somohano
Victoria Boehlert-Somohano received her BS in pre-medicine at the University of Dayton. Afterward, she pursued a clinical doctorate in occupational therapy at The Ohio State University. Her interest in serving people of different backgrounds was founded through her multicultural upbringing, being raised by a Spanish mother and American father. She completed her doctoral capstone at Casa Speech, where she initated the development of a culturally appropriate informational webpage in Spanish regarding autism for Hispanic and/or Latino families in central Ohio, as her passion is to serve and advocate with a variety of populations, specifically Spanish-speaking individuals.
Presenter Detail
Alyssa Bolander
Alyssa Bolander is a first year doctoral student at Wright State University pursuing her PsyD in clinical psychology. She obtained her bachelor's of science degree at Wright State University, where she was involved in Psi Chi and the Neuroscience Club. Bolander is actively pursuing and researching ADHD, especially as it pertains to emotional regulation. She is currently in the child emphasis program at Wright State University and enjoys working with children and adolescents.
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Benjamin Bond
Ben Bond is the faith inclusion and belonging associate at RespectAbility. Bond is ordained in The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). He is a queer multiply disabled person with lived experience growing up with a disability and acquiring one later in life. He founded and co-chaired Yale Divinity School's (YDS) first disability student organization, DivineAbilities which centered on disability issues at YDS and providing a space for students to explore their relationship with disability and faith. Bond earned a master of divinity degree from YDS and a certificate from the Institute of Sacred Music and the Arts at Yale. Bond earned a BA in religious studies at Chapman University.
Presenter Detail
Cheryl Boucher
Cheryl Boucher, MS, OTR, is an occupational therapist. She also earned a master's degree in special education. Boucher has 25 years of experience working as an OT for a large, urban school corporation. She currently works as an independent contractor for consultation and telehealth services. She is a speaker nationally, specializing in strategies to support sensory processing, as well as motor and executive functioning skills of students with an ASD and related disorders. Along with Kathy Oehler, Boucher is co-author of the book I Hate to Write! She is also the co-author of Low Cost/No Cost Sensory Strategies for the Classroom, published by Autism/Asperger Digest.
Presenter Detail
Aaron Bouie III
Aaron Bouie III serves as the executive director of elementary curriculum in Youngstown City Schools. As the elementary curriculum leader, he utilizes his experience as a building level administrator and exception education teachers to support the needs of the district's scholars, teachers, and leaders. His work across educational settings involves utilizing evidence based practices to enhance leadership, teaching, and learning.
Presenter Detail
Dani Bowman
Dani Bowman is a young and talented animator, artist, and entrepreneur on the autism spectrum who is passionate about using her skills to help others and her dedication to inclusion and diversity. Despite being diagnosed with autism at age 3 and nonverbal until 6, Bowman has overcome these challenges to become an accomplished artist, animator and speaker. She founded her own company, DaniMation, when she was just 14 years old, and DaniMation UK in 2019. Bowman has taught animation to over 2,000 students with autism and premiered 11 short films at San Diego Comic Con. As a national speaker and cast member of Love on the Spectrum, she uses her platform to inspire and mentor others.
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, Bowser 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
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 assessment program. Previously, he 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 and immigrant youth. He represents the Department on the English Language Proficiency Assessment for the 21st Century (ELPA21) governing board, and previously directed The Ohio State University's American Language Program, an intensive English program for international students. Brauer also is a former Ohio TESOL president.
Presenter Detail
Jacob Brewer
Jacob Brewer teaches the advancement of education with the goal of instilling passion, knowledge, tenacity, and compassion into his students and pre-service teachers. By instilling these traits into future teachers, scientists, social workers, politicians, athletes, and many others it is his hope to perpetuate positive change for students and individuals with and without disabilities. Having gone through every stage of STEM education with multiple disabilities, he has learned that there are many obstacles facing students with disabilities in STEM. Brewer was inspired to enter the field of special education to address the issues and obstacles facing students with disabilities pursuing STEM.
Presenter Detail
Heather Bridgman
Heather Bridgman, a rehabilitation engineer, has been working in both the medical and educational environments for over 20 years on computer access, augmentative communication, universal design for learning, and online learning. She has a master's degree in systems engineering, a teaching license in high school mathematics, is certified as a RESNA assistive technology professional, and also teaches AT courses at Ashland University. Bridgman has presented at numerous conferences on a wide variety of assistive technology topics and market trends. Recent projects include development of SIFTS which is an AT feature-matching tool and the online modules known as ATIM.
Presenter Detail
Erin Brooker Lozott
Erin Brooker Lozott, BCBA-D, CCC-SLP, is the program director at Els for Autism Foundation. She has worked with individuals with autism spectrum disorder and related disabilities for over 27 years. Lozott is a doctoral-level board-certified behavior analyst and a licensed and certified speech-language pathologist. She has a doctorate in special education from Nova Southeastern University. Lozott has co-authored many publications on ASD, and has presented and consulted extensively worldwide. Lozott is a member of global scientific advisory committees. At Els for Autism, she oversees all programs and services from birth through adulthood.
Presenter Detail
Kandice Brooks
Kandice Brooks is an intervention specialist in Shaker Heights, Ohio. She is the lead teacher of a self-contained classroom to students with disabilities. Brooks uses trainings from the TEACHH program, Why Try, and Zones of Regulation to help her students. Although she had received a master of business administration degree, she decided to return to school for her teaching certification. Brooks is currently a doctoral student working to receive her EdD in special education from Walden University. Her goal is to share her experience of working with students on the spectrum and with emotional and behavioral disabilities with teachers around the globe.
Presenter Detail
Karen Brothers
Karen Brothers has worked in education for the past 37 years. She holds both a bachelor's and master of arts from The Ohio State University. Brothers completed a second master of science from the University of Dayton. Brothers established the Peer Collaboration Program in the Dublin City Schools 23 years ago and continues to facilitate the program in Dublin and provides training for school districts in several states. She has presented at state and local conferences and authored a Peer Colaboration Manual. Brothers serves on non-profit boards supporting individuals with ASD and provides autism training to adult care providers. She is the parent of a 28 year old son with autism.
Presenter Detail
Cassandra Brown
Cassandra Brown is a multisystem support administration supervisor and service coordination liaison with Cuyahoga Board of Developmental Disabilities. Brown has been with Cuyahoga DD for eight years working with both adults and children with developmental disabilities. Prior to her employment with Cuyahoga DD, she spent four years as a director of an agency that provided services in supported living settings for adults with developmental disabilities. Brown received her bachelor of science in psychology from John Carroll University.
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Daria Brown
Daria Brown has a master's in personality and social psychology, specializing in individual differences. She has worked in research, evaluation, and education for over 20 years at universities, not-for-profits, and the government. She created Affect Autism, a website and podcast for parents and practitioners looking to implement DIR/Floortime and a documentary called "We Chose Play" about her family's experience using DIR/Floortime since her son's autism diagnosis. Brown also facilitates the weekly parent support drop-in for the International Council on Development and Learning (ICDL) as ICDL's parent advocate and advisor.
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. 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.
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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
Paige Buckingham
Paige Buckingham is a speech-language pathologist and has worked with students at all levels. After 32 years in public schools, Buckingham now owns Buckingham Educational Services and Training, LLC, with the goal of supporting school staff in learning more about the tools students need to have skills for life. While working in the schools, a majority of her time was spent as a special education facilitator focusing on AT/AAC and related services. Buckingham is an independent contractor for Infinitec and has presented in the Midwest and via webinars to various state assistive technology organizations.
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Chelsea Budde
Chelsea Budde, the mother of two young adults with differently-wired brains, has spent 20 years discovering how best to interact with, support, and empower neurologically diverse youth. She co-founded nonprofit Good Friend, Inc., which has reached more than 60,000 people with a message of autism awareness, acceptance, and empathy. While she has a BA in English from St. Norbert College, most of her related training has come from conferences, workshops, professional collaborations, and field experience. She is also a writer, university guest lecturer, and state and national conference presenter.
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Sarah Buffie
Sarah Buffie, MSW, LSW, founding director of Soul Bird Consulting, believes that nothing has the power to heal like supportive relationships. Specializing in trauma responsive care, she helps organizations and individuals disrupt current models of thinking by building empathy and understanding around the effects of developmental trauma. Her focus is to spread awareness about how trauma affects the brain, body, and behavioral patterns and teach effective approaches for developing resilience within the people that organizations strive to serve, and the people closest to the work, caregivers, and direct providers.
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Christopher Bugaj
Christopher R. Bugaj, MA, CCC-SLP, is a founding member of the assistive technology team for Loudoun County Public Schools. Bugaj co-hosts the "Talking With Tech" podcast and has hosted "The A.T.TIPScast." He is the author of The New Assistive Tech: Make Learning Awesome For All, co-author of Inclusive Learning 365: EdTech Strategies for Every Day of the Year and The Practical (and Fun) Guide to Assistive Technology in Public Schools. Bugaj has presented over 600 live or digital sessions at local, regional, state, national and international events, including TEDx.
Presenter Detail
Amanda Buncher
Amanda Buncher has over 10 years of experience educating and supporting students with intellectual and developmental disabilities in the school and workplace. She is a research associate for the Department of Disabilities Services at Cincinnati Children's Hospital. She helps to oversee research, assists with database development, writes grant proposals, and presents program outcomes and empirical findings at conferences and in scholarly publications. She has seven years experience as an intervention specialist for a large urban school corporation. She holds the designation of master teacher in the state of Ohio. She serves as an adjunct instructor at the University of Cincinnati.
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Myra Beth Bundy
Myra Bundy, PhD, 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.
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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. Buoni 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. She 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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Kimberly Burkhart
Kimberly Burkhart, PhD, is a psychologist in the division of developmental and behavioral pediatrics and psychology at UH Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital, and associate professor of pediatrics and psychiatry at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. Burkhart assesses and treats autism spectrum disorder and common comorbidities. She has been either co-principal or co-investigator on foundation, state, and federal grants in the areas of integrated care, emergency disaster preparedness and response, and child maltreatment/violence prevention and intervention. She has published widely in peer-reviewed journals and presented at national conferences.
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Carol Burmeister
Carol Burmeister has worked as a paraeducator, general and special education teacher, program specialist, university instructor, and consultant across a variety of settings. She served as a reviewer on both the National Professional Development Center on Autism Spectrum Disorders' and the National Clearinghouse on Autism Evidence and Practices' updates on evidence-based practices. For the past several years, her work has focused on the crucial topic of executive function, helping students and parents, as well as educators, understand how teaching specific skills in childhood and adolescence can have a positive impact on adulthood.
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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, Burnham worked at the Lucas County Board 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.
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Theresa Busher
Theresa Busher is a social security public affairs specialist for central/southern Ohio and southern Indiana, which is part of social security's Chicago region. She acts as a social security spokesmen for media liaisons and public educators. Busher has worked for the Social Security Administration since 1993. She has a MA from Miami University and resides in the south Dayton area with her husband Ed and their 5 children.
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Mo 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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Lauren Cadorette
Lauren Cadorette has supported many families in her time as a teacher and autism consultant. She worked in educational settings prior to becoming a behavior analyst. Cadorette is a highly-certified teacher in the areas of special education and elementary education. She is one of thirty-two educators in the state of South Carolina with the autism credential. She holds a bachelor's degree in special education from Winthrop University and holds a masters in special education from the University of Texas. She also completed her coursework to become a board certified behavior analyst. Cadorette believes building meaningful relationships is the key to fostering positive behaviors.
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Karrie Calzo
Karrie Calzo is the Ohio Transition Support Partnership Program Coordinator. She works closely with the Ohio Secondary Transition and Workforce Development consultant, Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities, OCALI, multiple agencies and departments that make up the Office for Exceptional Children. She has served school districts as the Director of Student Services for the past six years and as a licensed Speech Language Pathologist for many years. She provided clinical speech services in various settings, including outpatient pediatric clinics, inpatient hospitals, long term acute care hospitals, long term care facilities, home health and private practice.
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Samantha Camacho
Samantha Camacho is the program coordinator for Turning Pointe Autism Foundation, which serves adults and children with autism. She has a bachelor's of science in psychology and a minor in bioethics from Loyola University Chicago. Samantha is currently seeking a master's of science in education with a specialization in special education - applied behavior analysis from Northern Illinois University and completing fieldwork to become a board certified behavior analyst. She has previously presented research on stereotypy at the Mid-American Association for Behavior Analysis Annual Conference.
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Denise Campbell
Denise A. Campbell completed a 5-year master in OT. She has been practicing in a school-based practice area for the past 17 years. Campbell has worked with students ranging from the preschool to high school. She has experience working with students with a variety of diagnoses, ranging from autism, CP, DD, down syndrome, SLD, etc. Campbell has experience with selecting appropriate assessments based on a student's ability level that will help them achieve their greatest potential within limits of their mental and physical capabilities. She also has extensive experience using visual contracts, visual countdowns, and Picture communication systems with students who have limited verbal abilities.
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Sara Campbell
Sara Campbell is an intervention specialist certified in k-12, moderate to intensive intervention. She is also licensed as a preK-3 general education teacher. Her undergraduate work was completed in early childhood education and educational psychology. She has spent the last five years teaching in a children's residential center for students with developmental disabilities who experience significant behavioral challenges. Currently, she is the lead intervention specialist in the facility's Discovery program, serving students who are identified as having a most significant cognitive disability. She serves a non-speaking population who use a variety of AAC methods to communicate.
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Chelsea Canterbury
Chelsea Canterbury works in the Office of Career Technical Education at the Ohio Department of Education.
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Ashley Carano
Ashley Carano is the preschool literacy coach in the Youngstown City School District. Carano has taught kindergarten, first grade and third grade prior to becoming a literacy coach. She provides coaching cycles to support literacy instruction, provides literacy professional development for preschool staff, and supports staff with analyzing student data. Carano collaborates with preschool teachers to align researched based strategies to meet the specific needs of all learners.
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McDevan Carling
McDevan Carling has been an educator and administrator at Spectrum Academy, a charter in Utah dedicated to educating students with autism, for over a decade. Since taking on the role of transition program administrator, Carling has created the only school-based employment program in Utah that partners with Utah State employment programs. He has also developed a driver education program that uses driver rehabilitation research to create a special education driving program at Spectrum Academy Schools. He is excited to expand Spectrum's programs to include home visit and community equity programs in the next school year.
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Christi Carnahan
Christina Carnahan, EdD, is an associate professor of special education at the University of Cincinnati, where she is also the director of advancement and transition services. She conducts research in special education with individuals with autism and other complex learning needs. Carnahan's work with students with significant developmental disabilities focuses on improving post-high school outcomes through strategies that increase active engagement in learning activities, promote teacher efficiency, and improve literacy experiences at home and school.
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Megan Carpenter
Megan Carpenter, PhD, BCBA-D, is a visiting assistant professor at Furman University. Her research focuses on behavioral supports and educator training to support the inclusion of students with extensive support needs.
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Erik Carter
Erik Carter, PhD, is Luther Sweet Endowed Chair in Disabilities. His research and writing focus on principle-driven and research-based strategies for promoting full participation, belonging, and valued roles for children and adults with disabilities. He serves as Executive Director of the Baylor Center for Developmental Disabilities, which aims to promote the flourishing of people with disabilities and their families.
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Annie Carver
Annie Carver, Esq. is a staff attorney at Project HEAL (Health, Education, Advocacy, and Law), a medical-legal partnership located within Kennedy Krieger Institute. In her practice, Carver focuses on special education law. She received a bachelor's degree from University of Rochester in English and political science and a juris doctor from University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law.
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Catarena Cathcart
Catarena Cathcart is the Special Education Teacher and Curriculum Supervisor at Strong Foundations, an ABA Center for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. She graduated Magna Cum Laude with her Bachelor of Science in Integrated Elementary and Special Education from the University of Hartford in 2019. Currently, she is pursuing her Master of Arts in Special Education Autism Spectrum Disorder Focus at the University of Saint Joseph. Over the years, she has supported the growth of Strong Foundations, through the development of a center-wide curriculum, organization of activities for students and parents, and different protocols used by all of Strong Foundations families and staff.
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Dave Caudel
Dave Caudel is the associate director of the Frist Center for Autism and Innovation, and is on the advisory board of Jobs for Humanity. Caudel has both a master's degree and PhD in physics.
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Megan Cavanaugh
Megan Cavanaugh, QBHP, MSpEd, is currently a behavior specialist for Northville Schools. This is her twenty-third year in special education. She is skilled in the design of special education programs, utilizing best practice as defined by national standards in education. She presents information in a variety of ways, emphasizing the relevance of education to the world beyond the classroom. She is highly qualified in elementary education, language arts, emotional impairments, and autism spectrum disorders. She has completed her schooling in applied behavior analysis, and has chosen to stay in education as a behavior consultant.
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Lori Chambers
Lori Chambers is a coordinator for TASN Autism and Tertiary Behavior Supports. She has served as a speech-language pathologist for 33 years through home-based, clinical, and school services for the Oklahoma Department of Health, Utah State University, and Kansas Schools. In 2006, she was recognized as Autism Teacher of the Year by Autism Southwest Kansas. Chambers presents statewide and nationally on topics around autism and complex social communication needs. Her most valued sources of wisdom are those families and individuals with complex needs that have allowed her to be part of their lives.
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Piya Chatterjee
Piya Chatterjee is an assistant professor of special education with the LeBron James Family Foundation School of Education, University of Akron. She worked extensively in Summit County, leading and evaluating several educational intervention programs on extended inclusion and equity-focused learning opportunities for K-12 students. Chatterjee also worked as a K-12 teacher in India for many years. She researches teacher perceptions and attitudes toward the inclusion of students with disabilities. Chatterjee is interested in data-driven, inclusive, and equity-focused collaborative efforts among agencies to alleviate challenges and barriers to the success of students with disabilities.
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Lea Chawki
Lea Chawki is a clinical psychologist and PhD student in psychology at Universite Paris Cite in France. She has focused her clinical practice in the field of child and adolescent mental health and neurodevelopmental disorders. She worked as a clinical psychologist at Robert Debre hospital in Paris and her work revolved around assessment in a child psychiatric unit, specializing in neurodevelopmental disorders. Chawki is currently completing her second doctoral year. Her thesis is a cross-cultural and cross-disorder comparative study on the well-being of parents of children with autism spectrum disorder and developmental coordination disorder. She is also a part-time university instructor.
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Shelly Christensen
Shelly Christensen, MA, FAAIDD, is senior director of faith inclusion and belonging at RespectAbility. For 22 years, she's centered her work on spirituality and community inclusion, community collaboration, and DEIA. She cofounded Jewish Disability Awareness, Acceptance, and Inclusion Month. She is core team leader at the Institute on Theology and Disability and fellow of AAIDD. She received the Reimagining Spirituality Leadership Award from RSIN in recognition of her leadership. Christensen wrote From Longing to Belonging: A Practical Guide to Including People with Disabilities and Mental Health Conditions in Your Faith Community.
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Richard Cirillo
Richard Cirillo, PhD, is psychologist and chief clinical officer at the Cuyahoga County Board of Developmental Disabilities (CCBDD). He earned his PhD at Syracuse University with neuropsychological research on learning and memory. He had postdoctoral study in neurophysiology at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and doctoral re-specialization in clinical psychology at Case Western Reserve. At the CCBDD, he manages approximately 40 behavioral health professionals, nurses, and others. He consults with clinical staff and multidisciplinary teams on matters related to behavioral and mental health in individuals with autism and other diagnoses.
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Kim Clairy
Kim Clairy is an autistic occupational therapist, international speaker, consultant, author, and self-advocate. Clairy broke through many barriers as she defied a healthcare system that said, "your autism is severe; you need to live in a nursing home." Her difficult healthcare experiences forged a passion for educating others on autism. Using personal experiences and professional expertise Clairy educates on many facets of autism across the lifespan including sensory processing, eating disorders, trauma, mental health, relationships, self-awareness, classroom inclusion, community integration, problem-solving through challenging behaviors, and much more!
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Barb Clark
Barb Clark works at the North American Council on Adoptable Children as the training and development manager. She is a parent to four adult children, one of whom is diagnosed with a fetal alcohol spectrum disorder. She is passionate about learning from her many mistakes, and sharing them with others so they can avoid the same mistakes. She uses humor and real-life experiences to help professionals and parents challenge the use of traditional strategies and to push them to think outside of the box. She graduated from the University of Minnesota in youth development, but has learned more from her kids than she ever did in college.
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Marie Clark
Marie Clark is a developmental-behavioral pediatrician. She has special interests in advocacy, medical education, transition, and medical-legal partnerships.
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LM Clinton
LM Clinton is the literacy policy lead at the Ohio Department of Education. Clinton oversees Ohio's third grade reading guarantee, Ohio's dyslexia support laws, district reading achievement plans and other statewide literacy policies and initiatives. Clinton is also an appointed member of the Ohio Dyslexia Committee.
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Josh Cobbs
Josh Cobbs is director of employment initiatives at Autism Speaks. His work encompasses leading day to day operations and development of Autism Speaks Workplace Inclusion Now (WIN) digital and virtual programs and platforms. 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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Tyler Cochran
Tyler Cochran is a legal advocate at Project HEAL (Health, Education, Advocacy and Law) at the Kennedy Krieger Institute, where advocates for the civil legal rights of students with disabilities. He has a BA from Loyola University Maryland and a JD from Stanford Law School. Prior to attending law school and beginning his career at Kennedy Krieger, Cochran served in Moshupa, Botswana, as a HIV/AIDS local government capacity building volunteer with the United States Peace Corps.
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Allison Cole
Allie Cole, MEd, is a PhD student at Vanderbilt University in the special education low-incidence program. She works as a graduate research assistant for the Enhancing Peer Networks Project. Prior to attending Vanderbilt, Cole worked for 6 years as a special educator, teaching students at both the secondary and transition levels.
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Heather Coleman
Heather Coleman, PhD, 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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Tori Colson
Tori Colson, EdD, is an assistant dean for Pott College of Science, Engineering, and Education. She has 10 years of classroom experience as a special education teacher. Her research interests include teacher efficacy, assessment, inclusive practices, and teacher education.
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Sydney Cook
Sydney Cook, a multi-system youth and family coach at OCALI, is a graduate of Miami University with a bachelor's in education. Cook has served over 13 years within the public service field through the schools, local courts, and as a service and support administrator with a county board of developmental disabilities. She has specific experience and passion for working with youths with complex needs. Cook currently provides support to youths and their families by identifying and implementing proactive, positive support strategies through modeling, teaching, and reinforcing interventions.
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Heidi Cooley-Cook
Heidi Cooley-Cook, MEd, brings over 15 years of experience working with individuals with disabilities and their families in a variety of roles, including direct support, job coach, case manager, behavior interventionist, and advocate. In her current role as the assistant director at the Kentucky Autism Training Center, Cooley-Cook supports the Center's work with families, first responders, and service providers. She has a master's in counseling psychology from the University of Louisville.
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Alesha Cooper
Alesha Cooper has worked within support for a number of years, holding posts from support worker and autism practitioner to positive behavior advisor, and more recently, service manager. Cooper's most recent post is within Life-Pod, a social enterprise, community interest company, based in Edinburgh, Scotland, offering help to people with chronic disorganization and hoarding behaviors. Cooper is passionate about neurodiversity affirmative support and believes in working with people's skills and strengths to offer them an overall improvement in their quality of life.
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Jeremy Cooper
Jeremy Cooper is a former development specialist for the Autism Society of America and currently a development associate with World Learning. Having grown up with a younger brother on the autism spectrum, Cooper was motivated to be involved in work that would not only improve the lives of individuals like his brother, but also help raise awareness of the prevalence of autism and the ways in which to promote understanding, acceptance, and equality of individuals and families affected by it. Cooper has a bachelor's from Oberlin College and a master's in public administration at American University, and currently resides in Washington, D.C.
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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. 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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Joshua Counceller
Joshua Counceller is a project manager/operations manager with the Ohio Commission on Fatherhood (OCF). He started public service nearly sixteen 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 possible. He primarily focuses on all operational aspects for OCF. Counceller earned his BS 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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Richard Cowan
Richard Cowan, Ph.D., completed his graduate training in school psychology at University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He is currently a tenured faculty member in the school psychology program at Kent State University. Cowan has been involved in multiple research projects, publications, presentations, and grants focusing on the implementation and evaluation of positive behavioral supports across settings for a variety of learners, including students with disabilities and students who are at-risk for academic failure. His most recent work focuses on the prevention of disruptive behavior in the classroom within the context of building positive, inclusive environments for all students.
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Jennifer Craig
Jennifer Craig is an educational consultant with the Pennsylvania Training and Technical Assistance Network (PaTTAN). Craig spent much of her professional career at The Western PA School for the Deaf as the educational audiologist and the outreach and parent infant coordinator, as well as serving as a clinical supervisor and part time professor in audilogy at The University of Pittsburgh. Her professional goals include promoting outcomes comparable to hearing peers for all children who are deaf and hard of hearing, deaf /blind, communication access, and seamless cooperation between clinic and school needs, as well as family involvement.
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Christine Croyle
Christine Croyle, CCC-SLP, EdD, 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. Croyle 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. 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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Cheryl Cumings
Cheryl Cumings is the workforce development manager at the Seattle Lighthouse for the Blind, Inc. Cumings founded and led Our Space Our Place, Inc. a nonprofit in Boston which offers an after school and career exploration program for blind or low vision middle and high school students. She worked at UMass Medical School and the Massachusetts Commission for the Blind, and is a former Peace Corps volunteer who completed her master's degree at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and her BA degree at Princeton University. Cumings has presented at the Massachusetts Historical Society and the Kennedy Center Leadership Exchange in arts and disability.
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Conner Cummings
Conner is 30 years old and proud to be an autistic advocate. He was recently honored with a commendation from the state of Virginia House and Senate, and also serves on the Virginia Disability Commission. He facilitates disability forums to at the presidential, federal, and state levels, advocating to ensure a sensory-friendly forum. Cummings 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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Shannon Cuniak
Shannon D. Cuniak, MEd, 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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Cynthia Curry
Cynthia Curry is director of technical assistance at CAST. With leadership of CAST's two federally funded technical assistance centers, she leads a national initiative to build coordinated state and local systems for providing accessible materials and technologies for all learners. Curry has enjoyed diverse roles for promoting accessibility and universal design for learning in both K-12 and higher ed, including as a middle and high school science teacher, statewide technology integration mentor, trainer and technical assistance provider, teacher education faculty, instructional designer, and disability services coordinator.
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Cassandra Curtis
Cassandra Curtis is currently an intervention specialist for moderate to intense needs children at Elyria City Schools in Ohio and has been working full-time there for 7 years. Curtis has a bachelor's in science degree in education, double majoring as an intervention specialist for mild to moderate and moderate to intense needs. She received her associate of arts degree from Lorain County Community College, where she was on the dean's list. Curtis has helped to put on 5 Reader's Theater Play Programs for children with moderate to intense needs in 1st through 8th grades.
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Amy D'Amico
Amy D'Amico is a speech-language pathologist for Montgomery County Educational Service Center in Dayton, Ohio. She provides speech and language services to students with multiple disabilities in a separate facility for students with complex needs. She does AAC evaluations and makes recommendations for augmentative communication devices. D'Amico is part of the district and building leadership teams for Montgomery County ESC, where she collaborates with administrators on building and district level issues. She also collaborates with intervention specialists, related service providers, as well as paraprofessionals assigned to students who have augmentative communication systems.
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Susan Daniels
Susan Daniels serves as the 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 is the Director of the Office of National Autism Coordination (ONAC) at the National Institute of Mental Health and also Executive Secretary of the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC), a federal advisory committee created by Congress to coordinate federal activities and provide advice to the Secretary of Health and Human Services on issues related to autism. She received her PhD in molecular and cell biology from Brandeis University.
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Catherine Dart
Catherine Dart holds a Master's degree in special education from the University of Cincinnati. She has had many roles within the special education field, and some of these roles include intervention specialist, behavior support coach, collaborative coaching, and transition coordinator. Between 2016-2023 Cadi developed a high school transition program, Collaboration for Education and Employment Synergy (CEES). CEES collaborates with approximately 15 local school districts to offer transition programming to increase students' post-school outcomes in the areas or post-secondary and technical training, paid employment, self-determination skills, and independent living skills.
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Maryellen Daston
Maryellen Daston is a researcher and technical writer with a background in developmental neuroscience. Currently, Daston works with the Project SEARCH team at Cincinnati Children's Hospital where she manages the database, develops online training, manages website content, and writes and edits articles for academic journals and other communications. She researches funding opportunities, writes grant proposals, and oversees research related to Project SEARCH. In addition, Daston co-authored the book on the history, philosophy, and practices that define the Project SEARCH model, High School Transition that Works: Lessons Learned from Project SEARCH.
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Carly Dauch
Carly Dauch, OTD, OTR/L, is a graduate of the University of Toledo. She began her career with the Wood County Board of Developmental Disabilities (WCBDD), where she developed a passion for the use of assistive technology. Dauch led a Remote Support Grant project for the WCBDD, which aims to increase access and use of assistive technology for Ohioans with disabilities. Dauch has presented at OCALICONLINE 2021, TechSummit 2.0, School-Based Practitioner Summit, Ohio Healthcare Association, WAIMH Conference in Edinburgh, OOTA conferences, and the AOTA conference. Her research on the influence of toys on play is published in Infant Behavior and Development.
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LaShell Dauterman
LaShell Dauterman, EdD, is an educator with over 20 years of experience as a teacher and administrator in both Japan and Ohio. Passionate about the field, she completed a dissertation on ELL students with communication disabilities and AAC 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 the Harvard School of Business, serves as a member of the Dayton Autism Society, and is the parent of a child diagnosed with ASD and currently works as an intervention specialist at the Montgomery County ESC.
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William Dauterman
William T. Dauterman, PhD, 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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Alfred Daviso
Alfred Daviso is a professor of special education at the University of Akron, where he was awarded Outstanding Instructor in 2018. He has collaborated with Akron Public Schools to write and implement 2 grants focusing on the professional development of career and technical education teachers across the district. These were both part of the Innovative Strategies for Developing the College and Career Readiness for Students with Disabilities program. He is currently the president-elect for DCDT.
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Ariana DeAngelis
Ariana DeAngelis is the training manager for The Autism Project (TAP) in Rhode Island. With a BA in developmental psychology and a master's in special education, DeAngelis worked as a teacher in Walpole and Malden, Massachusetts, and in Florence, Italy. While at TAP, she has transitioned the training team to the virtual platform, and brought TAP trainings to self-advocates, professionals, and parents across the US, Africa, Asia, Central America, and South America. In collaboration with self-advocates, DeAngelis continues to write and deliver trainings focused on supporting neurodivergent people across the lifespan.
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Katherine Delaney
Katherine Delaney is an associate professor of early childhood and special education at the University of Toledo in Toledo, Ohio, and received her PhD from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2013. Before pursuing a doctoral degree, she was a preschool teacher. Delaney's research largely focuses on relationship between early childhood policy and the lived experiences of teachers, children and families as they engage in program implementation and reforms. Her research explores how early childhood policies can have unintended, but impactful, consequences for diverse communities and what implications this has for policy design and reform.
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Rene DeLoss
Rene DeLoss has worked with neurodivergent individuals for almost 20 years 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. DeLoss currently works with a team to create instructional materials, edits and manages a blog, and is a co-owner of Autism Moving Forward, LLC.
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Amanda DeLuca
Amanda DeLuca is the co-founder and president of the non-profit organization The More Than Project. She lives in Ohio with her husband Sal and her two children, Monroe and Jackson. Inspired by her son Jackson, DeLuca works in educational advocacy. She proudly empowers families, both locally and remotely, to collaborate with confidence with their IEP teams. DeLuca enjoys teaching at her dance studio, and writing for her blog, "Jackson's Journey, Jackson's Voice."
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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, BCBA, is a third-year doctoral student at Georgia State University. As a former special education teacher, she has served a wide variety of students with disabilities. 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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Tracey Demaria
Tracey DeMaria, OTD, OTR, is an experienced occupational therapist, specializing in pediatrics, who has worked in private practice, hospitals, outpatient clinics, early intervention, and many schools. She serves as an adjunct professor in the occupational therapy master's program at Moravian University and currently works in the Phillipsburg School District. DeMaria is a neurodiverse author and advocate for mental health and disability rights, and is committed to helping individuals of all ages learn the power of sensory and emotional regulation.
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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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Leah Demko
Leah Demko, AuD, is an audiologist for the state of Ohio, servicing the Ohio School for the Deaf and the Ohio State School for the Blind. Her background includes being an American Sign Language interpreter and working as a clinical audiologist for a large neurotology practice. She is beginning her educational audiology career with a primary function of conducting comprehensive audiology assessments and managing hearing assistive technology for students in the schools. Demko has a special skill set of being able to directly communicate with students and families whose primary mode of communication is ASL.
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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 EdM 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.
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Tracy DeSpain
Tracy DeSpain is an autism resource specialist in Fayette County Public Schools in Lexington, Kentucky. DeSpain serves and supports secondary students with autism spectrum disorder through intentional planning and comprehensive programming using evidence-based practices. Prior to this role, her background includes teaching students with moderate and severe disabilities in a self-contained classroom for seven years, and co-teaching in a fully inclusive preschool classroom for two years. DeSpain earned her BS in special education, moderate/severe disabilities from the University of Kentucky, and her MEd in applied behavior analysis from the University of Cincinnati.
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Kristin Dickerhoff
Kristin Dickerhoff has obtained her bachelor's degree from Ashland University and graduated magna cum laude. She has been an educator for 15 years at Murray Ridge School, Lorain County's school of developmental disabilities. In her fifteen years, she has brought many programs to the students of Murray Ridge, including the Senior Sowers Farmers Market, Veggie U A+ Indoor Garden programs, Channel Zoom News, and most recently, the Brew It Smooth Cafe. She is full of passion for her students and strives to bring new and innovative ways to engage the students she works with daily.
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Taylor DiDonato
Taylor DiDonato, MS, is a Rehabilitation Program Specialist (RPS) supporting Transition youth and counselors with Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities (OOD). She was designated as a transition youth counselor through the Ohio Transition Support Partnership (OTSP) between OOD and the Ohio Department of Education for 5 years prior to entering her role as an RPS. She has worked tirelessly to support students and young adults through counseling, guidance, and services to reach their employment goals. DiDonato focuses on collaboration with schools, families, and community supports, along with empowering youth to find independence, involvement in their community, and successful employment.
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Yujia Ding
Yujia Ding, PhD, is a scientist, educator, and problem-solver. She uses her personal and professional experiences to show those around her how she doesn't let challenges slow her down. Her expertise is focused on supporting individuals and organizations in creating an inclusive learning environment for all individuals, regardless of ability or disability status. She has a particular passion for breaking down barriers in STEM, which is where her journey started.
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GeorgiAnn Diniaco
GeorgiAnn Diniaco, PhD, worked with young people and families for over 35 years in the field of substance abuse prevention/intervention. She was the creator of the substance abuse prevention/intervention program for the Dublin City Schools. This sustaining program is known for its success in empowering young people and supporting families. Diniaco has also been an adjunct instructor at both Ashland University and Columbus State. Currently, she is a national prevention trainer for the PAXIS Institute and instructor for Peer Collaboration. Diniaco completed her undergraduate degree at Kent State University and her masters and PhD at The Ohio State University.
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Terri Dinkelaker
Terri Dinkelaker, PT, DPT, completed a bachelor of science in physical therapy at St. Louis University in 1993, and received a doctorate in physical therapy from the University of South Dakota as part of their transitional DPT program in 2018. Dinkelaker has been practicing as a school-based physical therapist for the past 16 years. She has worked with students ranging from preschool to high school, and works with students with a variety of diagnosis/abilities including autism, DS, and CP. Dinkelaker has been named an A-list therapist by the Montgomery County Educational Service Center autism and low-incidence coaching team.
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Laurie Dinnebeil
Laurie Dinnebeil is a distinguished university professor emerita, and prior to her retirement from the University of Toledo, held the Judith Daso Herb Chair, Inclusive Early Childhood Education. Currently she is a part-time consultant for OCALI and directs federal and state-funded personnel preparation projects. She is a past editor-in-chief for the Journal of Early Intervention. She is an expert on itinerant early childhood special education service delivery as evidenced by her numerous publications, scholarly presentations and externally funded projects related to this important topic.
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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. Dittoe 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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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 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, PhD, continues to research, publish, and advocate for better policies and programs. After a career leading school-, hospital-, and university-based programs for people with ASD, his focus broadened to children and parents facing the most significant levels of disability when his daughter Margot was born in 2000 with I/DD and other related conditions. His work now includes helping people with disabilities enjoy the outdoors through work and recreation. He is also active in local and state advocacy, having successfully led efforts to extend eligibility for public education in Pennsylvania for a year to help youths in special education recoup losses due to COVID.
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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 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, Donehower is a board certified behavior analyst.
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Anne Donnelly
Anne Donnelly is an educational interpreter for Cincinnati Public Schools and an adjunct instructor at Cincinnati State's ITP. She serves as the National Association of Interpreters in Education (NAIE) credentialing director. Previously, Donnelly held board positions for the Ohio Chapter of the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf. She graduated from the University of Arizona with a degree in speech and hearing sciences, and from Cincinnati State with a degree in interpreting. She is a licensed interpreter through the Ohio Department of Education and her EIPA score is a 4.6 in elementary ASL with an EIPA Knowledge Test certificate.
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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 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, Douglas explores how to best utilize, supervise, and train paraeducators. She has over 15 published articles related to paraeducators, with more research underway.
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Kathryn Doyle
Kathryn Doyle is a special education faculty member at the University of Cincinnati. Doyle is a board certified behavior analyst 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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Kelly Draggoo
Kelly Draggoo is a social security public affairs specialist for central/southern Ohio and southern Indiana, which is part of social security's Chicago region. She act as social security spokesmen, media liaisons, and public educators. Draggoo joined SSA in 2009. She received her bachelor's degree from the University of Cincinnati and is a native of Cincinnati, OH.
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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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Michelle Duda
Michelle A. Duda, PhD, BCBA-D, is the 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, Duda has contributed to evolution of the field of implementation science through her work as a scientist and associate director at UNC-Chapel Hill, and as a member of international advisory boards, evaluator, and content developer. Duda has published several articles, assessments, and book chapters across human service sectors, and her goal is to empower others and leave a positive impact.
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Amie Duncan
Amie Duncan is a clinical psychologist at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center. Duncan specializes in helping autistic adolescents develop the necessary skills to make a successful transition to the adult world of employment, college, and independent living. Her research focuses on developing and testing an intervention (Surviving and Thriving in the Real World) that targets daily living skills (e.g., hygiene, cooking, laundry, and money management) in autistic adolescents. She also has developed an intervention targeting executive functioning skills (Achieving Independence and Mastery in School) such as organization, planning, and prioritizing for autistic adolescents.
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Alexis Eggenberger
Alexis Eggenberger, MBA, MSSA, LISW-S, BCBA, is the director of autism navigation services at Avenues for Autism. Working in the disability field for over 14 years, Eggenberger has had experiences with diagnostics, community/school/home-based programming, residential treatment facilities, has directed a number of ABA clinics, and has developed several programs for hospitals and businesses. She currently oversees clinical services for families and autistic individuals in the northwest Ohio region. Eggenberger has presented at professional conferences, lectured at universities, and consulted with several businesses on autism-inclusive practices.
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Patrick Eidemiller
Dani Bowman is a young and talented animator, artist, and entrepreneur on the Autism Spectrum who is passionate about using her skills to help others and her dedication to inclusion and diversity. Despite being diagnosed with autism at age 3 and nonverbal until 6, Dani has overcome these challenges to become an accomplished artist, animator and speaker. She founded her own company, DaniMation, when she was just 14 years old, and DaniMation UK in 2019. Dani has taught animation to over 2000 students with autism and premiered 11 short films at San Diego Comic Con. As a national speaker and cast member of Love on the Spectrum, Dani uses her platform to inspire and mentor others.
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Tisha Eisenhuth
Tisha Eisenhuth is the Parent Mentor for the Twinsburg City School District in Summit County, Ohio. She holds a BFA from Kent State University and is a MS Ed-special education-autism and related disabilities candidate at Youngstown State University (2024). Eisenhuth supported public schools as a k-12 substitute teacher for 10 years and has a child with an IEP. She has presented locally for the Summit County Developmental Disabilities Board, as well as statewide with Ohio State University/Ohio Department of Education as part of Ohio Parent Mentor Project professional development sessions, and has co-hosted numerous local special education parent training opportunities.
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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 a local school board member, a board member of the Northern Ohio branch of the International Dyslexia Association, a national literacy trainer (LETRS, The Reading League, Morpheme Magic), 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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Kelly Elton
Kelly Elton is a multi-system youth and family coach. She 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 in school programs, the community, and their homes. Kelly developed and implemented an inclusive transition program in several northwest Ohio high schools. She is the chair of the Toledo Regional Autism Network and is appointed to the Toledo-Lucas County Commission on Disabilities. In her free time, Kelly enjoys spending time with her family camping.
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Jessica Emick
Jessica Emick, PhD, is a licensed pediatric psychologist. She received her master of arts degree in neuropsychology from the University of Northern Colorado and her PhD in school psychology from the University of Maryland, College Park. She frequently presents nationally on topics related to assessment, autism spectrum disorders, and early childhood development. She teaches in a graduate psychology program and provides autism assessment and consultation at Total Education Solutions in Fairlawn, Ohio and where she serves as lead clinical psychologist.
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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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Alexandria English
Alexandria English is a Board Certified and Licensed Behavior Analyst, making a difference through her work in Fayette County Public Schools. English graduated with a master's of education in foundations of applied behavior analysis from the University of Cincinnati.
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Miranda Evans
Miranda Evans has been teaching students with moderate to intensive disabilities in kindergarten through fourth grade at the Perrysburg School District for the last 8 years and has been doing so with the guiding philosophy that all students are capable of learning when the right supports are in place. Evans has a master of education in curriculum and instruction from the University of Toledo and completed her undergraduate coursework at Bloomsburg University. She currently lives in Temperance, Michigan, with her husband, two children, and their dogs.
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Erin Farrell
Erin Fitzgerald Farrell, MA, BCBA, is an adjunct professor and doctoral candidate at the University of St. Thomas. Farrell 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.
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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 and the current president of the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) - Ohio Chapter. 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 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, Fede continues to meet her sensory needs by seeking extreme physical activity.
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Jennifer Feinstein
Jennifer Feinstein, MSW, is a case manager in The Daniel Jordan Fiddle Foundation Transition and Adult Programs at UM-NSU Center for Autism and Related Disabilities. Feinstein has a master's degree in social work from Barry University and a BA in psychology from the University of Virginia. Her focus at CARD is employment of adults with autism; she works with individuals, local employers, and community partners to support the employment needs of this population with the ultimate goal of getting people to work. Feinstein is also the proud parent of a 27-year old son with ASD who has recently graduated from the University of Alabama and has now entered the workforce.
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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. Ferguson is the proud dad of 3 children with various medical diagnoses.
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Chris Filler
Chris Filler is a special projects manager and co-manager of the Multi-System Navigation Center at OCALI. Filler is a registered nurse and has worked with individuals/families with ASD and developmental disabilities for over 30 years in roles that include program director of the OCALI Lifespan Transitions Center, early intervention service coordinator, family resource specialist, autism/behavior consultant, and private consultant. Her current efforts focus on improving support for multi-system youth with dual diagnoses of developmental disabilities and mental health challenges and their families.
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Bobbie Fiori
Bobbie Fiori, PhD, is the assistant superintendent-curriculum and special services in Beavercreek City Schools. She has worked as an intervention specialist for four years and as a school psychologist and special education supervisor for 11 years. Fiori facilitates the multi-tiered system of support, which includes behavior, social/emotional learning, and curriculum advancements. She also co-facilitates the Beavercreek Behavior Support Team and conducts autism-specific evaluations. In addition to her role as the assistant superintendent, she has worked as an adjunct professor at the University of Dayton, teaching school psychology and educational leadership classes for over 15 years.
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Margaret Fischer
Margaret Fischer has been an intervention specialist for 9 years, and has master's degrees in the areas of behavioral analysis and educational administration and leadership. Fischer has a strong background in social emotional learning, positive behavioral interventions and supports, and providing trauma-informed care best practices while working with students. Fischer is an employee of the Education Service Center of Central Ohio and works with a partner mental health agency to provide a school program with specialized education services for adolescent students receiving mental health treatment.
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Alisha Fletcher
Alisha Fletcher works at the Center for Disabilities Studies (CDS) at the University of Delaware as the director of the Delaware Network for Excellence in Autism (DNEA). As the director of the DNEA, Fletcher oversees projects that provide resources, training, and technical assistance that benefit individuals with autism, their families, and the professionals who serve them. As a licensed clinical social worker, she is certified in parent-child interaction therapy and trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy. Fletcher earned her master's degree in social work from the University of Pennsylvania and is a doctoral candidate in the DSW clinical social work program.
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Megan Flowers
Megan is an Education Program Specialist, Office for Exceptional Children, Ohio Department of Education. Megan is a K-12 Mod - Intensive Special Education Intervention Specialist (Reading Endorsement) and PreK-6 Principal. She holds a Master's Degree in Educational Leadership from The University of Cincinnati and studied at The Ohio State University. Her experience includes working with students that have orthopedic impairments, low incidence disabilities, are medically fragile and have complex communication needs. She serves on the Diverse Learner team as the Low Incidence and Sensory Disabilities consultant (B/VI, D/HH, DB, autism, traumatic brain injury, multiple disabilities).
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Kim Floyd
Kim Floyd received her PhD from Old Dominion University in special education with an emphasis in early childhood education. She joined the special education department at West Virginia University after teaching at East Carolina since 1992. She has been a member of the American Council on Rural Special Education (ACRES) since joining the faculty at WVU, and in 2015 became the co-coordinator for ACRES headquarters. Her main lines of inquiry are assistive technology, early childhood inclusive practices, rural education, teacher preparation, and trauma informed practices. Her publications are focused on both independent research and practitioners.
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Jessica Folsom
Jessica Folsom is a program administrator at Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities (OOD) who is assigned to Transition Youth and Pre-Employment Transition Services. She has worked in various positions at OOD for over ten years and was previously a rehabilitation program specialist and vocational rehabilitation counselor. Prior to working at OOD, she held positions in the field of vocational rehabilitation and worked specifically with injured workers and veterans. She currently maintains her certified rehabilitation counselor certification through the Commission on Rehabilitation Counselor Certification and Work Incentives Practitioner certification through Cornell University.
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Kelly Fonner
Kelly Fonner, MS, is a self-employed consultant and trainer in assistive and educational technology. Since 1986, she has presented to schools, universities, and families across the US & internationally in Australia, Canada, and South Africa. She presents on a wide range of topics including technology integration, augmentative communication, computer access, literacy, electronic writing, organizers, assistive technology assessment, and implementation strategies. Her website is www.kellyfonner.com
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Catherine Fowler
Catherine Fowler is project co-director for the NTACT:C. Fowler is also an adjunct instructor of graduate and undergraduate courses in transition methods and collaborative service delivery at the University of North Carolina-Charlotte and supports technical assistance and research on other US 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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Jessica Fox
Jessica Fox has a BA in child development and family studies and is currently a MSW student. Fox is the multi-system youth and family coach for OCALI in southern Ohio. In addition to her OCALI work, she has advocated for and worked with youth and families in the school and community settings for the previous 10 years. She also has two children who have inspired her along the way.
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Maurice Frank
Maurice Frank has been active in central Scotland's autistic community for 20 years, primarily focusing on ethics of safe inclusion and against language militancy. Throughout his childhood and school years, Frank discovered he was autistic. He has contributed to libertarian education journals, advises parents, and is a founding part of ANS's work informing professionals.
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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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Samantha Frederick
Samantha Frederick has been a paraprofessional for 9 years for Perrysburg schools. Frederick is trained in a multitude of strategies to support students with disabilities. She is currently the lead paraprofessional and a member of the Ohio Partnership of Excellence in Paraprofessional Preparation team (OPEPP).
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Maggie Freeman
Maggie Freeman received her PsyD in clinical psychology and an interdisciplinary autism certificate from Eastern Kentucky University in 2020. She completed her pre-doctoral internship at Child and Adolescent Behavioral Services, a community mental health agency in Canton, Ohio, and a post-doctoral fellowship at Pediatric Psychological Associates, a private practice in Louisville, Kentucky. Her clinical interests include working with children and adolescents with a wide range of emotional and behavioral challenges and developmental differences. Her research has focused on topics such as intervention planning, interprofessional leadership, and assessment of autism spectrum disorders.
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Suzzanne Freeze
Suzzanne Freeze 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 30 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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Amy Gaffney
Amy Moore Gaffney, MA, 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. Gaffney brings to her presentations experiences 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, MEd, 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. Gagliardi 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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Cathy Galyon
Cathy Galyon, associate professor at East Tennessee State University, earned a MEd and an EdD in early childhood special education and a post doctoral degree in distance education. She has taught 6-8 reading, birth-3 early intervention, preschool special education, and k-5 students w/ significant disabilities. She researches and presents on assistive technology, online learning, and special education in rural areas. Her most recent publication, "Overcoming Barriers: Use of Assistive Technology to Access Curriculum," appeared in Teaching Exceptional Children. She is the chair of the executive board of American Council on Rural Special Education (ACRES).
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Chris Gandelot
Christina Gandelot works for the Ohio Department of Medicaid as part of the OhioRISE policy team where she is the subject matter expert for the OhioRISE 1915(c) waiver. Prior to joining the Ohio Department of Medicaid, Gandelot worked for the Ohio Department of Aging, overseeing incident management for the PASSPORT and assisted living waivers. Gandelot began her career at the state level at the Ohio Department of Developmental Disabilities (DODD) where she oversaw the development and implementation of their SELF Waiver, and was DODD's Medicaid policy liaison for the individual options and level one waivers.
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Julie Gentile
Julie P. Gentile, MD, iMBA, is a chair and professor at Wright State University, department of psychiatry. She is the medical director for Ohio's Telepsychiatry Project for IDD (which serves more than 2,300 patients with IDD from 87 counties in Ohio) and the project director for Ohio's Mental Illness Developmental Disabilities Coordinating Center of Excellence. She 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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Hedayat Ghazali
Hedayat Ghazali is a PhD student in educational psychology and methodology at the University at Albany. He holds a BS in psychology and an MS in educational psychology and methodology from the same university. His research interests lie in the field of human development, specifically in neurodevelopmental disorders like autism spectrum disorder. Ghazali's goal is to identify the issues faced by children with disabilities, especially ASD, and their families in underdeveloped countries. He hopes to bring attention to the concerns and needs of these children among researchers, local governments, and the public. Ghazali has previously conducted studies on ASD in the Middle East.
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Taylor Gibbons
Taylor Gibbons has a bachelor's in intervention specialist education from Walsh University North Canton, and a master's in teaching and learning with an educational technology endorsement from Bowling Green State University. Currently, Gibbons is a 5th grade intervention specialist at North Ridgeville City Schools, and is a Council for Exceptional Children-Ohio unit mentoring and membership committee chair.
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Kate Gladstone
Kate Gladstone, MLS, is a self-advocate and internationally-respected specialist in handwriting instruction and remediation. Her professional and advocacy work includes publication in the Autism Advocate, the Autism Spectrum News, and the blog-site of the Autism Society of America. Her handwriting intervention materials include published courseware, journal publication, the cursive comprehension guide Read Cursive Fast (National Autism Resources, 2021). She is currently compiling her entire handwriting instruction methodology for series publication.
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Jane Goetz
Jane Goetz received her MS in cross-categorical special education in 2000, her endorsement in ESOL in 2003, and a dual certificate in ASD in 2009. She worked as a paraeducator for 12 years in the Hays, KS, school district in special education and inclusive classrooms and as the low-incidence consultant for the Northwest Kansas Educational Service Center in Oakley, KS, for nine years. She currently works for TASN Autism and Tertiary Behavior Supports.
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Emme Goldhardt
Emme Goldhardt is a Jewish, autistic, cat and plant mom, yoga and Ayurveda practicing, artsy-craftsy-musical nerd with a heart of gold (and titanium - it's an ICD pacemaker). Goldhardt is passionate about bringing autism/disability awareness & inclusion into her faith community (and Judaism as whole). By studying rituals, the Torah, and observing traditions, Goldhardt is able to regulate and manage the challenges of autism. She has written and given several D'var Torah (sermons). One D'var Torah was recently published on the Union for Reform Judaism website. She has been taking ongoing Hebrew lessons, loves chanting Torah, and finding magic in the seemingly ordinary.
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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 equipped to create learning experiences that are accessible, engaging, and fun. She is an instructional design specialist 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, and privately consults in AT, AEM, and UDL.
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Maggie Gons
Maggie Gons, MA, CCC-SLP, is the early childhood professional development manager in OCALI's Center for the Young Child. She coordinates, trains, and provides technical assistance for several initiatives including the Autism Diagnostic Education Project (ADEP), PLAY Project autism intervention, and Pivotal Response Treatment (PRT) for Ohio early intervention professionals. Gons continues to practice as a speech-language pathologist and is both a certified PLAY Project and Teaching PLAY consultant. In addition, she is a trained PLAY Project supervisor and a 2020 graduate of ASHA's 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. He 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. He 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, MEd, 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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Meg Grigal
Meg Grigal, PhD, is the co-director of Think College, a research, technical assistance, and evaluation center 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 providers, as well as higher education personnel, supporting the use of evidenced based practice related to transition services, inclusive college access, and employment.
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Rachel Grim
Rachel Grim, MA, is an autism specialist for a school district in north Texas. She has a master's of art in applied behavior analysis from the University of North Texas. Grim has served students in special education and their families for over 8 years, seven of those years focusing on autism. As an autism specialist, she assists educators and families to achieve best long-term outcomes for students on the spectrum. Additionally, as an adult on the spectrum, she is able to offer personalized and relevant insight to families and providers. Grim presents at district and regional conferences.
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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. Grossman has authored books, textbook chapters, and journal articles. Grossman, along with his co-author, Dr. Ruth Aspy, wrote The Ziggurat Model, which earned the Literary Achievement Award from the Autism Society, and is being used successfully throughout the United States and internationally. Grossman serves on the Autism Society of America's panel of professional advisors.
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Jessica Grubaugh
Jessica Grubaugh has worked in higher education and teacher preparation for 17 years and currently serves as the associate dean for the Jetter School of Professional Studies at Mount Vernon Nazarene University. She holds a master's of arts in education mild/moderate intervention specialist and a doctor of education in organizational leadership/higher education leadership. Grubaugh has led several major curriculum development initiatives to provide pathways to teaching for adults seeking a career change and to better prepare educators to work in inclusive settings. She also serves as the co-chair of the policy committee for the Ohio Deans Compact on Exceptional Children.
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Andrew Haber
Andrew Haber, JD, is diagnosed with Asperger's, OCD, and other neuropsychological diagnoses related to motor control, speech, and socialization. He attended regular classes in New York City public schools along with speech therapy. After earning his JD degree, Haber worked for 31 years as a tax attorney in the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. In 1993, he married Kate Gladstone, who has neuropsychological diagnoses similar to his. Together, they started a company, Handwriting Repair/Handwriting That Works, which provides presentations and instructions on handwriting instruction and remediation from a universal design perspective.
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Amany Habib
Amany Habib teaches diversity courses in the school of education at the University of West Florida. Habib's education is in teaching English to speakers of other languages in k-12, as well as adult education with a research agenda that focuses primarily on teacher education, refugees, cross-cultural/intercultural communication, and teaching English to diverse learners. She developed and taught a number of courses both at the graduate and undergraduate levels for teacher preparation. She is also an editorial reviewer for International Journal of Teacher Education and Professional Development - IGI Global, as well as a guest reviewer for a few other journals.
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Dan Habib
Dan Habib is the Inclusive Communities Project Director at the Westchester Institute for Human Development and the founder of LikeRightNow Films. He in the public awareness consult for the “Think Higher. Think College” campaign, and the Director and Producer of Intelligent Lives, Including Samuel, Who Cares About Kelsey?, and Mr. Connolly Has ALS. His current project is My Disability Roadmap, which he is Co-Directing with his son Samuel Habib. Habib served on President Barack Obama’s President’s Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities from 2014-2017. Habib and his wife, Betsy McNamara, live in Concord, NH, and have two sons: Isaiah, 26, and Samuel, 23.
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Ken Hackbarth
Ken Hackbarth is the president of Volksswitch.org, an organization devoted to the democratization of assistive technology by leveraging the power and promise of 3D printing. Prior to his current position, he worked for almost three decades as a systems architect for AT&T Bell Laboratories and its subsequent divestitures. He has a master of science in systems engineering from the University of Arizona and a master of education in special education with a concentration in assistive technology from Bowling Green State University. He has presented topics on 3D printing, keyguards and tactile symbols at Closing the Gap, ATIA, and CSUN.
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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 provide AAC consulting services and teaches professional development coursework in assistive technology and AAC in partnership with the West Virginia Department of Education.
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Jennifer Hakko
Jennifer Hakko received her master of speech and hearing science at Cleveland State University in 2011. She has worked with children with developmental disabilities since her student placement at Sunbeam Elementary in Cleveland, Ohio. Currently, she helps students with their communication needs, as well as helping them transition to adult day programs through the Lorain County Board of Developmental Disabilities Murray Ridge Opportunity and Vocational Centers. She has been an speech language pathologist at Murray Ridge for nearly eight years.
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Jamie Hall
Jamie Hall graduated from The Ohio State University school psychology program in 2019. She is a psychology postdoctoral fellow at a private practice in Dublin, Ohio, and works part-time as a school psychologist in Springfield City School District. She has lectured at The Ohio State University, teaching graduate courses on interprofessional collaboration and counseling children in schools. Hall has presented at national, state, and local conferences on a wide range of topics, including suicide prevention/postvention, school reentry following hospitalization, and mental health. She has spoken about suicide postvention on talk shows such as "All Sides" with Ann Fisher.
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Maria Hamdani
Maria Hamdani is an associate professor of management in the College of Business at the University of Akron. She teaches courses in organizational behavior and human resources management. Her research focuses on employee wellbeing and leadership, and neurodiverse employees. She has published in leading journals, including Journal of Applied Psychology, Leadership Quarterly, Human Resource Management Review, MIT Sloan Management Review, and Journal of Management Education. She serves as an associate editor for the Journal of Management Education and Journal of Managerial Psychology. She serves on the board of United Disability Services.
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Narmene Hamsho
Narmene Hamsho is an assistant professor in the School of Psychology and Counseling at Fairleigh Dickinson University. She received her PhD in school psychology from Syracuse University and was a post-doctoral research fellow on grant-funded project to develop an autism-focused professional development program for K-2nd grade teachers. As a licensed psychologist and certified school psychologist, Hamsho has consulted with teachers, families, and schools to successfully facilitate the implementation of educational and behavioral supports for students with disabilities. Hamsho aims to use her research to identify the best way to help autistic students to achieve academic success.
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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. Hansen has over ten years' experience in preschool, clinical, and home intervention settings. Her 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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Elizabeth Harkins
Elizabeth A. Harkins, EdD, 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. 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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Sara Harris
Sara Harris has over 11 years of experience working as an intervention specialist. She has worked in junior high and high school programs that serve students with mild to intense needs. Harris has worked as a transition coordinator, and currently facilitates students transitioning from junior high to high school. She co-led the southwest Ohio MAP team that works with OCALI and Ohio Means Jobs, which helps families navigate through the transition process. Harris was the 2017 Project Excellence Teacher of the Year and served as a mentor teacher. She has been working closely with the autism coaching team, which helps educators implement evidence-based practices to support their 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. Harshaw 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 and Community Outreach Center Program.
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Laura Hartmann-Villalta
Laura Hartmann-Villalta, PhD, is a white feminist Latina and the older sister of an adult non-verbal autistic man. She is a lecturer at Johns Hopkins University. Hartmann-Villalta routinely presents at national and international conferences on life with a sibling with autism and on her academic interests. She holds a BA in Spanish philology from St. Louis University, Madrid, a master's in English literature from Virginia Tech University, a master's in Spanish and Latin American literature from St. Louis University, and a PhD in English literature from Northeastern University.
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Elise Harward
Elise Harward, CRC, LVRC, is the pre-employment service contract specialist for the State of Utah Office of Rehabilitation. Prior to her current position she worked as a rehabilitation counselor, substance use counselor, and WIOA youth counselor. She obtained a masters of rehabilitation from Utah State University. She is a member of the Utah post-secondary team and the Wasatch school district transition board. She has taught job readiness workshops, attended IEPs, and served on committees within high schools. She is an advocate for students with disabilities.
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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. 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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Madison Haynes
Madison Haynes is a proud Ohio University alum where she graduated from the Scripps College of Communication with her bachelor of science in communications, an associate in arts, and a social media certificate. She currently works for Krile Communications, a public relations firm located in Sugar Grove, Ohio. Through her work at Krile Communications, Haynes has helped brands large and small tell their story through the power of social media. She also has in-depth personal experience with social media platforms. Haynes can often be found creating content for her personal or small business TikTok pages, which have accumulated over 200k followers to date.
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Erin Hendricks
Erin Hendricks is a lifelong special educator that works consultatively with parents, community leaders, and administrators to create inclusive environments for those with special needs. She has over 17 years of experience in the world of sped with roles as an inclusion teacher, community-based teacher, positive behavior specialist, and district administrator, to name a few. Hendricks specializes in behavioral modification in the classroom setting and working with early elementary students who are developmentally delayed and/or on the autism spectrum.
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Heather Herbster
I was raised in Puerto Rico. In 2018, after a hurricane devastated the island, I moved to Cleveland because I had family here. In 2020, I had my daughter Lumanni, my precious gift from God. We found out when she was 4 weeks old that she had a profound hearing loss and was deaf. It took us by surprise but since then me and my family have been very determined to give her access to every language and effective ways of communication. It is very important for me to teach her sign language and expose her to the deaf community because that is a big part of who she is. She is two now and we both keep learning while we grow, me as a parent and her as the amazing girl she is.
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Tina Herzberg
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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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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Mandi Hinton
Mandi Hinton AuD, is an audiologist at the Ohio School for the Deaf and the Ohio State School for the Blind. She provides educational evaluations for deaf and hard of hearing, deafblind, and blind or visually impaired students through statewide services and outreach and often travels across the state to administer functional listening evaluations. Hinton has a special focus on evaluating and serving students with complex learning needs.
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Lisa Hite
Lisa Hite has 28 years of experience in the field of education. As an educator, she has taught at the elementary, middle school, and high school levels. After 12 years as a classroom teacher, she spent 11 years working with staff and students as an administrator at a career center. Currently, Hite works with State Support Team, primarily serving those in career tech education in SST regions 1 and 6. She is an advocate for UDL and has presented at OCALICON in previous years. She has also presented at the National High Schools That Work summer conference and the Ohio ACTE summer conference.
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Hal Hixson
Hal Hixson is a web designer and developer focusing on accessibility and usability in online technologies. He has worked for the past 10 years, both in freelance and full-time capacities, for various educational and non-profit organizations. Most recently, he has concentrated on content/learning management systems and collaboration platforms that combine standards-based development methods with clean and simple designs.
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Tracey Hoffman
Tracey Hoffman has been at Miami University for over 16 years and is an associate professor in the department of education and society, and coordinator of the pre-kindergarten associate degree program. She earned her doctorate from the University of Cincinnati in early childhood special education. She has a master's degree from the University of Cincinnati, and a bachelor's degree from Bowling Green State University. Her research interests include characteristics of quality childcare programs and non-traditional students in teacher education programs. In addition, Hoffman is also interested in the collaboration between early childhood teachers and education professionals.
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Nicole Holder
Nicole Holder is an Upper Arlington City Schools intervention specialist in the Individualized Needs Center (INC). She works with 14-21-year-olds and teaches from the extended standards, as well as creating functional and vocational learning opportunities for her students. She utilizes community-based instruction and work-based learning experiences. Holder is pursuing her master's from BGSU in special education: secondary transition with a TTW endorsement. Holder has incorporated peer collaborators into her school program this year, and as a former peer herself, she uses her experiences to help train students to be positive role models in classes with all types of students.
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Rachael Holland
Rachael Holland has a background in non-profit community organizing and advocacy, working within underserved communities around workplace reforms. Since having children and working as the Bexley City School's parent mentor, she has used those skills to support parents and staff navigating the special education process. She works in collaboration with the Bexley Special Education PTO, a school-based parent organization that provides parent training and advocates for accessibility in the schools and community. She is also the mother of a child with a disability and was diagnosed with her own hidden learning disability in adulthood.
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Alana Holsapple
Alana Holsapple, BS, is a second year doctoral student at Wright State University's School of Professional Psychology. She received her bachelor's degree in psychology from Bluffton University. Her clinical interests are play therapy, OCD, and anxiety disorders. She serves as a selection committee and faculty committee member at SOPP. She is a member of the American Psychological Association and the Association for Play Therapy. Holsapple and colleagues presented a poster at APA's 2022 Annual Conference on fetal alcohol disorder in international adoptees. She also presented on the benefits, challenges, and problems of social media to Systems of Care for Multisystem Youth ECHO (2021).
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Annemarie Horn
Annemarie L. Horn, PhD, is an assistant professor of special education in the department of teacher education and leadership at Radford University in Radford, Virginia. Her research interests include infusing technology in professional learning and development in pre- and in-service special education teachers and paraeducators, and increasing practical application of evidence-based practices through e-coaching with bug-in-ear technology.
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Brittany Hott
Brittany L. Hott, PhD, 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 southeast Oklahoma schools. Hott is a member of the executive board of the American Council on Rural Special Education.
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Lauren Hough Williams
Lauren Hough Williams is an autism and inclusion specialist, but first, she is an educator. She began her career as a special educator for the NYC Department of Education before working for over a decade to define, refine, and expand the NYU ASD Nest Support Project. Williams is now the executive director of the Program for Inclusion and Neurodiversity Education, which partners with neurodivergent experts to help schools and districts to deepen their system-wide inclusion and neurodiversity practices. Williams is committed to helping school systems understand the needs of neurodiverse school communities so that they can build inclusive classrooms where everyone can thrive.
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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. Houston 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. Houston has supported the Federal Quota program for 19 years.
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Jessica Hovland
Jessica B. Hovland, PhD, is postdoctoral research scholar at Kent State University and adjunct faculty at the University of Northern Colorado. She has served as a department chair and special education teacher in three states. Currently, Hovland is involved in research on transition practices that improve postsecondary outcomes for students with disabilities. Her publications and presentations focus on language and literacy, children adopted internationally with disabilities, inclusion, and transition. Hovland earned her doctoral degree in special education from the University of Northern Colorado.
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Jim Howell
Jim Howell started teaching in 1998 and is currently the band director/music teacher at Osnaburg Local Schools. In 2009, Howell created a music class that includes a performance group for students with special needs at the middle and high school levels. He has presented his methods in a documentary film and at professional conferences for educators, such as Texas Autism Conference, Milestones National Autism Conference, and Ohio Music Education Association Mini-Conference. Howell also works with Advocates for Success, a vocational program for adults with disabilities, is the author of the book A Special Need for Music, and is the creator of the online music program Learn With Drums.
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Stephanie Howell
Stephanie Howell 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 23 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 and their parents, by collaboration within local system supports, advocating for all children to have meaningful inclusion in school and community.
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Anne Hruska
Anne Hruska is a senior English instructor at Stanford Online High School, a school for intellectually curious students that has many twice-exceptional and neurodivergent students. She herself is neurodivergent and is interested in finding ways to help these students thrive in the classroom and beyond. Hruska's specialty is Russian literature, in which she has a PhD from the University of California-Berkeley. She has taught at the college level at Berkeley, the University of Missouri, Stanford University, and the Pedagogical Institute in Saratov, Russia.
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Jill Hudson
Jill Hudson, M.S., CCLS, is an international autism consultant, presenter, and author. She received her master's degree in autism from the University of Kansas and her child life certification from Johns Hopkins Hospital. Hudson was an invited participant at the 2011 Autism Awareness event held at the White House. She has many publications in the field of autism, including multiple articles, chapters, and four books. Hudson co-coordinates OCALICON, works with OCALI's national and state partnerships, is the co-chair of the National Autism Leadership Collaborative (NALC), and previously facilitated NASDSE's federal funded national Community of Practice on ASD.
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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 17 years of teaching experience. He holds a master's degree in applied behavior analysis from The Ohio State University. During his studies at Ohio State, Huffman's research interests targeted behavioral interventions, leading to publications in the journal Behavior Analysis in Practice. Huffman has presented at various conferences in the Midwest including OCALICON, the OHABA Conference, and the ABAI Conference. In addition, he has received several hours of training in using acceptance and commitment therapy techniques to reduce emotional suffering.
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Bailey Hull
Bailey Hull is a third year clinical psychology doctoral student at Eastern Kentucky University. She obtained her master of science in clinical psychology at Eastern Kentucky University and her bachelor of arts in exercise science at Transylvania University. Her clinical interest area is in neurodevelopmental disorder evaluations, specifically with the autism spectrum. She currently conducts school-based assessments and trauma treatment through two private practices and facilitates a social skills group for teens on the autism spectrum at Eastern Kentucky University. Additionally, she is the coordinator for the Whitlock Autism Learning Center at Eastern Kentucky University.
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Shannon Hunter
Shannon Hunter is the family engagement director for OhioRISE. In her role at OhioRISE, she draws on lived expereince of parenting a youth with significant behavioral health challenges or co-occuring disorders. She ensures family voice and choice is woven into OhioRISE and the QI activities and initiatives. She is a US Navy veteran, and pursuing a doctorate at Capella University. She has a master's degree in social work from University of Akron.
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Amy Huppi
Amy Huppi is the program coordinator for the State Employment Leadership Network within the Institute for Community Inclusion at the University of Massachusetts Boston. Huppi has worked in various direct care and management roles and in state government over the last ten years. Her current work focuses on supporting case managers to develop competencies in the employment process and developing resources and opportunities for state employment leaders to learn promising practices in employment supports.
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Beth Hurt
Beth Hurt, PhD, is an assistant professor at Wright State University's School of Professional Psychology, where she has the opportunity to mentor PsyD students who are committed to becoming health service psychologists who value integrity, social justice, and cultural humility. She teaches courses in assessment, research methods, lifespan development, and child therapy. She has conducted and presented clinical research designed to improve care for children with autism spectrum disorders, ADHD, and disruptive behavior by evaluating assessment methods, prevention strategies, evidence-based intervention, and complementary/alternative approaches to care.
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Enid Hurtado
Enid Hurtado earned her BA in special education with a concentration in moderate and severe disabilities from San Diego State University. She received her MEd in ABA from Arizona State University and is currently a University of Louisville doctoral program student. Her research interests are recruiting and retention of special education staff and effectively implementing AAC strategies with students in rural school districts. She taught for ten years in grades k-12 in urban and rural school districts, specializing in supporting autistic students, inclusion, and assistive technology. She currently coaches school staff through her work at the Kentucky Autism Training Center.
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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). Ibbotson 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. 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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Paula Jablonski
Paula Jablonski has more than 20 years' experience working with students with autism and intellectual disabilities. She is the principal of PACTT Learning Center's Therapeutic Day School and Transition Programs, which she has led since 2006. Jablonski's other areas of professional interest include leadership, program development, and school culture.
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Vicki Jacobs
Vicki Jacobs is an educational program specialist in the Office of Early Learning and School Readiness at the Ohio Department of Education. Jacobs collaborates with educators and administrators supporting a variety of state-wide early learning and literacy-based initiatives and enjoyed working with children of all ages as a literacy intervention specialist and classroom teacher. Jacobs earned her bachelor of science degree at the University of Toledo in elementary education, and a master of arts degree from The Ohio State University with concentrations in integrated teaching and learning and reading and literacy in early and middle childhood.
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Greta James Maxfield
Greta James Maxfield serves as a family support team member and coordinator of the medical education program for Texas Parent to Parent. Her personal parenting experience includes the jolt of her beloved son's neurological differences emerging and the eventual autism diagnosis as well as pandemic style educational services at transition from high school. She is a Family Advocacy Network member collaborating with the Texas Emergency Services for Children to improve prehospital preventative care and community practices, the medical home, disaster response, and emergency care for children.
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Matt Jameson
J. Matt Jameson is an associate professor in special education at the University of Utah. His primary research interests include instructional strategies and inclusive educational procedures for students with significant cognitive disabilities. He has authored and coauthored articles and book chapters focused on the provision of a free and appropriate public education and highly qualified special education teachers, instructional strategies used to support students with significant cognitive disabilities in inclusive settings, and evaluations of distance education and teacher preparation programs. He is currently the program coordinator for the low incidence disability program.
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Rylie Jarrett
Rylie Jarrett obtained her bachelor's degree from Bowling Green State University and is currently a licensed K-12 intervention specialist. For the past six years, Jarrett has been the lead teacher in an elementary cross categorical resource room servicing students in grades K-4. In 2022, Jarrett received her master's degree from the University of Cincinnati in applied behavior analysis. She focuses daily on making motivating visuals tailored to her students' needs and interests that are reinforcing and engaging. She prides herself on embedding daily structured activities within her students individualized visual schedules to help her staff and students' carry out breaks with ease.
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Susan Jewel
Susan Baylis Jewel, CCHW, is the manager of family support, guiding an amazing team of family support specialists to support parents, educators, and professionals who are raising or supporting an individual with ASD. She teaches parenting classes as a parent coach and works one-on-one with families as they navigate their journey. Jewel has spent the last 18 years working with families to provide with the same education and support that she received through TAP. She is trained in PECS and as TEACCH Level 1.
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Beverley Johns
Beverley Johns has over 40 years' experience working with students with special needs in Illinois. She was the administrator of a specialized school for students with emotional behavioral disorders and also was a retired professional fellow at MacMurray College. She is the author of 25 books, many of which are about working with students with behavioral issues. She now is a learning and behavior consultant and is the president of the Learning Disabilities Association of Illinois.
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Gabrielle Johnson
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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Carolyn Johnston
Carolyn Johnston is the creative director of the Open Door Stage and Screen program. (ODSS). ODSS serves individuals with developmental disabilities through the art of the theater. Johnston has been in service to the IDD community for over 15 years, combining skills of compassionate care with a desire for creativity. Johnston has been a practicing fine artist in Columbus, with many public displays of her work.
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Alisa Jones
Alisa M. Jones, MEd, is an educational leader with over 12 years of experience in the field. She is passionate about developing proactive solutions to increase learner engagement through innovative instructional and social emotional learning (SEL) practices. Jones graduated from Robert Morris University with a BS in elementary education and MEd in special education, and Cleveland State University with a MEd in education leadership. She is endorsed by ASSET science and mindfulness practices. In addition to providing professional development on UDL and SEL practices, she has co-authored publications that support capacity building for assistive technology within the educational setting.
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Staci Jones
Staci Jones is a senior policy specialist with the ICI at Umass Boston where she supports the SELN and provider transformation efforts. Jones began her career in the disability support field 30 years ago working as a direct support professional (DSP) in a group home. She has worked in various capacities at disability service provider agencies and has also acted as the statewide employment services coordinator with the Maryland Department of Developmental Disabilities. Her career has focused on delivering person-centered services and supporting systems change and holistic provider transformation to increase employment and community life engagement outcomes.
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Nate Kamban
Nate Kamban serves as the superintendent for the Tuscarawas County Board of Developmental Disabilities where he partners alongside individuals with developmental disabilities to advocate for a more inclusive community. He previously served as the agency's transitional superintendent and community relations coordinator. Before returning to Ohio, he worked directly with individuals with disabilities in Africa while serving as the project manager for a community development project focused on equitable water access. Kamban holds BA degrees in international studies and French from the University of Mount Union along with a MA degree from the University of Pittsburgh in international development.
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Dylan Kapit
Dylan Kapit has a BA in education and psychology from Barnard College of Columbia University, and a master's in special education from Teacher's College of Columbia University. They are currently a doctoral student in special education and equity and justice scholar at the School of Education at the University of Pittsburgh, where their doctoral work focuses on creating a queer and trans inclusive, autistic focused sex education curriculum.
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Lauri Kaplan
Lauri Kaplan, a parent mentor at the Ohio State School for the Blind, 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 Kaplan. She has watched her son benefit from alternative computer input devices utilizing morse code, screen readers, and Alexa. She holds a bachelor of fine art from The Ohio State University.
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Tara Kelly
Tara Kelly is an educational consultant at the Pennsylvania Training and Technical Assistance Network (PaTTAN) in Malvern, PA. She is the project director for the PA Deaf-Blind Project, and also serves on the deaf/hard of hearing and family engagement initiatives. A veteran teacher of the deaf and administrator, Kelly is passionate about accessible learning experience design, family partnership, and leveraging educational technology to reduce barriers to opportunity and engagement. She and her partner, Brian, are proud parents to twins Tommy and Will; they have been blessed by neurodiversity, as Brian and Tommy, in addition to several other family members, are autistic.
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Susan Kelso
Susan Kelso has been involved with the autistic and autism communities for over 30 years. Her passion for the autistic community is the driving force in her life and career. Currently, Kelso is an information and resource specialist serving autistic individuals, their families, and service providers throughout the U.S. She is a content developer, specializing in state-of-the-art instructional materials for autistic young adults and adults, with an emphasis on relationships, health and wellness, and life skills. Kelso is a published author and researcher and has taught at the college and graduate levels, consulted with school districts, and directed a non-public school for autistic children.
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Kelsey Kepple
Kelsey Kepple is an early childhood supervisor at Youngstown City School District. She has worked in the field of education for 8 years as a special education teacher, intervention lead, and early childhood supervisor. As an early childhood supervisor, Kepple created an online system to ensure licensing and Step Up to Quality requirements and has completed learning tours that focused on supporting teachers with implementing new curricula with fidelity for all students in the inclusion classrooms. She has collaborated with the preschool staff to analyze literacy data and choose researched-based strategies for intervention and provide professional development in areas of need.
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Alexis Kirk
Alexis Kirk has worked for the Region 14 State Support Team for the last 10 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. Kirk's best days are working alongside professionals coaching them toward their goals and celebrating their successes.
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Anita Kliewer
Anita Kliewer, MEd, is a licensed and board certified behavior analyst who has been in public education over 10 years. She has published in Special Education Research: Policy & Practice and Proceedings of Society for Information Technology & Teacher Education. She has presented at local, district, and state conferences, as well as volunteered services at State Supported Living Centers, Head Start Programs, and private education centers in the United States and India. As the parent of an adult on the autism spectrum, Kliewer's interests include training parents and educators about best practices for successful long-term outcomes.
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Emily Knapke
Emily Knapke earned her bachelor's of science in education and her master's degree in special education from Wright State University. Knapke is a PLAY and Teaching PLAY consultant, providing services in several Ohio counties. She has experience as an intervention specialist in the classroom setting, as well as an early intervention specialist supporting families in their homes. She has presented PLAY and Teaching PLAY trainings to early intervention teams and school districts throughout Ohio. Knapke is passionate about supporting families and educators to help each child reach their full potential.
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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 and 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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Michelle Kocar
Michelle Kocar, EdD, coordinates and supervises interns in the Baldwin Wallace University principal/superintendent licensure programs. Kocar has more than 25 years' experience as a teacher/administrator in suburban and urban districts of 1,700-10,000 plus students. She taught in inclusive classrooms as core teacher (all subjects) under dual licensure (regular/special education) and served as administrator for elementary, high school, and district levels. Kocar was a value-added leader for Ohio Department of Education/Battelle for Kids. She provides K-12 support to increase student growth as well as data analytics, school improvement, strategic planning, and curriculum/assessment/instruction.
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Karen Koehler
Karen E. Koehler, PhD, 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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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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Colleen Kornish
Colleen Kornish, MEd, 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. Kornish is an equity and inclusion advocate, an OLi4 coach, and also helps support community schools in Region 9. Kornish was an elementary principal prior to becoming a consultant at SST9. She is a mom to two teenagers.
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Reena Kothari
Reena Kothari, AuD, is a public health audiology consultant for the Ohio Department of Health in the infant hearing program. She participated in the passage of the universal newborn hearing screening legislation and the development of legislative rules, and has assisted with the implementation of hearing screening in Ohio birthing hospitals. She has developed public awareness materials, trainings, developed state and national level presentations for the Ohio Department of Health's infant hearing program. Kothari is co-author of a publication for the American Academy of Pediatrics and a co-author for the Ohio COACH protocol for the diagnostic testing after newborn hearing screening.
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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 pre-service teachers to unleash the academic excellence of their students. His work among teachers in the Palestinian West Bank has been a highlight of the past several years, and his current endeavors include microteaching, cartooning, and visual facilitation.
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Panda Krouse
Panda Krouse received her MA in special education from University of Alabama Birmingham. Her love for people with autism began in high school and her enthusiasm for autism intervention has remained through 40 years as an educator. Her roles have included early childhood, elementary resources, dyslexia intervention, self-contained, and now, autism specialist for Denton ISD. Her primary responsibility is coordinating the implementation of the Texas Education Agency Innovative Services for Autism grant. The grant broadened the scope of the communication classrooms where evidence-based practices rooted in applied behavior analysis are essential to teaching functional communication skills.
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Nina Kuei
Nina Kuei, MD, is currently a second-year developmental behavioral pediatrics fellow at University Hospitals Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital in Cleveland, Ohio. Her interests include autism spectrum disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, sleep disorders, and diversity, equity, and inclusion. She attended medical school at Medical College of Georgia in Augusta, Georgia, and completed her pediatrics residency at Helen DeVos Children's Hospital in Grand Rapids, Michigan. She has presented on the national level regarding challenging cases in pediatric sleep behavior and medical interventions, as well as on the topic of microaggressions.
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Brenny Kummer
Brenny Kummer is the assistant director of educational 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. Kummer has a passion for UDL and experience teaching in a full inclusion setting. She has presented at 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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Amanda La Guardia
Amanda C. La Guardia is an associate professor and counseling programs coordinator in the School of Human Services within the College of Education, Criminal Justice, and Human Services at the University of Cincinnati. Licensed to practice as a professional counselor in Ohio, she is also a nationally certified counselor. She received her PhD from Old Dominion University in Norfolk, VA, in counseling. Her research interests focus on professional identity development, collaborative and interdisciplinary mental health care, family crisis, gender issues, and non-suicidal self-injurious behaviors (suicide-related behaviors/self-directed violence).
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Hannah LaMarca
Hannah LaMarca is a current undergraduate researcher at Northern Illinois University. She graduated with a bachelor's degree in the spring of 2023, and will continue pursuing higher education. She has been accepted into the speech-language pathology graduate program at Northern and cannot wait to launch into her studies. LaMarca is interested in a variety of pediatric speech-language pathology settings, but hopes to grow her passion for pediatric swallowing and feeding in particular.
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Nicole Lambright
Nicci Lambright earned a PhD in psychology with a specialization in educational psychology and a focus on curriculum and instruction in early 2022 from Capella University. She also has a BS in special education from Ohio State University and a master's in Intervention from MVNU. Lambright has just come to MVNU after many years of teaching in public education at the high school level where she served as an intervention specialist with the English department and taught CCP courses in psychology. Lambright is currently teaching primarily in the GPS department, however she is also teaching some traditional courses as well.
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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, Lanou 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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Sara Larkin
Sara Larkin taught high school math for 18 years before becoming the statewide math consultant for the Iowa Educational Services for the blind and visually impaired in 2007. She supports educators across Iowa and provides trainings on Nemeth Code, math technology, tactile graphics, abacus, and math teaching strategies for the blind. She is a co-author of the Pearson Nemeth Curriculum and Learning and Teaching the Nemeth Code within UEB Contexts: A Step-by-Step Guide. She is also a consultant for Project INSPIRE: Increasing the STEM Potential of Individuals Who Read Braille.
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Alicia LaRouech
Alicia LaRouech is currently a speech-language pathology graduate student at Northern Illinois University. Her primary research interests involve language acquisition in children with autism spectrum disorder and augmentative and alternative communication. She has presented research at the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association's 2022 Convention.
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Mia Laudato
Mia Laudato received her MSEd in exceptional student education specializing in learning disabilities and emotional behavioral disorders from the University of Miami. She currently provides professional development and coaching support for staff in Florida and throughout the country on UDL, instructional and assistive technology, ASD, AEM, IEP goal writing, data tracking, accommodations, teaching students with significant disabilities, inclusive and equitable professional learning communities through social media, and more. She has taught students from pre-k through college/adults in inclusive and separate classroom settings. She has presented at many local, state, and national conferences.
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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. With a unique background of serving as a school speech-language pathologist before becoming a special education attorney, Laughlin has performed many roles at the department including overseeing special education related services, complaint investigation, coordination of Ohio's due process hearings, training of state hearing officers, tackling special education staffing shortages and is an expert in special education law. Laughlin holds a BS and MA 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. 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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Selena Layden
Selena J. Layden, PhD, BCBA-D, LBA, is an assistant professor in the department of communication disorders and special education at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, VA. Layden also serves as the executive director for the Virginia Public Schools Behavior Analyst Network. Layden earned her doctorate degree from the College of William and Mary in education policy, planning, and leadership. Layden has published and presented on her research interests focusing on autism spectrum disorder, providing effective professional development for school personnel, school-based behavior analysts, and improving the implementation of evidence-based practices in schools.
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Mary Anne Lewis
Mary Anne Lewis has been an occupational therapist for 28 years, both in adult rehabilitation as well as pediatrics. Twelve years after becoming an OT, Lewis took on the role of Patrick's mom, her most important and rewarding role of all. Focusing on Patrick's abilities rather than his disabilities, she has developed a successful business model, "Purely Patrick," for her son. She has presented to therapists and grand rounds on parenting a child with special needs. Lewis has presented Patrick's business model of self-employment to numerous groups including Vermont Developmental Disabilities Council and the New Jersey Council for Independent Living.
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Nicole Lewis
Nicole Lewis, MS, CCC-SLP, BCBA, is a speech language pathologist and board certified behavior analyst for students with learning differences and with great a passion for physical activity. In 2019, Lewis earned an award for her graduate thesis research conference for her research in incorporating hippotherapy into speech therapy practices. She recently presented at CHADD's 2022 conference on strategies to motivate teens to exercise. Lewis knows there is not a one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to exercising and strives to help close the gap by providing educational resources and opportunities to support neurodiverse individuals in maintaining an active lifestyle.
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Mindy Lingo
Mindy Lingo, PhD, BCBA-D, is a Think College training developer. She helped develop a college program for individuals with an intellectual disability and served as the assistant director of postsecondary education at the Zarrow Institute on Transition. She has 20 years of experience as an educator and advocate for youth with disabilities as a transition specialist, behavior analyst, and special education teacher. Lingo received her PhD from the University of Oklahoma and has created curricula and published articles and book chapters regarding research in which she has participated.
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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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Jennille Love-Allen
Jennille Love-Allen serves as the director of student services for Sidney City Schools. With 17 years of experience in education, Love-Allen provides leadership for the implementation of all student services, with a focus on improving special education service delivery and compliance. She also provides direct leadership to the coordinator of student services, preschool director, related service staff, and school psychologists, while collaborating with community partners by serving on different boards. Her overall goal is to be a force for positive change for students, while striving to live by her personal motto of "…to whom much is given, much is required."
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Patricia Lovell
Patricia Lovell is a speech language pathologist for the Cleveland Metropolitan School District. She has worked for the district for over 20 years. Throughout her career she has worked with children ranging from three years old to high school seniors. Beginning with reading stories to her classmates in elementary school, Lovell has been working in the deaf community for over 30 years. She graduated with a bachelor of arts in communication disorders and a degree in manual communication from the University of Akron in 1999. In 2002, she graduated from Cleveland State University with a master's of arts in speech language pathology.
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Nicole Luciano
Nicole Luciano is the Explore Coordinator at Upper Valley Career Center in Piqua, Ohio. Nicole has been at UVCC for 18 years and in education for 23. A graduate of Capital University, she is licensed to teach kindergarten - 8th grade with a reading endorsement, is certified in special education k-12, holds a master's degree in curriculum and supervision, and has her principal's license. Explore is a transitional program for students ages 16-22, located at Upper Valley Career Center. Explore helps students try a variety of career tech settings with assistance from job coaches. Students discover interests and supports needed to be successful while building independent living skills.
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Pamela Luft
Pamela Luft, PhD, is a professor emerita of deaf/special education at Kent State University. She is secretary and a prior president of the Council on Education of the Deaf, a consortium of eight organizations working to advocate, accredit deaf education programs, and certify program graduates. She has an MEd in deaf education from McDaniel College, an MS in technology for persons with disabilities from Johns Hopkins University, and a PhD from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Her research and publications focus on literacy, transition, technology, employment of persons with disabilities, deaf and special education policy, and instructional practices.
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Jacki Lyster
Jacki Lyster is an educational consultant for the Pennsylvania Training and Technical Assistance Network.
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Tinglan Ma
Ting-Lan Ma received her PhD in human development, educational psychology, with a minor in prevention science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Ma's research interests focus on social emotional development, well-being, and bullying/discrimination. She took the lens of social-cultural ecological system model and have assessed the protective and risk factors of well-being using culturally responsive approach.
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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 Autism Society Central Ohio, Worthington Special Olympics and various other community groups. She is the managing director of the Autism Society of Central Ohio.
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Laura Maddox-Bechard
Laura Maddox, PhD, BCBA, COBA, is the program director for the Center for the Young Child at OCALI. Her passion for young children and families is evident in her 30 years of work in early childhood health and education. She has worked as a teacher and administrator within school, university, and hospital settings and collaborated across state systems and within local communities to improve early care and education for young children. Maddox participates in several early childhood stakeholder and advisory groups in Ohio and Nebraska.
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Lori Mago
Lori Mago has over 25 years' experience in the mental health and DD fields helping individuals with complex needs live to their fullest potential. Specializing in systems change and innovative solutions Mago transitioned early intervention services to an evidence-based approach and is the co-chair of the Ohio EI Advisory Council and a master coach in early intervention. She implemented efforts to support multi-system youth with DD in crisis remain in their homes and has launched numerous technology initiatives to support individuals with DD live more independently. She holds a bachelor's degree in psychology and a master's degree in public administration from Cleveland State University.
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Kelly Mahler
Kelly Mahler, OTD, OTR/L, has been an occupational therapist for 21 years, serving autistic children and adults. She is winner of the 2020 AOTA Emerging and Innovative Practice Award. Mahler 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 anxiety. 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 27 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. Mail also serves as an adjunct instructor for Ashland University.
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Sarah Mallory
Sarah B. Mallory, Ph.D. is an assistant professor of special education with a joint appointment at University of Delaware's School of Education and Center for Disabilities Studies (CDS). At CDS, Mallory serves as the director of the Health and Wellness unit, overseeing projects related to individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities in the realms of developmental monitoring, public health, mental health, and emergency preparedness. Mallory also serves as co-director the Delaware Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities (LEND) program, where she works with self-advocates, families, and early career professionals.
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JoAnne Malloy
JoAnne M. Malloy is a research associate professor at the Institute on Disability at the University of New Hampshire. She has directed several state and federally-funded youth transition, employment, and dropout prevention projects with a focus on youth with emotional and behavioral disorders. Malloy has published numerous articles and book chapters on employment and transition for youth with emotional disorders and adults with mental illness, and teaches at the undergraduate and graduate level at the University of New Hampshire.
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Tracey Manz
Tracey Manz is the parent of an amazing young man with autism. Manz is the project manager for the Family Resource Network of Ohio which is the hub for Charting the LifeCourse in Ohio and provides resources to families that experience disability. She is a Charting the LifeCourse ambassador. Manz is also the project manager for the Nisonger Aspirations program which provides social skill development and resource education for teens and adults on the autism spectrum and their caregivers.
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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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Hunter Markle
Hunter Markle is an autistic young adult with autism. He enjoys sharing his experience of living a mentally healthy life and how to transition to the adult health care system. He completed high school by transferring to a virtual school and was working on college courses when COVID happened. He is currently working part-time in the deli department at a local grocery store and speaks regularly about transition through a partnership with the Wisconsin Youth Health Transition Initiative. He has given input to different Got Transition? projects. He also freely shares his mental struggles and how he deals with them as an autistic. He also loves D&D and is always looking for campaigns to join.
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Timothy Markle
Timothy Markle is founder of Forgiveness Factor, which exists to promote forgiveness as a way to live mentally well. Markle teaches classes, workshops, and speaks about forgiveness, suicide prevention, and addiction recovery. He has MAs in counseling and Christian studies. Markle works for the Waisman Center at the UW-Madison. He works with the Southern Regional Center for CYSHCN, the Youth Health Transition Initiative, the LEND training program, and the Community of Practice on ASD/DD. He is on the board of directors for the Autism Society of South Central Wisconsin. He is married, has two adult children (one on the spectrum) and lives in Stoughton, WI.
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Dee Marks
Dee Marks, mother of 2 children with significant disabilities, has focused on supporting and providing trainings for fellow parents for over 20 years. 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 previously provided specialized education services for adolescent students in a mental health treatment center and has also taught at Ohio Dominican University.
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Mike Marotta
Mike Marotta is the director of the Richard West Assistive Technology Advocacy Center at Disability Rights New Jersey and the 2017 ISTE Inclusive Learning Network Outstanding Educator. Marotta is a RESNA certified assistive technology professional with 30+ years' experience and adjunct professor at Ramapo College of New Jersey, where he teaches courses in assistive technology and UDL. He serves on both the CAST accessible educational materials and Center on Inclusive Technology and Education Systems (CITES) advisory boards. Marotta is the co-author of the ISTE book Inclusive Learning 365: Edtech Strategies for Every Day of the Year. For details visit https://inclusive365.com/
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Chelsey Marschall
Chelsey Marschall is a licensed occupational therapist in the state of Ohio. She has been a school-based occupational therapist for 8 years, providing services to students in kindergarten through twelfth grade. Marschall received her doctorate of occupational therapy from the University of Toledo and her bachelor's degree in early childhood education from Bowling Green State University. She presented her graduate studies research project at the American Occupational Therapy Association national conference in 2015. She currently lives in Bowling Green, Ohio, with her husband and three children.
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Todd Marthaler
Todd Marthaler is a father of three including a son with autism and happily married for 30 years. Marthaler and his family are active at the Vineyard Church of Columbus and volunteer with Special Olympics where their son participates in swimming, track, basketball and bowling. His son Sam has completed high school, a life skills program, works part-time and is an animator with his own YouTube Channel. Marthaler and his friend, Corey Ferguson, started a central Ohio special needs dads group, which meets monthly for various activities. He works as a consulting manager and has a bachelor's degree in journalism from Northwestern and a master's from St. Catherine's University.
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Lee Mason
Lee Mason, PhD, BCBA-D, is an associate professor of medical education in the Burnett School of Medicine at Texas Christian University, and maintains a practice as an applied behavior analyst with Cook Children's Health Care System. For more than two decades he has worked with people with disabilities in recreational, residential, educational, and clinical settings. Mason was a member of the faculty of the University of Texas at San Antonio for eight years, where his research on language assessment and intervention for children with autism from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds was honored with the President of UTSA's Distinguished Diversity Award.
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Kathleen McClaskey
Kathleen McClaskey, M.Ed., is CEO and chief learning officer of Empower the Learner, LLC, founder of Make Learning Personal, 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. McClaskey 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, PhD, 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 received her doctorate in special education from Kent State University. McCollum 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 McCormack presents "Spectrum Voices" on Autistic Radio. He co-founded the Authentically Autistic speech radio station with exclusively autistic partners. McCormack also co-leads the "Spectrum Voices Forum," where autistics represent their own views and experiences in working partnership with researchers and autism professionals. Additionally, he 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. McCormack is passionate for a more positive outlook on the personal experience of autism and the life opportunities it can bring.
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Bill McInerney
Bill McInerney, PhD, is professor emeritus of early childhood special education at the University of Toledo. He managed both US Department of Education and Ohio Department of Education grants related to preparation of ECSE teachers. His professional interests focus on consultation and coaching in itinerant preK special education services. He and his colleague, Dr. Laurie Dinnebeil, have provided training related to itinerant practices in Ohio and across the country. He has co-authored two books on itinerant service delivery and consultation/coaching practices in early education settings. He co-directed Project Open House (2018-2023) which addressed the state of inclusive child care in Ohio.
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John McNaught
John received his undergraduate degree from the University of Richmond, his master's 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. McNaught 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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Donna McNear
Donna McNear, MA, COMS, is a career teacher and independent educational consultant from Minnesota specializing in services and supports to children with visual impairments. She provides on-going technical assistance and training to educational agencies, organizations, and families, both nationally and internationally. She is an author, researcher, and frequent presenter at conferences on effective instruction, accommodations, and supports for all children. She is a recipient of the Outstanding Leadership Award from the Council for Exceptional Children.
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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. She instructs healthcare professionals in caring for patients with disabilities, chronic health conditions and genetic disorders. She serves as South Dakota's ASD program coordinator, and has academic appointments as pediatrics instructor and adjunct graduate faculty. Meier began her career teaching children with ASD, and then served as education coordinator and special education director. She provides training in the areas of healthcare transition, individual healthcare plans, ASD, challenging behavior, social skills and educational programming.
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Cheryl Mendel
Cheryl Mendel, JD, is a Parent Mentor through the Educational Service Center of Medina County, Ohio. She has a BA from the University of Michigan and a JD from DePaul University College of Law. She is the parent of children on an IEP and 504 Plan. She volunteers as an educational surrogate parent and has worked as a substitute teacher and paraprofessional. Mendel has presented for the Ohio Parent Mentor Project as part of their Parent Mentor professional development series, special education webinars to parents and businesses, and has served as a panel presenter on the Northeast Ohio Transition Booster Bootcamp and for the Medina County ESC.
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Meredith Mendoza
Meredith Mendoza serves as the Family Outreach and Education Coordinator at the Ohio Department of Developmental Disabilities. Prior to joining the division of Policy and Strategic Development, she has had the opportunity to collaborate with and work for organizations in the health care, insurance, Medicaid, and disability industries. For over 5 years, she was a Spanish language certified healthcare interpreter for medical facilities across the United States. She has over 10 years combined in the insurance and Medicaid industries. She is driven to this work as the proud mother of 4 children, including 2 diagnosed with autism, and 4 bonus children.
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Peggy Mills
Peggy Mills has dedicated her life to serving those with disabilities. She taught Adapted PE for 27 years. She retired and started Valemee Fitness to address the need for better fitness for adults. She is also a NASM Certified Personal Trainer, Corrective Exercise Specialist, Stroke Recovery Specialist and Medical Fitness Specialist. Peggy owns Valemee® Fitness and developed the Valemee® Fitness System which is in use in 10 fitness centers and schools across Central Ohio. She is known for her unwavering passion for helping those with special needs to achieve their fitness goals and live healthy lives.
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Pamela Mims
Pamela Mims is the associate dean of research/grants and professor of special education at East Tennessee State University. She received her PhD in special education from UNC-Charlotte. Her areas of research include students with extensive support needs, access to the general curriculum, systematic instruction, and rural education. Mims has numerous publications including peer reviewed articles, book chapters, and curriculum on her research topics. She has spent extensive time working with state departments, as well as training on access to the general curriculum. She currently serves as principal investigator and co-investigator on grants for IES, OSEP, and DOD.
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Larissa Minner
Larissa Minner is an autistic speaker who speaks at various organizations including the University of Texas at Austin (UT), PayPal, Milestones, and the Autism Society of Texas. Minner educates on disability topics including inclusion and accessibility. She serves in advisory roles and creates educational materials for disability organizations and leads a support group for neurodivergent individuals. At UT, Larissa is a LEND Trainee conducting her original research aimed at reducing healthcare disparities for people with disabilities. Additionally, she has spoken in videos on self-advocacy skills for Disability Rights Texas.
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Judith Monseur
Judith Monseur, PhD, has served as a university administrator and faculty member at public and private universities in Ohio, as well as in leadership roles at the Ohio Department of Education. Monseur also completed a post-baccalaureate law & paralegal studies program. Her recent presentations include "Aligning and Supporting the Stars: Making the Case for Paraprofessionals," "Paraprofessionals as Learners and Leaders," and "Developing Cultural Competency in Paralegals."
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Kristine Montague
Kristine Montague is currently the principal at the Beavercreek Preschool Center for Beavercreek City Schools. Montague has a master's degree from Cleveland State University in special education and eventually went to University of Dayton for her principal licensure program. Montague started her career as an intervention specialist at Ankeney Middle School in Beavercreek and continued in that role for 15 years. In 2019, she moved to the preschool center and is currently the principal of the building.
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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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Patti Moore
Patti Moore is the Upper Valley Career Center launch coordinator and has 33 years' experience in education. This program serves as a one-year workforce alternative for young adults with disabilities, who defer their diploma and are in their last year of high school. It is a total immersion into a large business (UVMC, Koester, El Sombrero), allowing the students to collaborate with agencies, interns, and their families.
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Justin Moorman
Justin Moorman has worked in education since 2006, serving as a paraprofessional and intervention specialist in a separate facilty and public school. He has consistently sought out opportunities to work with students and families who have lost hope in the education system. One of his greatest passions is helping students better understand themselves, helping parents/guardians better understand their child's needs, and helping teachers better understand how to provide a safe, trustworthy place for students to learn. He has advanced training in the neurosequential model in education, crisis prevention intervention, restorative practices, and advanced collaborative and proactive solutions.
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Melissa Morelli
Melissa Morelli received her undergraduate degree from Wright State University in Dayton, OH, in rehabilitation counseling education. She then completed her graduate degree in 2014 from Indiana University in organizational leadership. She has worked with adults with developmental disabilities her entire career, which includes 21 years with residential experience, 10 years with the Hamilton County Board of DD, and 6 years with a day service provider. She currently works with the Ohio Department of Disabilities as a community life engagement project manager, specifically the Works4Me project.
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Tim Morse
Tim Morse, EdD, 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 80 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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Michelle Motil
Michelle Motil obtained her bachelor of arts in adolescent to young adult education with a concentration in English writing from Heidelberg University. She is currently working with the Outreach Center as the family support liaison. Motil is blind and has two cochlear implants. She knows braille and basic sign language, and she enjoys dancing, nature, people, and reading.
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Lauren Mucha
Lauren Mucha has over 20 years' experience working with students with autism and intellectual disability. She is the transition specialist at PACTT Learning Center's Therapeutic Day School and Transition Programs in Chicago, Illinois. Mucha has a PhD in special education from University of Illinois at Chicago. Her research interests include self-determination, transition assessment, and employment of students with disabilities.
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Kathy Muehlbauer
Kathy Muehlbauer is the policy supervisor in the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services' Bureau of Child Care Policy and Technical Assistance. She has been in the early childcare and education field for 27 years and has been in the Bureau's policy unit since 2005. Prior to that, she worked for the Ohio Department of Developmental Disabilities as an early intervention specialist consultant. In her career she has provided direct services to children ages birth through five with disabilities and their families, as well as trained, consulted, and taught at a community college.
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Heather Mullenix
Heather Mullenix is an SST consultant for Ohio at Region 14, covering Adams, Brown, Clinton, Fayette, and Highland counties. She came to this position with over 25 years of experience in special education as an intervention specialist. Mullenix has a focus on special education and English learners. She is a member of the UDL Collaborative and would like to extend the knowledge of UDL in her region.
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Macey Muller
Macey Muller joined the Institute on Disability in 2020 with over 8 years of experience working with students on academic probation and those with learning disabilities in higher education in Boca Raton, FL. As the project coordinator for Building Futures Together at the Institute on Disability at the University of New Hampshire, Muller now plans and organizes an instructional on-the-job apprenticeship program for paraprofessionals working in the behavioral health field who are working with children, adolescents, and youth impacted by substance misuse.
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Ryan Murphy
Ryan Murphy, M.Ed., is the preschool coordinator at the Stark County Educational Service Center. He serves 11 different school districts and over 100 staff members throughout Stark County by helping coordinate, monitor, and enhance their preschool programs. He previously served as a special education director for the past 7 years. He is passionate about early childhood education and implemented the SPARK program at his previous district, where he volunteered as the SPARK administrator. He has previously presented throughout Region 9 on Social Justice, RTI, UDL, MTSS, SDI, and Freshman Academy. Murphy also sits on several educational and philanthropic boards.
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Anne Nagel
Anne Nagel experience as a cognitive engineer includes 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. Currently she works on the science team of Autism Speaks, supporting autistic researchers and advocating for autistic participation in research.
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Lola Nasriddinova
Lola Nasriddinova is founder and director of the public organization of parents of children with disabilities - IRODA. She is a doctor and parent of special needs children. She graduated from Moscow High School and has a master's in early childhood education and development from Manchester University. Nasriddinova is internationally certified by Early Bird NAS UK and Mellow parenting, UK and ADOS diagnosing. She is a national trainer on ECD, ASD, and inclusive education. In 2017, she was honored with the Best Human Rights Defender of the Year by the Bureau of Human Rights in Tajikistan. Her areas of expertise are ADOS diagnostics, early intervention, inclusion, and disability rights.
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Lindsey Nebeker
Lindsey Nebeker is a multi-dimensional creative professional who specializes in nonprofit marketing, content creation, and educational training. She was born in Tokyo, Japan, and received her autism diagnosis at age two. She holds a B.A. degree in music technology and is a Partners in Policymaking alumna. Nebeker is also a sibling of an autistic adult with high-support needs. She has served on several boards and advisory panels for organizations including the Autistic Women & Nonbinary Network and Felicity House, and she is a current member of the IACC. Nebeker has appeared in Glamour, NPR, and the Emmy-nominated documentary "Autism in Love".
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Nicholas Newton
Nicholas Newton is an educational consultant for Hardin County Schools in Kentucky and a doctoral student at the University of Louisville. His background is in teaching students with extensive support needs.
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Amy Nhi Nguyen
Amy Nguyen, BCBA, is a behavior specialist with Los Angeles Unified School District. She and her team provides consultation to school staff as part of the district's multi-tiered system of support and delivers tier 3 interventions and supports for students with disabilities. She has also led the district's teams in program development, social emotional and communication learning curricula for K-12 students with ASD.
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Bridgette Nicholson
Bridgette Nicholson has been an Occupational Therapist and Assistive Technology Consultant for over 36 years. She has provided extensive consultation, training, and presentations for school districts, organizations, and conferences. She presents interactive workshops for educators, therapists, teachers, and parents. These presentations include evidence-based practice, research, progress monitoring, Universal Design for Learning, and powerful research-based strategies for classrooms and schools.
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Darlene Norman
Darlene Norman, MS, LEP, ABSNP, earned her master's in school psychology. She has worked in private practice and public education as an advocate, school psychologist, program specialist, and administrator for 15 years. Norman is the recipient of the CA Association of School Psychologists' Nadine Lambert Award. She established a group private practice, Resilient Minds Collective, in San Jose, CA, where she specializes in the assessment of children and adults with low-incidence disabilities. Norman is a parent of a 10-year-old with CHARGE syndrome. She founded Embraced IDEA, where she helps families implement digital organizational systems and personalized digital passports.
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Jamie Novak
Jamie Novak is an occupational therapist with 12 years of experience who enjoys gaining knowledge in various specialties of practice. Novak graduated with her undergraduate degrees with a bachelor of science in health science and a bachelor of arts in psychology from Cleveland State University before pursuing her master of occupational therapy from Shawnee State University. As a therapist who primarily treated neuro-impairments and the geriatric population for a decade, she changed her scope of practice to serve children with autism and multiple disabilities in 2021. Novak works at Murray Ridge School, addressing school based needs and transition skills for students.
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Heather O'Connor
Heather O'Connor has been in special education for 27 years. She has served as a teacher in the MD setting as well as in the inclusion setting for 23 years. She currently is the special services director for Claymont City Schools. O'Connor is a graduate of The Ohio State University, The University of Akron, and the American College of Education. She has previously presented at the Ohio Educational Technology Conference and the Science Education Council of Ohio, and also recently joined the Board for the Ohio Council for Exceptional Children.
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Carolyn O'Hearn
Carolyn O'Hearn is an inclusive education enthusiast and co-founder of All Means All, LLC, an inclusive practices consulting firm. She has provided state and national-level training and technical assistance in the areas of assistive technology, including augmentative and alternative communication and literacy for learners with significant disabilities and complex communication needs. As a speech language pathologist, O'Hearn provided speech and language services to learners with complex communication needs from age three to 26 for five years. She is also a certified PODD trainer. O'Hearn hosts "All Means All," an inclusive education podcast with Sara Pericolosi.
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Cyndi O'Toole
Cyndi O'Toole, Ph.D., BCBA-D, is the principal investigator for SandwYch, Inc. She is also the assistant director of operations for ABA Spectrum and co-founder of The Autism Resource Center. She is a board certified behavior analyst-doctoral with over 20 years of experience in public schools, universities, and private therapy clinics focused on working with families and children with autism. She is passionate about supporting and empowering families who need someone to walk with them down an unfamiliar, and often scary path. She is also a certified deaf education teacher and educational diagnostician.
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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 BS in education from the University of Dayton and an MS in education from Walden University.
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Grace Ogden-Parker
Grace Ogden-Parker is late diagnosed autistic adult. She is an avid autistic/disability advocate, proudly identifying as a member of both communities, and fights to destigmatize autism and disability, combatting ableism in its many forms, and challenging herself to learn and share as much information to forward social justice. Ogden-Parker subscribes to the social model of disability and prefers identity-first language. She respects the rights of other individuals and groups that choose to self-identify with person-first language as their valid right. She identifies as she/her and an autistic/disabled person.
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Allison Oliver
Allison 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 almost two decades in various roles. Oliver's research interests involve special education evidenced-based behavioral interventions, behavioral disorders, and disproportionalities within marginalized populations. She is a licensed teacher and school administrator and holds a specialized credential in emotional disturbance. In her spare time, she dabbles in blogging and podcasting, traveling with family, and enjoys networking with new people.
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Heidi Orvosh
Heidi Orvosh, PhD, is a consultant with Northern Buckeye Education Council and Northwest Ohio Computer Association. She is a member of the Ohio UDL Collaborative. 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.
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Kirsti Osborne
Kirsti Osborne is a licensed social worker at the Down Syndrome Association of Central Ohio (DSACO). She graduated with her bachelor's in social work from Wright State in 2013, and her master's in social work from OSU in 2021. She has been a licensed social worker since 2013. Osborne presented at the Down Syndrome Affiliates in Action (DSAIA) Conference in 2022 and 2023, and also participated on a Charting the LifeCourse panel in 2022.
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Susan Osterhaus
Susan Osterhaus taught secondary math for 29 years at the Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired before becoming the statewide math consultant 16 years ago. She shares her experience freely throughout Texas, nationally, and internationally through presentations, workshops, videos, publications, and curriculum development. Osterhaus is a long-time member of the BANA Nemeth and Tactile Graphics Committees. She is a co-author of Nemeth at a Glance, the Nemeth Code Curriculum, and Learning and Teaching the Nemeth Code within UEB Contexts: A Step-by-Step Guide. She is also a consultant for Project INSPIRE: Increasing the STEM Potential of Individuals Who Read Braille.
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Casandra Paasche
Casandra (Sandy) Paasche, MEd, is a teacher of the deaf and American Sign Language interpreter. She has worked in education for 16 years and received her master's degree in special education through a language and literacy program focusing on deaf education and language development. She has worked up and down the east coast, from Maine to Florida, with students with all degrees of hearing loss, processing disorders, nonverbal students using various HAT's (i.e. hearing aids, cochlear implants, FMs). She enjoys providing insight and explanations to mainstream educators that are foreign to working with such a subgroup.
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Clare Papay
Clare Papay is the senior research associate/project manager at Think College at the Institute for Community Inclusion, UMass Boston, where she conducts research on inclusive higher education for students with intellectual disability. Papay is the evaluation coordinator for the National Coordinating Center for the TPSID model demonstration program funded by the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Postsecondary Education (OPE). She is also co-principal investigator for the project Think College Inclusive Higher Education Network: A Technical Assistance and Dissemination Center. Papay serves as co-editor for the Journal of Inclusive Postsecondary Education.
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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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Robert Pennington
Robert Pennington, PhD, BCBA-D, is the Lake and Edward J Snyder, Jr. distinguished professor in special education at the University of North Carolina Charlotte. He has over 30 years of experience working with individuals with disabilities, their families, and teachers. He has over 85 publications related to ASD and intellectual disability and has provided hundreds of presentations to researchers, practitioners, and families. He values service to field and his local communities through membership on numerous advisory and editorial boards, leadership in professional organizations, and consultation. His current research interests involve improving educational programming for students with IDD.
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Sara Pericolosi
Sara Pericolosi is an inclusive education enthusiast and co-founder of All Means All, LLC, an inclusive practices consulting firm. Pericolosi has provided state and national-level training and technical assistance in the areas of assistive technology, including augmentative and alternative communication and literacy for learners with significant disabilities and complex communication needs. As a speech language pathologist, Pericolosi provided speech and language services to learners with complex communication needs from birth to 26 for twelve years. She hosts "All Means All," an inclusive education podcast with Carolyn O'Hearn.
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Kathleen Pero
Kathleen Pero is an intervention specialist for Elyria City Schools. With a master's degree from Kent State University, she has been teaching for 25 years at the K-2, 3-5, and 5-8 grade levels. Her team from Elyria City Schools presented at OCALICON in 2012, 2013, and 2015. They were the 2014 Franklin B. Walter Outstanding Educators Award recipients from SST2.
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Bryn Peterson
Bryn Peterson started over 10 years ago as an ACRE-trained employment specialist/non-profit program coordinator. Continued opportunities for growth and learning have led to customized employment training, multiple Employment First efforts including direct work with the State Employment Leadership Network, a master's degree in public administration, and most recently, certification as an ambassador with Charting the LifeCourse. He is currently an employment, planning and inclusion administrator with the Division of Services for People with Disabilities in Utah.
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Maggie Pickett
Maggie Pickett, a senior technical assistance specialist for the Center on Inclusive Technology & Education Systems, explores systemic integration of assistive technology, information technology, and educational technology systems, in partnership with districts. Pickett 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, she 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 disabilities. Pinczynski earned her BS and MEd in special education at the University 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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Leanna Pittsenbarger
Leanna Pittsenbarger, PsyD, is a post-doctoral resident practicing under the direct supervision of Dr. Jessica Emick. She received her doctorate in clinical psychology from Wright State University in Dayton, OH. She has gone down several paths in her short professional career, but most of her time has been spent in university settings doing both psychoeducational assessment and counseling. She joined the Total Education Solutions team out of Columbus, Ohio where she conducts ADHD evaluations and is in training to provide autism assessments. She also completes school psychology testing for local schools in the Columbus areas.
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Gerard Poll
Gerard (Trace) Poll, PhD, CCC-SLP, is an associate professor in Miami University's department of speech pathology and audiology. He is a licensed speech-language pathologist who has worked to facilitate the speech and language learning of children with varied abilities. He teaches classes on language development and language disorders at the undergraduate and graduate levels. Poll has presented at state, national and international conferences and published papers in journals focused on both education and communication disorders. His research focuses on interprofessional education and evidence-based assessment practices, and is funded by grants from the National Institutes of Health.
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Carrie Pope
Carrie Pope earned a bachelor's degree from Bowling Green State University and a master's degree from Ashland University. Pope has spent her entire educational career with Elyria Schools. She began her career as an intervention specialist and was promoted to special education supervisor in 2000.
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Amber Priddy
Amber Priddy is a curriculum and instruction doctoral student and OSEP scholar at the University of Louisville under Project SPIDERS. Her degrees include a bachelor's in business administration, a master's in education, national board certification (exceptional needs specialist), director of special education certification, and moderate & severe disabilities certificate. Priddy has worked as an instructional assistant, k-12 teacher, district special education facilitator, and director of special education and preschool. She is currently a middle school moderate and severe disabilities teacher and is interested in researching special education teacher recruitment and preparation.
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Brittany Prince
Brittany Prince, MEd, EIS, is an early childhood consultant in OCALI'S Center for the Young Child. She provides evidence-based coaching to one-year developmental specialists and supports OCALI's work in the improvement of early childhood and the use of evidence-based practices for children with autism and related disorders. Prince has a background as a developmental specialist and is trained in DIR Floortime, Pivotal Response Treatment (PRT),and Hanen 4 "I"s to Socialize.
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Evelin Prudente
Evelin Prudente is an occupational therapist from Sydney, Australia. She works with children with neurological disorder such as autism, developmental delay, ADHD. Prudente has been working as an OT since 2015.
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Ruth Prystash
Ruth Prystash is an autism specialist, author, and editor who has worked as a classroom teacher and private consultant with neurodivergent individuals of all ages for over 40 years. She was a co-founder of the Reach Autism Program, a finalist for the 2011 California Teacher of the Year, and a university instructor in regional autism certification programs. She graduated from Stanford University and currently teaches English for their online high school. She is known as a lively and entertaining presenter, whose audiences are constantly surprised by her unpredictable antics and bag of toys. Prystash is a passionate advocate for the right of every individual to have a rich and meaningful life.
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Joanne Quinn
Joanne Quinn is the director of The Autism Project in RI, an organization that provides training, social groups, and support for individuals with ASD and those who support them. She has completed TEACCH Level 1 and 2, mentored with Michelle Garcia Winner, Conscious Discipline Level 1, and completed Ross Greene's advanced training. She presented at the National Autism Society Conference, the NAC, OCALICON 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 and, recently, was the discussant at a workshop at Brown University. She and her team worked with Hasbro, Inc., to create www.toyboxtools.com. Quinn is the mother of three. Her youngest, Patrick, has autism.
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Trisha Rahe
Trisha Rahe is a special education supervisor in Beavercreek City Schools. She leads the district behavior team to support students' behavioral needs in the district. She also supervises special education programming and staff at a middle school and elementary school. Prior to her current role, she served as an intervention specialist serving mild/moderate and moderate/intense needs students in grades k-8. Rahe has a bachelor's in special education and a master's in educational leadership with certificates in autism studies and applied behavior analysis. She has previously presented at OCALICON, where she co-presented on utilizing ABA strategies and interventions within the classroom.
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Kelly Rainey
Kelly Rainey holds a doctorate in early childhood education, a master's degree in education, specializing in literacy development and a bachelor's and associate degree in early childhood education. Rainey has worked in special education for 15 years, and currently hold the title of special instruction manager at Cuyahoga BDD. She understands the importance of embedding social-emotional learning to support students with trauma and emotional needs, and is tremendously passionate about supporting individuals with disabilities.
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Kathleen Randolph
Dr. Kathy Randolph, BCBA-D is currently an assistant professor at Texas State University. 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. Randolph 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, M.S., 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 Monarch International Ambassador.
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Sarah Redick
Sarah Redick holds a PhD in STEM education, as well as master’s degrees in educational technology and middle childhood education, and a bachelor’s degree in chemistry. She has over a decade of teaching experience, at both the middle school and collegiate levels. Redick is now the STEM education program specialist at the Ohio Department of Education, where she supports educators in implementing deeper learning practices such as creating a transdisciplinary curriculum, practicing design thinking and problem-based learning, as well as crafting strategies for mastery and personalized learning.
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Alexandra Reilly
Alexandra Reilly is a second-year doctoral student at The University of North Carolina at Charlotte.
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Megan Reister
Megan Reister, PhD, a former hearing itinerant and special education teacher in Delaware and Pennsylvania, was responsible for deaf education, transition services, and early intervention services. She then became a college professor in North Carolina before relocating to Ohio. Reister enjoys conducting research, writing, and teaching at Franciscan University of Steubenville. Her primary areas of research include self-advocacy and identity in students with hearing loss, itinerant teaching, and fostering collaboration among parents, general education, and special education teachers.
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Sarah Rhyne
Sarah Rhyne is a master's of education candidate at Vanderbilt University on the low incidence: severe disabilities track. She received her undergraduate degree in psychology and interdisciplinary studies from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Rhyne has worked with individuals with autism in a variety of settings and has also worked with teenagers in a mental health residential facility. She is passionate about supporting meaningful inclusion across settings. In the future, Rhyne hopes to work as a special educator with high school students with extensive support needs.
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Matthew Riecken
Matthew Riecken is an educational technology specialist with a focus in online course design and EdTech tool development. Riecken earned his Ed.M. in technology, education, and innovation from Harvard Graduate School of Education.
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Danielle Roberts-Dahm
Danielle Roberts-Dahm is the project coordinator of the Think College Inclusive Higher Education Network. She leads project implementation, including regional partnership development, training and technical assistance, and dissemination. Prior to Think College, Roberts-Dahm served in leadership roles at an inclusive postsecondary program and a state technical assistance center focused on the transition of students with disabilities in Florida. Her work has been focused on the development of inclusive college opportunities for students with disabilities.
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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 13 years, producing 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 and as a board member for the Center for Disability Empowerment. 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. She enjoys reading, baking, knitting, sewing, and gaming.
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Tonika Robinson
Tonika Robinson is the care coordinator manager for I am Boundless, OhioRISE Care Management Entity, providing high-fidelity wrap around services to individuals with multi-system needs. With over 10 years worked experience and a lifelong lived experience with individuals with developmental disabilities, Robinson found her passion in the mental health field, at an early age. Her long-term goal is to bridge the gaps in our current healthcare systems and ensure our youth receive strength-based specialized care, custom made for their individual differences and challenges. Robinson plans to further her education this fall, in pursuit of her graduate level degree in social work.
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Megan Rodriguez
Megan Rodriguez has over 14 years of service working in education. She is a credentialed structured literacy dyslexia specialist and certified academic language therapist who has trained pre-service and in-service teachers, administrators, and parents about dyslexia identification, intervention, and remediation. Rodriguez has delivered professional development training, provided coaching services, implementation and learning walkthroughs and also served as an adjunct facilitator. She is a former elementary special education teacher, Section 504 coordinator, and dyslexia teacher. Rodriguez holds a graduate degree in reading and writing, and endorsement as a master reading teacher.
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Ron Rogers
Ron B. Rogers, EdD, is the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) Center 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 35 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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Rebecca Rook
Rebecca Rook is an associate professor of education at Franciscan University in Steubenville, OH, where she teachers math pedagogy and teaching strategy courses. Her research, which has focused on higher education assessment, accreditation, and preparation of preservice teachers for online teaching has appeared in The Ohio Journal of Teacher Education, Journal on Excellence in College Teaching, Journal of Digital Learning in Teacher Education, Journal of the National Collegiate Honors Council, and The Qualitative Report.
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Nancy Roop
Nancy Roop has a BA in Integrative Studies from Oakland University. She studied psychology, literacy, and creative writing to form her thesis Developmental Texts for Students with Autism; a Safe Space in the Written World. She embeds comprehension routines and strategies in a sensory-friendly, early chapter book exploring fiction and nonfiction. She founded Developmental Texts, LLC, which is publishing The Big Aquarium Adventure; Learn About, Frogs, Fish, Turtles, Sharks, and Skates on January 23, 2024. She creates resources for educators and parents at DevelopmentalTexts.com.
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Marla Root
Marla Root is the founder of the Ohio and Illinois Autism Insurance Coalition. The coalition's purpose is to support families, providers, state agencies, and healthcare systems in building service capacity to ensure access to prescribed treatments for people with autism such as mental health, ABA 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, and the Advocate of the Year award by the Governor's Council for People With Disabilities in 2014. Root's son, Eli, is 27 years old and has ASD/ID.
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L Penny Rosenblum
L. Penny Rosenblum owns Vision for Independence, LLC. Her company provides research and professional development expertise to a variety of clients. She has 35+ years of experience as a researcher, university professor, and teacher of students with visual impairments. From 2012-2016, she was project director for two Institute of Education Sciences studies. Rosenblum was the director of research for the American Foundation for the Blind from 2020-2021. As a person with low vision, she is able to share first-hand information with others about the impact of a visual impairment on the lives of children and adults.
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Cassandra Rosile
Cassandra Rosile is a bilingual speech-language pathologist and the proud owner of Casa Speech. She has been serving children in the Columbus area since 2015 and is truly passionate about helping the people in her community and beyond. Rosile was born in Laredo, TX, and raised in Mexico. She received her bachelor's degree from The Ohio State University and her master's degree from Miami University of Ohio. Her professional areas of interest include autism, early intervention, and bilingualism. Rosile opened Casa Speech in 2017 with the hopes of establishing a family, love, and faith-based clinic that would help children in need of services and parents in need of a support system.
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Chloe Rothschild
Chloe Rothschild is an adult with autism who is on a mission to advocate and teach others about autism from her perspective. Rothschild 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. Rothschild works as a teacher's aide at an autism school 3 days a week. When she 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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Rosemary Rotuno-Johnson
Rosemary Rotuno-Johnson currently is an intervention specialist for Cincinnati Public Schools. She serves as the treasurer for the Ohio unit of the Council for Exceptional Children, and she also mentors first-year intervention specialists in the ODE-sponsored New Teacher Institute. Rotuno-Johnson recently co-authored a book chapter on individual service plans with Dr. Kathy Winterman from Xavier University.
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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 Ruckman is currently the CPI certified instructor and a behavior coach in a district of 14 schools. Co-author of Control the Chaos and co-host of the podcast "Control the Chaos Edu," 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. Ruckman has a background in ABA and special education.
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Taylor Ruef
Taylor Ruef received her bachelor's degree in speech pathology from Eastern Kentucky University and her master's degree in special education from Wright State University. She is currently a licensed K-12 intervention specialist working with children ranging from kindergarten-fourth grade. For the last eight years Ruef has been the lead teacher in a cross-categorical multiple disabilities unit. She has worked with students with a wide variety of needs and is skilled at differentiating gross motor activities and breaks throughout the day to help regulate students.
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Nahara Ruiz
I was raised in Puerto Rico. In 2018, after a hurricane devastated the island, I moved to Cleveland because I had family here. In 2020, I had my daughter Lumanni, my precious gift from God. We found out when she was 4 weeks old that she had a profound hearing loss and was deaf. It took us by surprise but since then me and my family have been very determined to give her access to every language and effective ways of communication. It is very important for me to teach her sign language and expose her to the deaf community because that is a big part of who she is. She is two now and we both keep learning while we grow, me as a parent and her as the amazing girl she is.
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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. Rutschilling 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. She works as an itinerant for ESD 105, which serves 25 public school districts, and up to 21 state-approved tribal and private schools. Rutschilling assists in running PLC's and trainings for her area TVI's.
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Colette Ryan
Colette Ryan is a DIRFloortime expert for ICDL. She has a degree in special education and a master's degree in early childhood education. She is an infant mental health fellow, an endorsed infant family specialist, and a PhD student. Ryan has spoken at conferences on topics including infant mental health, DIRFloortime, grief in the young child, discipline, play, and child development. She was a speaker at the 2016 ICDL conference in Orlando, Florida, and she was a speaker at the 2018 DIRFloortime conference in Kyiv, Ukraine, multiple conferences in the US, and in Hong Kong and Tokyo. Currently, Ryan is a DIR Expert and Mentoring Program Coordinator at the ICDL Institute in Livingston, NJ.
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Joanna Ryan
Joanna Ryan is an assistant professor of special education at the University of North Dakota, where she coordinates the applied behavior analysis program. Her research focuses on real-world inclusive academic instruction for students with extensive support needs. Before working in higher education, Ryan served for over a decade in central Texas k-12 schools as a teacher, district specialist, and regional specialist for students with extensive academic and behavioral support needs. Ryan seats her work within the complex contexts and issues that school personnel must work with every day, including compliance with federal special education mandates within circumstances of limited resources.
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Elizabeth Sailer Agnew
Elizabeth Sailer Agnew, Ed.D., 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. Agnew earned her B.S. 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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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 11 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. Enriquez 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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Jenine Sansosti
Jenine Sansosti, Ph.D., NCSP, is the director of State Support Team Region 8. In addition, she supports regional LEAs in equity in special education, and MTSS. Previously, she was a school psychologist in the Berea City School District and in Pasco County Schools, Florida. She has a Ph.D. in school psychology from the University of South Florida, and completed a dissertation on educators' and parents' attitudes, beliefs, and decision-making strategies on inclusive education for students with ASD. She has co-authored more than 10 peer-reviewed publications on various topics in special education service delivery.
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Barbara Sapharas
Barbara Sapharas has worked in the field of intellectual and developmental disabilities for over 40 years, holding several positions, including SLP, support administrator, and staff development specialist. Her areas of focus have included the use of technology, person-centered thinking, self-determination, civil rights, and supporting families. In addition, she is a sibling. Her youngest brother, Nick, had a developmental disability, and her brother Jim has an acquired disability, affecting him after the age of 22.
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Katherine Sarabia
Katherine Sarabia was born and raised in Caracas, Venezuela. She is a bilingual occupational therapist as part of the Casa Speech team, and also owns her business, Little Chefs Pediatric Feeding Therapy, with the goal to address the need for pediatric feeding therapy in her community. She received her master's degree in occupational therapy from The Ohio State University, and has 15 years of working experience. Sarabia enjoys working with families from diverse ethnic backgrounds, strengthening parent/child relationships, and sharing her personal experience of raising 3 kids, which includes a child with autism, to families who need to navigate the complex world of ASD.
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Rachel Saunders
Rachel Saunders is an assistant professor within the counseling program at the University of Cincinnati (UC). She is a licensed professional school counselor and National Certified Counselor. After graduating with her doctoral degree from UNC Charlotte, she began working at UC to mentor, teach, supervise, and prepare both school counseling and mental health students. As a former school counselor, her research interests focus on multicultural counseling and promoting an inclusive school environment. She also focuses her research on training counselors in cultural responsiveness and how to serve as social justice advocates for all students.
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Elizabeth Sautter
Elizabeth A. Sautter, MA, CCC, is a licensed speech-language pathologist specializing in social, emotional, and executive functioning intervention. She is the author of the best-seller, Make Social and Emotional Learning Stick: Practical activities to help your child manage emotions, navigate social situations and reduce anxiety. Her website provides free resources and a parenting course/community to guide parents to help their children thrive during everyday routines and activities. She is a collaborative Zones of Regulation trainer and co-author the Zones game and children's books. She is also the co-author of the Revised Whole Body Listening Larry book and posters.
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Ramona Savage
Ramona Savage, director of day and transition services with the Division of Developmental Disabilities Services, began her career with DDDS as an administrative specialist II, in the training for professional development unit. Since that time, Savage has worked as an employment navigator, support coordinator/case manager supervisor, and a social services administrator. Savage was recently promoted to regional program director. Savage is an ambassador for UMKC Charting the Life Course and holds a bachelor of science in business management from Wilmington University.
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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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Denise Schamens
Denise Schamens, B.S., has three children, two with special needs. She served for 10 years as a family engagement liaison for CESA 1 in Wisconsin. Her insight into the needs of children with ASD gave rise to Good Friend, Inc., a 501c3 charity dedicated to creating autism awareness, teaching acceptance, and fostering empathy. Schamens serves as co-founder, vice president, and board director. She has provided autism awareness, acceptance, and empathy training to more than 30,000 K-9th grade students. She is also a film editor and director, a university guest lecturer, and conference presenter.
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Celia Schloemer
Celia Schloemer works at the University of Cincinnati UCEDD, with 19 years of 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. Schloemer 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., OIMHP-III, ECMH-C, 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 optimal mental health and full inclusion. She has more than 20 years of experience serving children and families facing emotional, developmental, mental, and behavioral health challenges. Schoessow is the IECMH 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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Kelly Schuck
Kelly Schuck is a community life engagement project manager at the Ohio Department of Developmental Disabilities. Kelly has been with the Ohio Department of Developmental Disabilities for over five years and promotes both Employment and Technology First across the state through training and technical assistance. She works to ensure that Ohioans in the developmental disability system have increased opportunities to live, love, learn, work, and pursue their own life aspirations through state-of-the-art planning, innovative technology, and equitable and comprehensive supports that focus on their talents, interests, and skills.
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Rachel Schultz
Rachel Schultz is an accessible educational materials specialist at the AT&AEM Center at OCALI. She holds a bachelor of science in special education and a master of arts in curriculum and instruction, with licensure in both TESOL and special education. Additional certifications and training include Assistive Technology Professional (ATP), PDF Accessibility Train the Trainer, and audio description. Schultz has worked in both residential and educational settings and has always been passionate about removing barriers and increasing access. She works to connect students to accessible formats and provide professional development on both AEM and creating accessible content.
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Dustin Schwab
Dustin Schwab is the project manager for Works4Me at Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities (OOD). Works4Me helps people who are considering or employed in subminimum wage settings explore competitive integrated employment. Prior to this role, Schwab served as a career development specialist with College2Careers at OOD, and previously served as a community employment services manager for the Franklin County Board of Developmental Disabilities. There, he supervised staff members who provided job coaching and job development. Schwab has a bachelor's degree in theatre arts from Rollins College and a master of public administration from the University of Central Florida.
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Katie Scott
Katie Scott is a PLAY and Teaching PLAY consultant, a PLAY supervisor, teaching PLAY mentor, and master trainer for PLAY. She has a bachelor's in early childhood education from the University of Dayton, master of child development from the Erikson Institute, and an MSW from Loyola University of Chicago. Scott has worked with children with autism spectrum disorder in a variety of settings (home, clinic, schools) for over 15 years. Over the past 9 years, she has been invested in expanding Teaching PLAY. She has been in over 100 classrooms coaching interdisciplinary teams and provides several Teaching PLAY workshops each year.
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Taylor Scott
Taylor Scott is a third-year doctoral student at Wright State University School of Professional Psychology focusing on child and adolescent populations. Scott earned a B.S. in psychology from The Ohio State University. She has experience teaching students with ASD and is currently training at Nationwide Children's Hospital Center for Autism Spectrum Disorders where she conducts psychological assessment, therapy, parent training, and school consultation services. She is passionate about working with children with developmental disabilities and families. In the future, she hopes to have a private practice where she provides clinical care and advocacy for diverse populations.
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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. Secrist has been in the field for 24 years working with students from birth to 21. She is also an adjunct faculty instructor with the O&M program at the University of Pittsburgh.
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Aaron Shield
Aaron Shield is a linguist who studies how children with autism spectrum disorder acquire language. He earned his Ph.D. in linguistics from the University of Texas at Austin and completed postdoctoral training in Psychology at the University of Chicago and Boston University. Since 2015, he has been a professor in the Department of Speech Pathology and Audiology at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, where he is the director of the sign language and autism at Miami (SL@M) Lab. He is currently an associate editor of Autism and Developmental Language Impairments.
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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. Shoemaker 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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Judy Siens
Judy Siens works as 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 managing and 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. Siens also maintains the AT&AEM clearinghouse of braille, digital, and large print textbooks and educational aids available for loan to eligible students. She has worked for OCALI for 21 years, 17 of which have been for the Federal Quota program.
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Inga Siler
Inga Siler is a doctoral student at UNCG and a licensed speech-language pathologist. Siler is beginning her 19th year as a speech-language pathologist, and while a majority of her career was spent working in the public schools, she also has worked in early intervention for infants and toddlers programs and private practice. Siler's research interests include child language and literacy, assessment and treatment of pediatric speech and language disorders, early intervention practices, and school based SLP issues. When she is not reading research, she enjoys spending time with her family, listening to music, traveling, boating, and Iowa Hawkeye football.
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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. Silver 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, MS, 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). Simmons 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. Simmons previously worked as the director of transition services for Missouri Vocational Rehabilitation.
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Pat Skidmore
Pat Skidmore, AuD, LSLS Cert AVEd, is an educational audiologist and consultant for the educational assessment team and hearing intervention services based at the Montgomery County Educational Service Center/SST10. She works with IEP teams to develop educational plans that will maximize communication growth regardless of modality or language. Skidmore also consults with the Montgomery County ESC hearing impaired preschool, developing preschool classrooms appropriate for language learning in both spoken English and ASL.
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Nicole Sluss
Nicole Sluss is the coordinator of student services at Sidney City Schools, Ohio. She has been in the education field for 9 years. Sluss was an intervention specialist for students with multiple disabilities for 8 years prior to stepping into the role of coordinator. As a coordinator, Sluss works with teachers, administrators, and families from all grade levels to ensure success for all.
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Cherie Smith
Cherie Smith is a regional school improvement consultant who supports schools in implementing 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 nine years and has been the co-chair of the UDL-IRN Implementation Special Interest Group for seven years.
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Kelli Smith
Kelli Smith is the low incidence sensory disabilities lead officer at Shawnee State University for the intervention specialist hearing impaired graduate licensure program, the intervention specialist visually impaired graduate licensure program, and the intervener technical certificate program. Smith holds a master of business administration from the University of Findlay. She has been at Shawnee State University the past 13 years in various roles and was also employed by Verizon Communications for 29 years.
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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. Smith holds a bachelor of arts in political science from the University of Akron.
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Lacey Smith
Lacey Smith, M.Ed., TVI CVI, is a project coordinator for the CVI Center at Perkins School for the Blind. Smith has worked closely with young children with visual impairments, multiple disabilities, rare diseases, and dual sensory loss providing consult and support to the student, families, and their teams. Smith has a master's in education as a teacher of students with visual impairments and a certificate in CVI both achieved at UMass Boston. Smith's interest was inspired by her 12-year-old daughter's diagnosis of CVI and autism and she continually strives to learn more and support families with all she has learned along her journey.
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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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Tracy Smith
Tracy Smith is a teacher's aide for transition age at Vern Riffe School, serving 7 individuals with varying disabilities. From 2009 to 2012, she was a substitute throughout the school serving all ages and all degrees of disabilities. From 2012- 2016, she was a teacher's aide in preschool with a combination of typical and non-typical students of various developmental disabilities. She has also been a financial advisor for Ameriprise Financial Advisors and a retail buyer at Marting's department store. Smith earned her bachelor's degree in business administration from Shawnee State University in 1995 and completed the dual sensory impairment intervener certification program in 2023.
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Kelly Smith-Vernon
Kelly Smith-Vernon has worked as a speech language pathologist for nearly 25 years. Most of her career has been spent serving the professions of education and speech language pathology. She possesses clinical expertise in the areas of child speech sound disorders, child language disorders, autism, augmentative/alternative communication, and literacy. She serves as a national mentor with ASHA. Vernon holds a B.A. in communication disorders from Marshall University and a M.A. in speech and hearing sciences from The Ohio State University. She anticipates completion of her M.A. in educational administration from Concordia University Chicago.
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Emily Sobeck
Emily Sobeck, PhD, 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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Bob Soellner
Bob Soellner has been teaching adapted physical education for the past 20 years. Soellner has a master's of education in curriculum and instruction from Bowling Green State University. He also completed his undergraduate work and adapted physical education endorsement from Bowling Green State University. He has served as the University of Findlay's adjunct adapted physical education instructor teaching evening classes for undergraduate students. Soellner had the honor of presenting at the West Virginia state physical education conference, where he shared his expertise in the area of adapted physical education. He currently lives in Waterville, Ohio, with his wife and three children.
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Melissa Solazzo
Melissa Solazzo, M.Ed., is a career technical planning district consultant (CTPD) at Ohio State Support Team 13. An Ohio educator, 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, Solazzo has presented at regional, state, and national CTE conferences.
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Michelle Soriano
Michelle Soriano, a technical assistance specialist for the National Center on Accessible Educational Materials and the Center on Inclusive Technology and Education Systems, promotes inclusive, equitable, and accessible instructional opportunities for students who receive special education services through the use of accessible educational materials and technologies. Soriano's passion for education resides in supporting educators with embracing learner variability utilizing universal design for learning in order to empower students in guiding their own learning journey according to their personal preferences and needs.
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Mel Spence
Mel Spence, Ed.D., is an assistant dean and associate professor at Cal Lutheran University. Her research interests include promoting academic achievement and communicative instruction of nonverbal students with ASD, as well as promoting equitable instructional opportunities for all students with disabilities. Spence spent 10 years working for the Los Angeles Unified School District both as a special education teacher for students with ASD and as part of the autism support team, supporting school staff in creating classrooms that utilized evidence-based and inclusive practices to best serve students with ASD.
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Stacy Springer
Stacy Springer, MS, OTR/L, ATP, is the program director for the AT&AEM Center at OCALI. She has over 20 years of experience in a variety of school-based settings across the country, as a special education teacher, occupational therapist, and assistive technology specialist. She led the AT/AAC Team in Oakland Unified School District (CA) and facilitated a shift to MTSS service provision. Prior, she served as the AT specialist for SC Department of Education building state-wide capacity and providing technical assistance for AT. She was an inaugural mentor for the Joy Zabala Fellowship in AT&AEM. She is a member of the Quality Indicators of Assistive Technology (QIAT) Leadership team.
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Samantha Stageman
Samantha Stageman is a second-year doctoral student at Wright State University's School of Professional Psychology. She earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and her master's in applied psychology from Rutgers University. She has prior experience working with autistic individuals providing both applied behavioral analysis therapy as well as employment support. Currently, she is a psychology trainee on practicum at a private practice providing treatment and assessment to children, adolescents, and adults. Her clinical interests include providing therapy and assessment for neurodevelopmentally diverse individuals.
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Elisabeth Staggs
Elisabeth Staggs is a master of occupational therapy student at Eastern Kentucky University and a graduate assistant in the Department of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy at EKU. As a graduate assistant, she coordinates EKU's Colonels Mentoring Colonels Program, a mentoring program by students for students, to support EKU students with ASD or executive functioning disorders. She is a member of many professional organizations including the American Occupational Therapy Association and the Student Occupational Therapy Association at EKU.
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Nathalie Stanish
Nathalie Stanish, MS, is the manager of The Daniel Jordan Fiddle Foundation Transition and Adult Programs at the University of Miami-Nova Southeastern University Center for Autism and Related Disabilities (UM-NSU CARD). She has a master's degree in applied behavior analysis from the University of Miami and a bachelor's in psychology for Florida International University. Stanish provides support, guidance, resources, and referrals for adolescents and adults with ASD and their families for navigating the transition to adulthood. She also facilitates programs for adults focusing on social opportunities and employment skills. Stanish is the older sibling of an adult with ASD.
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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 autism and developmental disabilities programs (license, certificate, master's). She previously served on the Autism Society of America, Wisconsin, and Southeastern Wisconsin boards. She serves on the Council for Exceptional Children-Division on Autism and Developmental Disabilities board. In 2012, she was the Autism Society Professional of the Year. She is co-author of Do Watch Listen Say: Social and Communication Intervention for Autism Spectrum Disorder.
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Beth Stark
Beth Stark is an Educational Consultant for International Schools. Beth has nearly 20 years of experience in education, both in the United States and as an international educator in Germany. She serves as the Co-Chairperson for the UDL-IRN Implementation Special Interest Group. Her passion for reducing barriers began during her years as a teacher of learners who are Blind and Visually Impaired. She served as an IB educator and Learning Support Coordinator for sixteen years and now partners with international schools around the world to create robust systems of support and to build readiness and capacity for the successful implementation of Universal Design for Learning.
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Jessica Stasik
Jessica Stasik is a doctoral candidate in astrophysics at Vanderbilt University. She is also an autism self-advocate who works as project manager for the Frist Center for Autism and Innovation (FCAI) at Vanderbilt University. Her astrophysics research specializes in galactic archaeology, and she has published in distinguished astrophysical journals such as The Astrophysical Journal. In her position at FCAI, she moderates monthly webinars with leaders in neurodiversity and coordinates social media and communications. In January, she led the first-ever session of "Neurodiversity in STEM" at the 241st meeting of the American Astronomical Society in Seattle.
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Keivan Stassun
Keivan Stassun is an astrophysicist whose research on stars and exoplanets has been published more than 500 times in academic journals. He also holds two patents - for a data visualization platform and an asteroid mining system - both invented with a team of neurodiverse students. The parent of an autistic teenager, and with the generous endowment support of the Frist family, in 2018 Stassun launched the Frist Center for Autism & Innovation at Vanderbilt, focused on engineering technologies and transforming workplaces, in support of and inspired by neurodiversity.
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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.
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Heather Steelman
Heather Steelman is a special education teacher experienced in diverse populations and age groups. During her 27-year tenure in the k-12 classroom, she used data, reflection, and best practices to ensure the success of her students. Her time in the virtual setting expanded her repertoire and allowed her to integrate a flipped classroom approach. As an adjunct, Steelman provides instruction to those pursuing a career as a teacher, both at the undergraduate and graduate levels. She received her undergraduate degree and went on to obtain a MS in both special education and educational leadership. She has also earned an EdD in curriculum and instruction.
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Julie Stewart
Julie Stewart, MS, is assistant director for teaching and learning at the Ohio School for the Deaf. Stewart comes with ten years of classroom teaching experience and eight years of education consultant and ASL specialist, working with professionals/parents with DHH learners. Stewart works with National Deaf Education Conference planning committee as one of the chairs. One of her passions is to have each deaf learner have literacy skills in ASL/English to improve their quality of life.
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Michael Stoehr
Michael Stoehr, MS, 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 38 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 leads the Special Populations and Projects Team, who administers state required assessments for English learners and students with disabilities including the Ohio English language proficiency screener, Ohio English language proficiency assessment, alternate assessment for English language proficiency, and the alternate assessment for students with the most significant cognitive disabilities. Stoica began her career as an educational audiologist at Heartland Area Education Agency in Johnston, Iowa, and has been with ODE since 1998.
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Brandon Stump
Brandon Stump joined the Cleveland State College of Law faculty in fall 2020, teaching legal writing. Stump began his legal career in Detroit, Michigan, where he worked as a civil rights attorney representing victims of police brutality with Goodman & Hurwitz and later as a research attorney for the Michigan Court of Appeals. Stump appears to be the first openly autistic law professor to ever publish a law review article: "Allowing Autistic Academics the Freedom to Be Autistic: The ADA and a Neurodiverse Future in Pennsylvania and Beyond."
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Doug Sturgeon
Doug Sturgeon is an associate professor at Shawnee State University. For more than 15 years, he was a teacher for students who were deaf/hard of hearing in West Virginia. His research interests are WV one-room schools and their teaching materials.
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Kelli Suding
Kelli Suding, a technical assistance specialist for CAST's National Center on AEM and CITES, promotes the availability of accessible educational materials and technologies to ensure that all students have equitable and inclusive opportunities for learning. Suding has keynote, national, state presentation and training experience. She also has a strong understanding of and ability to connect theory to practice. Her instructional experience has been with students requiring mild, moderate, and intense intervention. Suding's specializations include autism, accessible educational materials and accessible technologies, Google Chrome accessibility and integration, SLD, and UDL.
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Jennifer Sullivan
Jennifer Sullivan, MS, has spent 20 years in higher education, including 10 years as a director of a transition program on a college campus in CT. Sullivan is the author of 2 books including the Sharing the Transition to College Workbook, filled with 80 skill-building activities and real-world scenarios to prepare students for college. She is the owner of Fast Forward College Coaching which supports college-bound, new and struggling college students with learning disabilities, ADHD, anxiety, and autism. She presents nationally to parent groups, and high school and college educators on strategies to successfully support diverse learners in their high school to college journey.
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Megan Surso
Megan Surso, MEd, is the preschool director and elementary special education coordinator for Strongsville City Schools. Surso earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Dayton as a k-12 mild moderate intervention specialist with a reading endorsement and her master's degree as a k-12 moderate to intensive intervention specialist with an endorsement in autism. She also holds a k-12 administrative license. She is active in the early childhood network within her region and has extensive hands-on support working with autistic preschool and school aged children.
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Carmen Swain
Carmen Swain, PhD, serves as a faculty member in health and exercise science at The Ohio State University. The goal of her teaching and research is to enhance human health through the promotion of physically active lifestyles. She has carried out research in populations from elite athletics to clinical care. She has published articles which reflect novel methodological approaches to improve exercise performance and physical activity participation. The breadth of her scholarly work has a high impact in physical activity research, and her most recent efforts focus on examining a visual system to improve physical fitness, self-efficacy, and independence in adults with intellectual differences.
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Peyton Sweeny
Peyton Sweeny is a paraprofessional who has worked with Perrysburg Schools for almost 10 years. She has experience working with students with a variety of needs, but has the most experience working with students with moderate to intense capabilities. She currently lives in Toledo, Ohio, with her husband and dog.
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Amy Szymanski
Amy Szymanski, MEd, has over 25 years of experience in education, primarily in the area of special education and secondary transition for students with disabilities. 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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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
Jim Taylor has extensive experience in providing and promoting high quality services to autistic people, their families, and to professionals. Having worked in the field of autism for more than 40 years, he advises many education authorities and other providers while 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, Taylor 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 at OCALICON since 2007.
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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 eight years.
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Dixie Teeter
Dixie Teeter is an ASHA certified speech-language pathologist who has worked in the education field for over 24 years. She graduated Fort Hays State University and also has an autism spectrum disorder certificate from Pittsburg State University. The majority of Teeter's work has been in the public-school system where she worked with students of all ages who have complex communication needs. She is currently in her third year as a state trainer for the TASN ATBS team. Her passion is promoting positive student outcomes through supporting, coaching, and training educators and families.
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Stephanie Thomas
Stephanie Thomas has been married for 24 years and is the mother of two teenage children with disabilities. Thomas has lived internationally and uses her experience to help bring understanding and support to multicultural families. Thomas worked as an education aide for two school years prior to her work as a parent mentor. Thomas has worked as a parent mentor for four years with Westerville City Schools, helping families navigate the special education process and find resources in the community.
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Katie Thornton
Katie Thornton is a veteran educator with diverse experiences, including teaching in a structured classroom for students with autism and multiple disabilities, an inclusive first grade classroom, as well as a special education coordinator, and now elementary principal. Thornton's advocacy work has centered around providing students with special needs equitable educational opportunities, calling for authentic student-centered learning, and shifting schools to a more humanistic approach through trauma informed care. She continues to do this with her advanced training in applied educational neuroscience, CPI trainer, restorative practices, TEACCH, and collaborative & proactive solutions.
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Colleen Ticherich
Colleen Ticherich has been working 15 years as an educational interpreter. She is a former committee member of ISLR and former board member of Ohio Hands and Voices, as well as the former co-chair of OCRID's educational interpreter ad-hoc committee. She continues her involvement in the field as NAIE's state ambassador to Ohio, the recipient of the national Leilani Johnson Award for Educational Interpreters by NAIE, a presenter at RID conferences for Regions 1 and 3, and awarded the Educational Interpreter of the Year by OCRID in 2022. Locally, she is on the board of Deaf Education Ohio, and currently is a member of the Committee for Deaf Equity and Access' interpreter standards committee.
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Gil Tippy
Gil Tippy, PsyD, is the former clinical director and one of the founders of the Rebecca School in New York City. He is the former director, the clinical director emeritus and one of the founders of Shub Oak International School in Westchester County, New York. He is the co-author, along with Stanley Greenspan, MD, of Respecting Autism, (Vantage Press, 2011.) He is the author of many articles and book chapters on the subject of appropriate developmental education. Tippy consults internationally to schools, individuals and clinical programs, and has been a featured presenter at many national and international conferences. He has been a teacher and a psychologist for the last 40 years.
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Hannah Tomkovicz
Hannah Tomkovicz M.S.Ed, BCBA, is the director of adult programs at Autism Speaks. She has close to ten years of experience working with individuals across the spectrum with a focus on transitional and adult aged individuals. She holds a master's degree in professional education with a concentration in applied behavior analysis from Saint Joseph's University. Prior to joining Autism Speaks, Tomkovicz was the associate director of adult and transition programs at the Kinney Center for Autism Education and Support. In her current role at Autism Speaks, her work is focused on creating programs to support adults with autism and those transitioning to adulthood.
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Rossana Torres
Rossana Torres is a bilingual school psychologist born and raised in Mexico. She provides services through the Summit Educational Service Center with a focus on the evaluation of English learners with suspected disabilities for special education. Torres earned a master's degree in school psychology from the University of Texas (Rio Grande Valley) and is a doctoral student at Kent State University. Torres has been recently recognized with the Mary Ann Stephens and John R. Graham Award for excellence in graduate research and scholarship for her work in the special education doctoral program at Kent State University.
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Jen Townsend
Jennifer C. Townsend, MEd, is a 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. Townsend has a master's in education and autism spectrum disorder graduate certification and is currently adjunct faculty at Carroll University.
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Chrystal Trapani
Chrystal Trapani is the accessibility architect with Digital Innovation at Old Dominion University (ODU), an adjunct instructor in the department of English, a Google certified trainer, and a doctoral graduate student at ODU in the Instructional Design and Technology program. Her research focuses on instructor attitudes toward digitally accessible course materials. She is Instructure's Educator of the Year (2022) and has been honored with ADEIL's College Course Award. Since 2020, Trapani has presented nearly 50 times on digital accessibility, including a five-part series for Hawkes Learning, OCALICON, VSTE, OETC, VCLD, and ISTE.
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Megan Trowbridge
Megan Trowbridge, EdD, 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. Trowbridge began her career as a paraprofessional and then as an intervention and behavior specialist before becoming a consultant on Region 14 State Support Team/Southern Ohio ESC. She has collaborated on projects for students with disabilities through local universities, was the President of her local Board of Developmental Disabilities and been a member of state-wide committees for assistive technology and low-incidence disabilities.
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Amy Tseng
Amy Tseng, M.A., is a specialist in the Los Angeles Unified School District. She has her teaching credentials in both special education and elementary education. Previously, she taught students with ASD on both the general education and the alternate curricula. She has coached and provided direct support and professional developments to school-site staff on implementing evidence-based practices and developing quality educational programs for students with ASD. She has also presented at conferences on evidence-based practices.
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Michael Tucker
Michael Tucker is a board certified behavior analyst and has been working with students with autism spectrum disorders for 25 years. He began working with children with autism in a private setting and then at the Autism Treatment Center. His teaching career has included working as an elementary life skills teacher, lead In-home/parent trainer, a behavior specialist, and now serves as the ESC Region 11 autism consultant. Tucker received his master of education from the University of North Texas in special education and autism intervention in 2005 and earned his BCBA in 2020.
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Carolyn Turner
Carolyn Turner is an educator and reading science doctoral student. She is a teacher, literacy specialist, adjunct professor, dyslexia interventionist, and national literacy consultant. Turner currently serves as one of the Ohio Department of Education's two literacy leads. She is an advocate for reading science and has extensive knowledge of the science of reading. Turner works with educators to build their capacity to implement evidence-based reading practices in schools. She works to ensure that all have the appropriate knowledge, skills, and abilities to sustain change, resulting in improved instruction and successful reading achievement for all children.
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Erin Turner
Erin Turner, M.A., is an educational consultant for the Enhancing Peer Networks Project at Vanderbilt University. As a special educator for 12 years, Turner served diverse schools and districts across many roles. She taught both general and special education classes, lead inclusion programs, and served as a district-wide special education coach. She now collaborates with and provides training to educators and school sites to implement the Enhanced Peer Networks Intervention.
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Lilly Tyson
Lilly Tyson is a master's of education candidate at Vanderbilt University on the low incidence: severe disabilities track. She received her undergraduate degrees in social work and childhood studies from Christopher Newport University. Tyson has worked with children of all ages in a variety of settings and has also worked with adults with developmental and intellectual disabilities in a day-support program. She is passionate about fostering meaningful connections for students with complex support needs in their schools and communities. In the future, Tyson hopes to work as a special educator at the elementary or middle school level.
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Rachel Undercoffer
Rachel Undercoffer, MEd, EdS, NCSP, is a public school and independently licensed school psychologist in Ohio. She earned her bachelor of arts degree in psychology, with a minor in applied conflict management from Kent State University. She then obtained a master's of education degree and educational specialist degree in school psychology at KSU in 2013. She became a nationally certified school psychologist in 2015. Undercoffer worked in the public schools for nine years. She became an educational consultant at the State Support Team specializing in areas of special education, equity, disproportionality, MTSS, and PBIS. Undercoffer became a board certified cognitive specialist in 2021.
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Darlene Unger
Darlene Unger, Ph.D., is a professor of special education at Kent State University. Her instructional experiences reflect educational services for youth with autism and developmental disabilities. Unger has coordinated research and training projects on multiagency collaboration and employment services for individuals with disabilities. Her publications include book chapters and articles on the transition experiences of adolescents with autism, employer experiences with individuals with disabilities, disability-employment discrimination, supported employment, and the use of technology for teaching and learning. She is past-president of CEC's Division of Career Development and Transition.
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Brigid Utz
Brigid Utz is a junior undergraduate student at Franciscan University of Steubenville. She is currently working on her bachelor's degree in middle childhood education with concentrations in science and social studies. As a pre-service teacher, she has had the opportunity to dive into creative planning and programming in planning professional development topics and sessions for pre-service teachers. She has been able to serve and volunteer within the education department at FUS, allowing her to present during a conference on campus and the opportunity to participate at an international conference as well.
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Mohinur Uzoqova
Mohinur Uzoqova, from Tashkent, Uzbekistan, is a third-year PsyD clinical psychology program student at the California School of Professional Psychology at Alliant International University. She gained experience in diagnostic and therapeutic treatments for neurodevelopmental disorders during her practicum at Pacific Clinics. Uzoqova's dissertation focused on the cultural awareness and stress experienced by parents of children with ASD in Uzbekistan, where families can face stigmatization and blame due to cultural expectations.
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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) and creator of the Conversation Paths Pack Expanded Version (CPPEV 2.0).
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Carla Valles
Carla Valles studied at Southern University and the University of Cincinnati, where she majored in education and African American studies. She is currently a SPED paraprofessional for Elyria City Schools and a program director for Elyria Teens Achieve Success, a non-profit teen mentoring program. Valles is also a playwright, and has a production company that focuses on programs facing teens and families, such as social injustices, mental health, and abuse.
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Elizabeth Vande Putte
Elizabeth Vande Putte is an autistic person who is active in the autistic community. She is involved with Autistic Radio, and delivers neurodiversity training for The Brain Charity, as well as being part of the steering group for a research project looking at dementia in autistic adults.
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Milena Varbanova
Milena Varbanova has extensive experience supporting the needs of diverse learners in various roles, including EL school psychologist, SST consultant, and an EL district administrator. She is currently serving a district with more than 3500 linguistically/culturally diverse students. Varbanova has engaged in a number of national, state, and regional professional development activities and was an instrumental team member developing guidance documents, including the ODE's guidance for identifying EL as SWD. She is an adjunct professor at Xavier University and Miami University. Varbanova is a member of the Ohio EL Advisory committee and a first vice president of the Ohio TESOL.
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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, Vermillion 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. Vermillion has previously presented at the Ohio Association for Gifted Children's Annual Conference and National Association for Gifted Children's Annual Conference.
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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. Vicario is a trainer for Ohio Child Welfare and co-authored the Foster Parents Survival Guide, as well as articles, curricula, and a textbook chapter in Counseling Children and Adolescents: Connecting Theory, Development and Diversity.
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Lisa Wade
Lisa Wade's disability advocacy began more than 20 years ago when her youngest child was diagnosed with autism. Since then, she has served on committees and with organizations on many disability issues. She developed a curriculum for families using Griffin-Hammis' Self-Guided Discovery model walking through steps for customized employment. She worked at the Utah Parent Center where, as a Charting the LifeCourse ambassador, she gave presentations and wrote training materials for families on person-centered planning. She currently works for Utah's Developmental Disability agency on the employment, planning, and inclusion team.
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Emily Walker
Emily Walker is an early childhood supervisor for Youngstown City School District. In education for 10 years, Walker served as an intervention specialist, Title I teacher, Title I coordinator, special education coordinator, and early childhood special education supervisor. Walker provides staff with coaching, resources, professional development opportunities, while working with families in regard to special education. She assists with and presents in district professional developments pertaining to special education and early literacy. Walker also completes learning tours within the preschool program on new initiatives and programs to monitor teacher implementation.
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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 MEd from the University of Dayton and has a BS from The Ohio State University.
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Lydia Wayman
Lydia Wayman is an autistic advocate with a BS in education and an MA 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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Jennifer Webb
Jennifer Webb is currently working at Malone University as the chair of education and associate professor. She has over 25 years of teaching experience from kindergarten through graduate school. Her passion is working with students who have disabilities as well as teaching about students with disabilities, so that future teachers understand the nature and needs of all students.
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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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Whitney Weirick
Whitney Renee Weirick, PhD, is a certified ASL interpreter and assistant professor in the educational interpreting program at the University of Arizona. Weirick is focused on advancing educational equity for deaf and hard of hearing K-12 students and supporting educational interpreters. Her work is rooted in respect for deaf communities at home and abroad. As a person of mixed ancestry, she seeks to welcome more linguistically and culturally diverse people into interpreting. She has presented her research at conferences in Idaho, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and New York. She has lived in Tucson for over 25 years.
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Sheri Wells-Jensen
Dr. Sheri Wells-Jensen, the 2023 Baruch S. Blumberg NASA/Library of Congress chair in Astrobiology, Exploration, and Scientific Innovation, is on the leadership team of AstroAccess, has completed two zero gravity research flights, and served as the Access Officer on Inclusion 1. She is on the board of SciAccess, Social and Conceptual Issues in Astrobiology, Messaging Extraterrestrial Intelligence International, and serves on the committee Human Research Program for Civilians in Space Travel and Space Habitation. As an associate professor at Bowling Green State University, her research includes disability and inclusion in space exploration, astrobiology, disability studies, and linguistics.
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Elisa Wern
Elisa Wern is an occupational therapist, with a master's degree in special education, and RESNA certified ATP. She presents at a variety of state/national conferences including regional training, AOTA, CEC, PATINS A2E, ATIA, OTAP/ECHO TIES Project, CATE, TalkingAAC and AAC in the Cloud. She is the local assistive technology specialist for Alachua County Schools in Gainesville, Florida, where she coordinates AT services for the district, and serves as the lead OT. She has a private practice, AT and OT consulting and coaching, supporting students and families primarily through teletherapy evaluations, consultations, and interventions. She shares ideas and resources on Twitter @wernedat.
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Monica Werner
Monica Adler Werner, LCPC, specializes in program development, executive function interventions, and parent coaching. She works in private practice after 15 years in special education supporting nuerodivergent people to reach their goals. She is a co-author of Unstuck and On Target (Brookes, 2011), a research-based curriculum to enhance cognitive flexibility and problem solving, and is also co-author of several other curricula and academic publications. Werner attended the University of Pennsylvania (BA), Johns Hopkins (MA), and Palo Alto University (MAC).
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Rachael Werning
Rachael Werning began her career in applied behavior analysis (ABA) in 2007. She has worked with students and adults in home, residential care, and public school settings. Werning primarily has worked in the public school sector but has experience using ABA with persons aged two to eighty four. She received her master's in education from Touro University with an emphasis in autism spectrum disorder. She began working as a consultant for Delaware School for the Deaf in 2017 and since the beginning of the 2022 she works full-time supporting students, educators and their families. Werning has a passion for educators and helping students thrive.
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Kelsie Whalen
Kelsie Whalen is a school based occupational therapy practitioner responsible for addressing students' physical, cognitive, psychosocial and sensory components of academic performance and participation. She works as a collaborative team member who is responsible for providing occupational therapy services (direct, consultative, RTI/SST, Section 504 plans, PBIS) across district schools. Her caseload includes student scholars from pre-k through high school. Her additional responsibilities include Level 1 & 2 fieldwork educator for OT and COTA programs.
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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 BA 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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Jerry Whittaker
Jerry Whittaker has been employed as a speech-language therapist in the public schools for seven years. He worked for 24 years as consultant for low-incidence handicapped in one of Ohio's Special Education Regional Resource Centers. Upon retirement, Whittaker accepted a part-time position with the Ohio Center for Low-Incidence and Severely Handicapped (now OCALI's ATAEM Center) as a technical assistance consultant providing technical support for braille and large print production. Whittaker is the author of a Microsoft Word add-in used for producing large print for paper and for screen reading used by a number of schools in Ohio and other states.
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Elizabeth Wietmarschen
Elizabeth Wietmarschen, MEd, is a transition to adulthood consultant at the OCALI Lifespan Transitions Center. 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 to work endorsement, is a Certified Employment Support Professional and a Charting the LifeCourse Ambassador.
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Renae Wilhelm
Renae Wilhelm, OTD, OTR/L, is a graduate from the University of Toledo. She has experience working in the field of occupational therapy in skilled nursing, outpatient, inpatient, and community settings. She has worked with various ages and populations but has always had a love working with individuals with developmental disabilities. She started her career at the Wood County Board of Developmental Disabilities in 2021.
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Sheri Wilkins
Sheri Wilkins, PhD, has been an educator at the preschool, elementary, middle school, and university levels. She has dedicated her career to students with disabilities and building the capacity of educators to serve them. After one of her sons sustained a mild traumatic brain injury in a car accident, she learned firsthand how environmental modifications and metacognitive strategies support people who struggle with executive functions. Wilkins has presented internationally and has written numerous articles and books on the topic of executive functioning skills. She is co-author of FLIPP the Switch with Carol Burmeister and FLIPP the Switch 2.0 with Carol Burmeister and Rebecca Silva.
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Ilse Willems
Ilse Willems is a CVI project coordinator for the Cortical/Cerebral Visual Impairment Project at Perkins. She has worked at Perkins for over 12 years, working with students with visual impairments, dual sensory loss, and multiple disabilities. Ilse holds a masters in severe special education with a concentration in deafblindness from Boston College, and a masters in teacher of students with visual impairments with a certificate in cortical/cerebral visual impairment from UMass Boston. Willems's four-year-old daughter's diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder influenced her passion for this topic.
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James Williams
James Williams was diagnosed with autism in 1991, at the age of 3. He graduated from Glenbrook North High School in Northbrook, Illinois, in 2010, with a modified 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 novel West High Story with fellow self-advocate Alex Phillip. In addition, he serves on the staff for multiple anime conventions throughout the United States. He served on the SPARK Research Match Committee in 2021 and 2022, and still continues to serve on the SPARK Community Advisory Council.
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Jen Williams
Jen Williams has a background in cultural anthropology and education focusing on equality, homelessness, behavior, learning disabilities, SEL methods, culture, LGBTQ+, and how inequality can affect how the human brain learns, grows, and functions. She has worked with adult learners in different science and business classes and high school level learners. She also volunteered with the after-school program at the Upper Valley Haven in Vermont, which helps families in need. She has previously presented at the 2022 New Hampshire Children's Trust 10th Annual Strengthening Families Summit and The Power of Stories 2023 SOS Reovery Community Organization RICH Conference.
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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. Williams is a grandmother to 3 beautiful granddaughters and one grandson.
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Thai Williams
Thai Ray Williams is a doctoral student at the University of North Carolina-Charlotte and a national board certified teacher with 31 years of experience as a special education teacher. Her research interests include: (a) writing instruction for students with extensive support needs, (b) family-centered and culturally-responsive practices for Native families of children with disabilities, and (c) the use of evidence-based practice of special education teachers serving in rural communities. In her spare time Williams enjoys working on her van conversion, creating multimedia art, and random adventures.
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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. Wills 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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Nikki Wilson
Nikki Wilson is an occupational therapist who earned her master's degree from New York University. She has been providing school-based occupational therapy services since graduation. Wilson launched Rhythm & Writing with the Get Write Crew: a fun, effective handwriting program with a diverse musical group of animals who teach kids to write letters the RIGHT way, using rhymes, music, and lyric videos. The program has been incorporated into elementary school curriculums throughout the United States. Wilson has presented numerous times about her program and has hosted multiple in-services about its implementation.
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Jean Winsor
Jean Winsor, Ph.D., has been with ICI since 2002. Her work focuses on state systems and integrated employment as well as evaluation. She has investigated policies and practices of states with high rates of integrated employment, methods states use to collect data on employment outcomes, strategies states use to fund integrated employment and the impact of these strategies on employment outcomes, strategies states use to promote integrated employment, the development and implementation of Employment First policies and practices, and factors that impact the choices individuals with intellectual and development disabilities (IDD) make about employment.
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Kaleena Wiseman
Kaleena Wiseman is married with 4 wonderful children. As a parent, teacher, and administrator, she has learned how to navigate meeting individualized needs of children. She has children diagnosed with autism, epilepsy, ADHD, and twice exceptional. Wiseman has been in the field for 20 years as an assistant, teacher, director, and early childhood professor. She owns and operates Out of the Ashes, LLC, which is a training, coaching, and mentoring business that specializes in working with children, their families, and others that have experienced trauma, special needs, and learning through play.
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Kathleen Wright
Kathleen Wright is the executive director of The Handwriting Collaborative. She has presented at national and state-level conferences on handwriting and literacy development, and recently organized the virtual 2022 International Conference on the Science of Written Expression. Wright's chapter, "Creating a Team Approach to Handwriting Instruction: How Collaboration Between the School-Based Occupational Therapist and Primary Teacher Can Facilitate Literacy Development." co-authored with colleague Carol Armann, OTR/L, is included in the Routledge International Handbook of Visual-Motor Skills, Handwriting, and Spelling: Theory, Research, and Practice.
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Jacqueline Wunderlich
Jacqueline Wunderlich is a board certified behavior analyst and Maryland licensed behavior analyst. She received her BA in psychology from Gallaudet University and her MA in special education from Ball State University. She is the director of Signs of Communication, LLC, which provides behavioral training and consultation to families and organizations working with deaf and hard of hearing learners. Wunderlich is passionate about advocating for diversity, equity and inclusion within the field of applied behavior analysis.
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Preeti Yadav
Preeti Yadav's decision to become a special education teacher was influenced by their mother's disability. They have completed a Bachelor of Arts, a Bachelor of Education in special education, and a master's degree in inclusive education from India. They have worked on various academic and internship projects, including a case study on assessment practices in special school settings and a qualitative investigation on the challenges faced by lesbians. They are currently pursuing a Ph.D. in special education at Indiana University, exploring and researching effective strategies to enhance the quality of life for individuals with special needs.
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Julie Yeater
Julie Yeater, Au.D., a member of the Nationwide Children's Hospital Audiology team in Toledo, completed her Au.D. with the A.T. Still University. Her interests lie in the areas of newborn/Infant screening and diagnostics and she volunteers within several audiology workgroups through the Ohio Department of Health as well as cochlear implants. In 2015 and 2016 she participated as a pediatric audiologist testing children in refugee camps around the country of Jordan and lectured at Jordan University on the topic of newborn hearing screening.
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Lauren Yost
Lauren Yost is a graduate from Eastern Connecticut State University, where she majored in psychology. Yost was an intern at the university's office of accessibility as a student success coach. She assisted with accommodation requests, campus outreach events, and general student inquiries.
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Carole Zangari
Carole Zangari, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, ASHA-F, BCS-CL is an SLP professor at Nova Southeastern University. She is executive director of the NSU satellite of the University of Miami-NSU Center for Autism and Related Disabilities, and has been teaching AAC for more than 30 years. Zangari is an ASHA fellow and past coordinator, AAC SIG 12. She is on the board of directors for the USAAC, AAC strand advisor to ATIA, and board member for several disability organizations. Zangari is co-authored/co-edited Practically Speaking Language, Literacy, & Academic Development for Students with AAC Needs, TELL ME: AAC in the Preschool Classroom & TELL ME Más.
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Beth Zillinger
Beth Zillinger graduated from Fort Hays State University in Hays, Kansas, with a bachelor's and masters in communication disorders. She worked for the North Central Kansas Special Education Cooperative and then Keystone Learning Services in multiple capacities as a K-12 speech-language pathologist, autism interdisciplinary and diagnostic team member, and assistive technology/augmentative alternative communication team coordinator. Discovering technology to support all learners in unlocking their potential continues to be her passion. She now supports students, families, staff, and schools in Kansas as the Kansas Infinitec program director.
Presenter Detail
Bambi Zinkon
Bambi Zinkon is a multi-system youth and family regional coach at OCALI and is passionate about helping families navigate complicated systems to support youth with complex needs. She has been an interpreter for the deaf for nearly 40 years and has spent 25 years in the DD field at the county board level. She has served a 10-year term on the Ohio Self-Determination Association board. Zinkon has trained local first responders to prepare them for encounters with people with autism and I/DD. This work focused on trauma responsive approaches, communication in crisis situations. Zinkon has recently completed a nine-month training and is a trauma informed biographical timeline facilitator.
Presenter Detail
Anne Zito
Anne Zito is a consultant with State Support Team, Region 3. Her areas of focus are special education, literacy, and early childhood. Previously, she worked as an SLP in Akron Public Schools. Her doctoral dissertation focused on understanding how teachers perceive their own silence during staff meetings. Findings highlighted specific practices that leaders can use when designing and facilitating staff meetings to build a positive climate. She presented her research at the American Evaluation Association Conference 2022. Zito holds principal and SLP licenses, and has a certificate of clinical competence in speech-language pathology from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association.