Diane M. Browder, Ph.D., is Snyder Distinguished Professor and doctoral coordinator of Special Education at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Dr. Browder has more than 2 decades of experience with research and writing on assessment and instruction of students with severe disabilities. Recently, she has focused on alternate assessment and linking assessment and instruction to the general curriculum. She is Principal Investigator for an Institute of Education Sciences—funded center with a focus on teaching students with moderate and severe disabilities to read. She is a partner in the National Center on Alternate Assessment and Principal Investigator for Office of Special Education Programs—funded projects on access to the general curriculum.
Dr. Spooner is Professor of Special Education, Coordinator of the Adapted Curriculum (Severe Disabilities) Program, and Principal Investigator on a personnel preparation project involving distance delivery technologies at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Dr. Spooner has more than 2 decades of experience with research and writing instructional practices for students with severe disabilities. He is co-editor for Teacher Education and Special Education and serves as an associate editor for Research and Practice for Persons with Severe Disabilities. He was a co-editor for TEACHING Exceptional Children and an associate editor for Teacher Education and Special Education. Recently, he has focused on alternate assessment and linking assessment and instruction to the general curriculum and serves as a Senior Research Associate for an Institute of Education Sciences—funded center with a focus on teaching students with moderate and severe disabilities to read.
Martin Agran, Ph.D., is a Professor of Special Education at the University of Northern Iowa. Prior to this, he was a Professor of Special Education at Utah State University. Dr. Agran taught high school students with moderate to severe disabilities, was a Fulbright Scholar in the Czech Republic, and served as a consultant and visiting professor at Herzen University of St. Petersburg University, Russia. Dr. Agran's principal research interests include the education of students with severe disabilities, self-determination, transition, and the preparation of teachers of students with significant instructional needs. He has directed several federally funded grants in these areas. He is the associate editor of Research and Practice in Persons with Severe Disabilities (formerly JASH). He is also on the editorial board of several professional journals, and he is the co-editor, along with Dr. Michael L. Wehmeyer, of the American Association on Mental Retardation's research-to-practice publication, Innovations. He has published extensively in the professional literature and is the author of several books, including Teaching Self-Determination to Students with Disabilities: Basic Skills for Transition with Michael L. Wehmeyer and Carolyn Hughes (Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co., 1998), Teaching Problem Solving to Students with Mental Retardation with Michael L. Wehmeyer (American Association on Mental Retardation, 1999), and Student-Directed Learning: Teaching Self-Determination Skills (Brooks/Cole, 1997).
Lynn Ahlgrim-Delzell, Ph.D., Dr. Ahlgrim-Delzell's research interests include literacy instruction and assessment and research methods for low-incidence populations. She has over 30 years of experience working with individuals with severe disability in various capacities.
Stephanie Al Otaiba, Ph.D., is a professor of teaching and learning at Southern Methodist University. A former special education teacher, her research focuses on early literacy interventions for students with or at-risk for disabilities, Response to Intervention (RTI), and teacher training. She is the author or coauthor of more than 130 articles and chapters. Dr. Al Otaiba is serves on the executive board of the International Dyslexia Association and is the Editor of the Journal of Learning Disabilities..
Jill Allor, Ed.D., conducts research in early literacy instruction for students with and without disabilities. She is an author of curricular materials for both general and special educators. She has published numerous research articles and chapters.
Keri S. Bethune, Ph.D., BCBA-D, Dr. Bethune's research focuses on applied behavior analysis, single-subject research design, teacher education (including coaching), and general curriculum access for students with severe disabilities and autism.
Heidi B. Carlone, Ph.D., studies the culture of science learning settings to better understand how science can be accessible for all learners.
Monica Delano, Ph.D., teaches in the program in moderate and severe disabilities as well as the program in autism and applied behavior analysis. Her research focuses on literacy interventions for students with autism spectrum disorders.
Jennifer C. Fischer-Mueller, Ed.D., taught science in several New Hampshire schools including Souhegan High School, Hollis/Brookline High School, and Spaulding Junior High School. She received a variety of honors including the Tandy Technology Excellence in Science Teaching Award and was named CitiBank National Faculty.
Claudia Flowers, Ph.D., Dr. Flowers's research has focused on assessment and transition issues for students with disabilities. She is a partner with the federally funded National Centers and State Collaborative 28-state consortium that is developing a new alternate assessment for students with significant cognitive disabilities and Co-principal Investigator for the IES-funded Communicating Interagency Relationships and Collaborative Linkages for Exceptional Students.
Jessica Folsom, Ph.D., is a former classroom teacher of adolescents with significant cognitive disabilities. She received her Ph.D. in special education with a focus in educational research.
Ellen Forte, Ph.D., holds several leadership positions on large-scale, federally funded research and assistance initiatives, including directing the validity evaluation component of the National Centers and State Collaborative 28-state consortium that is developing a new alternate assessment for students with significant cognitive disabilities. She serves as the chief policy advisor to the National Deaf Education Center at Gallaudet University on its implementation of standards, assessments, and accountability mechanisms, and serves as the chief standards and assessment policy advisor to the current National Evaluation of Titles I and II.
J. Mathew Jameson, Ph.D., Dr. Jameson's primary research interests include instructional strategies and inclusive educational procedures for students with significant cognitive disabilities. He has authored and coauthored articles focused on the provision of a free and appropriate public education, instructional strategies used to support students in inclusive settings, and evaluations of distance education and teacher preparation programs.
Bree A. Jimenez, Ph.D., studies general curriculum access and assessment for students with moderate and severe intellectual disabilities. Specifically, she investigates math and science instruction aligned to grade-level standards.
Cheryl M. Jorgensen, Ph.D., is an inclusive education consultant in private practice after being a project director with the Institute on Disability at the University of New Hampshire (UNH) and an assistant research professor in UNH's Education Department from 1985 to 2011. She is a co-founder of the National Center on Inclusive Education. Jorgensen has authored several books (including The Inclusion Facilitator’s Guide and The Beyond Access Model) and research articles; presents at state, national, and international conferences; and provides student-specific consultation throughout the United States.
Victoria Knight, Ph.D., Dr. Knight's research has focused on general curriculum access for students with significant disabilities and autism and evaluating and disseminating evidence-based practices. She is the author of book chapters and peer-reviewed publications on these topics.
Angel Lee, M.Ed., works with the National Center and State Collaborative on a General Supervision Enhancement Grant focusing on the development of curriculum and instruction aligned to the Common Core State Standards for students with significant disabilities. She is coauthor of three literacy curricula developed for students with significant disabilities: The Early Literacy Skills Builder, Pathways to Literacy, and Teaching to Standards: English Language Arts.
Ya-yu Lo, Ph.D., Dr. Lo's research focuses include applied behavior analysis, social skill instruction, effective academic and behavioral interventions, urban students with culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, functional behavioral assessment, and positive behavior support. She is a co-principal investigator of an IES grant, The solutions project: Teaching students with moderate/severe intellectual disability to solve mathematical problems (2013–2016).
John McDonnell, Ph.D., Dr. McDonnell's research focuses on curriculum and instruction, inclusive education, and transition programs for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities. He has published extensively in these areas and has been actively involved in the development of innovative school programs for more than 25 years.
Bethany R. McKissick, Ph.D., Dr. McKissick's research focuses on providing general curriculum access for students with disabilities. Additional research interests include evidence-based practices for teaching students with disabilities, students with severe challenging behaviors, inclusive education, and students with autism spectrum disorders.
Pamela J. Mims, Ph.D., Dr. Mims received her Ph.D. in special education in 2009 from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Her research interests include systematic instruction strategies and access to the general curriculum for students with significant disabilities. She has published multiple journal articles and book chapters and presents her work nationally.
Maryann Mraz, Ph.D., earned her Ph.D. from Kent State University and her M.Ed. and B.A. from John Carroll University. She has served as a board member of the Association of Literacy Educators and Researchers (ALER) and is the author of more than 60 books, articles, and chapters on literacy education.
Miriam Ortiz, Ph.D., received her doctorate in education and human development from Southern Methodist University (SMU) in 2017 with a focus on special education and Response to Intervention. Prior to completing her doctorate, Dr. Ortiz worked in Tallahassee, Florida, as a K–12 teacher for students with severe behavioral and emotional disabilities. She has worked closely with the researchers at SMU and across the country to improve the reading skills and achievement of struggling students and students with disabilities. Dr. Ortiz currently works as a clinical assistant professor at SMU in the Department of Teaching and Learning teaching courses in the Early Literacy Scholars Program, the Special Education Program, and the Doctoral Program. Dr. Ortiz is also the executive director for the Division for Learning Disabilities (TeachingLD.org) of the Council for Exceptional Children.
Robert Pennington, Ph.D., is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst and has more than 20 years of experience working with students with intellectual disabilities and autism spectrum disorders. His research interests are writing and communication, computerassisted instruction, and the application behavior analytic instructional procedures.
Drew Polly, Ph.D., Dr. Polly's research interests include examining the best way to support teachers' use of standards-based mathematics pedagogies and digital technologies in their classroom.
Shamby Polychronis, Ph.D., has experience teaching students with low-incidence disabilities in post-high school programs with an emphasis on community-based programs. Her scholarly interests include inclusive education, individual rights for people with disabilities, family support services, and collaborative partnerships between general and special educators.
Holly Prud'homme, M.Ed., From 2002–2006, Ms. Prud'homme participated in an Office of Special Education Programs-funded model demonstration project that developed the Beyond Access Model, an instructional planning process that supports valued membership, full participation, reciprocal social relationships, and learning of the general education curriculum in the general education classroom for students with the most significant disabilities. Ms. Prud'homme is featured in filmmaker Dan Habib's film Who Cares About Kelsey? that explores inclusive education for students with autism and emotional/behavioral disabilities.
David K. Pugalee, Ph.D., has done extensive research on the role of language in teaching and learning of mathematics. He has published extensively in this area as well as articles and books on mathematics and technology and mathematics and special education.
Rachel Quenemoen, M.S., conducts research and consultation/technical assistance on educational change processes to ensure that students with disabilities are included in and benefit from reform efforts. She has written numerous articles, chapters, research briefs, and presentations on improving outcomes for students with disabilities, including coauthoring a book on alternate assessment. She has worked for 35 years as an educational sociologist and currently serves on the assessment and accountability technical advisory committees for Idaho, Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers, Puerto Rico, South Dakota, and Washington, DC.
Timothy Riesen, Ph.D., Dr. Riesen's research interests include transition to employment and inclusion of individuals with moderate to severe disabilities in education, employment, and community environments.
Alicia F. Saunders, Ph.D., Dr. Saunders is the project coordinator for the Solutions Project, an IES grant, developing a mathematics word problem-solving curriculum for students with severe disabilities. She has helped design and conduct research in the area of general curriculum access, specifically in science, English language arts, and mathematics. Additionally, she has published multiple peer-reviewed journal articles, developed and conducted professional development webinars on aligning instruction to the Common Core State Standards, and is a coauthor of Early Numeracy, a mathematics curriculum for students with severe disabilities.
Julie L. Thompson, Ph.D., Prior to pursuing a Ph.D. in special education, Dr. Thompson taught students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) for 6 years. Her current research focuses on teaching academics to students with ASD, direct instruction, and applied behavior analysis. She is a National Board Certified teacher in severe and multiple disabilities and a Board Certified Behavior Analyst.
Jean Vintinner, Ph.D., Dr. Vintinner is a former high school English and reading teacher whose academic interests include adolescent literacy, content area reading, and motivating struggling readers.
Shawnee Y. Wakeman, Ph.D., Dr. Wakeman's research interest includes the relationship of the principal to the education of students with disabilities, access to the general curriculum and how it is enacted for students with significant cognitive disabilities, alignment of the educational system and the policy implications of those alignment issues, and alternate assessment. Dr. Wakeman is currently involved in several federally funded projects and publications related to alternate assessment and curriculum alignment.
Ryan Walker, Ph.D., Dr. Walker has established an active research agenda investigating the teaching of science process skills, the relationship between art and science instruction, and the importance of authentic science experience for teachers.
Leah Wood, Ph.D., Ms. Wood is a third-year doctoral candidate pursuing a Ph.D. in special education. Prior to returning to school full-time, Ms. Wood taught students with moderate to severe intellectual disability for 6 years. She is the lead graduate research assistant for the GoTalk Phonics IES grant, and coauthor of the GoTalk Phonics Curriculum, which is in development.
Charles L. Wood, Ph.D., Dr. Wood's research focuses on instructional design, computer-assisted instruction, explicit instruction, and applied behavior analysis.
