I'm an educational consultant for the PA Training and Technical Assistance Network (PaTTAN). In that capacity I am the state-wide lead for special education law, serve on the special education leadership and secondary transition initiatives, and am a member of the PaTTAN Universal Design for Learning (UDL) core team. Prior to PaTTAN I was a special education administrator for the Seneca Valley School District for seven years. During that time we revamped many of our programs to become one of the best programs in Western PA as evidenced by the number of families who moved to the district specifically for our special education programs. We underwent our special education audit in April of 2019 and had no findings of non-compliance. Prior to Seneca Valley I was an educational consultant with PaTTAN (five years in Pittsburgh and three years in Harrisburg). In that capacity I led the development of the IEP, annotated IEP and other forms that we use in Pennsylvania. I began my career as a paraprofessional before becoming a teacher. I taught general and special education. Within the area of special education I taught learning support, emotional support, autistic support, and life skills support.

Education

• Bachelor of Science in Elementary and Special Education, Slippery Rock University Master of Education in Special Education Supervision, Slippery Rock University

Awards

• Received "Most Outstanding Graduate Student" award from Slippery Rock University (2003)

Organizations

• ASCD, LRP

Presentations

• Keynote Speaker at 2016 Special Education Leadership Academy in Bedford, PA: "Renovation and Reinvention" National Council of Teachers of Mathematics Annual Conference (2008) in Salt Lake City Utah: "Teaching Concepts and Vocabulary Through the Use of Graphic Organizers" National Council of Supervisors of Mathematics Annual Conference (2009) in Washington D.C.: "Writing Standards Aligned IEPs Using Pennsylvania's Standards Aligned System" National Autism Conference (2008) at Penn State University: "Teaching Mathematics to Learners with Autism Spectrum Disorders" I have also presented hundreds of times in Pennsylvania on topics including: special education law, special education forms, Section 504, RtII/MTSS, standards aligned IEPs, progress monitoring, mathematics instruction, instructional strategies, and Power Teaching (to name a few)

Certifications

• Pennsylvania Teaching Certificate: Elementary Education, Pennsylvania Teaching Certificate: Special Education, Special Education Supervision

Achievements

• Served as a student member of Slippery Rock University's NCATE audit (2002), one of fifteen 2-person teams selected nationally to work on a joint project of the Council of Exceptional Children and the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics titled, "Substantive Collaboration between Mathematics Education and Special Education Symposium: Teaching Mathematics to Students within the RtI Process", trained in mediation by the Justice Center of Atlanta, 2007 Fellow in the Educational Policy Fellowship Program (Education Policy and Leadership Center)