Arnhold, Robert is coordinator of Adapted Physical Activity Program at the Center on Disability and Health at Slippery Rock University.

Beninghof, Anne M. is an internationally recognized consultant and trainer, has more than twenty-five years of experience working with students and teachers, in a variety of public and private settings. She currently works part-time with teachers and students who are struggling with the learning process. In both her presenting and writing, Ms. Beninghof focuses on creative, practical solutions for more effectively including students with diverse learning needs in general education classrooms.

Chard, David is the Leon Simmons Endowed Dean of the Annette Caldwell Simmons School of Education and Human Development and Professor of Teaching and Learning at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. Dr. Chard has been a principal investigator on several federal research projects on reading comprehension and mathematics instruction.

Clark, Hewitt B. is the director of the National Network on Youth Transition for Behavioral Health and is a professor at the Florida Mental Health Institute, College of Behavioral and Community Sciences, University of South Florida. Dr. Clark is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst, serves on various boards for professional journals, and consults nationally and internationally. He has developed and researched various innovative programs and has published extensively, with several books and more than 125 professional publications to his credit. He is the lead-editor of the book entitled: Transition of Youth and Young Adults with Emotional or Behavioral Difficulties: An Evidence-Supported Handbook.

Connors, Susan has been president and founder of the Tourette Syndrome Association of Western New York since 1984. She has been on the Board of Directors of the National Tourette Syndrome Association for 12 years and is chairperson of the Education Committee of the National Tourette Syndrome Association. Ms. Connors has presented hundreds of workshops throughout the United States, Canada, Spain, and Norway on the education of children with TS and has won numerous awards for her work with children with TS.

Cotner, Cori A. spent ten years in the classroom in the Muncy School District. As a classroom teacher, she embraced inclusion and served many students with disabilities. In 2003, Cori left the classroom to become the Professional Development Coordinator for BLaST Intermediate 17. In November, 2008, she was appointed to the position of Director of the Division of Educational Planning, as well as the Inclusive Best Practices Project Manager. 

Elbaum, Batya is the Associate Professor of Education and Psychology at the University of Miami and consultant to the OSEP-funded Data Accountability Center. Dr. Elbaum has worked closely with the state of Pennsylvania on its collection and analysis of data related to Indicator 8 of the State Performance Plan. Dr. Elbaum led the research team that developed and validated the survey that Pennsylvania and many other states use to collect data related to schools facilitation of parent involvement.

Ellis, M. Kathleen is a Professor at the West Chester University, Person who is Deaf and representative of Disability Rights for the committee. 

Dettmer, Judy has been working in the field of brain injury for 20 years. Ms. Dettmer is currently the Director for the TBI Program at the Colorado department of Human Services. In this position she oversees all activities related to both the Traumatic Brain Injury Trust Fund Program as well as a Federal grant funded through Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration. Ms. Dettmer has worked extensively with adults, children and family members of individuals with brain injury. She has provided direct and systems consultation to improve the lives of individuals with brain injury. Judy has also assisted with research efforts related to brain injury and has conducted countless presentations, classes and seminars on brain injury. Additionally, Judy is the Past President of the Brain Injury Association of Colorado Board of Directors, past Chair for the Colorado Traumatic Brain Injury Trust Fund Board and member of the Colorado Advisory Board on Brain Injury. Ms. Dettmer is a current member of the Traumatic Brain Injury Networking Team.

Duckett, Teri serves as an Educational Consultant for the Pennsylvania Training and Technical Assistance Network. A graduate of Cedar Crest College (B.A. in English and Elementary Education) and Temple University, (M.Ed. in Special Education and Early Childhood), she taught in the Philadelphia School System for twenty-eight years.  Teri is a Certified Pennsylvania Trainer of LETRS-Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling. She serves on the PATTAN statewide teams under these initiatives: Reading, Math, Leadership, 4Sight, PVAAS, Standards Aligned Instruction and IEPs, and Distinguished School Leaders.

Fagan, Shannon M. is the Director of the Youth and Family Training Institute (YFTI).  The YFTI is responsible to train counties in the High Fidelity Wraparound Model, as well as monitoring and evaluating the model.  The YFTI is based out of both Pittsburgh and Mechanicsburg and is a collaboration of the University of Pittsburgh/Western Psychiatric Institute.   Shannon has extensive history working within Westmoreland County as a CASSP Coordinator.  Previous to that she has worked as a supervisor of a foster care program and an early intervention program.  Shannon earned her bachelors degree at Penn State University in Human Development and Family Studies and her Masters degree at the University of Pittsburgh in Child Care/Child Development.

Fuchs, Lynn is the Nicholas Hobbs Professor of Special Education and Human Development at Vanderbilt University, where she also co-directs the Kennedy Center Reading Clinic. She has conducted programmatic research on assessment methods for enhancing instructional planning and on instructional methods for improving reading and math outcomes for students with learning disabilities. Dr. Fuchs has published more than 200 empirical studies in peer-review journals. She sits on the editorial boards of 10 journals including the Journal of Educational Psychology, Scientific Studies of Reading, Elementary School Journal, Journal of Learning Disabilities, and Exceptional Children.

Gallen, Robert has been an early intervention provider since 1997 with Kentucky First Steps and then for the Alliance for Infants and Toddlers in Allegheny County, PA. He participated in data collection for the Battelle Developmental Inventory-2 and currently serves as a national trainer for Riverside Publishing. In 2004 moved academic positions to Chatham University, where he has been Field Placement Coordinator for the Masters of Science in Counseling Psychology program. Has taught courses in Assessment, Field Placement, Family Therapy, and Developmental Psychopathology. In the summer of 2007 started the Certificate in Infant Mental Health at Chatham University and is currently teaching Essentials of Infant Mental Health.

Hazeltine, Glenna M. practices in the areas of general and special education law. She began practicing law in Philadelphia, where she was Assistant General Counsel and Administrator for the School District of Philadelphia. Ms. Hazeltine graduated from Smith College with a B.A. in English and from Northwestern University where she earned her Masters. She taught English in middle and upper schools for many years before attending law school. She earned her Juris Doctorate from Temple Universitys School of Law. Ms. Hazeltine is a member of the Federal, Pennsylvania and New Jersey Bars and is admitted to practice before the Supreme Court. Ms. Hazeltine is a frequent lecturer in the education field, speaking on a variety of issues facing school districts including student discipline in both the regular and special education curriculum, special education liability, §1983 and sexual discrimination. Attorney Hazeltine is also an adjunct professor of Education and Special Education Law at Villanova University and is a member of the Board of the William Appling Singers in New York.

Henderson, Lynnette  is a Research Assistant Professor in Pediatrics, a Vanderbilt Kennedy Center Member, and Coordinator of Research Participant Recruitment for the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center for Research on Human Development. She holds a B.S. degree in early childhood and early elementary education from Freed-Hardeman College, a M.Ed. degree in gifted and early childhood education from Belmont University, and a Ph.D. in special education from Peabody College, Vanderbilt University, with an emphasis in gifted studies and educational neuroscience. She completed a NAAR post-doctoral fellowship in autism research at Vanderbilt University in 2005. She has taught 3 year-olds, kindergarten, and gifted elementary students, and supervised over 50 teacher trainees. She has taught courses at Peabody College of Vanderbilt University, Austin Peay State University and Lipscomb University. Hendersons research interests include development in young children, giftedness, and autism spectrum disorders. She is Vice-President of the Autism Society of Middle Tennessee, and was recently named their Volunteer of the Year.

Heward, William L. is Professor Emeritus of Education at The Ohio State University (OSU) where he taught for 30 years. He has been a Senior Fulbright Scholar in Portugal, a Visiting Professor of Psychology at Keio University in Tokyo, and presented lectures and workshops in 15 other countries. Dr. Heward's publications include more than 100 journal articles and book chapters and nine books. His current research interests include "low-tech" methods for increasing the effectiveness of group instruction and adaptations of curriculum and instruction that promote the generalization and maintenance of newly learned knowledge and skills.

Himmele, William is co-author of The Language-Rich Classroom: A Research-based Framework for Teaching English Language Learners. He serves as a tenured faculty member in the Department of Elementary and Early Childhood Education at Millersville University. Dr. Himmele earned an M.A. in TESOL (Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages) and a Ph.D. in Intercultural Education.

Honeycutt, Kevin is a Technology Integration Specialist. He spent 13 years teaching art in the classroom and helping students plan for their future.  He left the classroom to work at ESSDACK, an educational learning center that allows me to research and develop programs to help educators and learners.

Jorgensen, Cheryl M. is an Assistant Research Professor and Project Director with the Institute on Disability at the University of New Hampshire. Since 1987 she has worked towards the inclusion of students with disabilities in general education classrooms through teacher education, research, professional development, systems change, and policy activities. She is the author of several professional journal articles and books, including The Inclusion Facilitators Guide and The Beyond Access Model.

Kerr, Barbara is the Williamson Family Distinguished Professor of Counseling Psychology at the University of Kansas.  Educated at the University of Missouri and Ohio State University, she has served on faculties of the Universities of Nebraska and Iowa and Arizona State University.  Her research is on the development of giftedness and creativity.  She has written five books in this area, including:  Smart Girls (1985, 1997); Smart Boys (2001); A Handbook for Counseling Gifted & Talented (1991, 2003); and Counseling Girls & Women: Volume 1, Talent, Risk & Resiliency and Volume 2, Talent Development (2005).  She has authored over 100 articles and scholarly papers in the area of giftedness, creativity, and talent development and has won the American Psychological Association Presidential Citation for Research through Service and the American Psychological Foundation's Esther Katz Rosen Award for Research in Gifted Education.  She has been on the editorial boards of the leading journals in her field and served as the Associate Director of the Belen Blank National Center for Gifted Education.

Kinsella, Kate is an adjunct faculty member in Secondary Education at San Francisco State University addressing development of academic language and literacy across the subject areas. She provides consultancy nationally to school districts regarding evidence-based English language and academic literacy development. A focal area for her research and consultancy is enhancing the educational experience of the long-term English Learner. Dr. Kinsella has maintained active involvement in linguistically diverse K-12 classrooms by regularly providing in-class coaching and  demonstration lessons and teaching academic literacy skills to adolescent English Learners in her Universitys Step to College Program. She has an extensive educational publishing career, including journal articles, chapters, learners dictionaries and literacy intervention programs, including the Longman Study Dictionary for English Learners and Scholastics Read 180. A former Fulbright lecturer in teaching ESL, Dr. Kinsella was co-editor of the CATESOL Journal from 2000-2005 and served on the editorial board of the TESOL Journal from 1999-2003. Dr. Kinsella recently joined the National Advisory Board for the Consortium on Reading Excellence (CORE). Dr. Kinsella has received numerous honors, including the 2002 California Reading Association award to an educator who has made a statewide impact on policy and pedagogy in the area of literacy. In 2005 she received the California Department of Educations Award of Excellence for her contributions to improving the education of immigrant youth. She was commissioned by the California Department of Education to co-author a 2009 publication on research-based practices to deliver effective English language development in secondary schools.

Lepore, Monica has been at West Chester University for 26 years as the adapted physical education professional preparation coordinator. Prior to that she was the adapted physical educator at a self-contained, approved private school in New York.

Lorenzi, Dave is Special Needs Activity program director, faculty at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, chair PSAHPERD & EDA AAHPERD Adapted Activities Committee.

Lupp, Lynda A., serves as Special Education Advisor with the Bureau of Special Education.  As special education liaison between the Bureau of Special Education and the Bureau of Assessment and Accountability, Ms. Lupp maintains responsibility for statewide assessments for students with disabilities including the general assessment with accommodations (PSSA), the alternate assessment (PASA), and the modified assessment (PSSA-M). 

Martin, Jose is a partner with the school law firm of Richards Lindsay & Martin in Austin, Texas. His practice focuses exclusively on the representation of public school districts in litigation and consultation involving the education of disabled students under the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. He served as Chief Editor and Writer for the RLM Texas Disability Law Advisor, and currently serves as Contributing Editor to The Special Educator, a national newsletter on special education law issues published by LRP Publications. As a speaker, Mr. Martin presents numerous topics each year to various audiences interested in disabilities laws at local, regional, state, and national conferences and workshops.

McElfresh, Gary is completing his 8th year as the Director of Student Services for the Sharon City School District.  The Sharon City School District is located in northwest Pennsylvania, approximately mid-way between Erie and Pittsburgh.  The District services approximately 2,200 students in a suburban setting with urban tendencies.
McKinley, DonnaIrene serves as an Educational Consultant for the Pennsylvania Training and Technical Assistance Network. Her initiatives include Standards Aligned Instruction and IEPs.

Meers, Gary is a professor of human resource development at the University of Nebraska. He is an international speaker and consultant, having conducted workshops and given speeches in all fifty states and twelve foreign countries. He has written several books and more than 125 articles in the areas of career planning, job satisfaction, and instructional improvement.

Minke, Kathleen NCSP holds degrees in school psychology from James Madison University (Ed.S.) and Indiana University (Ph.D.). Dr. Minke is currently Director of the School of Education at the University of Delaware, where her responsibilities include counseling, family school collaboration, and social-emotional assessment. She also serves as President-elect of the National Association of School Psychologists.

Moats, Louisa has been a teacher, psychologist, researcher, graduate school faculty member, and author of many influential scientific journal articles, books, and policy papers on the topics of reading, spelling, language, and teacher preparation. She began her professional career as a neuropsychology technician and teacher of students with learning disabilities. She earned her Masters degree at Peabody College of Vanderbilt and her doctorate in Reading and Human Development from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Dr. Moats spent four years as site director of the NICHD Early Interventions Project in Washington, DC, a longitudinal, large-scale project to investigate the causes and remedies for reading failure in high-poverty urban schools.  Dr. Moats spent the previous fifteen years in private practice as a licensed psychologist in Vermont, specializing in evaluation and consultation with individuals of all ages who experienced learning problems in reading and language.  In addition to LETRS, Dr. Moats books include Speech to Print: Language Essentials for Teachers (Brookes Publishing); Spelling: Development, Disability, and Instruction (York Press); Straight Talk About Reading (with Susan Hall, Contemporary Books), and Basic Facts About Dyslexia (with Karen Dakin, International Dyslexia Association).  She is well known for authoring the American Federation of Teachers Teaching Reading is Rocket Science. Dr. Moats is currently Consultant Advisor to Sopris West Educational Services for Literacy Research and Professional Development.  She is focusing on the improvement of teacher preparation and professional development. She is Vice President of the International Dyslexia Association.

Moran, Laura is from Beaver Falls, PA and attended Wheaton College in Wheaton, IL and received a B.A. in Literature and Secondary Education and received a Masters degree at Teachers College Columbia University in Sociology of Education and Educational Policy.  Currently she is working on her Ph.D. at Indiana University of Pennsylvania in Administration and Leadership Studies for the Public Sector. Laura is an educational consultant at PaTTAN in Harrisburg and is working on several initiatives including:  Secondary RtII, RtII at the Elementary Level, 4Sight and Data Analysis, Distinguished School Leader, and Reading.

Mrozowski, Stan is the Director of the Childrens Bureau in the Pennsylvania Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services.  The Childrens Bureau is responsible for the development of policy and programs directed at serving the behavioral health needs of children and adolescents in the Commonwealth. Stan has an extensive background in the behavioral health field, having worked as Childrens Policy Specialist for the Pennsylvania Community Providers Association, as CEO of a multi service children service agency, and as a County MH/MR Administrator.  He has a Doctoral Degree in Public Administration.

Noonan, Patricia is an Assistant Research Professor at the University of Kansas, and a Principal Investigator for several projects housed in the Center for Research on Learning (KU-CRL). She is the Co-Director of the Research Collaboration, an entity focused on collaborative evaluation as a mechanism for school improvement. She currently directs two projects: The Evaluation of the Missouri Integrated Model and the Arizona Community Transition Team Training, as well as teaches both online and face-to-face graduate coursework in Special Education. Through her research in both transition and evaluation of integrated tiered models of systems change, her work expands upon existing secondary interventions of school improvement to better engage students both with disabilities and at-risk for school failure.

Palmiero, James is the Director of the Pennsylvania Training and Technical Assistance Network (PaTTAN), Pittsburgh Office. Mr. Palmiero oversees training and technical assistance specific to Indicator 8 (Parent Engagement) in support of Pennsylvania's State Performance Plan (SPP). Mr. Palmieros work on Indicator 8 has included oversight of the development of a practical handbook for Pennsylvania's schools supporting students with disabilities entitled: Enhancing Parent Involvement. Presently, He is currently working with a group of cross sector stakeholders on the development of parent engagement training modules, based on the National Parent Teacher Association's standards for Family and Community Engagement

Pickering, Debra is the senior associate of Marzano Research Laboratory in Denver, Colorado. During more than 30 years in education Dr. Pickering has gained practical experience as a classroom teacher, building leader, and district administrator. In addition to her work with schools, she Pickering has co-authored, with Robert Marzano, educational books and manuals, including Dimensions of Learning, and, more recently, Classroom Instruction That Works, Classroom Management That Works, and Building Academic Vocabulary, all published through ASCD.

Potash, Larry began his career as a secondary Social Studies teacher in the Girard School District, near Erie, PA.  He then served as a middle and high school principal in the Lewisburg Area School District for 15 years and as Director of Curriculum and Instruction and Superintendent in the Muncy School District for 14 years.  He is now retired and serves as an Educational Consultant and Inclusive Best Practices Project Coordinator. 

Purcell, Kerry is a Senior Consultant for Focus on Results.  In her current capacity, Kerry works with district and school leaders around the country.  Her work focuses on building leadership capacity and system supports to further enhance teaching and learning opportunities for every student, every day.  Prior to joining Focus on Results, Kerry served as a Principal, Principals Assistant, and teacher in Springfield Public School District 186 in Springfield, IL.  During her tenure as principal at Harvard Park Elementary School in Springfield, Kerry worked in collaboration with her staff, students, and families to dramatically raise test scores while improving the culture and climate of the school.  Her school was one of two schools that was selected to be featured in the documentary film, The Principal Story.  This film, funded by the Wallace Foundation and produced by Oscar-nominated filmmaker Tod Lending and award winning filmmaker David Mrazek, explores the many facets of principal leadership through poignant and real stories.

Rettig, Michael D. spent 15 years as a professor in the College of Education and Director of the Center for School Leadership at James Madison University (JMU), Harrisonburg, VA. He retired from JMU as Professor Emeritus in June 2006 to work full-time with schools across the country. In addition to his work in higher education, he taught for 10 years in the Syracuse City Schools in New York and served as a school principal in Virginia for six years. Dr. Rettig has served as a consultant on school scheduling issues in 42 states with over 750 school districts nationally and internationally. He also has conducted hundreds of workshops and has authored or co-authored numerous articles and books on school scheduling and related topics. Dr. Rettig is the founder School Scheduling Associates, LLC. A past president and current board member of the Virginia Association of Curriculum and Supervision, he has received many awards including the Service Award from the Shenandoah Valley chapter of Phi Delta Kappa. He was also named a Madison Scholar at James Madison University and was the recipient of the outstanding graduate student award through PDK at the University of Virginia.

Sarandrea, John is completing his third year as Superintendent of the Sharon City School District. The Sharon City School District is located in northwest Pennsylvania, approximately mid-way between Erie and Pittsburgh.  The District services approximately 2,200 students in a suburban setting with urban tendencies.
Schechter, Marlene serves as an Educational Consultant for the Pennsylvania Training and Technical Assistance Network. Her initiatives include Standards Aligned Instruction and IEPs.

Smith, Frances G. currently works as the technology coordinator for the Virginia Department of Educations Training and Technical Assistance Center and as a collateral instructor in the School of Education at Virginia Commonwealth University. She is also a visiting adjunct professor at the George Washington University, where she has taught a graduate course in Universal Design for Learning (UDL) for the Department of Teacher Preparation and Special Education since 2003. Dr. Smith received a grant towards the development of this course from the national Faculty Administrative Modules in Education (FAME) project. She currently represents Vocational Evaluation & Career Assessment Professionals (VECAP) on the National Taskforce on UDL and participates on a UDL workgroup for the IDEA Partnership. 

Stein, Marcy is a Professor at the University of Washington, Tacoma, where she is one of the founding faculty members of the Education program. She teaches in both the At-Risk and Special Education study options in the Master of Education program as well as in the Teacher Certification program. She has published extensively on topics including beginning reading and reading intervention, mathematics instruction, vocabulary acquisition, curriculum analysis and textbook adoption.  She has also served as a consultant to departments of education in several states on the translation of reading research to instructional practice and the evaluation of reading and math curriculum materials.

Stoehr, Michael works for the Pennsylvania Department of Education as the lead educational consultant for Secondary Transition with the Pennsylvania Training and Technical Assistance Network (PATTAN). He has worked in the special education field for the past 25 years and has extensive experience in the areas of secondary transition, assessment, job analysis, and job coaching. Mr. Stoehr has presented extensively throughout Pennsylvania and nationally on a variety of topics including: transition communities of practice, effective transition planning, interagency collaboration, and youth engagement and self-advocacy.

Sugai, George is professor and Carole J. Neag Endowed Chair in the Neag School of Education at the University of Connecticut. His research and practice interests include schoolwide positive behavior support, emotional and behavioral disorders, applied behavior analysis, organizational management, and classroom and behavior management.

Thomas, Teresa is the Early Intervention coordinator for the Parent Education Network. She is the parent of one adult son, who had Legg Perthus Disease as a child, and four adult stepsons; one of whom has learning disabilities. Ms. Thomas currently serves on the Pennsylvania State Leadership Team for Special Quest and the National Professional Development Center on Inclusion (NPDCI). She does a variety of trainings and workshops on topics related to Early Intervention. She also provides technical assistance, resources, and consultation for professionals and parents of young children with disabilities in eastern Pennsylvania.

Wexler, Larry is currently the Director of OSEPs Research to Practice Division. He has been a special educator for thirty-eight years, an executive assistant to the State Director of Special Education, a director of state monitoring, an OSEP state contact, an OSEP project officer, the Deputy Director of the Monitoring and State Improvement Planning Division, and the Associate Division Director responsible for OSEP's National Initiatives Team. He holds a bachelors degree in International Relations from the School of International Service at American University, a masters degree in teaching with concentration in mental retardation from Howard University, and a doctoral degree with concentration in severe disabilities from Johns Hopkins University.

White, Gene, Chair, PETE, East Stroudsburg University, Eastern District AAHPERD  and PSAHPERD Past President

Zirkel, Perry A. is university professor of education and law at Lehigh University, where he formerly was dean of the College of Education and more recently held the Iacocca Chair in Education for its five-year term.  He has a Ph.D. in Educational Administration and a J.D. from the University of Connecticut, and a Master of Laws degree from Yale University.  He has written more than 1,200 publications on various aspects of school law, with an emphasis on legal issues in special education.  He writes a regular column in Phi Delta Kappan, another for
Principal magazine, and a third, more recently, for Teaching Exceptional Children.  Past president of the Education Law Association and co-chair of the Pennsylvania special education appeals panel from 1990 to 2006, he is the author of the two-volume reference Section 504, the ADA, and the Schools; the recent CEC monograph The Legal Meaning of Specific Learning Disability; and the forthcoming Digest of Supreme Court Decisions Affecting Education.