Kellie-Anne is a Masters level trained School Psychologist from the beautiful island of Jamaica, and is a student in the Doctoral Special Education program, with a focus on Early Intervention and Early Childhood Special Education. She spent most of her 16-year School Psychology practice working in inclusive early childhood settings. Her research interests are focused on the utilization of co-regulation strategies and effective coaching interventions for caregivers of children with developmental disabilities. She aspires to improve Early Childhood Special Education teacher preparation programs, preparing future educators to utilize social-emotional learning and family-centered practices.

My name is Tony Daza, I am a Latiné student with Colombian roots though I moved to UO from Minnesota. I am a former Minneapolis Public Schools middle school special education teacher, which has shaped my interest area for research. My work focuses on positive behavior interventions and support, K-12 school transition support, and preparing pre-service teachers for working with students. All of my work is through the lens of supporting students with disabilities as well as Latiné youth. In addition to research I enjoy data science and translating research to make best-practices accessible for practitioners.

Yitong Jiang is an international doctoral student from China. She holds both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in Special Education from Beijing Normal University and is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA). With nearly a decade of experience working with families, teachers, and young children with autism, she is now pursuing a doctorate in Special Education to further her research experience. Her academic interests include evidence-based practices for enhancing self-regulation development in young children on the autism spectrum, caregiver co-regulation strategy coaching, self-regulation measure development, and naturalistic developmental behavioral interventions. 

Seulbi Lee is a PhD candidate in Special Education specializing in educational data science and quantitative research methods. Her academic journey includes bachelor's and master's degrees in special education from the University of Maryland and teaching experience in elementary classrooms. Seulbi's primary research is centered around specific reading comprehension difficulties, academic support for students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and developmental disabilities, and technology-enhanced learning practices. She is interested in broadening her research scope to encompass international development for inclusive education and raising disability awareness in low- and middle-income countries, particularly in the areas of reading and literacy.

Yessy Medina is a Mexican-American doctoral student in the department of Special Education. Her research and evaluation efforts focus on culturally and linguistically responsive practices, policies, and teacher preparation for dually identified learners. Yessy earned a Bachelor’s in Elementary Education from Roosevelt University and a Master’s in Bilingual Curriculum and Instruction from Concordia University in Chicago. With more than a decade of experience in PK-8 inclusive bilingual settings, Yessy leverages her background as a neurodivergent and bilingual scholar to affirm the cultural and linguistic capital of multilingual learners with disabilities, and promote equitable practices for all learners

Erick Munene Njue is a doctoral student in Special Education and a former high school teacher in Kenya. He holds a bachelor’s degree in education, linguistics, and literature from the University of Nairobi and a Master of Science in education policy and leadership from the University of Oregon. He is interested in education policy for dually identified students, inclusive education and identification, and the referral and assessment of dually identified students. He is involved in research on the Inclusive Skill-Building Learning Approach (ISLA) to reduce the school-to-prison pipeline and enhancing adolescents' literacy skills in juvenile detention.

Saratessa Palos is a dedicated educator with over a decade of experience in various educational and clinical roles. She holds a Bachelor's in Child Development from California State University, Sacramento, master's degrees in Special Education and Psychology from the University of San Francisco and the University of West Florida, and has advanced training in Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) from the Florida Institute of Technology. She is now pursuing doctoral studies, researching the development of social-emotional competence (SEC) in early childhood, adaptive interventions to support SEC, and implementation science for the scalable, replicable impact of evidence-based practices in early childhood education.