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Prior to entering the doctoral program at the University of Illinois, Michelle taught middle school and high school students with a wide range of disabilities, including autism, intellectual disabilities, learning disabilities, emotional and behavioral disorders, and hearing impairments in Tucson, Arizona. She also taught American Sign Language for foreign language credit as a high school teacher and at the University of Arizona. She began her career working with children with disabilities as an early interventionist at the Arizona State Schools for the Deaf and Blind serving families in rural Arizona.
Michelle’s current research interests include using inclusive service learning to promote meaningful outcomes for students with and without disabilities. She enjoys traveling and hiking with her husband, Ralph and their Shiba Inu, Fuji.
Advisor: Stacy Dymond
B.S. Speech and Hearing Science, University of Arizona
M.A. Special Education and Rehabilitation, University of Arizona
As a special education teacher, Anne taught in cross categorical settings,
including a resource room, self-contained settings, and inclusion in grades
K through 8 in the Chicago Public Schools before returning to obtain her doctoral degree in special education.
Anne is currently interested in how teacher behaviors and implementation
of behavior strategies affect students both in the general education setting
and in special education settings.
Advisor: Lisa Monda-Amaya
B.S. SPED (LBS-1), Illinois State University
M.Ed. Behavior Intervention Specialist (LBS-11), UIUC
Christopher worked as a special education teacher in Los Angeles County for 5 years in elementary, middle and high school. Christopher is currently interested in the overrepresentation of minorities in special education and underrepresentation of African-American male teachers in special education.
Advisor: Lisa Monda-Amaya, PhD
Bachelor of Science (B.S.), Special Education, Fisk University
Master of Arts in Theology (MAT), Fuller Theological Seminary
Master of Education (M.Ed.) w/emphasis in Psychology, Pepperdine University
Catherine served families and children with special needs in
many different capacities, including as an early childhood educator,
an early intervention provider and a therapeutic recreation leader. She is currently interested in recruiting, enrolling and sustaining the participation of hard to reach families in quality early learning programs. Catherine is also interested in how efficiently and effectively young children with special needs are served by social welfare programs.
Advisors: Susan Fowler and Amy Santos
B.A. Elementary and Special Education, University of Iowa, Iowa City
M.Ed. Early childhood Special Education, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
As an early childhood inclusion teacher and administrator in New York
City and Arizona, Natalie spent more than ten years working with young children with and without disabilities in Montessori, Head Start, and charter schools. She also volunteered as an adaptive ski instructor at Windham Mountain, teaching children with various disabilities how to ski.
Natalie's current research interests lie in the areas of inclusive early childhood education, connections between Montessori education and special education, and early childhood teacher preparation to work in inclusive settings. In her spare time, she runs, walks, and trains with her recently adopted dog, Chachi, and involves herself in local community organizations such as CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates for Children) and Books2Prisoners.
B.A. Elementary Education - University of Arizona
M.A. Independent School Leadership - Teachers College, Columbia University
M.S.E. Early Childhood Special Education - Fordham University
Prior to beginning her graduate studies, Lori taught in early childhood special education and inclusive prekindergarten classrooms. Her research interests include young children's social competences, preschool inclusion, and interventions to promote positive peer relationships for children with and without disabilities.
Lori cherishes spending time with her family, as well as traveling, exercising, and cooking new recipes.
Advisor: Michaelene Ostrosky
B.S. Early Childhood Education, UIUC
Ed.M. Infancy and Early Childhood Special Education, UIUC
As a certified special education teacher both in Korea and the U.S., Hyejin taught children with various disabilities in early intervention centers and public elementary schools in both countries.
Hyejin’s research interests include the services that children with autism spectrum disorders are receiving in schools, social development of young children with disabilities, and families of children with disabilities.
Hyejin lives in Champaign with her husband and son. She also enjoys reading and solving Rubiks cubes.
Advisors: Michaelene Ostrosky and James Halle
B. A. Special Eduction, Ewha Women’s University, Seoul, Korea
M. A. Special Education, Ewha Women’s University, Seoul, Korea
Ed. M. Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages, Boston University, MA
C.A.G.S. Special Education, Boston University, MA
Emily worked as a public preschool special education teacher in Illinois and in North Carolina. She also spent several years as a consultant working on including students with special needs who were enrolled in private schools.
Policy issues related to public preschool programs for students who are at-risk or have special needs. Emily enjoys spending time with friends and family, and her boyfriend. She enjoys reading, baking, and attending church.
Advisor: Susan Fowler
B.S. Early Childhood Education, UIUC
M.Ed. C&I, UIUC
Prior to entering the doctoral program, Alicia worked as a middle school special education teacher in the state of Kentucky. She has worked as a resource, collaboration, and RTI math specialist. During her time as a teacher, she has coached and sponsored numerous extracurricular activities.
Alicia is currently interested in the participation of students with severe disabilities in inclusive school-organized activities. In her spare time, she enjoys exercising, traveling, painting, and spending time with her dog, Percy-Max.
Advisor: Dr. Stacy Dymond
B.S. Special Education (LBD), Western Kentucky University
M.A. Education Administration, Western Kentucky University
As a former Instrumental Music Teacher and Reading Specialist, Charis has taught children with language delays, and reading difficulties in Pre-K, and K-6 grades. She has worked as a clinician in play group settings that focused on supporting the social interaction of children with Autism, and children with speech and hearing impairments. She has also worked as a Research Technician in an Aphasia Lab where she gained valuable experience in assessment practices, and testing of individuals with speech and language disorders due to brain damage.
Charis is interested in early language development in children with communication disabilities. She is particularly interested in how music can be used as a tool to support communication and social interaction in these groups of children. She is also interested in social and emotional development in children with challenging behavior and language delay.
She enjoys spending time with family and friends, running, writing, traveling, and playing her cello.
Advisors: Michaelene Ostrosky and Amy Santos
B.M. Cello Performance, The University of Michigan – Ann Arbor
M.S.Ed. Reading, Writing, & Literacy, The University of Pennsylvania
Prior to entering the doctoral program, Kim was a learning behavior specialist, inclusion specialist, assistive technology consultant, and private special education consultant. Kim’ research focuses on the social interaction skills and social networks of individuals with communication support needs. Specifically, she’s interested in the system components that predict skilled communicators and strong social networks, the outcomes of strong social networks for these individuals, and how families, peers, teachers, and, more broadly, systems can support individuals within the school and community environment.
Advisors: Karrie Shogren and James Halle
B.S. Leisure Studies, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
M.Ed. Special Education, (Moderate to Severe Disabilities/Assistive Technology), University of Illinois at Chicago
As a special educator, Jessica worked with children ranging in age from infancy through 17 years of age. She worked in a variety of settings, including a residential school/home setting for individuals with intensive support needs, special education cooperative classrooms for students following a functional life skills curriculum in a rural setting, and a functional skill-focused classroom in an inner city school.
Jessica is a fifth year doctoral student. She is currently conducting her dissertation research with paraprofessionals and their students who have severe disabilities. She is supporting paraprofessionals to provide instruction that enhances students’ abilities to be self-directed and, therefore, less reliant on excessive levels of adult support.
Jessica spends her spare time with her husband, daughter and dogs. She also enjoys taking road trips to visit friends and family across the country.
Advisors: James Halle and Michaelene Ostrosky
B.S. Special Education (Type 10-TMH)--LBS-1Unlimited, ISU
M.Ed. Infancy and Early Childhood Special Education, UIUC