STATEWIDE SPECIAL EDUCATION TASK FORCE MEMBER BIOGRAPHIES

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1 STATEWIDE SPECIAL EDUCATION TASK FORCE MEMBER BIOGRAPHIES Marta Anchondo is a parent of an individual who had special needs. Because of that role, Ms. Anchondo became involved in and is the current Executive Director of the Team of Advocates for Special Kids. She has a long history of being involved as a parent of an individual with disabilities. Ms. Anchondo served for 25 years on the Whittier Area Cooperative Special Education Program Community Advisory Committee in a variety of capacities, including chair, vice chair, secretary, newsletter editor, etc. She has served on the National Parent Network on Disabilities as a Board Member and on the Multicultural Committee. Her representation of the parent community is extensive at the local level, at the county level, and at the state level. She currently serves on the Family Empowerment Center on Disability Council. Mark Archon, Ed.D. is a parent of a child with special needs and is also an educator. Mark has been involved in the Down Syndrome Association of Central California (formerly known as the Fresno Area Down Syndrome Society) where he is a past member of the board of directors and twice chaired the annual Buddy Walk fundraiser. He also works with his wife in mentoring new parents of babies with Down syndrome. Professionally, Mark has been in the field of education for 24 years and worked as a teacher, site administrator and, most recently, as a county office administrator providing professional learning to educators in Region 7 in leadership development, communication, cultural proficiency and instructional technology. Mark also instructs at Fresno Pacific University and in the Bridges to Leadership Program (Madera County Office of Education) and teaches courses on cultural proficiency. Mark has been married for 17 years and has two daughters, Alexi, 13 and Emily, 10. Lucia Arias, M.Ed. has been a teacher for students with special needs in Los Angeles Unified School District since 1979, teaching preschool age children with special needs since Ms Arias is a member of the California Federation of Teachers (CFT) Special Education Committee and Chairwoman of the United Teachers of Los Angeles (UTLA) Special Education Committee. Vicki L. Barber, Ed.D. served for 19 years as the El Dorado County Superintendent of Schools. She retired from that position in June, 2014, and currently operates a consulting firm. Prior to being elected five times as County Superintendent, she served in a variety of roles with El Dorado County, including Deputy Superintendent for Administrative Services, Assistant Superintendent, and SELPA Director. Vicki has been in the field of education for almost 40 years, having also worked as a teacher, school psychologist, and consultant with school districts and county offices throughout California, including working on the Chanda Smith consent decree in Los Angeles Unified. Her experiences extend beyond California in working with the State of Hawaii on the Felix Class Action Court Case, providing consultant support to the City of New York on the Jose P. Case, and participating in doing an independent evaluation of the special education programs in Baltimore County, Maryland. Vicki was the founder and primary architect in creating the first Charter SELPA in California that today serves over 190 charter schools. She has served on the Public School Accountability Advisory Committee appointed by 3 State Superintendents, as well as serving on the Advisory Commission on Charter Schools appointed by the State Board of Education. She has taught at the University level and continues to provide professional development in the area of special education finances through the ACSA Special Education Academy. Statewide Special Education Task Force Member Biographies Page 1

2 Catherine Blakemore is the Executive Director of Disability Rights California. Before joining the Disability Rights California organization, Catherine was an attorney with the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles and the Disability Rights Legal Center. Her work as an attorney specialized in the area of special education and she continues to work as one of the counsel in the Chanda Smith v. Los Angeles Unified School District. In addition to her role in representing issues around advocacy to advance and protect the rights of children/adults with disabilities, she is also a parent that personally experienced the process of representing her child's interests in securing special education services. Tony Booker is an Assistant Principal at Crenshaw High School. Since his graduating from UC Davis, he has had a passion for working with and for Students with Special Needs. Before accepting his current assignment at Crenshaw High School, Tony Booker served in many capacities at his prior school of Banning High School. Those roles included: Special Day Class Teacher, Dean of Student Discipline, as well as the Bridge Coordinator. Tony then went on to become a Program Specialist, where he helped develop systems within the instructional setting, as well as guided stakeholders in an operational capacity by finding the appropriate school that would best fit the needs of an individual student. Because of that role, Tony believed it was time for him to return to the school setting as an Administrator over Special Education. Along with the Special Education Program, Tony also oversees the Business, Entrepreneurship, and Technology Magnet at Crenshaw High School. Todd Brose is the Superintendent of Antelope Elementary School District in Red Bluff, California. The Antelope District has 5 schools, ranging from a population of 7 to 410. He has been an educator for 17 years and has vast experience in small, rural school districts. He has been a leader in the Tehama County SELPA for 15 years, and is currently serving as Chairperson. With a firm belief that all students should have an opportunity at a higher level of education, he works closely with other local educational leaders in addressing the unique challenges that rural counties face in serving the needs of all students, especially those of Special Needs. Mildred Browne, Ed.D. has spent 30 years as an educator and psychologist assisting and advocating for students and families whose needs fall outside traditional school system offerings. Holding increasingly responsible positions as director, administrative director, and assistant superintendent at school districts in California and Georgia, she is recognized for her expertise in special education, pupil services, student discipline, and alternative education. She has developed such innovative programs as the Mental Health Collaborative Model, the Counseling Clinic/Wrap Program, and the School Coordinated Care Teams. Dr. Browne has been sharing her knowledge about serving challenged students and their families in presentations to educators, families, and agency personnel for 25 years. Over the past five years, Dr. Browne has had an opportunity to focus on her passion of addressing disproportionality as it relates to the overrepresentation of specific ethnic groups in special education and in regards to suspension and expulsion. As a SELPA Director, Assistant Superintendent in the Mt. Diablo Unified School District and as a consultant in San Francisco Unified School District, Dr. Browne has embraced an equity agenda in developing an equity plan, facilitating a district stakeholders equity advisory group, and writing a Significantly Disproportionate CEIS Plan which was well received by the district s school board and the California Department of Education. Maureen Burness started her public school career as middle school teacher, then school psychologist, Program Specialist, Principal, Director of Student Services, and Alternative Education Director, before becoming a SELPA Director and Assistant Superintendent in four different SELPAs in Northern California. She has served on multiple Task Forces, Work Groups, and Commissions in California, including the AB602 Work Group, the Legislative Blue Ribbon Commission on Autism, the Larry P Work Group, RTI Task Force, IEP Work Group, etc, and most recently as a Commissioner on the state Advisory Commission on Special Education. She currently works as a Consultant in Special Education Leadership, and is proud and excited to be the Co-Executive Director of this Task Force. Cindy Chandler, parent of a child with special needs, is one of four mothers who founded the Sutter County Parent Network in The name was changed to Family SOUP when services were expanded to Yuba, Colusa as well as Sutter County. Family SOUP is currently a Family Empowerment Center, an Early Start Family Resource Center, a Special Needs Project under First 5, as well as operating an Able Riders Therapeutic Horseback Riding program. Ms. Chandler is the current chair of the Empowered Parents of California Coalition and a member of the Family Empowerment Disability Council. She is a former Governor appointee and Chair of Area Board 3. Statewide Special Education Task Force Member Biographies Page 2

3 Carl A. Cohn, Ed.D. is Director of the Urban Leadership Program and a professor in the School of Educational Studies at Claremont Graduate University. Most recently, he served as superintendent of schools in the San Diego Unified School District. Prior to that, he worked as a professor at the University of Southern California, and was a federal court monitor for the special education consent decree in the Los Angeles school system. From 1992 to 2002, he was the superintendent of the Long Beach Unified School District. His tenure at Long Beach culminated with him winning the McGraw Prize in 2002, and the district winning the Broad Prize in Cohn has worked as a faculty advisor for both the Broad Superintendents Academy and the Harvard Urban Superintendents Program. He also serves on the boards of the American College Testing, Inc. (ACT), the Center for Reform of School Systems, and EdSource. Other national school reform activities include service on the Gates Foundation s Empowering Effective Teachers Advisory Committee, the Teacher Preparation Assessment Consortium, the Advisory Council of American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, the National Research Council s independent evaluation of the Washington D.C. Public Schools, and the U.S. Department of Education s National Technical Advisory Committee. In January of 2011, California Governor Edmund G. Brown, Jr. appointed him to the California State Board of Education, and he was unanimously confirmed by the California State Senate in August of the same year. Among his many publications, Cohn co-edited the 2004 Teachers College Press publication, Partnering to Lead Educational Renewal: High Quality Teachers, High Quality Schools. Douglas Fisher, Ph.D. joined the Department of Educational Leadership at San Diego State University in 2011 having served as Professor of Language and Literacy Education in the Department of Teacher Education at SDSU since In addition, he is a teacher and administrator at Health Sciences High & Middle College. He has served as a teacher, language development specialist, and administrator in public schools and non-profit organizations, including 8 years as the Director of Professional Development for the City Heights Collaborative, a time of increased student achievement in some of San Diego's urban schools. He is the recipient of an International Reading Association Celebrate Literacy Award, a member of the California Reading Hall of Fame, the Farmer award for excellence in writing from the National Council of Teachers of English, as well as a Christa McAuliffe award for excellence in teacher education. In 2011, his book Implementing RTI with English Learners, won the innovation award from the Academy of Educational Publishers. Doug is a researcher who is interested in school improvement, especially in the area of quality instruction. He has published widely on school improvement and has written several books on the topic. Tanya Golden is a general education teacher. She is also a parent of a child who has special needs. Ms. Golden has taught at the elementary level for ten years. During her tenure she has been a Master Teacher of new teachers in training, as well as a Teacher Leader for Common Core implementation. Ms. Golden has also written district wide curriculum and coordinated the pilot testing for Smarter Balanced. She is an active member of her union; serving on the Negotiation Team, Vice President of Membership, Thinking Math Facilitator, and Chairperson for Political Education for ABC Federation of Teachers. Michael Gomez currently serves as Principal of Romoland Elementary School, in the Romoland School District (Riverside County). Mr. Gomez has served in large and small districts in San Bernardino County as a General Education Teacher (Elementary and Middle School), and Special Day Class and Resource Specialist (High School). As an administrator, he served as Special Education Administrator for specialized programs for Emotionally Disturbed, and directed special education programs at the site and district levels. Mr. Gomez has served as site principal at the elementary and middle school levels. He has also served on the Board of Trustees for the Adelanto School District. He has extensive experience in curriculum, instruction, assessment, special education, and professional development. David W. Gordon serves as Superintendent of the Sacramento (CA) County Office of Education. The County office directly serves more than 30,000 students and provides financial oversight and support services to more than 235,000 students in thirteen school districts. From , Mr. Gordon served as Superintendent of the Elk Grove Unified School District, an ethnically and economically diverse district of 62,000 students covering 320 square miles of Sacramento County, California. From 1991 to 1995, Mr. Gordon served as Elk Grove s Assistant Superintendent of Elementary Education. Prior to coming to Elk Grove, Mr. Gordon was Deputy State Superintendent in the California Department of Education. Mr. Gordon began his career as an elementary school teacher in the South Bronx, New York. Mr. Gordon holds a B.A. degree from Brandeis University and an Ed.M. and Certificate of Advanced Study (C.A.S.) in Educational Administration from Harvard University. From , Mr. Gordon was appointed by President George W. Bush to the President s Commission on Excellence in Special Education. From , he Statewide Special Education Task Force Member Biographies Page 3

4 was appointed by the U.S. Secretary of Education to the National Assessment Governing Board (NAGB), which oversees the National Assessment of Educational Progress (the Nation s Report Card ). From , he served on the Governor s Advisory Committee on Education Excellence. He has served as an Associate in Education at Harvard University, a visiting scholar at Stanford University, and a visiting professor at the University of California, Riverside. He has served on numerous boards and commissions, including the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing, the California Curriculum Development Commission, WestEd and the UC Davis School of Education Board of Advisors. Mr. Gordon was named 2002 Elk Grove Citizen Newsmaker and Man of the Year. In 2007, he was named the California Preschool Champion for Outstanding Educational Leadership by the David and Lucile Packard Foundation. He has also been an active volunteer in the Sacramento area serving as a board member of the Jewish Foundation of Northern California, the YMCA, and the Capital Unity Council. He currently serves as a member of the Board of Trustees of the Sierra Health Foundation, and a Commissioner on the Sacramento First 5 Commission. He and his wife Deborah, a novelist, have two children and six grandchildren. Victoria Graf, Ph.D. is Professor of Special Education at Loyola Marymount University (LMU). Until May of 2013, she was the Program Director of the Special Education Program at LMU where she led the University s preparation of Education Specialists for over 30 years. She most recently served on the recent California Department of Education (CDE) and California Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CTC) Educator Excellence Task Force (EETF) and the EETF Educator Preparation Sub-Committee. She is Co-Principal Investigator from LMU on the Collaboration for Effective Educator Development, Accountability, and Reform (CEEDAR) Center grant that was recently awarded to California. She will serve on the CEEDAR State Steering Committee and the CEEDAR Leadership Team. She has been serving as Co-Principal Investigator on US Department of Education Office of Special Education Program 325 T Special Education Pre-Service Training Improvement Grant ( ). Dr. Graf is also a member of CTC Board of Institutional Reviewers (BIR) and has served on numerous accreditation teams related to Education Specialist credential programs. Dr. Graf is a Founding Board member of the Westside Innovative School House (WISH), a K-6 inclusive charter school in Los Angeles that was chosen by the University of Kansas SWIFT Center as one of 6 schools in the US that are exemplary models of inclusive practices. Ann T. Halvorsen, Ed.D. received her Educational Doctorate in Special Education/Educational Psychology from the U.C. Berkeley/San Francisco State University joint doctoral program and has worked in the field of education with a focus on individuals with disabilities for four decades, as a classroom teacher, university instructor at San Francisco State University and Associate and full Professor at California State University, East Bay-Hayward. She is a researcher, professional development designer, author and systems change agent. Her work as Coordinator of the California Research Institute on the Integration of Students with Severe Disabilities (CRI); Director of Providing Education for Everyone in Regular Schools (PEERS I & II), and Co-Director of the statewide Confederation on Inclusive Education ( ) as well as the CLEAR Model demonstration Project ( ) with Oakland and SFUSD has been instrumental in the movement of hundreds of California students with severe disabilities from segregated to inclusive general education classrooms, and the enhancement of collaborative inclusive practices. Dr. Halvorsen is one of the CSUEB faculty who developed and teaches in the unique, collaborative, dual credential program that leads candidates to both a Multiple Subjects and an Education Specialist credential in either Moderate-Severe or Mild-Moderate disabilities. This program has existed since 1998 following CA s elimination of the general education credential requirement for Special Educators; an action that CSUEB believed was a mistake. All Ed Specialists at CSUEB are required to enter with a CA general education credential or obtain theirs through the TED-SPED program. This is a cross-department initiative of Educational Psychology with Teacher Education. Ann instructs research, curriculum and specialization classes in the SPED Masters degree program, and in the Education Specialist: Moderate-Severe, Mild- Moderate Disabilities preliminary programs and the TED/SPED program. She is the Coordinator for both areas of Education Specialist Internship credentials. She has co-designed and co-taught coursework with TED faculty. Dr. Halvorsen is the past President of CAL-TASH, and has co-authored numerous federal personnel preparation funded grants with Dr. Anderson from , as well as systems change efforts, and is the author of articles, manuals, book chapters and, the second edition of Building Inclusive Schools: Tools and Strategies for Success with co-author Tom Neary (2009, Pearson). Nancy Hurlbut, Ph.D. is an Associate Dean in the College of Education and Integrative Studies at Cal Poly Pomona. She earned her doctorate in Educational Psychology from the University of Wisconsin at Madison. Her career has focused on the relationship between social-emotional and cognitive development within the educational environment. Her role on the task force relates to her work in early childhood which she has worked in for over 35 years, in three Statewide Special Education Task Force Member Biographies Page 4

5 states and two countries. She has taught teacher preparation courses to students throughout her career at four-year universities and research-one universities and supervised student teachers in diverse classrooms. Her work in early childhood includes direct services to preschool children, development and implementation of a developmentally appropriate model kindergarten classroom, member of a group that wrote the teaching standards for Oklahoma, member of group of community college and university faculty who have collaborated to work on early childhood pathways for teacher preparation. Recently, she worked with community college faculty to develop and implement the Curriculum Alignment Project (CAP) 8 courses to support student success and ease in articulation to the four-year universities; to develop and implement the ECE Mapping Tool which is an user-friendly web-based tool to align coursework and trainings with the CA ECE Competencies; and was one of the founding members of the Baccalaureate Pathways in Early Care and Education (BPECE). Sara Jocham has spent 22 years in the field of special education starting as a speech pathologist in the public school system. Ms. Jocham is currently the Assistant Superintendent of Special Education and SELPA Director for the Capistrano Unified School District. She is the co-chair of the State SELPA Finance Committee and a member of the Steering Committee for the SELPA Association. In addition, Ms. Jocham was appointed by the State Board of Education to the Advisory Commission on Special Education in 2012 as a parent of an individual with special needs. She is the parent of an elementary aged daughter with autism. Ms. Jocham is currently pursuing her doctorate in educational leadership with a focus on the participation of parents of students with special needs in the educational process. Doreen Lohnes, a veteran special education administrator, is the Assistant Superintendent, Support Services, in Santa Ana Unified School District, and is responsible for special education and pupil support services. Santa Ana Unified is the sixth largest school district in California with an enrollment of 57,000 students, 82 percent of whom are or were English Learners and 95% who are eligible for free or reduced lunch. In addition to ensuring a full continuum of special education services, Mrs. Lohnes oversees a primary District initiative using PBIS (Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports) to enhance school climate, a continuum of mental health services and a RTI (Response to Intervention) program. In 2013, as a result of effective community partnerships and other Support Services innovations for students with disabilities and at-risk students, Santa Ana Unified was designated by Superintendent Tom Torlakson as a Distinguished Model SARB (School Attendance and Review) District. Mrs. Lohnes is the recipient of these awards: the 2009 Special Education Administrator of the Year (Association of School Administrators, Region 17), 2010 Women Who Make a Difference in Orange County (State Senator Lou Correa), and the 2010 Leader in Education for her work with students at risk (Orange County Superintendent of Schools). She is the Chair of the Highly Qualified Personnel Credentialing Committee of the California SELPA Administrators Association, has taught special education courses at the college level, and has represented her granddaughter s interests in securing special education services. Matt Navo is the Superintendent of the Sanger Unified School District, where he is in his 14th year in the District. Matt has been involved in Public Education in the Central Valley for over 18 years. He began his work as a special education teacher in a 4, 5, 6 self contained combo class. He then worked at the high school level as both a counselor and resource teacher. Matt followed that experience as a junior high learning director overseeing many departments including special education and arrived in Sanger Unified School District in 1999 where he worked as a high school assistant principal, elementary principal, alternative education principal, and Director of Special Education before assuming the role as Area Administrator, and now as Superintendent. Matt received his Bachelors Degree in Education and his Masters Degree in Special Education from California State University at Fresno. He has an array of credentials which include: a Professional Administrative Credential, Multiple Subject Teaching Credential, a Professional Specialists Credential in Special Education, and a Supplemental Credential with an Autism emphasis. Statewide Special Education Task Force Member Biographies Page 5

6 Sam Neustadt is the Assistant Superintendent of the Solano Special Education Local Plan Area (SELPA). He also serves as Co-Chairman of the Legislation Committee of the California State SELPA Association and formerly cochaired the Finance and Dispute Resolution Committees. Prior to that, he was an administrator in the Special Education Division of the California Department of Education (CDE), and before he started at the CDE, he spent 15 years as an elementary school principal and teacher. The current focus of his work centers on special education systems change, the intersection of policy and practice, dispute resolution and response to intervention. He is a frequent presenter at the state level and is a nationally certified trainer for Crucial Conversations, a result oriented training currently being implemented in 300 of the top Fortune 500 companies in the United States. Carolyn Nunes received her Special Education Teaching Credentials (Severely Handicapped and Learning Handicapped) and Masters Degree in 1979 from the University of San Diego. Upon graduation, Carolyn began her teaching career in San Diego Unified School District, where she served as a Special Education Teacher, working with students with severe disabilities. In 1998, Carolyn was appointed to the position of Special Education Program Manager, for the district, with responsibility for Early Childhood, Autism, and Communication Handicapped programs and Special Education Programs for students with severe disabilities. As a unified district, these programs spanned services for students from birth to age 22. Two years later, Carolyn became the Director, Special Education for the district expanding her responsibilities to include low incidence programs, coordination of extended school year for all students receiving special education in the district and data collection and reporting for the Special Education Division. In 2006, after 27 years with the district, Carolyn accepted the position of Senior Director Special Education for the San Diego County Office of Education (SDCOE). Carolyn s responsibilities with the County Office of Education has three main components: 1. Overseeing the special education services for students being served in SDCOE programs, 2. Collaborating with outside agencies and our six SELPA Directors to coordinate with local education agencies to develop MOUs and Interagency Agreements for services 3. Providing professional development for our 42 school district in San Diego County. Linda Perry, Ed.D. has served public education in numerous capacities for more than thirty years. Her years of service have included middle and high school teacher, K- 12 program specialist, principal, and director. Additionally, as an adjunct instructor, she has taught at California State University, Long Beach for sixteen years. In this role, she has worked with current and aspiring school administrators via the education graduate and doctoral programs. As the director of the Long Beach Unified School District Head Start program and elementary school principal, Dr. Linda Perry strived to ensure the proper identification of children with special needs, along with making certain that appropriate, timely, and required services were rendered. As an advocate for public education and the rights of all students, she volunteers her time as a member of numerous boards, including Brandman University Child Development Board. She has received several acknowledgements for her educational leadership including an appointment on the California State Advisory Council on Early Education and Care; being named California Head Start Association Administrator of the Year; and receiving the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Incorporated Award of Honor for her productive scholarship and professionalism in the field of education. Gina M. Plate is the Senior Advisor for Special Education for the California Charter Schools Association. Gina brings more than 20 years of experience in the field of special education, with both a multi-subject teaching credential and an Education Specialist Credential, and earned a Masters Degree in Special Education, all from the University of San Diego. Her experience spans from the programmatic to the policy, from a teacher to an administrator, from traditional public school to a nonpublic school program, to her current role in the charter movement. Appointed by Governor Brown, Gina currently serves as Vice Chair on the Advisory Commission on Special Education. Lihi Rosenthal is the Division Director of Educational Programs at Seneca Family of Agencies, a statewide nonprofit organization focused on providing a full continuum of special education and mental health services to children and youth in twelve California counties. Lihi began her career in education in the public schools of Oakland and Chicago, where she served as a college and career counselor, classroom teacher and department chair. Since joining Seneca's team in 2004, Lihi has served as a special education teacher leader, assistant principal and principal before taking on her current role. She also serves as an Adjunct Professor in the Graduate Schools of Education at Loyola Marymount University and the University of California, Berkeley. Statewide Special Education Task Force Member Biographies Page 6

7 Mary Samples has served as the Assistant Superintendent of the Ventura County SELPA for the past ten years. The Ventura County SELPA is one of the largest multi-district SELPAs, serving 21 school districts and 17,000 students with disabilities. For the past several years she has been the co-chair of the State SELPA Finance Committee, providing fiscal information to SELPAs and interfacing with the California Department of Education and many other educational organizations. Mary is a lifelong educator and is currently in her 40 th year of service. During her career she has served as a general education teacher, teaching all grades Kindergarten through 8 th, a middle school assistant principal, an elementary principal, a district director, and an Associate Superintendent. She also teaches in the graduate program at California State University Channel Islands. Patty Schetter is a Project Coordinator for the Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (CEDD) at the UC Davis MIND Institute. In this capacity she provides technical assistance to schools, families and allied health professionals who serve individuals with disabilities. Her professional experiences have included work as a SELPA Program Specialist, Board Certified Behavior Analyst and Educational Consultant/Trainer as well as Special Education Teacher. She is the parent of a child with neurodevelopmental differences and an active advocate for student self advocacy and inclusion. Barbara Schulman believes she was born a teacher. She received her Bachelor's in special education from Southern Illinois University, Masters at Chapman University, and currently serves as a special education teacher for Adult Transition in Saddleback Valley Unified School District in Mission Viejo. Ms. Schulman s passion for special education emphasizes the benefits of full inclusion in the classroom, curriculum designed to develop the student's maximum potential, extra-curricular activities, and fair paid employment upon completion of school. She strives to instill confidence and self-awareness in her students as well as a desire to be contributing members of society. Among her many accolades, in 2011, Ms. Schulman was awarded the Outstanding Contribution to Education Award from the Orange County Department of Education, a program that recognizes the contributions of individuals, groups, and organizations whose unique efforts have impacted the education of Orange County students. She is a commissioner on the Advisory Commission on Special Education and is also the chairperson for the Special Education Committee for the California Teachers Association. Sue Shalvey is the Director of Special Education Programs for Aspire Public Schools, an Oakland based nonprofit national charter management organization operating 35 public charter schools in California s East Bay, Central Valley and Los Angeles and Memphis, TN. Aspire is focused on providing a full continuum of special education and related services to its K 12 students which are integrated within the general education program to the greatest extent possible and offer the opportunity for college and career readiness. Sue began her career in education in the public schools of San Joaquin County and San Mateo County, where she served as middle school teacher, special educator, principal and district curriculum director. She participated in the development of California s first charter school, convened the first charter schools conference and serves a founding member of the El Dorado County Office of Education Statewide Charter SELPA. Since joining Aspire s team in 2009, Sue has provided leadership to implement the Education Specialist New Teacher Induction Program, the Special Education Performance Effectiveness Measures with Professional Growth Pathways, and the Mild/Moderate Credential Residency Program with University of Pacific. She is recognized nationally for the design and implementation of regionalized special education leadership and delivery teams. Sue received her BA from UCSB and completed graduate studies at University of Pacific and USC. Nancy Snodgrass is currently the District Bilingual Special Education Resource Teacher for Turlock Unified School District. She holds a Multiple Subjects Credential, a Learning Handicapped Specialist credential, a BCLAD certificate, and a Master s in Special Education with an emphasis on Curriculum and Instruction. For over 30 years Nancy s mission as a teacher has been to ensure English Learners are not misidentified as needing special education services when their perceived difficulties in school are due to extrinsic factors, such as second language acquisition. She strives, however, to assure that English Learners who truly have an intrinsic disability are not missed being identified to get the specialized services they need to succeed in school. Nancy shares her passion for providing the most appropriate assessment and instruction of English Learners, not only with the educators in Turlock, but also with administrators and Statewide Special Education Task Force Member Biographies Page 7

8 teachers throughout California as an independent consultant and previously as a college instructor in special education credential programs. Dee Torrington is a middle school resource specialist in Rocklin. She is the Special Education Department Chair at her school as well as serves on the Common Core State Standards District Leadership Committee in her school district. She has been a special educator for 19 years. Ms. Torrington enjoys all aspects of being a practitioner in this ever evolving field. Her interests go beyond the classroom as she also enjoys her work with Beginning Teacher Support and Assessment (BTSA) where she is a support provider to newly credentialed teachers as well as works on the Design Team for the Sacramento County BTSA Consortium in developing curriculum to support special educators seeking to clear their Education Specialist credential. In addition to this, Dee has held many roles in CARS+ The Organization for Special Educators. Her roles have included Region Director, Legislative Committee Chair as well as currently holding the position of President. The goals of the CARS+ organization are to strengthen the program of resource specialists and special education teachers by representing them in Sacramento and providing support and development for their programs. Ms. Torrington also has a personal interest in advocating for special education programs and services as she is the parent of a child with a chronic medical condition (Type 1 diabetes). Anna Marie Villalobos is the Director of Special Education for the San Mateo County Office of Education K-12 Programs. She has worked in the General and Special Education fields for over 30 years as a para educator, teacher and administrator in rural, suburban and urban school districts and county programs. In addition, Anna Marie has worked as the Education Specialist Beginning Teacher Support and Assessment Coordinator and as the Special Education Coordinator for the San Mateo County Office of Education. Throughout her career in education Anna Marie has focused on advocating for equity and access for students with disabilities and in fostering student self-advocacy. Michael Watkins is the current County Superintendent of Schools for Santa Cruz County. He was elected to the position in 2006 and ran unopposed in He began his career as an intern with Teacher Corps in the Oakland Public School District where he taught both high school History and Special Education. From there he went on to teach with the Alameda County Office of Education working with incarcerated and neglected and abused students. In 1980 he accepted the position of Learning Handicapped Program Specialist with the Santa Cruz County Office of Education (SCCOE) and after two years he was promoted to Director of Special Education, a position he held for 10 years. From there he went on to become the Director of Alternative Education with the SCCOE and eventually County Superintendent. He was elected statewide President for both the Juvenile Court Community Alternative Schools Association of California and the California County Superintendents Educational Services Association. In addition, he has been recognized for his work in education by the Watsonville City Council and the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors. Rande Webster, Ed.D. is the Associate Dean, School of Education and Counseling Psychology, at Dominican University of California in San Rafael, California. Prior to her appointment as Associate Dean, she was Program Director of the Special Education Teacher Credential program for over 11 years. Dr. Webster is the author of numerous articles on special education and co-authored Differentiated Instruction Made Easy: Hundreds of multi-level activities for all learners, In addition to her administrative and teaching responsibilities, Dr. Webster directs a summer project in South Africa s township high schools. Statewide Special Education Task Force Member Biographies Page 8