Dr. Kara Bratton serves as an Assistant Professor in the School of Education in the doctoral programs at Concordia University Irvine, teaching special education and research classes and working as a dissertation chair. Previously, she was the special education director for Lutheran Special Education Ministries (LSEM) for 11 years and spent 11 years teaching K-8 special education in Lutheran Schools in Fort Wayne, IN. Kara also serves on the board of directors for the Indiana Non-public Education Association. With an undergraduate degree in Elementary Education from Valparaiso University, Kara also has earned graduate degrees in Special Education from Indiana Wesleyan University, Gifted and Talented Education from Ball State University, and a Master’s degree from Indiana Wesleyan in Curriculum and Instruction. She earned her PhD in Special Education Leadership from Concordia University Chicago in 2020.