Andrea Bergener is the math specialist at Prince of Peace Catholic School in Plano, TX. She has nearly 20 years of experience in education as a classroom teacher, intervention teacher, instructional coach, and tutor. She earned her BS in Elementary Education from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and MA in Teaching (Science Education) from the University of Texas-Dallas. Andrea recently completed the graduate Program for Inclusive Education from the University of Notre Dame.

Jennifer Hiler recently came back to the classroom after many years of working with the Wyoming Department of Education (WDE) Special Programs Division. With over ten years at WDE, Jennifer had the privilege to work in different roles including Deaf/Hard of Hearing Outreach Consultant, Early Literacy Consultant and Program Manager for the State Personnel Development Grant and Statewide Initiatives. Currently, Jennifer is enjoying her itinerant work in Greeley, Colorado.

Bart Lyman is originally from Cody, Wyoming. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Management with a minor in Psychology from the University of Wyoming. In addition, Bart completed an Educational Specialist degree in School Psychology at Brigham Young University. Other postgraduate work includes a Diplomate in School Neuropsychology and a certificate in Educational Leadership. Bart’s career has generally been focused on the practice of School Psychology.

Melissa Chiplis has been serving students with disabilities for over 25 years. As a classroom teacher, she worked with students with developmental delays, specific learning disabilities, emotional and behavioral disabilities, and autism in the public school setting and a private residential treatment center. Melissa also served as a lead teacher and liaison between school-based administration and the special education department, as a chairperson for the RTI and MTSS teams, and as a PBIS team member.

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.

Dr. Jessica Lairson currently serves as Coordinator of Exceptional Learning for Colleton County School District, one of the largest counties in South Carolina and one of the most rural. Previously, Dr. Lairson served as an Instructional Facilitator for Special Education, as well as a high school special education instructor. Her passions include postsecondary transition and the incorporation of work-readiness learning opportunities into the existing curricula to maximize college and career readiness for ALL students.

Kasandra Posey, PhD, is the Director of Student Services for Civitas Education Partners and was previously a Special Education District Representative for Chicago Public Schools. She has over 12 years of experience in the special education field teaching and leading a variety of students across disabilities, grades, and settings, in urban school districts. Her research focus is on restructuring the system of transition services and supports through interagency collaboration.

Julie Lang earned her Bachelor's Degree from Queens University of Charlotte and later received her teaching certificate in Social Studies Education from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.  She currently teaches High School History at Walnut Grove Christian School in Fort Mill South Carolina.  As a Christian educator who copes with cerebral palsy, Ms.

Doug Fireside started his teaching career in New Orleans, La. In 1992 and moved to Baltimore in 1994 where he worked for 20 years in the Baltimore City Public School System as a teacher, academic coach, and director of instruction. He left the district in 2014 and worked for the American Institutes for Research on a wide range of projects at the school, district, state, and national level focused mainly on educator evaluation systems and school turnaround.

Amanda Findley received her master's in teaching from the University of Washington. She spent her first few years teaching at a private school that specializes in Direct Instruction, Precision Teaching, and data collection. From there, she went into public education as an elementary resource room teacher. After teaching in this capacity for over a decade, she made the leap to a transition program, which is where she currently works. Ms. Findley has had the opportunity to be trained as a mentor teacher and mentor special education teachers.