Eighteen distinguished professionals serve on the National Center on Response to Intervention’s National Advisory Committee. These members represent the interests of state education agencies, local education agencies, individuals with disabilities, parents, educators, professional organizations, advocacy groups, and researchers. They provide advice and consultation regarding the Center’s ongoing activities, accomplishments, and future plans. Brief biographical sketches of each of the members are included below.
Richard Barbacane
Professional Outreach Associate
National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP)
A Past-President of NAESP, Mr. Barbacane currently represents the Association at meetings in Washington, DC, throughout the country, and around the world. Prior to this, he served as a school principal in Lancaster, PA for 25 years.
Dr. William K. Bogdan
Assistant Superintendent
Hamilton County (OH) Educational Service Center
Before serving in his current position, Dr. Bogdan served as executive director of the Southwest Ohio Special Education Regional Service Center from 2003-2007. His research interest in RTI relates to a system’s approach for supporting all students through a progressive, data-based system of tiered prevention and intervention supports.
Dr. Lynn Boyer
Assistant Executive Director, Professional Services
Council for Exceptional Children
Dr. Boyer currently leads professional development services at the Council for Exceptional Children. From 2004 to 2010 she guided West Virginia in establishing a statewide timeline for implementation of a Response to Intervention process across all grades.
Dr. Julie Esparza Brown
Director, Bilingual Teacher Pathway
Portland State University
Dr. Brown is an Assistant Professor of Special Education at Portland State University in Portland, Oregon. Julie has been both a bilingual and special education elementary teacher in southern California, where she created a self-contained special education classroom where the students received native language (Spanish) instruction. Later, she worked as a school psychologist with a focus on bilingual assessment and instruction.
Dr. Michelle A. Duda
Assistant Research Professor
National Implementation Research Network (NIRN)
Dr. Duda has served as a board certified behavior analyst, consultant, applied researcher, trainer, and published author in applied behavior analysis, education, and human services for over 8 years. She is also a Research Investigator at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, a core member of the National Implementation Research Network (NIRN), and is a lead Associate of the Center for State Implementation and Scaling-up of Evidence-based Practices (SISEP).
Dr. Edward Fergus
Director of Research and Evaluation
Metropolitan Center for Urban Education
In addition to his current position, Dr. Fergus is currently the Co-Principal Investigator of a study of single-sex schools for boys of color (funded by the Gates Foundation), the New York State Technical Assistance Center on Disproportionality, and various other research and programmatic endeavors focused on disproportionality and educational opportunity.
Dr. Robert Horner
Alumni-Knight Professor
Department of Special Education and Clinical Sciences
College of Education, University of Oregon
In his current position, Dr. Horner directs the Educational and Community Supports research unit, focusing on developing evidence-based interventions that result in socially significant changes for people with and without disabilities. He also serves as co-director of the OSEP Technical Assistance Center on Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports.
Debra Jennings
Executive Co-Director
Statewide Parent Advocacy Network, New Jersey
In her current position, Ms. Jennings oversees the provision of technical assistance to Parent Training and Information Centers and Community Parent Resource Centers funded by the US Department of Education Office of Special Education Programs. Ms. Jennings has many years’ experience as a parent leader, working with schools, parents, and communities in school improvement and other initiatives benefiting children and families.
Dr. Elizabeth Kozleski
Co-Principal Investigator
National Center for Culturally Responsive Educational Systems (NCCRESt)
In addition to her current position, Dr. Kozleski is a Professor of Special Education at Arizona State University. Her expertise is in the area of systems change, inclusive education, and professional development in urban education. Dr. Kozleski currently directs three national technical assistance and dissemination centers: for principals, NIUSI-LEADSCAPE (www.niusileadscape.org); on disproportionality, NCCRESt (www.nccrest.org); and on building inclusive school systems, NIUSI, the National Institute for Urban School Improvement (www.urbanschools.org).
Dr. Douglas Marston
Administrator of Research, Evaluation, and Assessment for Special Education
Minneapolis Public Schools
In addition to his current position, Dr. Marston has published research articles and book chapters on Curriculum-Based Measurement, progress monitoring, reading interventions for students with disabilities, and the Problem-Solving Model. He is also collaborating with the University of Minnesota on the implementation of an OSEP-funded Model Demonstration Project for progress monitoring and using RTI.
Dr. Bruce Ramirez
Executive Director
The Council for Exceptional Children
Dr. Ramirez has more than 30 years of progressively responsible professional association experience in special education as a policy/program specialist, researcher, project director, program administrator and senior executive. Dr. Ramirez has directed federally supported national projects, including information clearinghouses, and serves as a consultant and advisor to numerous other national special and gifted education organizations and centers.
Dr. Robert Rueda
Professor, Psychology in Education
Rossier School of Education
In his position as Professor, Dr. Rueda’s research has focused on the sociocultural basis of learning and instruction; motivation with a focus reading and literacy, and schooling issues related to English learners and students in at-risk conditions. He recently served as a panel member on the National Academy of Science Report on the Overrepresentation of Minority Students in Special Education.
Dr. Anastasia (Stacy) Kalamaros Skalski
Director of Public Policy
National Association of School Psychologists (NASP)
In her current position, Dr. Skalski works collaboratively with state leaders, educational professionals, and elected officials to advocate for educational excellence and comprehensive school-based mental health services for children and youth. Prior to joining the NASP staff in 2005, Dr. Skalski served as the Coordinator of Mental Health Services for the Douglas County School District (DCSD) in Colorado.
Dr. Deborah Deutsch Smith
Co-Principal Investigator/Project Director
IRIS Center for Faculty Enhancement
In addition to her current position, Dr. Smith is also principal investigator of the Special Education Faculty Needs Assessment (SEFNA). SEFNA’s seeks to ensure that the U.S. produces an adequate supply of new highly qualified special education teachers. The IRIS Center provides interactive modules and other training materials that focus on the education of students with disabilities.
Mary Watson
Associate State Superintendent
North Carolina Department of Public Instruction
Prior to her current position, Ms. Watson served as Section Chief for the Policy, Monitoring and Audit Section of the Exceptional Children Division. Mary has teaching experience in preschool, elementary, and middle schools, and in regular and special education and adult education. She has also worked as the title VI B grant administrator for the State, a compliance consultant and as a regional consultant for special education.
Dr. Kathleen Whitmire
Director, RTI Action Network
National Center for Learning Disabilities (NCLD)
Dr. Whitmire came to NCLD from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA), where she served as the Director of School Services in Speech-Language Pathology, leading practices programs for over 50,000 speech-language pathologists working in the schools. Prior to that, Dr. Whitmire held positions as a clinic supervisor and lecturer at Syracuse University and as Assistant Professor and Chair of the Communication Disorders Department at The College of Saint Rose.
