PRESENTERS
DR. JULIE CAUSTON • HOST
An inspiring author, speaker, and inclusion advocate, Dr. Julie Causton spent 14 years in Higher Education at Syracuse University before leaving to become the CEO of Inclusive Schooling. She has spent the past 20 years studying best practices for inclusive education. Her dynamic presentations focus on engaging ways to educate learners, regardless of age, ability, and/or location.
DR. KRISTIE PRETTI-FRONTCZAK • HOST
An accomplished author, sought-after speaker, and educator’s educator, Dr. Kristie Pretti-Frontczak spent 16 years as a tenured professor in Higher Education at Kent State University before leaving to lead a {r}evolution in early childhood education. She has spent over 50,000 hours teaching adults best practices in early childhood care and education in locations from Cincinnati to Singapore. She’s also been teaching adult learners on-line since 1997.
Dr. Bettina Love
Dr. Bettina L. Love is an award-winning author and the Athletic Association Endowed Professor at the University of Georgia. Her writing, research, teaching, and educational advocacy work meet at the intersection of education reform, anti-racism, carceral studies, abolition, and Black joy.
FULL BIO & Resources
The aim of Dr. Love's scholarship is twofold: firstly, to advance how the field of education understands and critiques the systemic and structural racism of public education within the U.S.; and secondly, to advocate for abolitionist approaches in the field of education that seek new possibilities for educational justice. In the pursuit of making her scholarship a reality, she works with activists, communities, youth, families, and school districts to build communal, civically-engaged schools rooted in the aspirations of abolitionist strategies that love and affirm Black and Brown children. In 2020, Dr. Love co-founded the Abolitionist Teaching Network (ATN). ATN’s mission is simple: develop and support teachers and parents to fight injustice within their schools and communities.
Session Title: Living A Hip Hop & Abolitionist Life: Resistance, Creativity, Hip Hop Civics Ed, Intersectionality, & Black Joy
Session Description: Dr. Love will discuss how Hip Hop Civics Ed, when linked to the framework of intersectionality and Abolitionist Teaching, creates a space where Black lives matter and analytic sensibilities are nurtured to engage youth in the work of fighting for visibility, inclusion, and justice. Her talk will end by calling for us all not only to teach students about racial violence, oppression, and how to make sustainable change in their communities through innovative and radical civic curriculum, but also to expose youth to the possibilities that come with envisioning a world built on Black joy, creativity, imagination, boldness, ingenuity, and the rebellious spirit and methods of abolitionists.
Websites:
https://bettinalove.com – includes links to various booksellers to get your copy of her book: 
https://abolitionistteachingnetwork.org
Twitter: https://twitter.com/BLoveSoulPower
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bettina.llove
https://www.facebook.com/ATN1863
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/blovesoulpower
Princess Daazhraii Johnson
Princess Daazhraii Johnson (she/her) is Neets'aii Gwich'in and lives with her three sons and partner on the traditional territory of lower Tanana Dene lands in Alaska. She is humbled to serve on the board of Native Movement and NDN Collective – collectively, she works to protect the lands, waters, animal and plant relatives that continue to take care of all of us.
FULL BIO & Resources
Princess has served on the SAG-AFTRA Native American Committee since 2007 and in 2015 she was appointed by President Obama to serve on the Board of Trustees for the Institute of American Indian Arts. She is a Sundance Film Alum, a current Nia Tero Storytelling Fellow and Creative Producer and screenwriter for the Peabody award-winning PBS Kids series “Molly of Denali”.
Session Title: The Land We Stand On: Why teaching accurate history that centers Native American Peoples is critical for a more just & equitable world
Session Description: This conversation will review how settler colonialism continues to perpetuate harm against Native American students and how teaching accurate histories can be a healing tool for all. Starting with the land we stand on – examines what we know or don't know about the places we inhabit and the Indigenous care-takers of that land and immediately uplifts the current presence of Indigenous Peoples and our on-going struggles to seek justice and practice our Native Ways of Life.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/princess-daazhraii-johnson-she-her-67154851/
Resources
- https://kuac.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/mod19-soc-grandpasdrum/grandpas-drum-molly-of-denali/
- Illuminatives site- https://illuminatives.org/indigenouspeoplesday2020/
- For educators want to explore the history of Indian boarding schools/residential school – https://www.cbc.ca/books/48-books-by-indigenous-writers-to-read-to-understand-residential-schools-1.6056204
- Molly of Denali – Grandpa's Drum: https://kuac.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/mod19-soc-grandpasdrum/grandpas-drum-molly-of-denali/American Indian in Children's Literature recommends/reviews/promotes books written by Native authors: https://americanindiansinchildrensliterature.blogspot.com/
Here's a map that identifies whose Indigenous homelands you reside on: https://native-land.ca/
Here's an article on importance of upholding home languages: https://www.weareteachers.com/many-different-home-languages/
Ijumaa Jordan
Ijumaa Jordan is a fat, Black, cis-gendered woman (she, her, her’s) daily engaging in the beautiful struggle of life, doing the internal and external work to abolish systems of oppression such as racism, sexism, transphobia, and classism, etc.
FULL BIO & Resources
Ijumaa shows up for this work with intensity and passion, being joyful, thinking critically, and holding a learning space with care and grace. She loves afternoon naps and snacks, you can usually find her online looking serious and laughing loudly.
Session Title: Race, Equity, and Ability in ECE… Continued
Session Description: During the 2020 Summer leadership institute, three early childhood educational consultants, Ijumaa Jordan, Dr. Isela Garcia, and Dr. Kristie Pretti-Frontczak recorded a conversation about race, equity, and ability in the early years. In this recording, they continue that conversation with a focus on the implications and issues related to the intersection of the identities of race, equity, and ability in the early years. They share strategies for navigating challenging interactions, for overcoming fears of upsetting others, and prioritizing justice and equity over comfort.
Websites: https://www.ijumaajordan.com and Transformative Talks https://transformativetalksforece.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ijordanececonsulting/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ijumaaj/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Ijumaaj
Resources:
Dr. Isela Garcia
Dr. Isela Garcia’s passion lies in reflecting upon who we truly are—in the quiet of our own silence and in the presence of others. As we learn to become more consciously aware, we become better able to identify our own values, beliefs, and biases. This is where the real work begins. It’s where we can get honest about how these values, beliefs, and biases show up in our lives particularly in our work with children…and with one another.
FULL BIO & Resources
Dr. Isela Garcia is an inspirational and energetic speaker, trainer and consultant. Her nearly 30 years of experience has taught her the value of laughter, purposeful connections, and the art of listening intently. She is incredibly passionate and continually seeks to create innovative approaches to training and education. Love is the core of her philosophical foundation–belief in the goodness in all people.
Session Title: Race, Equity, and Ability in ECE… Continued
Session Description: During the 2020 Summer leadership institute, three early childhood educational consultants, Ijumaa Jordan, Dr. Isela Garcia, and Dr. Kristie Pretti-Frontczak recorded a conversation about race, equity, and ability in the early years. In this recording, they continue that conversation with a focus on the implications and issues related to the intersection of the identities of race, equity, and ability in the early years. They share strategies for navigating challenging interactions, for overcoming fears of upsetting others, and prioritizing justice and equity over comfort.
Websites: https://www.alesigroup.com and Transformative Talks https://transformativetalksforece.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ALESIGroup/
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/iselagarcia12/_saved
Resources:
Shelley Moore
Shelley Moore is a highly sought after teacher, researcher, consultant and storyteller and she has worked with school districts and community organizations throughout both Canada and the United States. Her research and work has been featured at national and international conferences and is constructed based on theory and effective practices of inclusion, special education, curriculum and teacher professional development.
FULL BIO & Resources
Twitter: https://twitter.com/tweetsomemoore
Tony Farraiolo
Tony Ferraiolo is known as a compassionate and empowering Life Coach and a motivating and thought-provoking trainer. Since 2005 Tony has provided trainings to over 25,000 people around the country. Tony has dedicated himself to both promoting competent and respectful health care for the transgender community, by educating providers, and advocating on behalf of patients.
FULL BIO & Resources
Also, training educators on providing a safe and respectful space for transgender children in a school environment. He encompasses a unique ability to make light of a sometimes-challenging situation which puts his audience at ease to fully participate in his trainings and leaves his audience with a greater awareness of how to move forward in supporting their patients, staff, co-workers, students, and children.
In 2008 Tony started several support groups to support transgender youth and their families, the groups meet concurrently, providing a complete support system for these families, drawing families from New York and throughout New England. Since 2008 these groups have served over 950 families.
In 2009 he recognized the need to provide chest binders to members of his community who needed them but had no ability to access them. Since 2009, Tony has given over 300 binders to transgender people all over the world.
Tony is the subject of the award-winning documentary “A Self-Made Man” and the Author of the book series “Artistic Expressions of Transgender Youth”. He also hosted the A&E miniseries Transitioning, were he coached three transgender young adults through social transition.
In 2019 he received his teaching certification in Mindfulness and incorporates mindfulness in all of his trainings.
Tony is also the Co-Founder of the Jim Collins Foundation, a nonprofit organization that provides financial assistance to transgender people for gender-confirming surgeries.
Session Title: Eight ways to be an Ally to your LGBTQ+ Students
Website: https://tonyferraiolo.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tony-ferraiolo-cpc-784b0b15/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tony.ferraiolo.5
Resources:
- Pronoun handout created by co-prsenters Dr. Julie Causton [pdf]
Jonathan Mooney
Jonathan Mooney’s work has been featured in The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Chicago Tribune, USA Today, HBO, NPR, ABC News, New York Magazine, The Washington Post, and The Boston Globe. A nationally recognized advocate for neurological and physical diversity, he’s been speaking across the nation about neurological and physical diversity for two decades, inspiring those who live with differences and calling for change. He has published three books: The Short Bus, Learning Outside the Lines, and Normal Sucks.
FULL BIO & Resources
Jonathan is a dyslexic writer, speaker, and do-gooder who did not lean to read until 12 years old. He faced a number of low expectations growing up—was told he would flip burgers, be a high school dropped out and end up in jail. Needless to say there hopeful prophecies didn’t come to pass. Opposed to being a high school drop out he became a college graduate from Brown university with an honors degree in English lit; instead of flipping burgers he ended up writing books, the first of which he wrote at the end of the 23 as an undergrad; And instead of becoming an inmate he become an advocate creating organizations and initiatives that help people who get the short end of the stick.
He has won many awards for all of this —The Harry S. Truman fellowship for public services, Finalist for a Roads Scholarship, LA Achievement award from The Lab school of Washington where he shared the stage with Vice President Joe Biden—and been featured in/on HBO, NPR, The New York Times, NBC, Fast company, and many other media outlets.
Session Title: Normal Sucks
Session Description: Come listen to Jonathan Mooney’s inspirational talk about how normal sucks and different does not mean deficient — and we shouldn't be striving for, or enforcing, normalcy on anyone. He will share his personal experiences as a dyslexic, ADD, and neuro-diverse student who did not learn to read until he was 12 years old in a presentation filled with humor, knowledge and, most importantly, hope.
Website: https://www.jonathanmooney.com including links to his books:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheJonathanMooney
Twitter: https://twitter.com/_jonathanmooney
Resources:
Dr. Lori Desautels
Dr. Lori Desautels has been an Assistant Professor at Butler University since 2016 where she teaches both undergraduate and graduate programs in the College of Education. Lori was also an Assistant Professor at Marian University in Indianapolis for eight years where she founded the Educational Neuroscience Symposium.
FULL BIO & Resources
Lori’s passion is engaging students through the application of neuroscience as it applies to attachment, regulation, and educator brain state, and teaching students and staff about their neuroanatomy, thus integrating Mind Brain Teaching learning principles and strategies into her coursework at Butler. Lori has conducted brain institutes and workshops throughout the United States, Canada, Costa Rica, and Dubai on Mind Brain Teaching and Learning. She has created webinars for educators, clinicians, and administrators illustrating how educators and students alike must understand their neuroanatomy to regulate behavior and calm the brain.
Lori is co-author of the social and emotional competencies for the State of Indiana published in January 2018. She also has authored a series of articles for “Inside the School,” an online publication providing strategies to administrators and educators alike. Lori’s articles are published in Edutopia, Brain Bulletin, and Mind Body Spirit international magazine. She also was published in the Brain Research Journal for her work in the fifth-grade classrooms during a course release partnering with the Washington Township Schools in Indiana. Lori continues her work in the Pre-K classrooms and is currently co-teaching in fifth grade and working with St. Mary’s Early Childhood Center in Indianapolis for the second consecutive year. Lori has met with hundreds of school districts across the country, equating to more than 60,000 educators, with much more work to be done!
You can find Lori’s work, presentation videos, and latest research here throughout this website, revelationsineducation.com. Her first book, “How May I Serve You, Revelations in Education,” was published in March of 2012. Her second book, co-authored with educator Michael McKnight, entitled “Unwritten, The Story of a Living System,” has been shared and used as a foundation to create curriculum across the country. Lori’s third book, “Eyes Are Never Quiet,” was published in January of 2018, and a new book, “Rewiring Our Perception of Discipline,” will be coming in January of 2021.
Lori resides in Indianapolis, Indiana, with her husband, Michael. She has three grown children, Andrew, Sarah, and Regan, and four rescue fur babies.
Session Title: How Adversity Impacts Our Nervous Systems
Website: https://revelationsineducation.com including links to her books:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/revelationsineducation
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lori.desautels
Twitter: https://twitter.com/desautels_phd
Resources:
- Brain-aligned strategies e-Book [link]
Tim Jin
Born with cerebral palsy, Tim Jin advocates for the rights of anyone with a speech-related disability to have access to the communication tools and support they need. He has used an augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) device since elementary school in the 1980s. His work has been featured by TEDx and other publications.
FULL BIO & Resources
Mr. Jin graduated from California State University in Long Beach with a degree in speech communication. He lives in Southern California , and also serves on the boards of several nonprofits, including Ability Central, CommunicationFIRST, TASK, and so on.
Session Title: No Title Necessary
Session Description: Tim Jin shares about his life as a person with who types to communicate with his toes. He will take us through his schooling experiences, his advice for school leaders and share everything from his thoughts about the term “non-verbal” to what it is like to jump out of plane.
Website: http://www.timjin.com/
Resources:
Dr. Ross Greene
Ross W. Greene, Ph.D., is a clinical psychologist and the originator of the innovative, evidence-based approach called Collaborative & Proactive Solutions (CPS), as described in his influential books The Explosive Child, Lost at School, Lost & Found, and Raising Human Beings. He also developed and executive produced the award-winning documentary film The Kids We Lose, released in 2018.
FULL BIO & Resources
Ross W. Greene, Ph.D., is a clinical psychologist and the originator of the innovative, evidence-based approach called Collaborative & Proactive Solutions (CPS), as described in his influential books The Explosive Child, Lost at School, Lost & Found, and Raising Human Beings. He also developed and executive produced the award-winning documentary film The Kids We Lose, released in 2018. Dr. Greene was on the faculty at Harvard Medical School for over 20 years, and is now founding director of the non-profit Lives in the Balance. He is also currently adjunct Professor in the Department of Psychology at Virginia Tech and adjunct Professor in the Faculty of Science at the University of Technology in Sydney, Australia. Dr. Greene has worked with several thousand behaviorally challenging kids and their caregivers, and he and his colleagues have overseen implementation and evaluation of the CPS model in hundreds of schools, inpatient psychiatry units, and residential and juvenile detention facilities, with dramatic effect: significant reductions in recidivism, discipline referrals, detentions, suspensions, and use of restraint and seclusion. Dr. Greene lectures throughout the world and lives in Freeport, Maine.
Session Title: Collaborative & Proactive Solutions: Moving From Power and Control to Collaboration and Problem Solving
Session Description: Collaborative & Proactive Solutions (CPS) is the evidence-based model Dr. Ross Greene described in his influential books The Explosive Child, Lost at School, Lost & Found, and Raising Using Beings. The CPS model has transformed thinking and practices in countless families, schools, inpatient psychiatry units, and residential and juvenile detention facilities throughout the world, and has been associated with dramatic reductions in adult-child conflict, challenging behaviors, disciplinary referrals, detentions, suspensions, seclusions, and physical, chemical, and mechanical restraints. The model represents a significant departure from discipline-as-usual: it focuses on solving problems rather than on modifying behavior, emphasizes collaborative rather than unilateral solutions, encourages proactive rather than reactive intervention, de-emphasizes diagnostic categories, and provides practical, research-based tools for assessment and intervention.
Website: https://livesinthebalance.org
Twitter: https://twitter.com/LITB_
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/livesinthebalance
Resources:
Norman Kunc Will & Emma Van der Klift
Although Norman Kunc and Emma Van der Klift are well known speakers and advocates within the disability rights community, they prefer to think of themselves as modern day storytellers, continuing the long held tradition of using humour and narrative to initiate self-reflection and social change.
FULL BIO & Resources
Norman and Emma travel extensively throughout North America and abroad providing in-service and training in the areas of inclusive education, employment equity, conflict resolution, and other disability rights issues. Norman and Emma’s first book, Being Realistic isn't Realistic, is a collection of their writing on Disability, Identity, Inclusion and Innovation. In addition to then, Emma has recently published, Talk To Me: What Educators (and Others) Can Learn About De-Escalation From Hostage Negotiators .
They also have developed and operate “Conversations that Matter,” an online values training platform consisting of over 120 videos of conversations with the leading voices in the field of community living and disability rights.
Born with cerebral palsy, Norman attended a segregated school for children with physical disabilities; then, at the age 13, he was integrated into a regular school. From there, he went on to complete an Bachelor's degree in Humanities and a Master of Science degree in Family Therapy.
In his undergraduate years, Norman wrote a book about his experiences of going to a regular school. This book catapulted him into a career as a speaker, writer, scholar and advocate.
Emma Van der Klift is a neurodivergent speaker, author and activist. Recently diagnosed as Autistic, she has embraced the diagnosis with a sense of relief, recognition and confirmation. Although she worked in the non-profit sector supporting individuals with developmental and intellectual disabilities for many years, like many other autistic girls and women, she did not recognize her experience as represented in the common societal narratives. Since discovering a supportive and vibrant community of other autistic adults and allies, she has become an active member of the Neurodiversity movement.
Emma holds a Master’s degree in Conflict Analysis and Management from Royal Roads University and was certified as a mediator and negotiator through the Justice Institute in Vancouver. She sometimes wonders if she might be the only autistic mediator!
Session Title: ABILITY AND OPPORTUNITY IN THE REARVIEW MIRROR: Two Insider Perspectives on Inclusive Education
Session Description: The last three decades have seen a huge proliferation of information and research on strategies that can be used to successfully support disabled children in regular classrooms. Most of these strategies, however, have come from educators and other non-disabled people, leaving the perspectives of disabled students either unnoticed or ignored.
In this provocative session, filled with humour and personal anecdotes Norman Kunc and Emma Van der Klift will draw on their experience as two adults with different disabilities who experienced the school system in different ways and with different degrees of success. They will argue that there is an ongoing confusion about the relationship between ability and opportunity that we must grapple with in order to ensure that inclusive education truly lives up to its promise.
Webiste: https://www.broadreachtraining.com
Resources:
Pat Raddel
Patrick G. Radel is a member of the law firm of Getnick Livingston Atkinson & Priore, LLP, located in Utica, New York. He received his law degree summa cum laude from the University at Buffalo Law School, where he was the Executive Editor of the Buffalo Law Review. From 2002 to 2004, Mr. Radel served as confidential law clerk to the Honorable William M. Skretny, United States District Judge for the Western District of New York.
FULL BIO & Resources
Mr. Radel is passionate about the rights of people with disabilities and has been honored to represent families of students with disabilities at CSE meetings, in due process proceedings, and in federal court. He is admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, the United States District Court for the Northern and Western Districts of New York, and in the courts of New York State. Mr. Radel is a member of the Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates (COPAA), New York State Bar Association, and Oneida County Bar Association. He is a Fellow of the New York Bar Foundation and he is a frequent speaker on the legal rights of students with disabilities. He lives in New Hartford, New York with his wife, Mary Snyder Radel, Esq., and their three sons.
Session Title: Top 5 Myths of Special Education Law
Session Description: We'll survey five of the biggest myths and misunderstandings about special education law. After this session, you'll know what the law REALLY says and you'll have several practical strategies for advocating for the legal rights of students with disabilities.
Session Title: Challenging Behavior & the Legal Rights of Students with Disabilities
Session Description: This presentation offers a summary of the legal rights of students with disabilities who demonstrate challenging behavior, including student discipline, the use of physical restraints and seclusion, and the right to effective communication and positive behavior supports.
Website: https://www.getnicklivingston.com/patrick-radel
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pgradelesq
Resources:
- Pat's Blog – getnicklivingston.com/blog
Coming Soon! Description of Day 3 Panels and Presenters