Benefit Golf Event!: Reznick Group June 7, 2011 What a great time! THANK YOU to the Reznick group for raising $10,000 for MCIE. You are GREAT! John Hussman: MCIE October 2008 Congratulations remarks by sponsor John Hussman to MCIE on our 20th anniversary Read remarks here Board Member Position: Apply to the MCIE Board of Directors  MCIE is looking for business representatives who embrace inclusion to join our Board of Directors. Please call 410-859-5400 for more information! Get application here Follow MCIE on Facebook!: Inclusive Education Updates and Discussion Groups  Copy the URL and paste into your browser to find us on Facebook. http://tiny.cc/mciefacebook Top MBE Award Winner: Carol Quirk November 2008 MCIE's own Carol Quirk was selected as one of the top 100 Minority Business Entrerpeneurs in the Marylnd-DC-Virginia region, from over 1400 nominations. Read more...         Board of Directors Board President: Andrea Bennett, Consultant Special Kids Company Secretary: Lee Draminski Association Manager, MMBA (Maryland Mortgage Bankers Association) Treasurer: Kirk M. Griffith, Ph.D. Licensed Psychologist Neuropsychologist NeuroBehavioral Associates Directors: Adam Kleeman, CPA Reznick Group Eric Levey, Director, Keelty Center Kennedy Krieger Institute Rebecca S. Salon, Ph.D. Disability Consultant Janice Siebenhaar Special Education Resource Teacher Baltimore County Public Schools Jennifer Miller, Vice President Associate Banking Advisor PNC Wealth Management Alicia Palmer, Grants Coordinator Harford County Public Schools Stacey C. Williams Elementary PDS Coordinator University of Maryland, College Park Gabrielle D. Shirley Rosenberg | Martin | Greenberg, LLP Administration Tess Walter Office Manager mcie@mcie.org Read Bio... Advocacy Services Selene A. Almazan, Esq. Co-Executive Director selene@mcie.org Read Bio... Sabrina Austin, Staff Attorney saustin@mcie.org Read Bio... Judy Terle Family Advisor judy@mcie.org Read Bio... Intake Coordinator intake@mcie.org Professional Development Services Carol Quirk, Ed.D. Co-Executive Director, cquirk@mcie.org Read Bio... Sunyoung Ahn, Inclusive Education Facilitator, sahn@mcie.org Read Bio... Heather Allcock, Team Leader, heather@mcie.org Read Bio... Barb Gruber, Ph.D. Inclusive Education Facilitator, barb@mcie.org Read Bio... Marny Helfrich, Team Leader, marny@mcie.org Read Bio... Rashida Jeffers, Inclusive Education Facilitator, rjeffers@mcie.org Read Bio... ...Continued (Professional Development Services) Lena Johnson, Inclusive Education Facilitator, ljohnson@mcie.org Read Bio... Meka Kahn, Inclusive Education Facilitator, Mkahn@mcie.org Read Bio... Karmen Mills, Inclusive Education Facilitator, kmills@mcie.org Read Bio... Christian O’Brien, Inclusive Education Facilitator, cobrien@mcie.org Read Bio... Stephanie Parkhurst, Inclusive Education Facilitator, sparkhurst@mcie.org Read Bio... Sarah Scrivener, Inclusive Education Facilitator, sscrivener@mcie.org Read Bio... Elissa Turner, Inclusive Education Facilitator, eturner@mcie.org Read Bio... Biographical Info Sunyoung Ahn joined MCIE in 2010 as a professional development facilitator. She received her B.A. and B.S. in English Literature and Languages and Secondary English Education from Kyung-hee university in Seoul, South Korea. She also received a Master's and PhD degree in Special Education from University of Kansas. Prior to joining MCIE, Sunyoung worked as a Research coordinator at the Center for Biobehavioral Neurosciences in Communication Disorders at the University of Kansas. She has also worked as a college instructor, child language and behavior assessor. Top of Page Heather Allcock Heather Allcock joined MCIE in 2009 as a Professional Development Facilitator. Heather received her doctorate in Special Education from the University of Maryland in 2004 and has been working with children and adults with significant support needs for over 15 years in schools and inclusive employment settings. She has worked as a special education teacher, teacher educator, Least Restrictive Environment Specialist for Anne Arundel Co., and as a Senior Research Associate with TransCen, Inc. She is committed her professional life to inclusive schooling and individualized inclusive employment for all people with disabilities. Top of Page Selene Almazan the Director of Advocacy Services has worked for MCIE since 1992. She received her Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Maryland, College Park, and her Juris Doctor degree from Antioch School of Law. Before coming to MCIE, she was a Legal Aid Attorney who represented children in foster care with an emphasis on special education matters. Selene is on the Board of Directors for the national Council of Parent Advocates and Attorneys (COPAA). Top of Page Sabrina Austin joined MCIE as a Staff Attorney in 2009. She received her Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Virginia and her Juris Doctor Degree from the University of Texas School of Law. Previously, Sabrina represented clients in special education and higher education matters with the firm Moskowitz & Austin, Silver Spring, MD, where she still serves in the capacity as Of Counsel. Sabrina is a currently appointed attorney on the Special Education Panel through the D.C. Superior Court which represents residents of Washington D.C. on special education issues. Top of Page Katherine Carver joined MCIE in November 2007. She received her Juris Doctor degree from the University of Maryland, School of Law. She has experience advocating for individuals with disabilities in various settings. She previously held positions with the Michigan Protection and Advocacy Service, Inc. and the National Association of the Deaf. Prior to coming to MCIE, she held an associate position with Bowie & Jensen, LLC. Top of Page Barb Gruber is the Project Manager for MCIE’s Professional Development Services, coordinating work on grants and various projects with schools. She has been with MCIE since 1993 and served on the MSDE Task Force on Inclusive Education. Barb is also an instructor at the University of Maryland, College Park, in the Department of Special Education. Previously she worked at the May Institute in Massachusetts where she designed programs and interventions for people with autism and with challenging behavior. Top of Page Marny Helfrich joined MCIE as a Professional Development Facilitator in August of 2006. She has worked with young children with and without disabilities and their families in a variety of school and community settings. Prior to coming to MCIE, she was an Early Childhood Specialist in an inclusive program for children with hearing loss, where she co-taught a preschool classroom, coordinated the parent-infant program, and assisted with research and training efforts. Top of Page Rashida Jeffers joined MCIE as a Professional Development Facilitator in September of 2011. She holds a Master of Arts in Teaching from Trinity University of Washington D.C. where she specialized in Elementary Education. She is a certified General Education teacher with many years of experience in teaching students with and without disabilities. Prior to coming to MCIE she held positions as an Academic Intervention Specialist and a Reading Specialist where she provided support and professional development for general and special education teachers. Top of Page Lena Johnson joined MCIE as a Professional Development Facilitator in January of 2010. She has worked with children with and without disabilities and their families in a variety of school and community settings in different countries in Europe and South America. Prior to coming to MCIE, she finished her Masters in Inclusive Education in Darmstadt, Germany and is now working on a dissertation about the role of outside change agents in the inclusion process at the University of Siegen. Top of Page Meka Kahn joined MCIE in 2009. She received her B.A. in Black Studies with an emphasis in Human and Social Services from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and her M.Ed at Howard University in School Psychology. Prior to coming to MCIE, she was a school psychologist and PBIS Coordinator at a Washington D.C. Charter School, providing therapeutic counseling to students with learning and emotional disabilities, teacher and parent consultation, psycho-educational assessments, and interventions. She has been a preschool teacher and special education teacher. She is a certified school psychologist in California, Virginia, Maryland, and D.C. Top of Page Kirsty MacIver joined MCIE’s Professional Development Services in 2007. She has a Masters of Science degree in Behavior Analysis from the University of North Texas where she specialized in Autism Intervention. She is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst who has been working with young children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorders in home, school and community settings since 1999. Kirsty has also worked as an Infant and Toddler Developmental Specialist for Florida ’s Infant and Toddler Program, as an Educational Consultant and Autism Specialist at the Emory Autism Center in Atlanta , GA and at the Center for Autism and Related Disabilities in Gainesville , FL. Top of Page Karmen Mills joined MCIE in 2009. She obtained her B.S. Degree from Clark Atlanta University and her M.A. and S.S.P. degrees in School Psychology at Winthrop University. She has worked as a School Psychologist in two school districts in North Carolina where she gained experience in implementation of Positive Behavior Interventions Supports at the school level and in developing effective Functional Behavior Assessments and Behavior Intervention plans. Top of Page Christian O’Brien joined MCIE in 2010 as an Inclusive Education Facilitator. He is certified in the areas of elementary general education, elementary/ middle special education, and high school social studies. He earned a B.A. in psychology from St. Mary’s College, a M.Ed. in school psychology from William and Mary, and a post-graduate certificate in educational administration from Johns Hopkins University. Christian worked on multiple large- scale intervention research projects that focused on teaching literacy and study strategies across the content areas. He has also taught students from a number of local school districts at a variety of grade levels. Top of Page Stephanie Parkhurst joined MCIE in 2009. She received her Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Maryland College Park, Master’s Degree from the University of Maryland Baltimore County, and Doctorate in Clinical Psychology from the Catholic University of America. She has worked in the Howard County and Prince George’s County Public Schools in a variety of roles, including: providing services to students diagnosed with educational, emotional and behavioral needs, working with interdisciplinary teams as both a participant and facilitator, and consulting to regional programs for students with emotional disabilities. Top of Page Carol Quirk Director of Professional Development Services, is one of the founders of MCIE. After serving as Board President for its first 3 years, she joined the staff in 1990. She received her B.A. and M.A. degrees from the University of Connecticut, and her Doctor of Education Degree from the Johns Hopkins University. Prior to coming to MCIE, Carol was Executive Director of an adult services agency in Baltimore City; a Consultant to Philadelphia Public Schools; a Director of Technical Assistance Services to Early Intervention programs in North Carolina; and a special education teacher in Connecticut. Top of Page Sabrina Austin joined MCIE as a Staff Attorney in 2009. She received her Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Virginia and her Juris Doctor Degree from the University of Texas School of Law. Previously, Sabrina represented clients in special education and higher education matters with the firm Moskowitz & Austin, Silver Spring, MD, where she still serves in the capacity as Of Counsel. Sabrina is a currently appointed attorney on the Special Education Panel through the D.C. Superior Court which represents residents of Washington D.C. on special education issues. Top of Page Sarah Scrivener joined MCIE in 2009. She graduated from Ohio University with a B.A. in Psychology and a Minor in Sociology. She received her Master of Arts and Certificate of Advanced Study in School Psychology from Towson University and is a Nationally Certified School Psychologist. Top of Page Joann Sykes has worked for MCIE since 1997 as our Administrative Assistant. In addition to her usual variety of clerical duties, she has had an intricate part in setting up our Library which now holds over 600 individual publications. Before coming to MCIE, she had recently retired from the Maryland Transportation Authority, Department of Strategic Development. Top of Page Judy Terle has worked for MCIE since 1997 as a Family Advisor. She received her Bachelor’s Degree in Education from the Ohio State University and her Masters Degree in Rehabilitation Counseling from Towson State University. Before coming to MCIE, she worked at The Arc of Maryland under a “Partners in Policy Making” grant, a Leadership Advocacy Training Program for parents of young children with developmental disabilities. Top of Page Elissa Turner joined MCIE’s Professional Development Services in September of 2011. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Education from Pepperdine University and a Master of Science degree in Education from Portland State University. She has been working for the past five years as a Special Education Teacher in a variety of instructional settings and specifically has experience with inclusive classroom environments, co-teaching models, and positive behavior support. She has been supporting and advocating for children with disabilities, inside and outside of the classroom, since 1998. Top of Page Tess Walter joined our team in 2004 as our Office Manager. She came to us highly experienced with many years of management and administrative support. Tess works closely with all aspects of MCIE work, including such areas as business administrationc, conference coordination, and office organization. Top of Page