Dr. Robert Arnhold is Professor and Director of the Adapted Physical Activity Program at Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania. He directs two federal grant programs: a personnel development grant from the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs that trains 11 graduate students enrolled in the adapted physical activity program each year and a federal contract from the National Institutes’ of Health, Division of Nutrition Research Coordination that focuses on a mentoring program that enhances the physical activity and nutrition behaviors of youth with disabilities. He also provides technical assistance for nine national sites implementing the "I Can Do It, You Can Do It" mentoring program. Dr. Arnhold is past president of the National Consortium for Physical Education and Recreation for Individuals with Disabilities. He holds a B.S. degree in Health and Physical Education from Temple University, and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Adapted Physical Education.
Marla Davis Holbrook is an Education Administrator for Special Education Services with the Alabama Department of Education and the Director of Alabama’s General Supervision Enhancement Grant. She specializes in instruction, curriculum, standards, school improvement and assessment. Her background includes teaching, counseling and supervision in general education and special education at the elementary, middle and university levels. She develops and coordinates programs and curriculum designed to assist special education students reach grade-level academic standards. She is a featured speaker at state and national meetings on standards and standards-based individualized educational programs (IEPs). She is the author of two NASDSE Project Forum documents, Standards-Based Individualized Program Examples and A Seven Step Process to Creating Standards-Based IEPs.
Charlotte Kerr earned her B.S. degree in special education from the University of Alabama. She earned an M.A. degree in education from the University of Alabama in Birmingham and an Education Specialist degree from the University of Montevallo. Ms. Kerr has worked in the field of special education for the past 28 years. She worked in the Shelby County School System as a special education teacher and program specialist for fifteen years. For the past ten years, she was the Coordinator of Special Education for the Shelby County School System. In July 2005, Ms Kerr was selected as the Director of Student Services for the Homewood City School System. Ms. Kerr is a member of the State Adequate Yearly Progress Committee. She has made numerous presentations at the local, state, and university level.
Amanda Lowe serves as a policy analyst and government relations liaison for the National Association of State Directors of Special Education (NASDSE).Before joining NASDSE’s staff, she worked as a special education teacher in a self-contained classroom for students with emotional and behavioral disabilities. She later served as a school administrator as well as a trainer for therapeutic holds. She is trained in both TACT 2 as well as Life Space Crisis Intervention. She holds a B.A. from the University of Maine in Psychology, a Master’s Degree in special education with a focus on emotional and behavioral disabilities from the George Washington University (GW) and is currently working on a doctorate in special education at GW.
Dr. Joe Ryan received his Ph.D. in Special Education from the University of Nebraska. He has taught students with behavioral disorders from grades K - 12 across a variety of educational settings, including resource and self-contained classrooms, special day schools and a residential treatment center. Professional interests include: behavior management, seclusion and restraint policies for schools, psychotropic medications, therapeutic recreation and post-secondary transition services. He remains active in the field by publishing, consulting and speaking at national and international professional conferences. He is the founder and director of Clemson LIFE, a post- secondary transition program for students with cognitive disabilities. He is also the founder and director of several Clemson therapeutic recreation programs in baseball and soccer for youth with disabilities. Currently he serves as the treasurer for the International Council for Children with Behavioral Disorders (CCBD). Outside of work, he serves as a Captain in the United States Navy Reserves.
Dr. Garth Tymeson is a professor in the Department of Exercise and Sport Science at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse who for over 30 years has focused his professional career on issues related to the health and physical well-being of persons with disabilities. He currently serves as co-director of a personnel development grant funded the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services to prepare adapted physical education itinerant teachers. In addition, he serves as co-director of a grant funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to implement and evaluate the “I Can Do It” Physical Activity Mentoring Program for persons with disabilities. His primary area of teaching includes courses to prepare highly qualified adapted physical education teachers to serve children and youth with disabilities. He is also is extensively involved with community agencies, families and persons with disabilities through his work in the Center on Disability Health and Adapted Physical Activity at UW-La Crosse. Prior to his current faculty position, he served as Director of University Graduate Studies, and was Interim Dean for three years and Associate Dean for nine years in the College of Health, Physical Education and Recreation.
Linda Webbert is the lead Adapted Physical Education consultant for Baltimore County Public Schools. Her primary responsibility is to assist physical education teachers in providing appropriate instruction in physical education to students with disabilities. Prior to working in the Baltimore County Public Schools, she taught physical education and health education and also served as the Athletic Director at the Maryland School for the Blind. She was the President of the Eastern Athletic Association for the Blind and served on the Board of Directors of the Maryland Special Olympics. In addition, she has held various leadership roles at both the state and eastern district levels of the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance. She was the 1999 Maryland Adapted Physical Education Teacher of the Year. |