Faculty Profiles

I received a Bachelor of Science in Education degree in 1986 from Emporia (Kansas) State University with a major in English and Social Science to teach secondary students. I received a Master's degree in Special Education in 2000 from Southwest Texas State University and a Ph.D. in School Improvement from Texas State University in 2007. Prior to coming to higher education, I spent 26 years working with students with special needs in public education. I worked with students with emotional and behavioral disabilities in self-contained, resource, and inclusion settings and finally as a behavior specialist.
I have became a full-time faculty member in the Special Education program at Texas State University in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction since Fall 2012 and was tenured and promoted to Associate Professor in Fall 2018. In 2021, I became the Interim Department Chair for the Department of Curriculum and Instruction and Chair in 2022 and Chair in 2023.

My research interests include effective behavioral interventions and instructional methods for students with emotional or behavioral disabilities, classroom management, particularly for secondary school, and multi-tiered systems of support for schools, specifically positive behavioral interventions and supports (PBIS).

Aligned with my professional and research interests, I have been exploring the benefits of preparing educators to teach students with special learning and behavioral needs using immersive virtual reality and have published papers in this area and have consulted with the Texas State Virtual Reality Lab to use VR to teach specific strategies and techniques.