Presenters

Cathy Angelos is the Principal of the John Schroder Early Childhood Center in Lombard District 44. She has worked in public schools for the past 25 years and holds three certifications: Teacher K-9, School Psychologist and Administration. For the past 13 years she has over seen the Early Childhood Team. Initially the programs consisted of separate Self Contained Special Education and PFA classrooms. Knowing the benefits of inclusion Cathy pushed for Blended Classrooms, and the program has been Blended with push in special education services for the past 11 years. The entire team, including the Instructional Assistants, are trained on the ECERS-3 and inclusive programming, seamlessly integrating children of varying abilities into the classrooms. Together they support their children by holding each child to high expectations in hopes they become empathetic lifelong learners.

Katie Bernas has been working in the Lombard School District Early Childhood Program for a year and a half. She joined the program after graduating from Illinois State University. She is an early childhood teacher in a blended classroom. Prior to this position, she had plenty of experience working with a team of teachers, however, little experience with having an instructional assistant in a blended early childhood classroom. During her time in the program, she worked with two classroom instructional assistants and a one-on-one aide. In such a short time, she learned the importance of building a collaborative relationship with her instructional assistant and how to balance responsibilities within the classroom. She believes that this is crucial component to ensuring a welcoming environment and the best learning experiences for her students.

Becky Caldwell has been in the ECE field for over 25 years. She has worked with all age groups and held many positions in both the for profit and not for profit arenas. She has worked in corporate child care, Head Start and Preschool for All programs. Becky has a Master’s degree in early childhood education. Becky is CLASS reliable in infants, toddlers and pre-K. Becky is a CDA Specialist where she coaches teachers with achievement of the CDA credential. Becky is an education coach for PFA programs and is on adjunct faculty teaching early childhood at Joliet Junior College and Olivet University. Becky is passionate for the early childhood field and all the educators that pursue this age group.

Doreen Comings, Ph. D., CCC-SLP/L has been a Speech-Language Pathologist at Madison Early Childhood Education Center (MECEC) in Elmhurst District 205 since 2005. She previously worked at the Elementary and Middle School level for District 205. She currently serves children in early childhood special education classrooms, blended classrooms, and bilingual classrooms who have a wide variety of speech and language needs and disorders. She is a proponent of integrated push-in services in the classroom and primarily uses a classroom based model to serve her students. Doreen is also an adjunct professor at Northern Illinois University and has taught courses in Language Development (COMD 403, LTCY 403x), Early Childhood Language Disorders (COMD 603), and Assessment of Language Disorders (COMD 475). She received her Master’s degree from Miami University and her Ph.D. from Northern Illinois University.

Shannon Cribaro has been Director of Early Childhood Education for Mannheim School District 83 for the past 5 years. She has 25 years in education. She has previously been an Administrator for Valley View School District 365 U, SASED, and Cicero District 99. Shannon is currently pursuing her doctorate at NLU. She has a CAS in Educational Leadership from Lewis University, Master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction, and Bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood / Special Education at Elmhurst College. Shannon has previously presented on Early Childhood topics at IAASE, Triple III, Illinois Council of Exceptional Children, and Sharing a Vision.

Jenn Damitz has been employed in the Lombard School District Early Childhood Program for 11 years. Previously, she was in a self-contained program for two years in the Chicago Public Schools. She graduated from Western Illinois University in 2006, and received her Masters in Education Curriculum and Instruction from National Louis University in 2010. She has worked with many instructional assistants over the past 12 years and has built a positive and collaborative relationship with the IAs in her program. She has helped explain the ECERS-3 and the state expectations with new IAs in the classroom as well as making sure responsibilities are balanced in the classroom.

Deidre is a Speech Language Pathologist with 18 years of experience specializing in language acquisition and AAC in the early childhood setting. She presents frequently around the country and offers an enthusiastic and practical approach to working with young minimally verbal students. Utilizing play, music, art and sensory experiences; Deidre embeds functional communication throughout her student’s entire day. She developed the core vocabulary curriculum “Power Words 16” which is used in Barrington CUSD #220.

Tatyana Fertelmeyster grew up in Moscow, Russia. She came to the Chicago in January of 1989 as a refugee from the Soviet Union. Tatyana is an intercultural consultant and trainer. Tatyana received an MA in Journalism from Moscow State University, Russia, and an MA in Guidance and Counseling from Northeastern Illinois University, Chicago. She is a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor. She is a founder and principal of a consulting company Connecting Differences LLC and is a faculty member at the Summer Institute for Intercultural Communication. From 1989-2011, Tatyana worked with Jewish Child and Family Services of Chicago. Tatyana has worked as a family worker in refugee resettlement, as a mental health counselor, as a project coordinator, and for the last five years, as a Director of Cultural Competency Programs. She was responsible for overseeing projects that served refugees from over 30 different countries. She is also the past president of the Society for Intercultural Education, Training, and Research. In addition, Tatyana recently came back to SIETAR-USA leadership team as an Advisory Board member.

Robin K. Fox holds an undergraduate degree in Early Childhood Education and a minor in Child and Family Studies from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, a Master’s degree from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater in Early Childhood Exceptional Education and a PhD in Curriculum and Instruction with a minor in Educational Administration from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She is a former Head Start teacher and director. While at UW-Whitewater for the past 28 years she has served as a university childcare teacher and director and a professor in Curriculum and Instruction and the Associate Dean for the College of Education and Professional Studies. She is currently the Interim Dean of the College of Education and Professional Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. Her areas of research include teacher preparation and how teachers can meet the needs of children who were adopted, young children who are gender fluid, and working with schools about how to be inclusive of members of the LGBTQ community. She lives with her family in Whitewater.

Angela Herrington is an Educational Consultant. She has an Early Childhood Degree and a Master’s Degree in Teaching, as well as a National Board Certification. For the past 25 years, Angela has held various roles in public and private Early Childhood Programs, as well as supervisory experience of practicum and student teachers. Currently Angela consults with Early Childhood Programs in Illinois to assist with quality programming.

Linda Housewright served as a prekindergarten director/teacher in the Dallas City CUSD #336 for over 25 years. Her classroom was chosen by ISBE as the only long-distance virtual learning site statewide for Western Illinois University for 4 years, during this time she served as an adjunct professor and advisor for the Early Childhood department. Linda has served on committees for ISBE Early Learning Standards, Portfolio and the Governor’s office in the area of reading. Linda has provided trainings and webinars for ISBE/Illinois Resource Center-ECC in the areas of curriculum, assessment, learning environment, self-regulation, and ECERS. She has also presented at NAEYC conventions in New York, Chicago, and California. Linda was one of the creators of the Illinois Early Childhood model classroom, and a training site. She has also received an ISBE “Those Who Excel” 2001 award for meritorious service. After helping develop the ISBE Curriculum Coaching project and coaching more than 50 teachers to compliance and high ECERS scores she is now working as an independent early childhood consultant.

Nancy Kind is an Early Childhood Educational consultant. She has been involved in the field of Special Education, Early Childhood Education, Early Intervention and Early Childhood Special Education as a classroom teacher and administrator for over 33 years. Over her career, Nancy has been a presenter for many regional workshops, state and national conferences regarding key topics in Early Childhood Special Education. Nancy has participated in many state level committees including Early Childhood LRE Stakeholders and the Stakeholders Committee for Early Childhood Outcomes.

Cathy Koch, MA, CCC-SLP/L is a licensed Speech-Language Pathologist. She was previously employed by Elmhurst District 205 at the Madison Early Childhood Center. Cathy has a special love of preschoolers and has focused her practice on working with them and their families for most of her 25+ year career. She integrates services for her students into her early childhood and blended classrooms whenever possible and feels strongly that this method of service delivery supports their acquisition of skills and growth. She has worked in a variety of settings including a clinical rehabilitation center, a large special education cooperative, early intervention, and as a clinical supervisor. Additionally, she holds a Masters Degree in Early Childhood Education.

Ann Kremer is the Director of Early CHOICES LRE, working to increase inclusive opportunities for preschool children with disabilities. Ann came to the field of inclusive practices as a parent of a child with Down Syndrome who wanted to include her son in regular preschool. Ann started out as an elementary school teacher but completed her Masters in early childhood. She also has experience as a Developmental Therapist in Early Intervention. Through her work, Ann has done presentations for many regional and national conferences as well as facilitated districts to plan for inclusion. Ann has participated on many state level committees, leading the Early Childhood LRE Stakeholders, and participating in the Stakeholders Committee for Early Childhood Outcomes, and the ISBE/DHS Transition Guidance Committee.

Nancy Kuglin has extensive experience in early childhood and special education. She taught early childhood, special education, served as a Preschool Resource Specialist, was assigned as interim supervisor of the ECHO Family Enrichment Program (an ISBE Prevention Initiative Project) and provided Developmental Therapy in Early Intervention. Nancy received her undergraduate degree in Special Education/Deaf and Hard of Hearing, her Master’s degree in Early Childhood Special Education/Infant Studies and completed post graduate coursework at Gallaudet University. She conducts trainings on the Illinois Early Learning and Development Standards, Portfolios, Technology in Early Childhood Special Education and Teaching Students with Multiple Needs.

Toni W. Linder consults and presents nationally and internationally on the role of play in assessment, intervention and curriculum. Dr. Linder retired from Mortgridge College of Education at the University of Denver, Colorado in 2011. She has authored books on transdisciplinary play-based assessment (TPBA) and intervention (TPBI). Recently Toni has been working on a project in Hangzhou, China where she helped to develop a large play and assessment center for children from six months to six years of age. Her focus is currently on developing quality assessment and early childhood programs for all children.

Peg Mazeika has worked in the field of education for over 25 years, most of it working with children with ASD. She has worked in both regular and special education classrooms working with Early Childhood through High School students as an educator and as a behavior management specialist. Peg has served as a consultant to the IL Autism Project and to many school districts across the state of Illinois and Wisconsin as well as a member of the Professional Advisory Committee of the Illinois Autism Society.

Jac McBride is an Early Childhood Resource Specialist for STAR NET Region II. She has a master’s degree in Education of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing and served as a special education educator for 20 years as a preschool teacher and Early Intervention provider. For the past 15 years, Jac has held various special education administrator roles from supervising preschool programs to Director of Special Education in the suburbs of Chicago.

Sherial McKinney, M.S. Ed., has taught and worked in the field of early childhood education for over 35 years. She has taught Early Childhood Special Education in a self-contained setting and in a blended program with Pre-K at Risk students as well as teaching Kindergarten, Title I Reading and Math for grades K-8, and in a federally funded child care program. She is an Early Childhood Resource Specialist for STAR Net Regions I & III.

Linda Merry is an Occupational Therapist with over 34 years’ experience working with individuals with a variety of abilities. As a senior therapist at Easter Seal DuPage and the Fox Valley Region, she understands the long term impact of impairments and designing intervention which supports individuals’ participation across environments. She has extensive experience treating children with a variety of developmental challenges, specializing in children with cerebral palsy, hypotonia, brachial plexus and autism. Linda’s long list of continuing education certifications and training includes the 8 week Neuro-Developmental Treatment and Advanced Baby Course, Sensory Integration, cognitive-behavioral approaches, autism, kinesiotaping, splinting and casting. Linda is a State of Illinois Early Intervention evaluator and therapist. She has provided professional presentations and student lectures on a variety of topics. She has been a consultant to several school systems including a residential program for children with vision and hearing impairments.

Jill Molli has the uncanny ability to help people laugh and learn at the same time. Her past position in a Title 1 elementary school offered her opportunities to apply Dr. Bailey’s Conscious Discipline in a school setting and her family offers her constant real-life experiences to share with her audiences. Jill was selected as a Loving Guidance Associate because of her no-nonsense ability to get to the heart of a situation and her commitment to living Loving Guidance principles at school and at home. Jill began her teaching career in a behavior disabilities classroom, moved into a regular third grade classroom and then completed her requirements as a Guidance Counselor. She has a Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education, a Master’s in Counseling, and over 15 years’ experience working with children who have behavior problems.

Gina Musielski is the Family Resource Specialist for STAR NET Region II, and has worked as a parent and family resource and support specialist since 1999. As the parent of a child with a developmental disability, Gina draws on both her personal and professional experience in all of her training presentations. She has presented at state and local conferences, for parent groups, early intervention, childcare, and education professionals on a variety of topics relating to special education and parent rights. Active on state level committees such as ISBE/DHS Transition Guidance Committee and Early Childhood LRE Stakeholders committee, Gina is involved in training and resource development for parents of young children with special needs on topics such as transition, IEPs, LRE, parent rights and advocacy.

Anna C Robins attended Augustana College where she received her Bachelor’s in Communications Sciences and Disorders, and St. Xavier University where she received her Master’s in Speech and Language Pathology. She is currently working for Elmhurst Community Unit School District 205 at Madison Early Childhood Education Center (MECEC), and has been a part of the team for nine years. She has experience assessing and working with a variety of special populations and has been providing integrated speech and language therapy in self-contained and blended preschool classrooms.

Emily Ropars has worked in the field of early childhood education for 20 years. She holds a developmental therapy credential and a type 04 with a special education endorsement. Emily has worked in all early childhood environments as a teacher, coach and administrator: lab preschool, child care, Head Start, and private schools. She currently is an LRE Specialist for Early CHOICES.

For the past 6 years Deb has been an instructional assistant with the Lombard School District Early Childhood Program. During this time she served one year as a one-on-one aide for a student in a structured classroom, one year as an aide in a selfcontained class and the last four years as a blended classroom aide. During this time she received training in ECERS-3 and has participated in Creative Curriculum instruction. The year before she began working with the school district, she volunteered as an assistant at Giant Steps Autism Organization. Prior to working as an aide she chose to be a stay at home Mom. During this period she spent many hours volunteering at her children’s school. It was during this time that she developed a desire to continue working with children. She graduated from Concordia University, Chicago with a BA Degree, Majoring in Biology with a Double Minor in Chemistry and Business. She spent her first 5 years after graduation working in sales. Along with the incredible teachers, she feels it is important to create a positive and inviting school experience for every student.

Pam Shaw is currently the Director of Special Education in Riverside Elementary School District 96. She has been in education for 27 years starting her career as a special education teacher. For the past 14 years Pam has been a special education administrator, with eight of those years supervising early childhood programs in two large west suburban unit school districts. She serves on the Early Childhood Transition Guidance Committee, providing professional development in the state on IDEA Transition from Part C to Part B services. She attended Northern Illinois University earning a B.S. in Special Education and Elementary Education. She attended North Central College and received a M.A. in Educational Administration, later obtaining her special education director endorsement.

Keena L. Sims, Project Manager for the Early Intervention Training Program at the University of Illinois in Champaign Urbana, began working in the Early Intervention Program as a Credentialed Lead Service Coordinator and Developmental Therapist in 2000. As a Project Manager for the EI Training Program, Sims oversees the Credit Request process, Interpreter and Translator Project, as well as takes on a lead role in the Child and Family Outcomes projects. Mrs. Sims leads the effort of surveying all families exiting the Illinois Early Intervention Program annually, to help improve services provided to Illinois children and their families. Mrs. Sims is a graduate of Michigan State University with a background in social services specializing in Family and Community Services. She has more than 25 years of professional experiences ranging from helping children and families facing issues of homelessness, domestic violence and providing high quality services to children with special needs. Mrs. Sims is a Grand Rapids, Michigan native, and currently lives in Illinois with her husband and their three children.

Celine Rosati Skertich is a physical therapist with over 35 years’ experience empowering families and individuals living with disabilities to achieve their maximum potential. She is certified by the American Board of Physical Therapy Specialties in pediatrics, currently a senior therapist at Easter Seals DuPage, and a State of Illinois Early Intervention evaluator and therapist – she has completed both the 8 week Neuro-Developmental Treatment and Advanced Baby certifications. Celine has provided therapy services for patients from infancy through adulthood, managing complex medical clients and enabling participation across environments. She has lectured and taught continuing education courses on a variety of topics, is a published researcher, a clinical instructor, mentor and coach.

Kathy Slattery is the Project Director and a Resource Specialist for STAR NET Region II. She has been involved in the field of Special Education, Early Childhood Special Education and Early Intervention for over 25 years as a classroom teacher, Early Intervention Provider, Parent Support Coordinator and as a technical assistance provider at STAR NET. Kathy has presented at the local, state and national level on topics related to supporting young children with disabilities and their families. In addition, Kathy has been a volunteer State Coordinator for the Selective Mutism Group for nine years. Kathy participates on several state level committees including Early Childhood LRE Stakeholders and the Stakeholders Committee for Early Childhood Outcomes.

Katie Suchy is an Early Childhood Resource Specialist for STAR NET Region II. Katie holds a bachelor's degree from Iowa State University where she double majored in child, adult, and family services, and linguistics with an emphasis on communication disorders and a minor in psychology. Katie has worked in the field of Early Childhood in a variety of roles in the classroom and as an Administrator for Head Start where she partnered with the local school districts to support students and families in the community. She has a strong background with Head Start, is a certified CLASS observer, GOLD reliable, and CDA Professional Development Specialist.

Tammy Notter has worked in the field of Early Childhood and School Age Care and Education for 39 years. She has worked as a lead teacher, trainer, education coordinator and an assistant director. Along with working in the Early Childhood field, Tammy has a second career as a group fitness instructor and yoga instructor. She has been teaching in the fitness area for 36 years in this field. Tammy has specialized certifications in Children’s Yoga and Yoga for Children with special needs.

Jenni has been working as a therapist for eleven years with clinical experience working with children, adolescents, and adults in various settings including individual, couple, family and group counseling. She has provided counseling services to people who have experienced trauma, sexual and physical abuse, anxiety and anger issues, relationship problems as well as depression. She also is the Mental Health Consultant for Two Rivers Head Start where she provides trainings to staff and also assist with behavior planning and supportive services. 

Toni W. Linder consults and presents nationally and internationally on the role of play in assessment, intervention and curriculum. Dr. Linder retired from Mortgridge College of Education at the University of Denver, Colorado in 2011. She has authored books on transdisciplinary play-based assessment (TPBA) and intervention (TPBI).  Recently Toni has been working on a project in Hangzhou, China where she helped to develop a large play and assessment center for children from six months to six years of age. Her focus is currently on developing quality assessment and early childhood programs for all children.