Summit Speakers
Internationally-renowned experts join with system-level leadership to advance effective MTSS in action
Distinguished Global Leaders
Russell Skiba, PhD
Professor Emeritus, School Psychology Program at Indiana University
Former Director of the Equity Project at Indiana University
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Russ Skiba, Ph.D. is Professor Emeritus in the School Psychology program at Indiana University, and former director of the Equity Project at Indiana University. He has worked with states and school districts across the country, and published extensively on school violence, school discipline, and equity in education. He was lead author of the American Psychological Association’s Task Force Report on Zero Tolerance, served as Project Director of the Discipline Disparities Research to Practice Collaborative, a national collaboration of educators, researchers, advocates, and policymakers addressing disciplinary disparities, and has testified before both houses of Congress and the US Commission on Civil Rights.
He has been identified for a number of years by Education Week as one of the top 200 scholars in the nation influencing educational policy and was recently listed by Stanford University as being among the top 2% of researchers in the world. Most recently, he co-founded of the University Alliance for Racial Justice, a network of university-based educators dedicated to supporting the struggle against discrimination and disadvantage, and helped establish the Indiana Educational Equity network, a statewide coalition that was instrumental in Indiana becoming the first red state in the nation to turn back an “anti-CRT” bill two years running.
Anita Archer, PhD
Educational Consultant & Author
Internationally-renowned consultant for education departments and school districts on explicit instruction, instructional design, behavior management, and literacy instruction
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Anita Archer, Ph.D. is an educational consultant and leading expert in explicit instruction, instructional design and delivery, behavior management, and literacy instruction. Over a distinguished 40-year career, she has taught elementary and middle school students and served on the faculties of San Diego State University, the University of Washington, and the University of Oregon.
Dr. Archer has presented professional development workshops in every U.S. state and many countries, earning more than ten awards in recognition of her contributions to education. She is co-author of numerous curriculum materials addressing reading, writing, and study skills, and is best known for the influential textbook Explicit Instruction: Effective and Efficient Teaching and related professional development resources that have shaped instruction across grade levels and content areas.
Linda Diamond
Author & Executive Director, Evidence Advocacy Center
Former teacher, principal, Director of Curriculum and Instruction, and Senior Policy Analyst
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Linda Diamond, M.ED, is best known for her nationally recognized professional books, Teaching Reading Sourcebook, used by many teacher preparation programs, Assessing Reading: Multiple Measures, and the Vocabulary Handbook. Linda was a teacher, principal, Director of Curriculum and Instruction, and a Senior Policy Analyst in an education think tank. In 1995, Linda Diamond founded and became president of the Consortium on Reaching Excellence in Education (CORE Learning), an organization committed to improving literacy and math outcomes for all children.
After serving as CORE’s president for 26 years, Linda stepped down from that role and continues to serve on CORE’s Advisory Board, The Reading League-California Advisory Board, and advises publishers, state agencies, legislators, and other organizations as they work to improve literacy instruction. Linda is currently serving as the Executive Director for a newly launched organization, the Evidence Advocacy Center, committed to transforming education based on evidence.
Featured Speakers
Dr. Erin A. Chaparro is a Research Associate Professor at the research center Educational and Community supports, housed in the University of Oregon’s College of Education. She is a nationally recognized expert in Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS), Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS), and systems coaching. Her research, inspired by her years as a school psychologist and high school counselor, focuses on improving instruction for English learners, strengthening data-based decision making among school teams, and expanding professional development and coaching opportunities for educators in rural and underserved communities. Dr. Chaparro has served as principal investigator or co-investigator on multiple Institute of Education Sciences grants totaling more than $10 million. She led Oregon’s MTSS statewide professional development initiative for five years and published findings demonstrating statistically significant improvements in elementary literacy outcomes across the 22 participating school districts. She was a featured speaker at the U.S. Department of Education’s MTSS Forum and spoke about the Oregon MTSS work. She is also co-author of Assessment in Special and Inclusive Education, a widely adopted educator preparation textbook. Dr. Chaparro’s current work bridges research, practice, and technology to help schools design sustainable systems that support both academic and behavioral wellness for all students.
Erin Chaparro, PhD
Elsa Cárdenas-Hagan, PhD
Dr. Elsa Cárdenas-Hagan is the President of the Valley Academic Language and Education Center in Brownsville, Texas, and a Research Associate at the Texas Institute for Measurement, Evaluation, and Statistics at the University of Houston. For more than 25 years, Dr. Cárdenas-Hagan has contributed to national research projects sponsored by the National Institute for Child Health and Human Development, the Institute of Education Sciences, and the Office of Special Education Programs for the United States Department of Education. Her research focuses on the development of language and literacy skills among Spanish- and English-speaking students. She has collaborated with research teams to design assessments and interventions tailored to this linguistically diverse population.
Dr. Cárdenas-Hagan currently serves as Chairperson of the National Joint Committee on Learning Disabilities and is a member of the Professional Advisory Board for the Learning Disabilities Association of America. She is also a former Vice-Chairperson of the International Dyslexia Association. Her contributions to the field have been recognized with several honors, including the Margaret Byrd Rawson Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Dyslexia Association, the Luke Waites Award of Service from the Academic Language Therapy Association, and the Learning Disabilities Award from the Learning Disabilities Association of America.
Additionally, she is a recipient of the Bronze Telly Award for Education and the author of Literacy Foundations for English Learners: A Comprehensive Guide to Evidence-Based Instruction and Esperanza a Spanish language intervention program.
Micheal Solis, PhD
Dr. Michael Solis is an Associate Professor of Special Education at the University of California, Riverside. His line of research focuses on vocabulary and reading comprehension interventions for students with reading difficulties in grades 4 -12. He has received over $6.7 million in federal funding from Department of Education and the Institute of Education Sciences to support doctoral training, a scale up project, and to pursue a series of studies designed to support the development and testing of evidence-based reading practices for students with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Dr. Solis has conducted randomized controlled trials (RCTs), single-case design studies, and systematic reviews. He has published articles in peer-reviewed journals including Annals of Dyslexia, Journal of Learning Disabilities, Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness, and Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders. Solis has expertise in K-12 reading interventions, multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS), positive behavior interventions, and collaboration. Prior to his work in higher education, he was a special educator, reading specialist, and literacy coach for 10 years in the public schools. Dr. Solis works with state agencies, advocacy groups, and school districts across the United States on supporting the implementation of evidence-based literacy practices aligned with the science of reading.
Matt Burns, PhD
Dr. Matthew K. Burns is a Fien Endowed Professor of Special Education at the University of Florida and an Assistant Director of the University of Florida Literacy Institute. Dr. Burns was a first-generation college student from Flint, Michigan who has dedicated his career to improving the lives of the most vulnerable children, including those with disabilities, from high-poverty backgrounds, for whom English was not their native language, and children from other groups of underserved populations. He has published over 200 articles and book chapters in national publications, and has co-authored or co-edited 15 books. He is the current Co-Editor of Remedial and Special Education and the Journal of Multitiered Systems of Support, and a Past Editor of School Psychology Review and Assessment for Effective Intervention.
Dr. Burns is one of the leading researchers regarding the use of assessment data to determine individual or small-group interventions, multitiered systems of support, and facilitating problem-solving teams. His research has been featured in popular podcasts such as Sold a Story and documentary films such as The Truth About Reading, and his YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/@matthewburns6803) has been viewed over 131,000 times and has 3,150 subscribers. He received the 2020 Senior Scientist Award from Division 16 (School Psychology) of the American Psychological Association.
Sarah Powell, PhD
Dr. Sarah R. Powell is a professor in the College of Education at The University of Texas at Austin and Associate Director of the Meadows Center for Preventing Educational Risk. Her research, teaching, and service focus on mathematics, particularly for students who experience mathematics differently.
Powell is principal investigator (PI) of RAAMPS, an IES efficacy grant on Grade 4 word-problem solving, and of SPIRAL, which collaborates with Grades 4–5 teachers of students with mathematics difficulties. She is Co-PI of STAIR 2.0 and SCALE/SCALE-UP, replicating fraction interventions in Grades 4–8, and collaborates on Math Words, an IES development grant about mathematics vocabulary. To develop the next generation of math researchers, she is PI of LIME, a doctoral leadership grant funded by the Office of Special Education Programs. Powell received the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) in 2019 and acknowledges the contributions of her team, research collaborators, teachers, and students.
Rachel Brown-Chidsey, PhD
Dr. Brown-Chidsey started her career as a classroom teacher and special educator before earning a Ph.D. in School Psychology and Special Education at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She is Associate Professor of School Psychology at the University of Alaska Anchorage and her research focuses on MTSS implementation, including effective reading instruction, progress monitoring, and leadership support. Dr. Brown-Chidsey has authored numerous articles and books, including a recently revised edition of the Practical Handbook of Multi-Tiered Systems of Support.
Anna-Lind Pétursdóttir, PhD
Dr. Anna-Lind Pétursdóttir is a professor of psychology, special education, and applied behavior analysis at the School of Education, University of Iceland. She has over 25 years of experience supporting educators in the use of data based decision making and evidence based practices to meet the diverse developmental, learning, and social emotional needs of students in inclusive settings. Her research interests include functional behavioral assessment, positive behavior interventions and support, classroom management, peer assisted learning strategies, and teacher training.
Christopher J. Lemons, PhD
Christopher J. Lemons, Ph.D. is a Professor of Education at Stanford University, specializing in improving academic outcomes for children and adolescents with intellectual, developmental, and learning disabilities. His research focuses on reading interventions, data-based individualization, and intervention-related assessment and professional development.
Dr. Lemons serves as Senior Advisor for the National Center on Intensive Intervention and the Progress Center at AIR, chairs the Executive Committee of the Pacific Coast Research Conference, and is President-Elect of the Council for Exceptional Children’s Division of Research. He has received numerous honors, including the Distinguished Early Career Research Award from CEC, and the Pueschel-Tjossem Research Award from the National Down Syndrome Congress. In 2016, Lemons received the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE), the highest honor bestowed by the U.S. government, from President Obama.Prior to academia, he taught in multiple special education settings, including preschool autism, elementary inclusion, and middle school life skills classrooms.
Chris Borgmeier, PhD
Dr. Chris Borgmeier is a professor in the Special Education Department at Portland State University. His research interests focus on School-wide Positive Behavior Intervention and Support (SW-PBIS), Functional Behavioral Assessment (FBA) and intervention, implementation of evidence-based practices and systems change in schools. Dr. Borgmeier is particularly interested in working with schools and school districts to maximize resources to implement evidence-based practices for students with challenging behavior and behavioral disorders. This begins with a strong foundation in universal (Tier 1) intervention that provides a safe, positive school experience that maximizes instructional time for all students. Much of his current work focuses on developing tools to train school personnel to better understand students with challenging behavior and how to intervene based on an understanding of the function or purpose of the problem behavior. Dr. Borgmeier earned his PhD at the University of Oregon and worked as a PBIS coordinator at a school district in the Bay Area in California before coming to Portland State University. He has been a trainer and consultant for SW-PBIS implementation efforts across the United States and Canada. Dr. Borgmeier currently serves as board vice president for the Northwest PBIS Network, Inc.
Stephanie Stollar, PhD
Dr. Stephanie Stollar is passionate about using MTSS as the framework for helping all students become skilled readers. She is the co-author of the books MTSS for Reading Improvement, Promoting Effective MTSS Implementation, and Reading Assessment Done Right. Stephanie is creator of the Reading Science Academy and co-creator of MTSS Collective, two online communities for improving student outcomes by contextualizing research in the MTSS framework. She supports effective educator preparation through her work with the national alliance, STARS in Higher Education, and as co-lead of the higher education team at the Evidence Advocacy Center. Her past roles include Assistant Professor, Vice President at Acadience Learning, and School Psychologist. Stephanie believes that by supporting all educators, high achievement is possible for every student.
John Hosp, PhD
Dr. John L. Hosp is a Professor of Special Education in the Department of Student Development in the College of Education at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. His research focuses on aspects of implementing Multi-tiered Systems of Support (MTSS), including aligning assessment and instruction to improve the outcomes of students with disabilities, particularly in the areas of reading and science. In this area, his expertise includes curriculum-based measurement (CBM) and curriculum-based evaluation (CBE). Dr. Hosp also conducts research on the disproportionate representation of students of color in special education. He (along with Michelle Hosp and Janice Dole) served as an evaluator of Utah’s Reading First program helping to implement and evaluate evidence based reading instruction across the state. He has received over $10 million in funding for research and student training. His publications (over 50) include the books The ABCs of CBM: A Practical Guide to Curriculum-Based Measurement, Designing and Conducting Research in Education, and The ABCs of Curriculum-Based Evaluation: A Practical Guide to Effective Decision Making.
Amanda VanDerHeyden, PhD
Dr. Amanda VanDerHeyden is a policy adviser, researcher, and thought leader focused on improving learning outcomes for students. She is credited with developing models of academic screening widely used in schools, conducting innovative research in mathematics screening and progress monitoring using mastery measurement, and creating SpringMath. Dr. VanDerHeyden has published ten books and over 100 scholarly articles and chapters. She regularly delivers webinars, panel sessions, and keynotes, including addresses to state school psychology associations and departments of education in 36 U.S. states as well as internationally in Singapore, China, Portugal, and Australia.
She has served as a panel member for NIH, a standing panel member for IES at the U.S. Department of Education, and as an adviser and reviewer for NCII, USAID, the IRIS Center, the Dyslexia Foundation, and numerous state departments of education. Dr. VanDerHeyden has also served on boards, including the RTI Advisory Board for the National Center for Learning Disabilities and SEDL, one of 10 regional laboratories funded by the U.S. Department of Education. She has authored multiple policy guides and position statements and delivered testimony on the use of Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) and Response to Intervention (RTI) in identifying students for special education. Dr. VanDerHeyden is President of Education Research & Consulting in Daphne, Alabama, and holds a faculty affiliation with the Wheelock College of Education at Boston University.
Stephen Kilgus, PhD
Dr. Steve Kilgus is an Associate Professor in the School Psychology Program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He received his doctorate from the University of Connecticut in 2011 and completed his pre-doctoral internship at the May Institute in Randolph, MA. Prior to coming to UW-Madison, Dr. Kilgus worked at both the University of Missouri and East Carolina University. He has received multiple awards from Division 16 of the American Psychology Association for his work, including the Outstanding Dissertation Award (2012) and the Lightner Witmer Award for early career scholarship (2016). He is currently an associate editor for the Journal of School Psychology.
Patricia A. Graczyk, PhD
Patricia A. Graczyk, PhD is an Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychology at the University of Illinois Chicago and a nationally and internationally recognized expert in school attendance, school mental health, and multi-tiered systems of support. With over 35 years of experience across preschool through graduate settings, she co-developed the Response to Intervention (RtI)/Multi-Dimensional Multi-Tiered System of Support (MD‑MTSS) framework for improving school attendance and has co-authored multiple foundational publications on this framework. Dr. Graczyk provides professional development and policy consultation in the United States, Ireland, the Netherlands, Australia, and Sweden, and is involved in several U.S. and international studies focused on school attendance and school attendance problems. Her additional research interests include school-based mental health services, educator well-being, and social-emotional learning.
Kelly A. Powell-Smith, PhD, NCSP
Dr. Kelly A. Powell-Smith is a Professor in the Reading Science Program at Mount St. Joseph University. She specializes in reading development, effective instruction, assessment, data-based decision-making within MTSS, and single-case research designs.Dr. Powell-Smith earned her doctorate in school psychology from the University of Oregon and has served as Associate Professor at the University of South Florida, faculty associate at the Florida Center for Reading Research, and Chief Science Officer at Acadience Learning, where she helped develop tools including Acadience RAN, Reading Diagnostic, and Spelling.
She contributes to the field through editorial work for journals including School Psychology Review and The Elementary School Journal, co-leads the special education team at the Evidence Advocacy Center, and serves on a workgroup for teaching single-case designs. Her research has been cited in over 216 peer-reviewed publications.
Over her 33-year career, she has conducted more than 290 workshops across 23 states and Canada, training educators and promoting equity and excellence in literacy and education.
Farah El Zein, PhD
Farah El Zein, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor in the Counseling, Special Education, and Neuroscience Division at ECAE (United Arab Emirates). She has over ten years of experience as a Special Education teacher in the U.S. and has held faculty positions in the U.S., Canada, and Lebanon. Her research focuses on developing evidence-based interventions to improve academic performance and promote prosocial behavior for students with disabilities, including those with autism spectrum disorder, in inclusive settings. Dr. El Zein collaborates on multiple research and development projects with schools in the UAE.
She serves as Associate Editor for Frontiers in Education and as a peer reviewer for several international journals, including Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders and Exceptional Children. She holds Texas State certificates in PBIS, EBD, LD, ASD, ABA, and Inclusive Education, and received the 2011 CARES Researcher of the Year Award. Dr. El Zein earned her Ph.D. in Special Education from the University of Texas at Austin, her M.Ed. from Texas State University, and her B.A. from the Lebanese University.
Dr. Nicole Hollins-Mosley holds a M.A. and Ph.D. in Applied Behavior Analysis from Western Michigan University. Dr. Hollins completed her Post-Doctoral Fellowship at the University of Kansas, Juniper Gardens Children’s Project. Currently, Dr. Hollins-Mosley is the Assistant Director of Multi-Tiered Systems of Support at Virginia Commonwealth University Research Implementation Center. Her research focuses on assessing multitiered systems of support, training pre-or in-service teachers on evidence-based practices, and examining techniques to enhance adaptive behaviors among students with diverse abilities. Dr. Hollins-Mosley has published her research in peer-reviewed journals and book chapters and sits on the Board of Editors for the Journal of Education and Treatment of Children. She has presented her research at conferences and workshops both locally and nationally. Dr. Hollins-Mosley prioritizes community-engaged research to ensure her research directly addresses the needs of the stakeholders and community members. Through these efforts, Dr. Hollins-Mosley has coordinated several NIH and community grants that focused on evaluating instructional practices and educational inclusion across public schools, private schools, universities, autism treatment centers, Head Start programs. Dr. Hollins-Mosley consulting agency, EdBee Consultations, provides evidence-based, individualized, and transparent services with a mission to support school districts and school-based Behavior Analysts.
Nicole Hollins-Mosley, PhD, BCBA-D, LBA
Dr. Lisa McKay-Brown is the Associate Dean Diversity and Inclusion at the Faculty of Education, University of Melbourne. Lisa has over 25 years of teaching and leadership experience in a wide range of education settings with a specific focus on the inclusion of students with disability. Internationally recognised for her research in the field of school attendance, she also serves on the Executive Board of the International Network for School Attendance. Lisa is involved in research projects that impact both the education and health sectors, and leads the Faculty of Education Disability Research Collaboration, overseeing projects such as the In2School programs for chronic school absenteeism and Pathways2Participation aimed at enhancing school attendance using Multi-tiered Systems of Support. Lisa is involved in international collaborations centred in inclusive education in India and Latin America. She is particularly interested in how young people with disability are marginalised by education settings and how this can be challenged.
Lisa McKay-Brown, PhD
Dr. Benjamin Solomon is an Associate Professor of School Psychology at the University at Albany, SUNY. His research examines evidence-based academic instruction, progress monitoring, research methods and statistics for education, and decision-making accuracy within MTSS, with a particular focus on math. He has published extensively in leading school psychology journals, advised state and federal education initiatives, and served as an external evaluator on large-scale education grants. His work bridges research, policy, and classroom practice and has been featured in national media outlets.
Ben Solomon, PhD
Dr. Marcia Davidson is an independent consultant and education researcher specializing in foundational literacy, assessment, and evidence-based programming in low- and middle-income countries. With over 18 years of experience across sub-Saharan Africa and Asia, she has designed, implemented, and evaluated early grade reading interventions that have reached millions of students and demonstrably improved learning outcomes at scale. Dr. Davidson previously led the Goal One Reading Team at USAID, where she oversaw literacy programming across multiple countries, and served as Senior Advisor in USAID's Africa Bureau, providing technical leadership on education strategy and investment. Her work has advanced national multilingual reading programs, evidence-based teacher professional development models, and cost-effective assessment systems. She has successfully supported governments in scaling literacy interventions from pilot to national implementation, with measurable gains in student reading comprehension and fluency. A recognized contributor to the evidence base on what works in early literacy, Dr. Davidson has co-authored influential research on education impact evaluations, remediation approaches, and effective pedagogical practices in resource-constrained settings. Her expertise spans program design, rigorous evaluation methodologies, education policy, and translating research into actionable programming.
Dr. Steve Goodman is a research specialist at the University of Connecticut. He is a partner with the Center on PBIS and a co-investigator with the Integrated MTSS Research Network. Steve was the previous director of Michigan’s MTSS Technical Assistance Center. Steve serves on state, national, and international advisory boards for the implementation of MTSS. He has contributed to over 65 publications. Steve has presented and worked with educators across the nation and in ten other countries on topics of PBIS and MTSS.
Steve Goodman, PhD
Marcia Davidson, PhD
Dr. Young-Suk Grace Kim (Harvard University) is a professor at the School of Education, University of California at Irvine. She was a former classroom teacher in San Francisco. Her scholarship focuses on understanding language and literacy development and effective instruction for children from diverse backgrounds. Her areas of research include reading comprehension, reading fluency, listening comprehension and oral language, dyslexia, higher-order cognitive skills, written composition, and reading-writing relations. She has worked extensively with monolingual children and multilingual children from various linguistic backgrounds (e.g., English, Korean, Chinese, Spanish, Kiswahili). Her research has been supported by over $65 million in grants from the Institute of Education Sciences, the U. S. Department of Education, the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, and the National Science Foundation. Her work was recognized by several awards, including the 2012 Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) by President Barack Obama, and Developing Scholar Award and Robert M. Gagne Research Award. She is an AERA (American Educational Research Association) Fellow, and serves as the Editor for the journals, Scientific Studies of Reading, and Journal of Educational Psychology. She served as the Chair of the California Reading Difficulties Risk Screener Selection Panel (RDRSSP) appointed by the California State Board of Education.
Young Suk Kim, PhD
Invited Summit Speakers
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Brian Poncy, PhD
Professor, Oklahoma State University
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Kim St Martin, PhD
Director, Michigan MTSS Center
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Sarah Brown, PhD
President, System Impact Consulting (New Mexico)
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Erika L. McDowell, PhD
Master Teacher | Founder | Cultural Midwife
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Jason Harlacher, PhD
Director, MTSS Center (Colorado)
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Jessica Colleu Terradas
Senior Officer Literacy and Instructional Coach, Catholic Education Canberra Goulburn & Australian Centre for the Advancement of Literacy (ACU)
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Marisa Ramirez Stukey, PhD
Chief Academic Officer, The Reading League
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Lori Boll
Executive Director, SENIA International
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Monika Skura, PhD
Professor, University of Warsaw
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Sandra Morán Pulles
Chief Impact Officer, ServeMinnesota
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Jessica Lament
School Partners Consultant
(Paris, France)
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Nicole M. McKevett, PhD, NCSP
MTSS Support Specialist, Center for Applied Research and Educational Improvement (CAREI)
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Kathleen Jackson, PhD
Implementation Specialist, National Implementation Research Network (NIRN)
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Dr. Kellian Hughes
Regional Coordinator/MTSS Project Lead (Texas)
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Sarah Wilkinson, PhD
Assistant Professor, University of Southern Maine
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Victoria (Tori) Rollins Ballew
Program Manager, WestEd
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Lori Lynass, PhD
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Sarah Arden, PhD
American Institutes of Research (AIR)
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Jennifer Pierce, PhD
American Institutes of Research (AIR)
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Daniel G. Russell, Jr.
Co-Director, Advocates for Cultural and Linguistic Responsiveness for Underserved Students
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Dr. Kira Mauseth
Astrum Health, LLC; Seattle University