MCEC Professional Development Speaker Series

As part of our effort to support special education professionals in their lifelong learning, we're hosting a 3 part speaker series on critical topics in special education. These events are free to CEC members and $20 for community members.  To register, visit www.classy.org/MCEC

Dr. Rupal Patel
Founder & CEO, VocaliD
A Voice for Social Identity Formation and Self Expression
May 4, 2017 | 7-8:30 PM
 University of Massachusetts, Amherst
Campus Center, 9th floor | Amherst, MA

MCEC & MABE members:  free
Community: $20 or join MCEC  
 
To RSVP or register, please click here

Dr.  Patel is a speech scientist and technologist with over 15 years of clinical and research experience in assistive technology.   A tenured professor at Northeastern University in the College of Computer and Information Science and the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, she founded and directed the Communication Analysis and Design Laboratory (CadLab), an interdisciplinary research group. She is currently on leave to launch VocaliD (link), a company dedicated to creating personalized voices for augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) devices through human voice donation. 

Dr. Stephen Shore
Professor, Adelphi University
Senses and Sens-abilities: An Inside View on Autistic Sensory Issues
January 5, 2017 | 7-8:30 PM
​Lesley University | Graduate School of Education | University Amphitheater
1815 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge

Thank you to Stephen Shore for a great event! 

MCEC & MABE members:  free
Community: $20 or join MCEC  & get access to more professional resources! 
 
To RSVP or register, please click here 

An internationally renowned speaker, consultant and autistic self advocate, Dr. Shore is a professor at Adephi University where his research focuses on matching best practice to the needs of people with autism.  In addition to working with children and talking about life on the autism spectrum, Dr. Shore is presents, consults and writes about lifespan issues pertinent to education, relationships, employment, advocacy, and disclosure. His most recent book, College for Students with Disabilities,  combines personal stories and research for promoting success in higher education.  Dr. Shore is president emeritus of the Asperger's Association of New England, an advisory board member of the Autism Society, and serves on the boards of the Asperger Syndrome and High Functioning Autism Association, The US Autism and Asperger Association, the Scientific Counsel of OAR, and other autism related organizations.

This event is generously sponsored by

Susan F. Cole
Director, Trauma and Learning Policy Initiative
​Creating Inclusive Trauma Sensitive Schools
October 6, 2016 | 7-8:30 PM
​Lesley University | Graduate School of Education | University Amphitheater
1815 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge

Thank you to Susan Cole for a great event! See what you missed here: 

 Susan Cole speaks at The White House! read more here: http://ow.ly/UZ8f304zv47

Susan Cole is the director of the Trauma and Learning Policy Initiative (TLPI), a joint program of Harvard Law School and the non-profit children’s rights organization Massachusetts Advocates for Children (MAC).  At Harvard, she holds a joint appointment as Education Law Clinic Director and Lecturer on Law, and is a Senior Project Director at MAC. Ms. Cole’s work is based on research at the intersection of psychology, education and law that links traumatic experiences to a host of learning, relational and behavioral difficulties at school. She oversees TLPI’s work in schools and its representation of families in the Education Law Clinic to inform ongoing policy and educational activities. She holds a J.D from Northeastern University, a Masters in Special Education from the University of Oregon, and a BA from Boston University. Prior to becoming a lawyer she taught in the Watertown, MA and Woodstock, CT public schools – experiences that continuously inform her current work. To learn more about trauma sensitive schools, visit https://traumasensitiveschools.org/ 

At this event, we will also welcome CEC's Executive Director, Alexander Graham! 

These events are generously sponsored by