DDEL Executive Board

Camille Byrd O’Quin, Ed.D., CCC-SLP/L

Visiting Professor, Communication Disorder Department, Governors State University

Founding Executive Director, MixEdInclusion, LLC

Ed.D., Special Education, Illinois State University, 2021

M.A., Speech-Language Pathology, Northwestern University, 1999

B.S., Speech and Hearing Science, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1997

Dr. O’Quin has worked for 25 years as a Speech-Language Pathologist in private practice, hospitals, clinics, home-health, public schools, private schools, and special education cooperatives, offering services to children and adults ages birth through 99. Dr. O’Quin found her niche working in urban communities with African American students and families in the inner city. Dr. O’Quin has a particular interest in how PK-12 educators perceive African American Vernacular English (AAVE), how to better prepare educators to serve PK-12 students who speak AAVE, and how to provide PK-12 educators with tools to distinguish AAVE from a disorder. Dr. O’Quin is a child advocate for culturally and linguistically diverse learners and has had multiple opportunities to give testimonials before the Illinois House of Representatives in Springfield, IL and U.S. Congressional Legislators in Washington, DC. Dr. O’Quin currently serves as the President of the Division for Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Exceptional Learners (DDEL) for the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC). 

Dr. O’Quin joined the Communications Disorders Department of Governors State University in 2022, first as adjunct faculty, and now as a Visiting Professor. Dr. O’Quin is also the founder and Executive Director of MixEdInclusion, LLC, a private practice and consulting company dedicated to special education and speech- language services in urban communities. Dr. O’Quin has more than five years of experience with clinical education and teaching in graduate programs. Dr. O’Quin’s scholarship includes presentations at regional, national, and international academic conferences and institutions. Dr. O’Quin’s research interests include the valuation of African American Vernacular English, the examination of disproportionality in special education, and the expansion of culturally responsive teaching practices in urban education. Dr. O’Quin hold licensure with the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) as both a Speech-Language Pathologist and a Director of Special Education, and she holds certification through the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA).

Julie Esparza Brown, EdD

Professor in the Department of Special Education

Dr. Julie Esparza Brown is a professor of Special Education at Portland State University where her teaching, research, and publications focus on the intersection of language, dis/ability, race, and culture, and she is a passionate advocate for equity in education. Prior to joining PSU, she worked in public schools as a special, bilingual, and bilingual special education teacher and a school psychologist. Dr. Brown recently completed a four-year term as an elected school board member for the largest school district in Oregon.  Currently, she is Principal Investigator of a personnel preparation grant through the Office of English Language Acquisition to prepare diverse special educators and to improve literacy outcomes for multilingual students.  Dr. Brown recently completed work as Principal Investigator on a model demonstration grant funded through the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitation Programs that investigated culturally and linguistically responsive literacy interventions within an MTSS framework for English learner students at-risk for or with disabilities (projectlee.org). Her current co-authored book, Supporting English Learners in the Classroom: Distinguishing Language Acquisition from Learning Disabilities (Haas & Brown, 2019) is available through Teachers College Press.  

William Proffitt, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor of Inclusive Education in the College for Education and Engaged Learning at Montclair State University. He served the community of Richmond, Virginia as a special education teacher, teaching English in both inclusive and self-contained learning environments. Broadly, his research centers on advancing emancipation and inclusion for students from historically marginalized backgrounds. Specifically, he explores the identities and lived experiences of Black boys with and without disability labels and those with whom Black boys co-construct the world (e.g., teachers, family members, and peers). He seeks to improve Black boys' schooling experiences and post-school outcomes.

 Endia J. Lindo, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor of Special Education at Texas Christian University, core faculty in the Alice Neeley Special Education Research and Service (ANSERS) Institute, and Past President of DDEL (2020). Dr. Lindo worked as an elementary resource teacher prior to earning her Ph.D. in Special Education from Vanderbilt University and completing an Institute of Education Science (IES) Postdoctoral Fellowship at Georgia State University. She has been a member of CEC for over 20 years. In addition to serving on DDEL’s executive board, she served as program chair for CEC’s social justice initiative project 20/20 and is currently Co-Editor of Exceptional Children. Dr. Lindo also serves on the editorial board for Intervention in Schools and Clinics, Journal of Learning Disabilities, Learning Disability Quarterly, Multicultural Learning and Teaching, Multiple Voices-Disability, Race, and Language Intersection in Special Education, and Review of Educational Research. Her scholarship focuses on improving the reading comprehension of students with learning difficulties and disabilities by examining approaches for implementing and enhancing school and community-based interventions and increasing the teaching and cultural competence of our teaching force.

Dr. Tammy Ellis Robinson is an assistant professor in the Divisions of Special Education and Educational Psychology and Methodology in the Department of Educational and Counseling Psychology at the University at Albany, SUNY. She serves as director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion for the School of Education and Faculty Director for the Beloved Community Fellows. Tammy teaches a number of methods courses for pre-service special education candidates. Infused in her teaching is a focus on equity and honoring the rights of all school community members. She uses reflective methods to promote engagement and passion.

Tammy’s research interests include write to learn instructional methods, teacher identity and, mentorship, and intersections of marginalized identities as they affect people with disabilities at transition. She engages in community action research and collaborative humanistic research methods focusing on the uplifting marginalized and unheard voices in both research and policy to inform educational practice. She is treasurer for NYSCEC and membership Chair for DDEL .

Yehyang Lee is a Ph.D. candidate in Special Education at the University of Texas at Austin and will join Illinois State University as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Special Education from August 2024. As a first-generation immigrant scholar, she is dedicated to exploring the intersectional oppressions faced by students at the interplay of dis/ability, race, language, culture, and other social markers. Specifically, her research seeks to challenge systemic invisibility and foster the transformative agency of students with disabilities facing homelessness, through collaborative research-practice partnerships.

Dr. Wendy Rodgers is an Associate Professor of Special Education at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, VA. She was a high school special education teacher for 11 years before transitioning to higher education. As a researcher, she focuses on teacher preparation and professional development, classroom observation, and collaboration to support inclusion in K-12 schools. As a teacher educator, she prepares undergraduate and graduate students for their roles as educators, advocates, and change agents. She welcomes this opportunity to actively support DDEL’s work through her role as the Publications Committee chair.

Martin Odima Jr., M.A., is a Special Education Teacher Coach in the Saint Paul Public School (SPPS) District in Minnesota. Also, Martin is an adjunct faculty member in the Department of Special Education at the University of St. Thomas, where he teaches undergraduate and graduate students the history, policies, and practices of special education. He studied psychology at the University of Minnesota and completed his master’s in Special Education at the University of St. Thomas. His scholarly interests focus on educational equity, inclusive practices for students with disabilities, and retention of teachers of color. His publications include a focus on teaching strategies for special education teachers to thrive and persist in the field. Martin is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in educational psychology - Special Education at the University of Minnesota.

MiIsha Reid, PhD is an Assistant Professor of Special Education at Carlow University. MiIsha pursued her PhD in Urban Education and Special Education at the University of Pittsburgh. Prior to pursuing her PhD, MiIsha served as an educator both in classroom and out of classroom spaces. MiIsha has a vested interest in the success of marginalized groups of children which has led to a research focus on racial disparities in special education identification, punishment referral patterns, positive classroom environments that foster belongingness and culturally responsive-sustaining classroom management. MiIsha has been a CEC member for about two years and is eager to actively participate in DDEL as the Newsletter Editor and be in community with other scholars focused on social justice and equity.

Allison Turner Gunter, Ed.D., Founder, Perspectives Educational Consulting Group, LLC, is a passionate, innovative, and focused educator committed to excellence. Dr. Gunter has over 20 years of experience working with children, youth, and families across diverse education settings in Ohio, Maryland, the District of Columbia, Virginia, and North Carolina. She believes that children and families are at the heart of teaching and learning and it is through our collaborative experiences and commitment to being thought partners in the work that drives educational success across homes, schools, communities, and IHEs. The training, work experiences, and research which drives Dr. Gunter’s passion focuses on understanding and supporting racially, culturally, linguistically, and economically diverse children and youth with or at-risk for disabilities, equity in education, and closing the opportunity gap by exploring the facilitators of and addressing the barriers to access, resources, and supports to high quality learning experiences. Understanding the impact of academic and nonacademic factors on the academic and social-emotional functioning of students is critical in meeting the needs of all learners. In addition to being the Founder of Perspectives Educational Consulting Group, Dr. Gunter has served as a leader throughout the P-20 education system most recently working for a school district providing supports around the MTSS Framework and as an assistant professor of education. Dr. Gunter’s doctorate is in Special Education and Disability Studies with a concentration in Cultural and Linguistic Diversity and Policy from The George Washington University. She also holds master’s degrees in Early Childhood Special Education from the University of Maryland, and Education Administration from Trinity University, and a bachelor’s degree in Speech and Language Pathology from the illustrious North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University.