Our Team

Sherlunda is a special education teacher at North Middle School in the Everett School District.

Jennifer has 6 years experience in emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) and 8 years as a Resource Teacher at Juanita High School in the Lake Washington School District – currently, the Special Education Department Leader at her school, a member of the district’s Special Education Advisory Board, and the high school education representative for the ELA adoption committee. Her areas of specialty/expertise are related to Behavior and Autism.

Benjamin currently serves as a secondary mathematics educator in Pierce County, working with middle school and high school students. Having graduated from the University of Portland with a Bachelor’s, Benjamin explored public service in education as a multi-term AmeriCorps VISTA member before returning to complete a Masters in Teaching from Concordia University.

Shari has served as a member of the Washington State Special Education Advisory Council.

Chris is a Special Education Director through ESD 113 where he supports special education programming within the Lewis County Special Education Cooperative and other districts in the region. He has previously worked in the Central Kitsap and Edmonds School Districts. Chris has both elementary and high school special education experience.  His focus: students with Autism and Emotional/Behavioral Disability. He holds a Masters in Teaching Special Education and Functional Behavioral Analysis from Gonzaga University. 

Brandi is a parent of two daughters, one of whom was diagnosed with Autism at age 2. She has learned much about supporting students with disabilities through her service on the board of the SW Washington Special Education PTSA – helping provide IEP training, Special Education forums, and advocacy for families. In 2016-2017, she was a member of the Clark County Parent Coalition Leadership Academy addressing areas of Special Education, Washington State Disability Services, and Advocacy. Brandi is a tirelessly advocate for her daughters and other parents in similar situations.

Anna is a school psychologist in the Spokane Public Schools and an adjunct professor in the School Psychology program at Gonzaga University. She earned a Ph.D. from Syracuse University, and has been in practice since 1998, serving students from pre-K through high school; in Resource, Designed Instruction, MHOH, Behavior Intervention, ADAPT (for higher functioning students on the Autism Spectrum), MAP and Tamarack (for students with severe mental health needs), the Skills Center, and Images (post-high school transition).

Rebecca previously worked as a Special Education teacher and a K-12 Life Skills coordinator in the Bellevue School District.  She holds a BS in K-6 Primary Collaboration and Early Childhood Special Education (ECSE), a masters degree in ECSE, and a masters in Administration. Rebecca is Nationally Board Certified in the area of ECYA/ENS Sever/Multiple for ages-21 and has worked in a multitude of environments fron K-12 to higher ed. She has served as a head coach for Special Olympics for 10+ years.

Mindy teaches Special Education in the Kennewick School District. Throughout her career, she has held several teaching positions including: middle school resource teacher and inclusion teacher, elementary life skills teacher, and elementary resource room teacher. Mindy is currently a full-time mentor teacher, facilitating the development of new-career special education teachers. With her Master’s in Elementary Math Education, Mindy also has taught Math and Science, in the Early Education department at Columbia Basin College.

As Special Services Compliance & Safety Net Facilitator for the Everett School District, Marisol is responsible for supporting, training, and monitoring special education teachers and related staff providers in the writing of IEPs – monitoring IEP compliance for all high need students. She is a National Board Certified Teacher in ECYA/ENS Mild/Moderate for ages 5-21, with a Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education and a Master’s Degree in Special Education. Marisol has taught students with various disabilities in multiple classroom settings: K-8 Resource, 6-8 Extended Resource, and 3-5 Behavior Support.

Bio coming, soon. 

Gordon is a native San Diegan, where he spent 13 years as a Laboratory Technician. He has lived in Washington for the past 20 years; first attending The Evergreen State College and graduating with a Master in Teaching degree, in 2004. Gordon intended to be a Kindergarten teacher but discovered that he enjoyed Special Education. He teaches students with Autism Spectrum Disorder, Emotional Behavioral Disability, and other similar disabilities that present with challenging behavior.

Heidi has several degrees from Washington State University – endorsed in both Early Childhood General Education and Early Childhood Special Education. Over her 30+ year career she has taught K-5 Resource Room, A K-5 Life Skills class, General Education Kindergarten, General Education 1st grade and Special Education Preschool. She currently, teaches an alternative classroom for preschool students on the Autism Spectrum as well as coaches in an inclusive preschool classroom. Heidi has recently opened her own Consulting Business focusing on assisting new Special Education Teachers with classroom organization and some teaching strategies.

Joan is a middle school teacher in the Ellensburg School District. She works with students with moderate and significant disabilities, and is an adjunct instructor at Central Washington University. Joan earned a Bachelor’s degree from Central Washington University and a Master’s degree from City University.  She is National Board Certified as an Exceptional Needs Specialist, Severe and Multiple Disabilities. Joan has been in education 25+ years, teaching students with all levels of abilities and in a variety of inclusive settings. Joan’s husband, Steve, is also a teacher.  They have 4 children, 2 dogs, plus several horses and mules.  

Kari lives in Vancouver, WA with her husband Tim and son (now 20 years old) who was diagnosed with autism at age 2. Kari has been a strong parent advocate and classroom volunteer: a PTA member, on the board of the local Special Education PTSA, coach & board member for Miracle League baseball, and volunteer for local disability organizations. Kari’s main goal is to help create an inclusive and accepting school and community environment – advocating for inclusion in general education classes and helping support differentiated instruction – recently organizing a parent advisory group to work with staff to improve the Evergreen Transition Program.

Bio coming, soon. 

Mark is a life long special educator who previously served as Coordinator of Special Programs for the WEA. Since retirement, Mark has continued his interest in special education by serving as a Special Education trainer, advisor, and critical friend, for the WEA Special Education Support Center.

Gary has served in various roles in support of WEA projects and programs, beginning in the mid-80s with the Restructuring Schools initiative and later with the NEA Keys to Excellence program. For more than a decade, he has been a consultant to the Special Education Support Center in the design, maintenance, and promotion of the SESC website, and in the facilitation of online support for the WEA Special Ed Cadre.