Speaker Details

About Dr. Victoria Damiani: Dr. Damiani is a nationally certified school psychologist and professor of educational and school psychology at Indiana University of Pennsylvania where she teaches courses in counseling, crisis intervention, and family services for school related problems. Prior to joining the faculty at IUP, Dr. Damiani worked in both in-patient and community mental health and as a school psychologist in Virginia and Pennsylvania. She has been president of the Association of School Psychologists of PA and director of the IUP Center for Gifted Education. Dr. Damiani’s research interests include crisis counseling, families of exceptional children, and gifted education.  She has been trained in nonviolent crisis intervention and is a certified trainer of trainers for the PREPaRE crisis prevention and intervention program of the National Association of School Psychologists. She is the author of Crisis Prevention and Intervention in the Classroom:  What Teachers Should Know, published in 2006 by Rowman and Littlefield.

About Kerry Smith: Kerry V. Smith is the Director of the Pennsylvania Office for Dispute Resolution (ODR), which provides the resources for parents and educators to resolve special education disputes. Services provided by ODR include IEP Facilitation, ConsultLine (a parent helpline), mediation, due process, and communication and conflict resolution skills training. In 2009, Pennsylvania was selected as one of four states designated as an exemplar state in the area of special education dispute resolution by The National Center on Dispute Resolution in Special Education, a project funded by the U.S. Department of Education (OSEP).

Ms. Smith is currently pursuing a Masters of Art degree in Conflict Analysis and Engagement through Antioch University McGregor. She has a Juris Doctor degree from the Dickinson School of Law (now associated with Penn State University) and Bachelor of Science degrees in special and elementary education from Penn State University. Between college and law school, Ms. Smith worked with adult residents of the Pennhurst State School who were being transitioned into community placements. She was in private practice for twelve years, most recently as a partner with Marshall, Smith & Haddick, a civil litigation defense firm. She was employed by the Department of Education's Office of Chief Counsel for two years prior to ODR, where she spent the majority of her time handling a federal civil rights lawsuit involving FAPE for emotional support students.

Ms. Smith is certified by the Justice Center of Atlanta, Inc. as a special education mediator and has strong personal and professional interests in alternatives to litigation. Ms. Smith is a member of the Advisory Board to the Consortium for Appropriate Dispute Resolution in Special Education (CADRE). Ms. Smith has a brother with a disability, who is successfully living and working in the community with supports and services.

About Suzanne McDougall: Ms. McDougall has been with the Special Education ConsultLine, located within the Office for Dispute Resolution, since 1998 and is currently the supervisor.  ConsultLine is a helpline for parents and advocates provided on behalf of the Pennsylvania Department of Education, Bureau of Special Education.  During her tenure with ConsultLine, Ms. McDougall has served over 9,000 families and advocates of children with special needs by providing them with information regarding state and federal special education regulations based upon analysis of the issues presented by the caller.  Her work involves educating families about the processes and protections required by law to ensure that children with disabilities are provided a Free and Appropriate Public Education. Ms. McDougall assisted in the creation of the Call Resolution Process (CRP), an early dispute resolution technique. 

Ms. McDougall coordinates and is a lead trainer of Pennsylvania’s implementation of “Creating Agreement in Special Education: Conflict Resolution Training for Parents and Educators.  This statewide and national initiative offers education agencies and families constructive conflict management education and tools to address conflict at the local level.

Prior to working with the Office for Dispute Resolution, Ms. McDougall served children with disabilities and their families in various capacities and settings. She has worked as a Program Liaison for Families, Student Advocate and Case Manager, for students in non-traditional educational and correctional settings.

Ms. McDougall is a graduate of the Pennsylvania State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Therapeutic Recreation. She is certified as a Mediator for Special Education Disputes by the Justice Center of Atlanta and is currently pursuing a Master of Arts in Conflict Analysis and Engagement at Antioch University McGregor.

About Dr. Brian Troop: Dr. Brian M. Troop is currently the Program Director for K-12 Curriculum and Instruction at Lancaster-Lebanon Intermediate Unit 13. Prior to joining IU 13, Dr. Troop served as a teacher in the middle school and elementary school settings, as well as an elementary school principal. He earned his undergraduate degree in elementary education from Millersville University, a master’s degree in educational leadership from the University of Memphis, and a doctorate in educational administration from Immaculata University.

About Dr. Donna Y. Ford: Donna Y. Ford, Ph.D., is Professor of Education and Human Development at Vanderbilt University. She teaches in the Department of Special Education. Donna has been a Professor of Special Education at the Ohio State University, an Associate Professor of Educational Psychology at the University of Virginia, and a researcher with the National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented. She also taught at the University of Kentucky.

Donna earned her Doctor of Philosophy degree in Urban Education (educational psychology) (1991), Masters of Education degree (counseling) (1988), and Bachelor of Arts degree in communications and Spanish (1984) from Cleveland State University.

Professor Ford conducts research primarily in gifted education and multicultural/urban education. Specifically, her work focuses on: (1) recruiting and retaining culturally diverse students in gifted education; (2) multicultural and urban education; (3) minority student achievement and underachievement; and (4) family involvement. She consults with school districts and educational organizations in the areas of gifted education and multicultural/urban education.

Dr. Ford’s work has been recognized by various professional organizations: Research Award from the Shannon Center for Advanced Studies; the Early Career Award and the Career Award from The American Educational Research Association; Senior Scholar Award and Early Scholar Award from The National Association for Gifted Children; and the Esteemed Scholarship Award from The National Association of Black Psychologists. She is the author of Reversing Underachievement Among Gifted
Black Students (1996) and co-author of Multicultural Gifted Education (1999), In search of the dream: Designing schools and classrooms that work for high potential students from diverse cultural backgrounds (2004), and Teaching culturally diverse gifted students. Several other books are in progress. Donna has written over 100 articles and chapters; she has made more than 500 presentations at professional conferences and school districts.

Dr. Ford is co-founder of the Scholar Identity Institute for Black Males with Dr. Gilman Whiting. Donna is a two-time board member of the National Association for Gifted Children, and has served on numerous editorial boards, such as Gifted Child Quarterly, Exceptional Children, Journal of Negro Education, and Roeper Review. She also reviews for several journals in such disciplines as urban education, child development, and counseling and development. Professional development includes membership in professional organizations, including the National Association for Gifted Children, Council for Exceptional Children, American Educational Research Association, Association for the Education of Gifted Underachieving Students, Association of Teacher Educators, American Counseling Association, and others.