2024 Spring Conference Speaker BiosLaura Adams, WDPI Laura Adams is a Policy Initiatives Advisory at the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, working both within the agency and with external stakeholders to analyze, inform, and implement SEA policy. Most recently, Adams has been working cross-agency as the project manager for implementation of Wisconsin 2023 Act 20 (the state reading legislation) and Wisconsin’s $1.5 billion in Federal ESSER III funds. Ms. Adams is a proud advocate for our Wisconsin schools. Elizabeth (Lisa) Bochinski, Oshkosh Area School District Elizabeth (Lisa) Bochinski is a Speech and Language Pathologist in the Oshkosh Area School District and has worked as a secondary speech language pathologist for the past 6 years at Oshkosh West. She has a Master’s of Science degree in Speech and Language Pathology and holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Communication Disorders and Child Psychology. Lisa has taken a special interest in student led IEPs and has been having students successfully lead their own IEPs this past school year. Percy Brown, Jr. North Star Consulting Services
Percy Brown, Jr. has over 20 years of combined experience in K-12 education as a counselor for students of color, instructional resource teacher for culturally responsive classroom practices, dean of students, central office administrator, and adjunct instructor in higher education. He provides school districts with district and building-level coaching and strategic planning, professional development for district staff, and ongoing support for students and families. Madison365 recognized Percy Brown, Jr. as one of Wisconsin’s most influential African Americans. Percy has received the Urban League of Greater Madison President’s Rising Star Award and was acknowledged as the Educator of the Year by the 100 Black Men of Madison, Wisconsin. He is serving his second term on Governor Evers Council on Equity and Inclusion for Wisconsin. Percy Brown Jr. comes from a family of civil rights activists who fought for equal rights in the Jim Crow South during the 1950s and 60s in Bolivar County, Mississippi. Percy’s family activism is part of the lineage he carries into his work as an educational leader. Adam Boldt, Arrowhead Union High School Adam Boldt is the Director of Special Education for Arrowhead Union High School. This is his 13th year at Arrowhead and 9th as Director of Student Services. Adam serves as the WCASS Region 1 Representative and is a member of the Special Projects Ad Hoc Committee that has been working on creating practical guidance for directors to use when they start thinking about how to set caseload maximums, as well as how to set the number of seats available for open enrollment.
Mary Gerbig serves as counsel to numerous school districts throughout Wisconsin on general school law, special education, and labor and employment matters. The primary client base she serves includes school districts, Cooperative Educational Service Agencies (CESA) and other municipal employers. Mary represents and supports public school districts in student services matters, including the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and related state law. She provides counsel in all areas of special education, throughout identification, evaluation, IEP, mediation and litigation processes. She has successfully represented school districts in hundreds of special education mediations, special education due process requests and hearings, Section 504 mediations and hearings, DPI and OCR investigations, and U.S. federal district court and 7th Circuit Court of Appeals cases. She also provides guidance for navigating complex student services matters, including student discipline, pupil nondiscrimination and open enrollment. Mike Hickey, Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction Mike is a School Administration Consultant for the Department of Public Instruction. He has been with the department for 10 years and a member of the Special Education Team since 2019. He has spent his career working on monitoring and legal compliance issues in education. Initially working on federal fiscal monitoring for ESEA programs, including being a part of the launch team developing the department’s federal grants management system, WISEgrants. He now focuses on special education legal compliance as an IDEA state complaint investigator. Jenny Jacobs, Transition Improvement Grant (TIG) Jenny is one of three Technical Assistance Specialists with the Transition Improvement Grant (TIG) and she is the statewide Indicator 14 Coordinator. She holds a Master of Education degree in Educational Leadership. Jenny is in her eleventh year with TIG. She has held multiple positions through CESA #7 including cross-categorical 9-12 special education teacher, Nonviolent Crisis Intervention Trainer, and county transition coordinator. Jen Ledin, CESA 12 Jen is the Director of Special Education and Pupil Services for CESA 12. She has been an educator for 32 years, serving as a teacher for Deaf and Hard of Hearing students, transition coordinator, special education consultant, and special education director. Jen has worked at CESA #12 for the last 25 years, also holding the role of Regional Special Education Network (RSN) director. She works to support districts in implementation of high leverage special education practices and meeting special education compliance requirements, as well as meeting the needs of students with IEPs in a broader context. Tiffany Loken, Waunakee Community School District Tiffany is the Director of Special Education for the Waunakee Community School District. This is her third year in Waunakee and prior to coming to Waunakee she was the Director of Student Services in the School District of Lodi for 14 years. Tiffany serves on the WCASS Board of Directors in the role of the Chair of Research and Special Projects. The Research and Special Projects Ad Hoc Committee has been working on creating practical guidance for directors to use when they start thinking about how to set caseload maximums, as well as how to set the number of seats available for open enrollment. Jerry Nicholson, Unified School District of DePere Jerry is the Director of Pupil Services in the Unified School District of De Pere. Prior to this he served as a Student Services Director in the Middleton-Cross Plains School District for seven years and Wisconsin Dells School District for four years. He started his career as a middle school teacher of students with emotional and behavioral disabilities and spent six years as a high school assistant principal. Jerry has been serving students and their families in Wisconsin for over twenty five years as an educator. He has served as an adjunct professor for Viterbo’s administrative licensure program, providing instruction in diversity, special education law, school law, and politics/public relations. Jerry served on the Wisconsin Council of Administrators of Special Services (WCASS) Executive Board from 2015-2022. During that time he served terms as a Legislative Chair, President-Elect, President, and Past-President. Tess O’Brien-Heinzen, Renning, Lewis & Lacy, s.c. Tess provides legal counsel to public school districts, charter schools, private schools, and postsecondary institutions in a broad range of areas including Title IX, board governance, student discipline, special education and disability law, open enrollment, policy development, and unlawful harassment and discrimination. She frequently assists her clients with state complaints under pupil nondiscrimination laws and special education, federal complaints with the U.S. Office for Civil Rights, administrative litigation related to special education and Section 504, and litigation in state and federal court. Joe Sanfelippo, Keynote Speaker Dr. Joe Sanfelippo recently retired after spending the last 26 years in the building and the final 12 as the Superintendent of the Fall Creek School District in Fall Creek, WI. The Fall Creek School District was named an Innovative District twice during that time by the International Center for Leadership in Education. Joe is the author of multiple books, including the best-selling Hacking Leadership and Lead From Where You Are. His 1-Minute Walk to Work video series has over 1 Million views. He was selected as 1 of 117 Future Ready Superintendents and 1 of 50 Superintendents as a Personalized Learning Leader by the US Department of Education. Education Dive named Joe their National Superintendent of the Year in 2019.
Dr. Sara Totten, Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction Dr. Sara Totten is currently a School Administration Consultant for the Department of Public Instruction. She previously served as a Director of Special Education/Student Services for 12 years in various districts in Wisconsin. She earned her doctorate in educational leadership at Edgewood College and is currently working on her law degree at Loyola. Sara has co-authored articles appearing in the Journal of the American Academy of Special Education Professionals, International Journal of Special Education, and the Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment. She has also blogged for RethinkEd. Sara is a past president of the Wisconsin Council for Administrators of Special Services (WCASS) and previously served as one of the state representatives for the Council of Administrators of Special Education (CASE) national organization.
Melissa Volz, DeForest Area School District Melissa is a Beyond 18 Coordinator with the DeForest School District, where she has taught for 7 years. Melissa holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Rehabilitation Psychology. She has recently earned her Transition Specialist Certificate, in addition to currently working to obtain her Master’s in Special Education. Before teaching, Melissa worked in vocational training and placement services. Melissa has been using student-led IEPs for a number of years and feels that it is an important tool to help students take ownership of their education and future.
Chad P. Wade, Renning, Lewis and Lacy, s.c. Attorney Chad Wade is a shareholder with the law firm Renning, Lewis, & Lacy s.c. Chad has practiced law for fifteen years working primarily with public school districts and Wisconsin municipalities. Chad regularly works with school district clients on governmental issues, employment relations matters, and education law issues, including pupil special education and disability accommodation matters. Chad is also experienced with public records, open meetings, and other issues that concern school district’s responsibilities as governmental bodies.
Patti Williams, WDPI Patti Williams is the Director of the Special Education Team with the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI). Prior to this position, Ms. Williams was an Assistant Director on DPI’s Special Education Team who oversaw Wisconsin’s special education dispute resolution system and the department’s monitoring system to ensure compliance with state and federal special education law. Ms. Williams has worked at the Department of Public Instruction for 25 years supporting students with disabilities, and she has spoken nationally as well as state-wide on special education topics. |