Abstract
The Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) is governed by a 16-member Board of Directors that includes four officers: president, president-elect, immediate past president and treasurer. All other Board members are elected and serve three-year terms (except for any Thought Leader that may be appointed by the board to serve from one to three years).
The Board is responsible for the financial health and well-being of the organization. The Board is also responsible for advancing CEC’s mission and strategic plan; ensuring adequate resources, compliance with the law, and effective organizational planning; and oversight of the Executive Director.
These recently elected CEC Board of Directors begin their terms January 1, 2023, and join several returning members.
Anna Adl
Anna Adl, M.S., was recently elected to the CEC Board of Directors and begins her term in January 2023. She is a Special Education Program Support Teacher and New Teacher Induction Coordinator in the School District of Cudahy (WI), in Franklin, Wisconsin.
Adl has served as a special educator for the last 19 years and has taught every grade kindergarten through twelfth grade. She has a wide variety of educational experiences: charter, public, urban, suburban, and rural.
Being a servant leader is core to her being. As such, Adl has served on two school PTA boards, the Wisconsin Division of Learning Disability Board of directors, the Wisconsin Council for Exceptional Children board of directors, and the CEC Leadership Development Committee and Leadership Development Program Subcommittee. She has been a member of CEC for 16 years and is a member of the Division for Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Exceptional Learners (DDEL).
During her time on the CEC Board of Directors Adl hopes to lead CEC into building a more diverse work force.
“The classroom leaders in our nation do not reflect the diversity represented within our student body,” says Adl, “As an educator embedded in a public school, I see firsthand how the lack of educator diversity impacts our students.”
Sacha Cartagena
Sacha Cartagena, Ph.D., is a researcher in the Learning Supports program at the American Institutes for Research (AIR).
She is an active member of the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) and currently serves as the Member At Large for the CEC Division of International Special Education and Services (DISES). Dr. Cartagena also serves as an ad hoc journal reviewer for the CEC Division on Autism and Development Disabilities (DADD) journal, Education and Training in Autism and Developmental Disabilities (ETADD). Previously, she served as President of the Volusia CEC Chapter, Student Advisor for the University of Central Florida CEC Chapter, and the Conference Coordinator of Florida CEC.
She aims to bridge the gap between research, practice, and policy while serving on the CEC Board.
“My background of teaching students with significant cognitive disabilities informs my positionality and disposition favoring a more inclusive world, one in which educators feel supported and students receive high-quality inclusive education.” says Dr. Cartagena.
Prior to her doctoral studies, Dr. Cartagena served as a special education teacher for students with significant cognitive disabilities in Title 1 schools. She holds certifications and endorsements in Special Education (K-12), Elementary Education (K-6), Reading (K-12), and English for Speakers of Other Languages (K-12).
Concetta Lewis
Concetta Lewis, Ed.S., is the Assistant Superintendent of Special Populations, Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion at Rochester Community Schools in Michigan.
She has over twenty-five years of experience in PreK-12 education including assignments as a special education teacher, general education teacher, principal, and special education administrator in schools located in southeastern Michigan.
Lewis has been awarded national fellowships for outstanding leadership and advocacy from America Achieves, Ford’s Theatre, and the NEA.
“In today’s educational environments most students who are eligible for special education receive most of their instructional support in a general education classroom from a general education teacher.,” says Lewis.
During her term she says she will focus on helping CEC partner with organizations to help ALL educators understand the value of investing in special education including CEC membership, supporting advocacy programs, and taking advantage of professional learning opportunities offered through CEC.
A member of CEC for over 11 years, she is a member of several CEC Divisions including the Council of Administrators of Special Education (CASE), CEC Pioneers Division (CEC-PD), and the Division for Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Exceptional Learners (DDEL).
Zelphine Smith-Dixon
Dr. Zelphine Smith-Dixon is Chief Student Support Officer for Rockdale County Public Schools in Conyers, Georgia, USA.
A member of CEC for the past 6 years, she is also a member of the Council of Administrators of Special Education (CASE) and Georgia Council of Administrators of Special Education (GCASE).
In September 2021, Dr. Smith-Dixon received both the NASDSE Gavel Award and the Dr. Glenn I. Latham Annual Excellence Award. She has a longstanding history in improving achievement for schools in South Carolina and Georgia.
Dr. Smith-Dixon will focus her time on the Board on CEC strengthening Units and Chapters to grow the network and increase the access to local or regional chapters.
“Every special educator should have access to a professional network designed to support and empower them.” says Dr. Smith-Dixon. “We are always better together. Local professionals can best change both the narrative and the mindset of what it means to be an educator.”
Ben Tillotson
Ben Tillotson is a Special Education Teacher and Transition Specialist with SCORE, in Salt Lake City School District in Utah.
He recently started his 11th year as a special education teacher and 13th year working in the special education classroom. Tillotson has previously worked at a high school as a paraprofessional and as a teacher at an elementary school. He currently co-teaches at the SCORE Transition Academy in Salt Lake City School District that he co- developed 7 years ago, a job that he loves.
A member of CEC for 11 years, Tillotson is also involved in several Divisions including Division on Autism and Developmental Disabilities (DADD), Division on Career Development and Transition (DCDT), and Division of International Special Education and Services (DISES).
During his time on the Board, he wants to continue to improve the school environment.
“We often hear polarizing narratives of the insurmountable barriers to education or the “superhuman” educators who sacrifice everything for their students.” Says Tillotson. He suggests finding a balance that involves real support for all involved. He also sees CEC partnering with disability groups to support disability pride and inclusion. “If we are unwilling to listen to and take feedback from the disability community, then we don’t have a right to educate or advocate for them.”
“In order for leadership to occur in others we (leaders) must help both teachers and students understand that they are already great because greatness lies in them.”
2023 President- Elect: Dr. Kareem L. Thompson
Kareem Thompson will assume the presidency on January 1, 2024, overseeing CEC’s committees and Board of Directors and providing critical leadership on the organization’s planning and programs.
Focus
During his term he plans to focus on the members, including further developing a leadership program; supporting membership retention and growth, and ensuring members understand the value of their membership through transparent actions of our organization.
Leadership and Engagement
Kareem is a prominent leader in the field of education and works for the School District of Palm Beach County, where he serves as Assistant Principal at Congress Middle School in Boynton Beach, Florida. Mr. Thompson has served as an adjunct professor at Palm Beach State College teaching the Introduction to the College Experience course.
A committed, supportive advocate for special education, Kareem has also served as President for the Palm Beach Chapter of CEC. Under his leadership a scholarship fund was established that provides scholarships to students with disabilities that are graduating high school seniors and for those who attend summer camps.
Mr. Thompson has a long history as a CEC leader and volunteer, serving on CEC’s Board of Directors and many committees as well as serving in many roles at the Florida CEC State Unit including President. He continues to support by mentoring and advising current and rising leaders.