David Westling joined the faculty at Western Carolina University as the Adelaide Worth Daniels Distinguished Professor of Special Education in 1997. Before arriving at WCU, Dr. Westling was on the faculty in special education at Florida State University. He received the Ed.D. Degree in Special Education from the University of Florida in 1976 with related areas of study in Applied Behavior Analysis and Educational Research. He is the co-author of Teaching Students with Severe Disabilities, Special Education for Today’s Teachers: An Introduction, and Inclusion: Effective Practices for All Teachers and has published more than 50 papers in refereed journals in special education. Dr. Westling serves on the editorial boards of several professional journals, is President of the Board of Directors for TASH, is co-director of the personnel preparation project in severe disabilities at Western Carolina University and director of the Western Carolina University’s University Participant Program. Dr. Westling was a Fulbright Research Scholar in Salzburg, Austria in 1994.

Erik Carter is an Associate Professor in the Department of Special Education at Vanderbilt University. His research and teaching focuses on strategies for supporting meaningful school inclusion and promoting valued roles in school, work, and community settings for children and adults with intellectual disability or autism. He has co-authored five books—including The New Transition Handbook: Strategies Secondary School Teachers Use that Work (Brookes Publishing) and Peer Support Strategies: Improving all Students’ Social Lives and Learning (Brookes Publishing). He has co-authored more than 100 articles and book chapters and was the recipient of the Distinguished Early Career Research Award from the Council for Exceptional Children, the Early Career Award from the American Association for Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, and the Patricia Sitlington Research Award from the Division on Career Development and Transition.

Lise Fox is a Professor in the Department of Child and Family Studies of the University of South Florida in Tampa, Florida and the Co-Director of Florida Center for Inclusive Communities: A University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (www.flcic.org). Lise was the Principal Investigator of the Technical Assistance Center for Social Emotional Intervention (www.challengingbehavior.org) funded by the Office of Special Education Programs and is one of the developers of the Pyramid Model for promoting young children’s social competence and addressing challenging behavior. Dr. Fox has published numerous articles and book chapters related to young children with disabilities, positive behavior support, family support, and teaching students with severe disabilities. Dr. Fox is the recipient of the 2013 Mary McEvoy Service to the Field Award from the Division for Early Childhood of the Council for Exceptional Children.