Special Projects

Ann (she/her) brings over 23 years of grant administration expertise to CIEES. With the inception of the center in 2019, Ann and the CIEES team were able to give a unified voice and momentum to their desire to improve education for all students. Ann also has 20 years of experience instructing adult learners as an adjunct professor with a research focus on special education law and policy and marginalized populations. Her publication and grant record reflect her commitment to understanding these issues and to changing the systems that perpetuate inequity. Ann’s family believed that education was the answer to the complex and layered problems of bias and inequality. Her work with the center allows her to live this truth every day.

Kristen Ingram joins CIEES after 13 years as a dedicated Education Specialist at TTAC ODU, where she worked to bridge research to practice to improve outcomes for students with disabilities. Kristen's project leadership led to enhancing TTAC's digital learning and resource management, including implementing a learning management system and integrating e-learning authoring tools to increase learner engagement, offering the capability to produce a range of asynchronous learning content types. She spearheaded the use of data analytics to drive continuous improvement of TTAC's digital products. Kristen brings an in-depth understanding of special education systems within regional and state-level contexts, as well as experience facilitating teams through program improvement and systems change initiatives, to this new role with special projects.

Michelle serves in the role of Center Technology Specialist for CIEES. She spent 18 years in the healthcare industry as a physical therapist and decided to make a change into the tech industry. She served as a technology apprentice for a year at MAXX Potential and was trained with web development, cyber security, and website ADA compliance and remediation. The combination of her work in physical therapy and tech has allowed her to fulfill her passion for being an advocate for people with disabilities in both the physical and digital world. She is a Certified Professional in Accessibility Core Competencies (CPACC).