Presenter Bios

2020 Presenter Bios

Doris Bowman
Director of Training/Behavioral Consultant, Bowman Consulting Group LLC, Newberg, Oregon

Doris Bowman, M.S., Education/Special Education is a well-known speaker and trainer on topics related to trauma-informed practices, resilience-building practices, and neurobiologically-based approaches for working with children, youth and adults that demonstrate chronic challenging behavior due to a variety of causes. Some of her designations include:

  • Certified Trauma Practitioner – Education (CTP-E®) & Clinical (CTP-C®)
  • Certified HeartMath® Trainer & “The Resilience Advantage”®HM Trainer
  • Parent Coaching Institute Certified Parent Coach®
  • Oregon licensed PreK-9 General Educator, PreK-21 Special Educator, and PreK-21 Administrator
  • Think:Kids Certified Trainer in the Collaborative Problem Solving® Approach (Mass General Hospital): a neurobiologically-grounded and trauma-informed approach to both intervention and skill-building for children and youth who demonstrate challenging behavior due to trauma, neuro-developmental factors, or other causes

Ms. Bowman spent a decade as a private business owner of a commercial fishing business in Alaska. After leaving Alaska, she graduated with her Bachelor’s of Science in Elementary Education from George Fox University, followed by a Master’s Degree in Education/Special Education at Western Oregon University, and an Administrative Licensure program at George Fox University. She has taught, trained, coached and volunteered over the course of her career with organizations in Cuba, Jamaica and Guatemala.

Currently, while Ms. Bowman is a frequent presenter at conferences, she is most driven by a passion for her work training and consulting with individual districts, schools and community agencies to develop systems that are truly trauma-informed and focused on building sustainable resilience in both staff and students.

Doris can be contacted through Bowman Consulting Group website:

www.bowmanconsultgroup.com as well as via email at team@bowmanconsultgroup.com

Rick Bowman
Director of Coaching/Consultation, Bowman Consulting Group LLC, Newberg, Oregon

Rick Bowman, M.A., Clinical Psychology is a well-known speaker and trainer on topics related to trauma-informed practices, resilience-building practices, and neurobiologically-based approaches for working with children, youth and adults that demonstrate chronic challenging behavior due to a variety of causes. Some of his designations include:

  • Certified Trauma Practitioner – Clinical (CTP-C®)
  • Certified HeartMath® Trainer & “The Resilience Advantage”®HM Trainer
  • Oregon licensed PreK-21 Administrator
  • Think:Kids Certified Trainer in the Collaborative Problem Solving® Approach (Mass General Hospital): a neurobiologically-grounded and trauma-informed approach to both intervention and skill-building for children and youth who demonstrate challenging behavior due to trauma, neuro-developmental factors, or other causes

Rick served 5 years in the U.S. Air Force in Alaska and Utah, after which he completed his Bachelor’s of Psychology and Master’s degree in Clinical Psychology at Sam Houston State University. He worked in Texas, Alaska and Oregon in clinical and supervisory positions, as well as in in the capacity of a university professor in programs for Counseling and Developmental Disabilities. During this period Rick also functioned as a clinical consultant for mental health and human service agencies, as well as training and consulting for large corporations such as the National Corporation for Public Broadcasting and Alyeska Pipeline Service Company. Rick has provided teaching, training and consultation internationally in Russia, Cuba, Jamaica and Guatemala.

After many years in the mental health field, Rick completed his Administrative Licensure program at University of Oregon and transitioned into public school leadership in areas of alternative education and special education, including acting as Student Services Director of one of the largest school districts in Oregon.

Rick’s career of over 30 years in mental health and education has primarily been focused on supporting individuals of all ages who are impacted by trauma and/or have diagnoses or conditions that present in challenging behaviors, as well as training and coaching agencies and professionals in working with these populations. Currently, Rick provides training, consulting and coaching on a wide range of topics related to trauma-informed practices and research-based practices for resilience & self-regulation.

Rick can be contacted through Bowman Consulting Group website:

www.bowmanconsultgroup.com as well as via email at team@bowmanconsultgroup.com

Ruth Colker
Distinguished University Professor and Heck-Faust Memorial Chair in Constitutional Law, Moritz College of Law, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio

Professor Colker is one of the leading scholars in the country in the areas of Constitutional Law and Disability Discrimination. She is the author of 16 books, two of which have won book prizes.

Her work has been cited by the United States Supreme Court. See Tennessee v. Lane, 541 U.S. 509, 527 n.15 (2004) (citing Colker & Milani, The Post-Garrett World: Insufficient State Protection Against Disability Discrimination, 53 Ala. L. Rev. 1075 (2002).)

In 2014, she was appointed as a disability expert to help resolve a consent decree between the United States Department of Justice and the Law School Admissions Council. Her work helped change the way the LSAC determines whether applicants are entitled to testing accommodations on the LSAT. She has also served on the National Board of the ACLU since 2013.

Before joining the faculty at Ohio State, Professor Colker taught at Tulane University, the University of Toronto, the University of Pittsburgh, and in the Women’s Studies graduate program at George Washington University. She also spent four years working as a trial attorney in the Civil Rights Division of the United States Department of Justice, where she received two awards for outstanding performance.

In 2009, Professor Colker was designated a Distinguished University Professor, the university’s highest academic honor. The Distinguished University Professor title is awarded permanently to no more than three exceptional faculty members a year. The title recognizes accomplishments in research, scholarly or creative work, teaching, and service that are both distinguished and distinctive.

Karen A. Haase
Attorney at Law, Principal, KSB School Law, Lincoln, Nebraska

Karen Haase is a principal in the Lincoln law firm KSB School Law where she practices exclusively in the area of education law. Ms. Haase is licensed Karen Haase is a principal in the Lincoln law firm KSB School Law where she practices exclusively in the area of education law. Ms. Haase is licensed to practice law in Nebraska, Iowa and Wyoming. She frequently presents in-services to students and staff and speaks to all manners of education groups both locally and nationally.

Ms. Haase graduated from the University of Nebraska School of Law with highest distinction. She also obtained a Masters of Arts in Political Rhetoric from Kansas State University in 1991 and holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Hastings College. Prior to practicing in private practice, she spent two years as a law clerk to the Honorable C. Arlen Beam, a Circuit Judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.

Ms. Haase has taught on the university level and has served as an adjunct instructor in the University of Nebraska at Omaha’s educational administration department. She is the author of several articles published in academic journals. Three of her articles have appeared in the NEBRASKA LAW REVIEW: one in December, 2000, entitled Challenges to Regulating Students’ Exotic Body Piercing; another in 1997, entitled Mixed Metaphors; Model Civil Jury Instructions for Title VII Disparate Treatment Claims, and a third in 1995, entitled You Can Check Out Any Time You Like, but You Can Never Leave:Attorney Conflict of Interest and Imputed Disqualification under Nebraska’s New Bright Line Rule. Ms. Haase is a past president of The National Counsel of School Attorneys and the Nebraska Bar Association and is admitted to the U.S. District Court, District of Nebraska, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals and the Nebraska Supreme Court.

Eric Hartwig
Retired Administrator/Psychologist, Marathon County Special Education, Wausau, Wisconsin

Eric P Hartwig, Ph.D. received his doctorate in  Educational Administration from the University of Wisconsin¬ Madison, a M.S. in School Psychology and a B.S. in Psychology from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. He is experienced and licensed as a Director of Pupil Services, District Administrator and a School Psychologist/Private Practice ®. After 44 years of service, he retired from the position of Administrator of Pupil Services for the Marathon County Children with Disabilities Education Board, and was the author and principle trainer on the Just-in-Time: Behavioral Initiative Project. Dr. Hartwig has been an adjunct professor for Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, an adjunct professor and research advisor for Cardinal Stritch College Milwaukee and Aurora University-Wisconsin Campus. He was named Administrator of Special Services of the Year for 2007-2008, received the Distinguished Career Award in 2016 by the Wisconsin Counsel of Administrators of Special Services (WCASS), the Distinguished Service to Public Health from the Wisconsin Public Health Association in 2017 (WPHA) and was the recipient of the 2018 WASDA Distinguished Service Award from the Wisconsin Association of School District Administrators (WASDA). Dr. Hartwig is a well-respected and noted speaker who has provided consultation and training on a local, state, national and international level.

Graham Hicks photo 100x133 pixelsGraham Hicks
Attorney at Law, Graham M. Hicks, P.C., Beaverton, Oregon

Graham is an attorney in private practice in Beaverton, Oregon. He advises and represents school districts throughout Oregon and Southwestern Washington on special education law and other disability law matters. After 33 years with the Portland office of Miller Nash, LLP, Graham founded his own law firm in 2006. He is a member of the Education Law Association, NSBA Council of School Attorneys, Oregon Council of School Attorneys, and the state bars of Oregon and Washington and serves on the Dispute Resolution Committee of the Oregon Department of Education.  Graham is a frequent presenter at law conferences and conducts workshops and trainings for school district staff on a variety of special education topics. He is an author of “The Educator’s Guide: Student Discipline in Oregon,” a widely-used reference on discipline of general and special education students.

Andrea Hungerford
Attorney at Law, The Hungerford Law Firm, LLP, Oregon City, Oregon

Andrea Hungerford graduated with honors from Stanford University with a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science, and then from Lewis & Clark Law School magna cum laude in 1995. Andrea has become one of the state’s best known legal experts on the law regarding the education of students with disabilities, involving herself in legislation and rules development at the state and national level, steering districts clear of litigation, if possible, or representing them in due process hearings or in the State Department complaint process. Andrea is also recognized as a gifted trainer for Oregon administrators and teachers. She has published the quarterly Oregon Special Education Law Update for the past fifteen years. Andrea is admitted to practice before the Oregon State Bar, the Federal District Court of Oregon, the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, and the United States Supreme Court.

Jose Martín
Attorney at Law, Richards Lindsay & Martín, LLP, Austin, Texas

Jose Martín is a partner with the school law firm of Richards Lindsay & Martín in Austin, Texas. His law practice of over 20 years has focused exclusively on matters involving the education of students with disabilities under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and Section 504. He is a graduate of the University of Texas and the University of Texas School of Law. A background in journalism has led Jose to frequent publication in the area of disabilities laws and their impact on students and public schools. He currently serves as Contributing Editor to the national publication The Special Educator and LRP’s web-based Special Ed Connection As a speaker, Mr. Martín presents numerous topics on disabilities laws to audiences at local, regional, state, and national conferences.

Jonathan Martinis
Senior Director for Law and Policy, The Burton Blatt Institute at Syracuse University, Washington D.C.

Jonathan has over twenty years’ experience representing people with disabilities to protect their legal and human rights, including precedent-setting cases securing access to critical community-based services.  In 2013, he represented Margaret “Jenny” Hatch in the “Justice for Jenny” case – the first to hold that a person has the right to use Supported Decision-Making to make her own life choices instead of being subjected to a permanent, plenary guardianship. Since then, Jonathan has spoken to and trained thousands of people, families, attorneys, advocates, judges, teachers, health care workers, and other professionals across the country about everyone’s Right to Make Choices and direct their own lives.

Dave Richards
Dave Richards, Attorney at Law, Richards Lindsay & Martin, LLP, Austin, Texas

David M. Richards is a graduate of Texas Tech University, and the University of Texas School of Law. He is a partner in the Austin law firm RICHARDS LINDSAY & MARTIN, L.L.P., where his practice is focused on the defense of school districts and special education co-ops. Dave is the General Counsel for the Council of Educators for Students with Disabilities, and is a frequent presenter on special education and §504 at education service centers, school districts, state-wide events, and national conferences throughout the United States. His analysis on education law issues frequently appears in LRP’s publications The Section 504 Compliance Advisor, The Special Educator, and Your School and the Law.

Mary Schillinger photo 100x150 pixelsMary Schillinger
Educational Consultant/ former Assistant Superintendent of Education, Collaboration for Success, Simi Valley, California

Mary Schillinger has been an Assistant Superintendent for Education in Southern California for 10 years. Her career began as a general education teacher and then a special education resource teacher, before she moved into administration as a district program specialist, director of special education, and assistant superintendent of education. Mary has Masters Degrees in Special Education and Educational Administration. Mary has planned the professional development and strategic planning for implementation of the Common Core State Standards for both general education and special education K-12. As an educational consultant, Mary conducts training and gives presentations on a range of topics including alignment of the IEP to new Core State Standards and successful practices in accessing the rigor of Core State Standards for students with disabilities. As part of her work as a consultant and trainer, Mary has trained county teams in a trainer of trainer’s model for best practices in supporting special education students in the rigor of new state standards. Additional training topics include Co-Teaching for Special Education student success, Universal Design for Learning for all in the Core Standards, Essential Standards Implementation, and Building Defensible Programs for Students with Autism.  She has presented at national and state level conferences for the past ten years.

As a member of the faculty of California State University Northridge, Mary teaches courses in the special education teacher preparation and school psychology departments.  She has also authored the LRP publications; The Administrator’s Guide to Building and Maintaining a Comprehensive Autism Program in 2010, Write On, A Guide to Compliant Documentation of Special Education Policies and Procedures in 2012, Common Core and the Special Education Student:  Your Guide to Instructional Shifts and Implementing Services and Supports in 2014, and Successfully Implementing Core Standards for Students with Disabilities:  A Professional Development Guide, in 2015.

Mary can be contacted through her website, www.MarySchillinger.com as well as through her business, Collaboration for Success at schillingermary@gmail.com.

Julie Weatherly
Attorney at Law, owner, Resolutions in Special Education, Inc., Mobile, Alabama

Julie J. Weatherly, Esq. is the owner of Resolutions in Special Education, Inc. with attorneys in Birmingham and Mobile, Alabama and in Naples, Florida.  Julie is a member of the State Bars of Alabama and Georgia, and for over thirty years, she has provided legal representation and consultation services to school agencies in the area of educating students with disabilities.  In June of 1996, Julie appeared with Leslie Stahl on CBS news program “60 Minutes” to discuss the cost of meeting the legal requirements of the IDEA.  She has been a member of the faculty for many national and state legal institutes and is a frequent speaker at special education law conferences.  Julie has developed a number of videotape training series on special education law and has been published nationally as a part of her trainings, workshops and seminars.  She is the author of the legal update article for the National CASE quarterly newsletter and is a member of LRP’s Special Education Attorneys Advisory Council.   In 1998, Julie was honored by Georgia’s Council for Exceptional Children as Georgia’s Individual who had Contributed Most to Students with Disabilities and, in April 2012, Julie received the National Council of Administrators of Special Education (CASE) Award for Outstanding Service.

Diane Wiscarson 100x150 pixelsDiane F. Wiscarson
Attorney at Law, Wiscarson Law, Portland, Oregon

Diane represents students and their families in education matters, with a particular focus on special education law. Having experienced the sometimes difficult IEP process first-hand as a parent, Diane has a unique parent perspective on how to navigate the IEP maze, as well as recognized legal expertise. Since founding Wiscarson Law almost 20 years ago, Diane actively represents families throughout Oregon and Washington. Diane is a member of the Counsel of Parent Attorneys and Advocates, and has served on the Dispute Resolution Committee for the Oregon Department of education for a decade. Additionally, Diane serves on numerous boards and committees related to special education interests, and is a frequent presenter at local, state, regional and national meetings and conferences.