Our Staff: Kristin Reedy, NERRC Director Pamela Kraynak, Program Associate Cheryl LaFrance, Administrative Assistant David Merves, Program Associate Karen Mikkelsen, Program Associate Lucy Ely Pagan Menéndez, Program Associate Cathleen Palmer, Program Associate Norma Sheehan, Executive Assistant Cybele Elaine Werts, Program Associate
Kristin Reedy, NERRC Director
Ph:(802) 951-8218 Fx: (802) 951-8222
Area of Specialization: Special Education Reform, Special Education Policy, Program Evaluation, Finance, Regular Education Reform, Early Childhood Special Education
Kristin Reedy, Director of WestEd's Northeast Regional Resource Center (NERRC), is a key player in bridging the gap between general and special education.
NERRC is funded by the U.S. Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) to provide technical assistance and support to state agencies in implementing the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). In addition to being responsible for the overall management of NERRC, Reedy, who has served as its Director since 1999, provides consultation, professional development, and technical assistance to school districts and states. She has been instrumental in developing the reputation and capacity of the NERRC team of technical assistance providers who support states and, through the states, local school districts within the northeast region.
Reedy also has been a leader in forming strategic cross-WestEd program linkages and strengthening the agency's ability to address persistent problems in education that affect all students, particularly those with disabilities.
She has more than 25 years of experience in special education as a classroom teacher, consultant, and administrator. Prior to joining WestEd, Reedy served as a consultant and manager at the Vermont Department of Education and as the Director of Special Services for two Vermont school districts. In these leadership capacities, she helped to establish the statewide early childhood special education program in the state of Vermont and lay the groundwork for Vermont's early intervention (Part C) program under the IDEA. At the local level, Reedy established and improved programs and services for children with disabilities, PK–12, and their families.
Reedy represents the OSEP-funded Regional Resource Centers (RRCs) on the expert advisory panel of the National Personnel Center for Special Education at the National Association of State Directors of Special Education and has represented the RRCs on the Advisory Panels for OSEP’s Evaluation of State Monitoring Systems and the National Center for Culturally Responsive Educational Systems.
She served two terms as President of the Vermont Council of Special Education Administrators, served as a local school board member, member of the Vermont Special Education Fiscal Review Panel, board member for the Vermont Parent Information Center, and member of the Legislation and Policy Committee for the National Council of Administrators of Special Education.
She received an EdD in educational leadership and policy studies from the University of Vermont.
Vicki Hornus, Program Associate
Ph: (802) 951-8220 Fx: (802) 951-8222 State Liaison: Maine Area of Specialization: State to Local Monitoring and Focused Monitoring
Senior Program Associate Vicki Hornus helps state departments of education and school districts in the Northeast bridge the general-special education gap.
A member of Learning Innovations (LI) at WestEd, Hornus codirects a leadership academy for experienced special education directors throughout Massachusetts. The academy focuses on using data to inform decision-making, collaborative evaluation, legal and policy issues, conflict management, special education finance, instructional program design and improvement, and access to the general education curriculum.
Hornus codirected the Special Education Curriculum Review for the NYC Schools project. In partnership with Learning Point Associates, Hornus and others conducted curriculum reviews of special education in nine New York City school districts. They analyzed and interpreted factors that contributed to the performance of students with disabilities and provided recommendations to improve student achievement. The reviews helped districts improve their curriculum, instruction, assessment, and improvement planning practices related to their special education program.
As part of her work with the Northeast Regional Resource Center (NERRC), housed within LI, Hornus leads and facilitates a workgroup of state-level staff who monitor local compliance with the Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act (IDEA) in NERRC's region. Through the workgroup and related efforts, practitioners are networking and learning from recent developments and research related to monitoring special education and early intervention services.
Hornus also cofacilitates a national technical assistance Community of Practice focused on least restrictive environment for school-aged children and youth. The Community of Practice provides state-, district-, and school-level personnel and parents and community members opportunities to participate in free online events, and to share resources and solutions.
As NERRC state liaison to Maine, Hornus provides technical assistance on the implementation of IDEA for birth to 21 year olds and recently facilitated a legislatively appointed Subcommittee to Study Early Childhood Special Education Services. The committee's work resulted in new legislation to guide and improve services for children birth to age 5.
Hornus brings a long history of leadership in special education at the local and state levels in Vermont. Prior to joining WestEd, she worked at the Vermont Department of Education, where she served as Special Projects Coordinator for Act 117, an Act to Strengthen the Capacity of Vermont's Education System to Meet the Educational Needs of All Vermont Students.
She also spent 28 years in Vermont schools as Director of Special Services and elementary school counselor. Hornus taught educational psychology and child development at Miami University and Hudson Valley Community College, and special education at Trinity College and Champlain College.
She has served as President of the Vermont Association for Special Education Administrators and the Northeast Coalition of Educational Leaders, and was an officer and board member of the Howard Center for Human Services. Hornus has presented at numerous conferences and workshops, including a Sino-American Seminar on Educational Leadership in Beijing and in Huhehot, Inner Mongolia. Recently, she presented at several conferences on "Students with Special Needs in the NCLB Spotlight.”
Hornus received a BA in elementary and special education from Purdue University and an MS in school psychology from Miami University. She also has completed numerous administration courses at the University of Vermont.
Pamela C. Kraynak, Program Associate
Ph: (802) 951-8206 Fx: (802) 951-8222
State Liaison: Vermont Area of Specialization: Monitoring, Regulatory, Legal Issues, Conflict Resolution, Organizational Development, Strategic Reform
Senior Program Associate Pamela C. Kraynak provides legal and policy assistance on special education issues throughout the Northeastern states.
A member of Learning Innovations (LI) at WestEd since 2000, Kraynak helps states bring federal timeline requirements into compliance for hearing systems, finalize interagency agreements and dispute resolution systems, design continuous and focused monitoring systems in special education, and improve conflict management through early resolution training. In addition, Kraynak has provided conflict skills training to special education administrators in Vermont, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire.
Kraynak codirects a leadership academy for special education directors throughout Massachusetts. The academy focuses on using data to inform decision-making, collaborative evaluation, legal and policy issues, conflict management, special education finance, instructional program design and improvement, and access to the general education curriculum.
As part of her work with LI's Northeast Regional Resource Center, one of six federally funded technical assistance centers in the United States for special education, Kraynak coordinates and provides assistance to the northeastern Legal and Regulatory Workgroup. Members consist of legal and policy representatives, mediation and due process coordinators, and complaint administrators from the NERRC region state departments of education who discuss current issues related to the Individuals with Disabilities and Education Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.
As NERRC Vermont state liaison, Kraynak provides assistance to Vermont education and human services personnel, including updating them on federal special education regulations and case developments.
As national liaison to the Consortium for Appropriate Dispute Resolution in Special Education (CADRE), Kraynak collaborates with CADRE to help states develop early resolution options, presents at CADRE's biennial National Symposium on Dispute Resolution, and works with the Creating Agreement project.
Prior to joining WestEd, Kraynak spent 15 years in private practice, most recently as a founding partner with Blackwood and Kraynak, P.C. While in legal practice, she taught constitutional law and legal writing at Woodbury College, and served on the Vermont Human Services Board as well as the Ad Hoc Task Force on Adoption that preserved the right of second-parent adoption.
Throughout her law career, Kraynak represented school boards, persons with disabilities, parents, and guardians of persons with disabilities. She was instrumental in developing the statutory framework for financing limited equity housing cooperatives and mobile homes in Vermont and helping to establish many of the first limited equity housing cooperatives through representing the resident-managed cooperative corporation.
Prior to practicing law, Kraynak was the Executive Director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Vermont. She provided support to Vietnam veterans through the discharge upgrade program and co-coordinated the Right To Choose Coalition, which preserved low income women's access to reproductive healthcare.
Kraynak serves as a Board member of both the Vermont Parent Information Center, assisting with the merger of two parent organizations, and Transitional Services for Youth and Families, dedicated to children with emotional difficulties.
She received a JD from Vermont Law School in 1985. While in law school, she placed first in the Thomas L. Debevoise Moot Court Competition and received the American Jurisprudence Award for outstanding scholarship in the field of remedies.
Cheryl LaFrance, Administrative Assistant
Ph: (802) 951-8207 Fx: (802) 951-8222
Area of Specialization: Staff Support, Conference Organization, Software and Data Support
Cheryl LaFrance has been an Administrative Assistant with WestEd since May 2000. She provides support to a variety of projects including the Northeast Regional Resource Center and the NH Cornerstone Project.
Her responsibilities include producing program materials; organizing conferences, workshops, and meetings; typing and organizing correspondence; photocopying; serving as a liaison for ordering supplies; and sending out invoices for registration fees for conferences and core contracts.
Prior to joining WestEd, LaFrance was the Administrative Assistant for various projects housed at Trinity College of Vermont. She also worked at Digital Equipment Corporation and conducted medical scheduling and transcription for the Physical and Occupational Therapy Department at Fletcher Allen Health Care.
David Merves, Program Associate
Ph:(802) 951-8209 Fx: (802) 951-8222
Area of Specialization: Business Development, Fiscal and Technical Support
WestEd Program Associate David Merves provides leadership skills in business and resource development to education agencies throughout the East Coast.
A member of Learning Innovations at WestEd since 2007, Merves works with his program colleagues to build capacity and diversity within various agency projects.
In addition, as the Learning Innovations Site Coordinator in the Burlington, VT, office, Merves provides operational, administrative, technical, and fiscal related leadership and support to office staff.
Merves has 35 years experience in marketing, training, finance, and human resources for large corporations and as a small business owner. He served as Chief Financial Officer/Director of Operations for The Ryland Inn in Whitehouse, New Jersey, where he negotiated the purchase of the Ryland property, systematized all financial, administrative, and operational controls, implemented a five-year capital budget plan, and supervised all service aspects of the restaurants.
He has developed and implemented numerous employee training programs, customer focus groups, and evaluation programs for customers and employees.
He has taught undergraduate and graduate classes at Cornell University, Boston University, and Fairleigh Dickinson University. He has been a member of the Coalition for the Homeless of Elizabeth, New Jersey and We Will Build, Inc.; and Co-Chairperson of both the Hotel Division of the Boy Scouts of America Campaign and Israel Cancer Research Foundation.
Merves received a BA in Asian history from Connecticut College and an MBA in operations ad production from Loyola University. A member of the American Evaluation Association, Merves currently is enrolled in an Advanced Certification program for Evaluation through Claremont Graduate University.
Karen Mikkelsen, Program Associate
Ph: (802) 951-8208 Fx: (802) 951-8222
State Liaison: New Hampshire Area of Specialization: Early Childhood, Prevention and Intervention, Family/Community Involvement, Violence Prevention, Services to Students with Behavioral and Emotional Challenges and Their Families, Organizational Development and Change, Cultural/Linguistic Diversity
Throughout her career, Karen Mikkelsen has been committed to improving the academic achievement of students with disabilities. A Senior Program Associate with WestEd's Northeast Regional Resource Center (NERRC) since 1980, Mikkelsen provides consultation, training, and facilitation services to special education agencies in New England, New Jersey, and New York. Funded by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP), NERRC provides leadership and support to promote a quality education and a better life for children with disabilities and their families.
Mikkelsen’s services have been requested by school districts, community educator/service provider partnerships, and local interagency teams of providers and parents. She develops procedures and rebuilds relationships among team members so that they can work constructively toward shared purposes. Her work has resulted in new organizational structures and relationships for service providers and community organizations, products to assist providers, and skills to improve services. For example, Mikkelsen coauthored Keeping Quality Teachers: The Art of Retaining General and Special Educators in collaboration with personnel from the New York State Department of Education and other national organizations. She also developed a training program for volunteers to serve as educational surrogate parents.
Also at NERRC, Mikkelsen coordinates regional work groups involving representatives from state departments of education and the lead agencies for Part C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Work group members share expertise and develop collaborative solutions to common issues.
Prior to joining WestEd, Mikkelsen provided consultation, facilitation, training, and technical assistance services for state and local educational and human services agencies, as well as for consumer and advocacy groups. She has spent most of her career working with federally funded technical assistance and training programs, including the Northeast Regional Media Center for the Deaf, The California Area Learning Resource Center, and the California Regional Resource Center. Past results have included the development of a network for state institutions providing services to people with mental illness and the design of a learning laboratory for students with hearing impairments.
Her commitment to helping people with disabilities is also evidenced in her volunteer affiliations with the ARC of Vermont, United Way, The Center for Disabilities and Community Inclusion, and Vermont Coalition for Disability Rights.
Mikkelsen received an MEd from the University of Massachusetts.
Lucy Ely Pagan Menéndez, Program Associate
Ph: (802) 951-8216 Fx: (802) 951-8222
State Liaison: New York, Rhode Island Area of Specialization: Transition, Cultural and Linguistic Diversity, School-to-Work, Family/School Collaboration, Bilingual Education, Bilingual Spanish/English
WestEd's Lucy Ely Pagán Menéndez works with states in the Northeast to support positive education outcomes for all students, including students with disabilities.
A Program Associate for WestEd's Northeast Regional Resource Center (NERRC) since 1993, Menéndez serves as NERRC liaison for New York and Rhode Island. She has facilitated state improvement efforts on disproportionality and she collaborates with the Office for Civil Rights; the Equity Assistance Center; New York University Metro Center - Chapter 405 Project; and the Harvard Civil Rights Project.
She also leads a workgroup created by NERRC that helps Northeast States Transition personnel meet the transition services requirements of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. This workgroup includes representatives from the departments of education in Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Massachusetts
Menéndez, who is bilingual and bicultural (Spanish and English), is a board member of the Vermont Parent Information Resource Center and President of the Washington County chapter of the Association for Family and Community Education. She has an extensive background working with families from ethnic, cultural, and linguistic diverse backgrounds.
She received an MA in rehabilitation counseling from the University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras.
Cathleen P. Palmer, Program Associate
Ph: (802) 951-8217 Fx: (802) 951-8222
Area of Specialization: Information Services Coordination and Management
WestEd's Cathleen Palmer helps to ensure effective services for children and youth with disabilities and their families.
As Program Associate and Information Center Coordinator for WestEd's Northeast Regional Resource Center (NERRC), Palmer conducts research, and manages resources and collaborations with the Regional Resource Federal Centers (RRFC) network, national clearinghouses, and dissemination projects.
In collaboration with the RRFC Network, the national RRFC Network, and the National Association of State Directors of Special Education's Project Forum, Palmer is the NERRC lead on the development and maintenance of the National State Policy Database. This database contains the federal special education regulations issued in 2006 and state special education regulations from all states and the District of Columbia.
Palmer also serves as NERRC lead on the RRFC Matrix, a national database that provides information to the Office of Special Education Programs and U.S. Department of Education-funded technical assistance centers and projects to support the planning and implementation of collaborative technical assistance strategies. These strategies align with state needs as documented through SPPs, APRs, and/or lead agencies to improve outcomes for children with disabilities.
Palmer received a BA in psychology and communications from Trinity College.
Norma Sheehan, Executive Assistant
Ph: (802) 951-8221 Fx: (802) 951-8222
Area of Specialization: Staff Support, Conference Organization, Software and Data Support
In 2006, Norma Sheehan was presented with the Annual Award for Exceptional Contribution to the WestEd Community.
An Executive Administrative Assistant for Learning Innovations (LI) at WestEd, Sheehan was recognized for her contribution to the operations and morale of the LI Burlington, Vermont, office, and her ability to identify and respond to new programmatic opportunities for the office.
A member of WestEd since 2000, Sheehan provides administrative and support services, conference organizing, and expertise in software and database programs. Each year, Sheehan organizes two annual State Education Agency Directors Forums for special education directors from the Northeast region. Through her expert use of various software applications, extensive knowledge of conference planning protocols, and attentiveness to logistical details, Sheehan helps to ensure the forums are productive and effective.
In addition, Sheehan has helped ensure the quality and collaborative nature of various Office of Special Education-sponsored national conferences. She also has developed a number of queries that make project mailings more accurate and timely.
Previously, Sheehan worked as an Administrative Assistant and Supervisor of support staff for the Northeast Regional Resource Center (NERRC), when it was housed within the Institute for Program Development (IPD) at Trinity College of Vermont. While at IPD, she provided administrative support for a number of other grants and programs.
She also served as the Executive Assistant for the President of Trinity College, where, among other responsibilities, she managed the budget for the President's office. Prior to that, she served as the First Deputy Clerk for the Windsor Superior Court in Vermont and treasurer of Windsor County.
Sheehan completed secretarial courses at Champlain College, paralegal courses at the University of New Hampshire, and a number of classes on various software applications.
WestEd Program Associate and Information Specialist Cybèle Elaine Werts provides special education research and technological technical assistance to state departments of special education and other clients in the Northeast.
A member of WestEd's Northeast Regional Resource Center (NERRC) staff, Werts helps states increase their capacity to provide training and collaboration through innovative technologies such as webcasts, podcasts, and online surveys. With Werts' training and support, the state of Massachusetts recently provided training on its Birth-to-Three database using WestEd's Horizon Wimba webcast platform. This online training saved travel costs for more than 60 participants and provided Massachusetts with the opportunity to retrain using the archived materials.
Werts serves as NERRC website administrator and frequently seeks solutions to technological issues and challenges. She designed and manages NERRC Central, which tracks staff activity on hundreds of technical assistance projects and information requests. This online system processes evaluation data, creates weekly, monthly, and quarterly progress reports, and allows for Internet accessibility of NERRC's electronic library.
She also developed a series of podcasts on using technology as a tool for collaboration and training. The series includes introductory information on podcasts, webinars, wikis, really simple syndication (RSS), online survey applications, and digital photography. Developed for NERRC's Part C Coordinators, this series is useful for anyone who wants to use technology as a tool for professional development and/or collaboration.
In addition to web-related work, Werts supports NERRC, as well as the Regional Resource and Federal Center network, with data analysis, evaluation work, and online survey design. She helps produce NERRC's annual Progress Report, which is submitted to the Office for Special Education Programs (OSEP), as well as a variety of both internal and external data-related reports such as the State Part B Indicator Reports, also submitted to OSEP.
In collaboration with the North Central Regional Resource Center, Werts is developing a protocol and reporting system to measure quality, relevance, and usefulness of national information requests related to special education.
She has authored a series of articles, interviews, and podcasts focusing on technology and knowledge management for Information Outlook, the journal of the Special Libraries Association.
Prior to joining WestEd in 2000, Werts owned her own business, providing writing, technology, and photography services to the northern Vermont area. Her clients included IBM, Bombardier Capital, and Jazzercise Inc. She also has written for a number of publications.
Werts received a BS in video production and an MA in educational technology, both from San Diego State University.
