Queensland Positive Behaviour for Learning Conference 2022

Dr. Tim Lewis has been involved in special education for 35 years.  Dr. Lewis has taught students with emotional and behavioural disorders in high school, elementary, and self-contained psychiatric settings. At present, Dr. Lewis is a Curators’ Distinguished Professor of Special Education at the University of Missouri. Dr. Lewis is past Co-Editor of the journal Behavioral Disorders, Associate Editor of the Journal of Positive Behavioral Interventions, and a member of 13 editorial boards. During his 30-year career in higher education Dr. Lewis has served multiple terms as department chair and associate dean for research.  Dr. Lewis has been involved with developing school-wide systems of behavioural support for over 25 years. Dr. Lewis directs the University of Missouri Center for School-wide Positive Behaviour Support, is Co-Director of the national OSEP Center for Positive Behavioural Interventions and Supports and former Co-Director of the Center for Adolescent Research in Schools. His specialty areas include social skill instruction, functional assessment, and proactive school-wide discipline systems.

Dr Shiralee Poed is an Associate Professor within the School of Education at the University of Queensland and an Honorary Principal Fellow at the Melbourne Graduate School of Education within the University of Melbourne. She is also the Director and Chair of the Association for Positive Behaviour Support Australia. Her career spans more than 30 years, and includes working as a teacher and leader in Australian state, Catholic and independent primary, secondary and special schools.

Terrance M. Scott is a Professor and Distinguished University Scholar at the University of Louisville where he directs the Centre for Instructional and Behavioural Research in Schools (CIBRS.com). He began his career as a counsellor in residential treatment and has worked with students with challenging behaviours across a variety of settings. Having received his Ph.D. in Special Education at the University of Oregon in 1994, Dr. Scott has over 100 publications, has conducted well over 1000 presentations and training activities throughout the U.S. and across the world, and has successfully competed for more than $25 million in external grant funding. In 2004 he received the Distinguished Early Career Award from the Research Division of the International Council for Exceptional Children and in 2012 he received the Outstanding National Leadership Award from the Council for Children with Behaviour Disorders. 

Heather Peshak George is a Research Professor in the Department of Child and Family Studies at the University of South Florida. She co-directs the National Technical Assistance Centre on PBIS, Florida’s PBIS Project, Florida Connect model demonstration grant, and is Past-President of the international Association for Positive Behavioural Support (APBS). She completed her MS in Clinical Psychology at Indiana State University and her PhD in Curriculum and Instruction with an emphasis in Special Education, School Psychology and Reading at Louisiana State University. She has extensive experience in providing training and technical assistance in PBIS at the national and international levels and thanks her two teenagers for the daily reminders on the need to bridge the research-to-practice gap. Learn more about Dr. George at https://www.usf.edu/cbcs/cfs/faculty-staff/peshak-george-h.aspx and follow her on Twitter at @HeatherPGeorge. Resources shared may be available at www.flpbis.org and www.pbis.org.  

Hank is currently a professor in the School of Education at Loyola University of Chicago, where he served as co-program chair of the Teaching and Learning Program and Acting Associate Dean for Research. Hank has been a special education teacher in the Dallas Public Schools. He also served as a project coordinator at the University of Kansas for the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs research on positive behaviour supports. Hank is also a former member of the Association of Positive Behaviour Support board of directors. His current research includes three-tiered academic and behaviour supports in urban and suburban settings. Specifically, his work focuses on connecting multi-tiered support systems with school improvement strategies. Hank also studies online instruction in pre-service teaching and in-service professional development.

Dr. Patti Hershfeldt is the Co-Director of the Centre for Social Behaviour Support at Old Dominion University which is an affiliate of the OSEP funded Center on PBIS. Patti co-chairs the APBS High School Network which supports high schools with implementation of School-Wide Positive Behaviour Support and aims to make connections between researchers and implementers. Additionally, she has a strong professional focus on equity and student voice. Patti is a former high school special education teacher of 15 years and a mum to 2 daughters. 

Steve Goodman, PhD is Director of Michigan’s Multi-tiered System of Supports Technical (MTSS) Assistance Centre, working on behalf of the Michigan Department of Education to develop local capacity for the implementation of MTSS. Steve’s career in the field of education spans 40 years as a teacher, special education consultant, and program administrator. Steve is a partner with the Centre on Positive Behavioural Interventions and Supports, a senior advisor with the National Centre on Intensive Intervention, and a co-investigator with the Integrated MTSS Research Network. Steve serves on the Board of Directors for the Association for Positive Behaviour Support. He was appointed by the Governor for Michigan’s PreK-12 Literacy Commission. Additionally, Steve has contributed to over 45 publications on multi-tiered frameworks.