Building CTE Opportunities that Engage Students with Disabilities

Alison Lowenthal is a Senior Faculty Specialist in the Center for Transition and Career Innovation at the University of Maryland. Alison has over 25 years of experience in the field of secondary transition special education and vocational rehabilitation. Prior to her position at the University of Maryland Alison worked as the State Transition Manager at the Idaho Division of Vocational Rehabilitation and the Secondary Transition Coordinator the the Idaho and Colorado Departments of Education.

Heather Winward grew up on a farm in rural southeast Idaho. She attended Idaho State University and Western Governors University. She earned Bachelor of Arts degrees in Special Education and Elementary Education, as well as a Master of Science in Educational Leadership. She has been in education for 19 years, teaching in elementary, middle school, and high school. Most of those years were happily spent in special education classrooms. She also spent two years as a dean of students/ special education director, and two years as a K-12 principal. Heather is currently a special education teacher at Blackfoot High School.

Jennifer Comstock has been a Special Education Teacher since 2004. She has spent the majority of those years teaching in the Boise School District's Student Transition Education Program (STEP). Working with transition-aged youth, and helping them continue to develop their employment readiness skills, post-secondary skills, and other life skills is her passion. For the past two years, she has taught STEP at the Boise School District's Dennis Technical Education Center. There she has been able to be a part of creating a one-week, after-school program for junior high students in residential construction, and the two-week DTEC Summer Skills Camp where students got to experience two weeks of hands-on learning in either residential construction, welding, collisions repair, or auto tech. Jennifer enjoys spending time with her family camping in their Aliner, traveling, and going to Boise State football and basketball games.

Lauren is the current Transition Manager of the Idaho Division of Vocational Rehabilitation (IDVR). She has worked for IDVR since October of 2014 and began as a counselor working with students to provide and develop pre-employment transition services. Since 2019, she has moved to training and management positions working with a variety of counselors and customers. Lauren is passionate about working with students and providing exposure and opportunities in the world of work.