Date: February 6, 2025
Start Time: 2:00 pm EST / 1:00 pm CST / 12:00 pm MST / 11:00 am PST
End Time: 3:30 pm EST / 2:30 pm CST / 1:30 pm MST / 12:30 pm PST
Location: Live on Zoom
1.5 CRC credits available
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About this Event
In this impactful webinar sponsored by NTACT:C and the RAISE Center, families of students with disabilities and other stakeholders, including professionals from education and vocational rehabilitation, will hear directly from others who have navigated the transition from high school to adult life. Personal stories from parents and caregivers will provide valuable insights into the challenges, triumphs, and practical strategies they’ve used along the way.
Additionally, the session will highlight key resources, tools, and support networks offered by Parent and Training Information Centers (PTIs) across the country. These centers play a critical role in providing families with the information and guidance they need to access services, plan for the future, and advocate for their child's success. Join us for this empowering session, where real-life experiences meet expert advice to help guide families through the transition journey.
Training Objectives:
- Provide families and professionals with actionable strategies and insights to begin transition planning early, engage in community-based activities, and support students in building readiness for adulthood.
- Guide educators, and vocational rehabilitation professionals in understanding how to best foster collaboration with families to ensure engagement and to streamline the transition process.
- Educate families and professionals on the transition planning process, including IEPs, vocational rehabilitation services, post-secondary goals, and the rights of students with disabilities and their families.
- Promote the importance of person-centered planning and supported decision-making to help families and professionals advocate for tailored solutions that meet the unique needs of each student.
Presenters
Aimee Combs
Executive Director
Exceptional Children’s Assistance Center
Aimee Combs, is the Executive Director at the Exceptional Children’s Assistance Center, which serves as North Carolina's Parent Training & Information Center and Family to Family Health Information Center. She has a 26-year old son with autism and has navigated the journey from early intervention to special education and the transition to adulthood. Aimee has a strong connection to families with children with special needs and finds great fulfillment in her work, whether she is connecting them with resources or providing them with information to help them make informed decisions for their child.
Carrie Ragsdale
Transition Program Coordinator
Missouri Parents ACT (MPACT)
Carrie Ragsdale Transition Program Coordinator for Missouri Parents ACT (MPACT). Over the past 15 years, Carrie has spoken at several local, state, and regional conferences, on a variety of topics as it pertains to the Special Education process, with a focus on the parent and students. Carrie will also routinely provide training to various schools, colleges, and civic groups about child abuse with a focus on Traumatic Brain Injury, Shaken Baby Syndrome, and Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. Her educational degree is in Criminal Justice and Law Enforcement.
Christa Knaak
Education Specialist
Starbridge
Christa Knaak has been involved with Starbridge since 2012 and has provided families with educational advocacy and transition support. She has coordinated the Creating a Life After High School program which assists families in learning about adult services for their young adult with developmental disabilities. Christa has a 21 year old son with DD and has first-hand experience navigating the transition to adult services from the school system.
Jodi Webb
Executive Director
Pathfinder Services
Jodi Webb is the Executive Director of Pathfinder Services of ND. She previously worked at The Council for Professional Recognition as an Early Childhood Specialist. Jodi Webb attended the University of Manitoba.
Josie Badger, DHCE, CRC
Director
RAISE Center, based at the SPAN Parent Center
Dr. Josie Badger CRC, DHCE is the Director of the RAISE Center, based at the SPAN Parent Center. She is also the President of J Badger Consulting Inc and ED of PEACOCK Consulting Services. She has worked in disability advocacy and youth leadership for over 20 years. Dr. Ellen Fabian, University of Maryland, College Park.
Leia Holley
Program Director
Families Together, Inc., the Parent Training and Health Information Center
Leia Holley, Program Director for Families Together, Inc., the Parent Training and Health Information Center serving Kansas families. Leia’s passion is working with transition age youth and their families to plan for inviable lives during the transition process. She is also the proud parent of two amazing young men. Her youngest son, Sean, has autism and complex mental health and medical needs. Leia has been a strong advocate for Sean, ensuring he receives the educational and medical services he needs to be a part of his community.
Michael Stoehr, M.S.
Knowledge Development and Technical Assistance Specialist
National Technical Assistance Center on Transition: the Collaborative (NTACT:C)
UNC Charlotte - Cato College of Education
UNC Charlotte - Cato College of Education
Michael Stoehr M.S., is a Knowledge Development and Technical Assistance Specialist with the National Technical Assistance Center on Transition: the Collaborative (NTACT:C). He has worked in the special education field for the past 39 years and has extensive experience in the areas of secondary transition, assessment, job analysis, supported and customized employment, transition communities of practice, effective transition planning, inter-agency collaboration, transition practices for students with complex support needs, family engagement, and youth leadership and self-advocacy.
Michele Williers
Executive Director
PEAK Parent Center
Michele Williers is the Executive Director of the PEAK Parent Center and is a servant and mission-driven leader with over 30 years of experience in leadership, operations, management, and community partnership development. As a devoted mother of a micro preemie miracle, Beck, a young man who is Deafblind with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, Michele is a fierce advocate for families of children with disabilities, self-advocates, transition-aged youth, and underserved communities, having led transformative initiatives and guest lectured on critical social issues.
Rebecca Davis
Director of Transition Projects
Federation for Children with Special Needs (FCSN)
Rebecca Davis is the Director of Transition Projects at the Federation for Children with Special Needs (FCSN). Rebecca’s youngest daughter is an 18 year old force of nature who happens to have disabilities.
Sue Fager
Transition to Adulthood Projects Coordinator
PACER Center
Sue Fager is the Transition to Adulthood Projects Coordinator for PACER Center. She has worked for disability-focused organizations for over 25 years, where her focus has been on supporting families and youth on their transition journeys from special education to adult services and has developed many resources and curricula for national release. Her shared experience with her sibling has also fueled her passion about inclusion, person-centered thinking, and supported decision-making.