Cheryl Volkman
ARC Coordinator
Co-founder and CEO Emeritus
AbleNet Inc.

Cheryl Volkman passed the CEO baton to a well-qualified successor in 2007. Volkman's current role is to drive the company's academic research initiatives, including the AbleNet Research Consortium. Volkman's efforts are dedicated to securing academic research and helping to integrate findings with the company's innovative market research data. The information and knowledge derived from this process will help guide the development of solutions designed to achieve student success. Volkman is currently on the board of directors for the Alliance for Technology Access and serves on several national advisory boards.

Jennifer Thalhuber
President/CEO
AbleNet Inc.

Jennifer Thalhuber joined AbleNet, Inc., as Vice President of Sales and Marketing in August 2006, and was promoted to CEO in April 2007. Thalhuber comes to her current role well grounded in business experience though numerous executive roles in sales, marketing, general management, business development, and CEO. She currently serves on several corporate boards and is also a member of the board of directors for the Assistive Technology Industry Association. Jen Thalhuber holds a Masters in Business Administration from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota, and is a chemical engineering graduate of the University of Minnesota's Institute of Technology.

Ann Meyer
Director of Research and Development
AbleNet Inc.

Ann Meyer brings more than 25 years of experience as both a teacher and administrator to the AbleNet Research Consortium. During her tenure with AbleNet, Ann's focus on learning disabilities, as well as moderate, severe and multiple cognitive disabilities have led to the development of many special education programs and curricula. Meyer is a nationally known speaker, and has trained countless educational professionals in the areas of curriculum adoption and implementation. Ann Meyer is a member of state and federal committees for program improvement related to students with significant disabilities, including Universal Designs for Learning, the Governors Council on Developmental Disabilities and Developmental Cognitive Disability Networks. Meyer holds a Masters in Special Education from the University of Minnesota.

Dr. Dave Edyburn
Associate Professor
Department of Exceptional Education
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

Dave L. Edyburn, Ph.D., is a Professor in the Department of Exceptional Education at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Dr. Edyburn's teaching and research interests focus on the use of technology to enhance teaching, learning, and performance.

He has authored over 100 articles and book chapters on assistive and instructional technology. He is a co-editor of the recently published book, Handbook of Special Education Technology Research and Practice.

He is a past president of the Special Education Technology Special Interest Group (SETSIG) in the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) as well as a past president of the Technology and Media (TAM) Division of the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC). He is a frequent conference presenter and national workshop leader.

Dr. Tracy Gray
Project Director
National Center for Technology Innovation (NCTI) and Principal Research Scientist
American Institutes for Research (AIR)

Dr. Gray is the Director of two OSEP-funded projects, the National Center for Technology Innovation (NCTI) and the Center for Implementation Technology in Education (CITEd) at AIR. Dr. Gray has published and lectured widely on issues related to the integration of emerging technologies into the classroom and after-school programs. As the Vice President for Youth Services at the Morino Institute, she was responsible for the design and implementation of the Youth Development Collaborative (YDC). This effort focused on the complexities of integrating technology into schools and community-based organizations. Under Dr. Gray's leadership, the findings from the YDC led to the publication of the YouthLearn Guide: A Creative Approach to Working With Youth and Technology and the YouthLearn program. Dr. Gray holds a Ph.D. and M.A. in Education and Psychology from Stanford University, and an A.B. in Psychology from the University of California, Riverside. She is a member of the Technical Advisory Group for the U.S.-China e-Language Learning Program (Chengo) funded by the U.S. Department of Education and the Chinese Ministry of Education, National Boys and Girls Clubs' Youth and Technology Advisory Committee, Teach for America (DC) Advisory Board and U.S.-China Center for Research on Education Advisory Group.

The National Center for Technology Innovation (NCTI), funded by the U.S. Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP), advances learning opportunities for individuals with disabilities by fostering technology innovation. We seek to broaden and enrich the field by providing resources and promoting partnerships for the development of tools and applications by developers, manufacturers, producers, publishers and researchers.

CITEd supports leadership at state and local education agencies to integrate instructional technology for all students to achieve high educational standards. CITEd provides this support through identification of best practices, innovative online technical assistance tools, professional development, and communities of practice.

Dr. Sean J. Smith
Associate Professor of Special Education
University of Kansas
Associate Researcher
eLearning Design Lab an affiliate of the Center for Research on Learning
Assistive Technology Facilitator
Kansas Infinitec Coalition, the State of Kansas’s preK-12 Assistive Technology initiative involving over 85% of Kansas School Districts

Dr. Smith has a background in the area of special education and technology, specifically towards the integration of technology across teacher preparation programs. He has authored and presented a number of articles and papers dealing with special education technology. At present, he is a Project Director on several US Department of Education program initiatives seeking to further the integration of technology components across teacher preparation programs and into the lives of students with disabilities (see http://www.specialconnections.ku.edu). For example, a US Department of Education Steppingstone’s Project is focusing on the development of a virtual social skill training experience for students with Aspergers.

Dr. Smith has served as an associate editor for the Journal of Special Education Technology and authored a quarterly column on technology and teacher education for this publication. He is the current Publication’s Chair for the International Society for Technology in Education Special Interest Group on Special Education and also Chair-Elect for the State of Kansas’s Special Education Advisory Committee. He serves on the Editorial Board ‘s for a number of technology publications including the Journal of Special Education Technology and Assistive Technology Outcomes and Benefits. He is also the proud parent of four young children, one having Down syndrome.