Meet our Staff
UCSEC is composed of a multidisciplinary team of educators,
and a parent, with expertise in the areas of special education
and due process issues, behavior, discipline, literacy,
safe schools, instruction and curriculum, classroom management,
assistive technology, complex needs, and transition.
The members of the UCSEC staff are certified and/or well-trained
professionals, who are knowledgeable in a variety of areas,
yet concentrate their training in specific venues. We would
like for you to meet the following staff:
Ginger Brashear, Executive Director
Ginger graduated from Cumberland College with a B.S. in Elementary
Education K-8, and later received certification in TMH
K-12. She received her Masters degree in Special Education.
Her Rank I certified her as Elementary Principal, Supervisor
of Instruction and Director of Special Education.
Ginger’s career includes having been a teacher of regular
education, a teacher of students with mental disabilities
(FMD), an elementary school principal, and a director of special
education. As Executive Director of Upper Cumberland Special
Education Cooperative, Ginger provides support to the districts
in special education procedural issues. She provides guidance
to Coop staff and assists in legal research, preparation for
due process hearings, complaint investigations, and monitoring
activities. She is responsible for conducting regular meetings
of coop staff and responsible for carrying out UCSEC board
policies for general administration of the Cooperative such
as surveys, compiling statistics and data, preparing and reviewing
reports and developing and managing budgets. She coordinates
professional and technical services to districts, serves as
liaison with KDE and coordinates any state initiatives, provides
continuous communication with UCSEC Governing Board and coordinates
activities of Coop consultants.
Angela Bray, Literacy & Strategies
Consultant
Angela is a graduate of Eastern Kentucky
University (BS Ed.-Special Education Learning/Behavior Disorders
K-12 & Elementary
Education K-4, 1992). She earned her Master’s
degree in Special Education Learning/Behavior Disorders K-12
and Director of Special Education Endorsement from Eastern
Kentucky University in 1999. Through further study
and classroom application, Angela has earned certification
as a Special Education Consultant, a Self-Motivational and
Recreational Teaching Strategies Learning System (S.M.A.R.T.S.)
Certified Trainer, and a Strategic Instruction Model (S.I.M.)
Professional Developer through the University of Kansas Center
for Research on Learning in both the research-based Learning
Strategies and Content Enhancement Routines.
Angela
is a Literacy/Strategies Consultant for preschool through
high school teachers. Prior to working in this
position, she was a special education teacher and coordinator
of programs for students with disabilities at Science Hill
Independent School.
Angela is available for consultation,
technical assistance, and professional development for
special education and general education classroom teachers,
school administrators, paraeducators, substitute teachers,
parents and others on a variety of strategies and literacy
related topic . She is also willing to design training to
meet the specific needs of schools and districts.
Carla Jordan, MS-SLP, ATP, Assistive Technology/Complex
Needs Consultant
Carla graduated from Eastern Kentucky University with a MS
in Communication Disorders. She completed Certification for
Special Education Director from the University of Kentucky
and Rank I from Cumberland College. She served as Speech-Language
Pathologist in the public school system for 10 years serving
children with complex needs during which time she provided
extensive co-therapy with occupational and physical therapists.
She is certified through Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive
Technology Society of North America (RESNA) as an Assistive
Technology Practitioner (ATP).
Carla's expertise is in the area of alternative and augmentative
communication, assistive technology and children with complex
needs. She provides consultation, technical assistance, and
professional development for general and special education
teachers, paraprofessionals, parents and administrators on
TEACCH strategies, augmentative and alternative communication,
assistive technology, autism and the Picture Exchange Communication
System (PECS).
Connie McDonald Brookins, Instruction/Behavior
Consultant
Connie is a graduate of Cumberland College
(BS Ed. 1981) with a degree in Special Education (LBD) and
Elementary Education and a minor in Psychology. In 1985 she
completed a Masters of Education from Cumberland College
and Rank I in 1989 from Eastern Kentucky University with
an endorsement as Special Education Director. An endorsement
for Principal was completed in 2002 from Cumberland College.
Connie’s career began
at Estill County Middle School as an EBD teacher. She then
returned to her home of Corbin and substitute taught for
a year before becoming an itinerant teacher for the Corbin
Independent Schools. During the next seven years she taught
in the elementary, middle and high schools in self-contained
and resource settings. She left the classroom to become first
an Area Program Consultant, then Region Six Exceptional Children
Consultant. An opportunity to be a Special Education Director
brought her to Williamsburg as the Director of Emerging Programs.
This provided her with three years of serving in a variety
of capacities from the Preschool Director to the Gifted and
Talented supervisor. In 1997, Corbin needed a Special Education
Director and the call to come home opened this opportunity.
In 2002, a principal’s
position at the alternative school opened and the challenge
of working with this population was turned over to her. Connie
has served as an adjunct professor at Cumberland College
for 15 years teaching in the special education department.
Connie
is available to consult with general and regular educators,
school administrators, paraeducators, parents and any interested
individual. Topics include classroom management, behavior
strategies, instructional strategies, service delivery
approaches, curriculum design, IEP development and other
topics to meet school needs.
Keith Lakes, Behavior Consultant
Keith graduated from Eastern Kentucky University in 1991,
with a Bachelors’ of Science degree in Science and
Math Education. He earned his Master’s degree in
Guidance Counseling from Eastern Kentucky University in
1994. In 1996, he earned his certification as an Individual
Intellectual Assessment Administrator from Eastern Kentucky
University. Also, in 1996, Keith earned his Rank I in Guidance
Counseling from Eastern Kentucky University. In 1999, Keith
obtained both State and National Licensed Clinical Professional
Counselor. He has since obtained certification as K-12
Principal and Director of Pupil Personnel.
He has worked at the high school level for seven years;
three years as science teacher and four years a guidance
counselor. Most recently, he has served as a guidance counselor
at the elementary level for the past three years. Also,
he has worked as a therapist in a clinical setting for
one and a half years.
He currently serves as Behavior Consultant for the Upper
Cumberland Special Education Cooperative. In this capacity,
he is available to serve as either consultant or trainer
of regular classroom teachers, teachers of special needs
students, school administrators, parents and others on
topics pertaining to student behavior, including Safe Crisis
Management.
Debbie Lawson, Parent Resource Liaison/Administrative
Assistant
Debbie is a parent of a child with multiple disabilities.
Her experiences and trainings bring a parent perspective
to the team. Debbie has been involved with parent rights
and advocacy and is familiar with the issues parents and
students deal with. She has attended many workshops and
is extremely familiar with the special education process.
She has compiled a resource library of various resources
of interest to parents and is knowledgably about obtaining
grants for equipment and training for parents and students.
Her work experience includes serving as Parent Resource
Center Liaison and administrative assistant to director
of special education and providing training to parents.
Kathy Eversole, Program Consultant
Kathy graduated from Morehead State University with a degree
and certificates in elementary education and special education,
LBD and FMD, in 1982. She then earned a Masters degree
in elementary education from the University of Virginia.
In 1988, Kathy earned her Rank I and was endorsed as Supervisor
of Instruction for Elementary and Secondary. Kathy also
is a certified teacher consultant.
Kathy taught children with learning and behavior disabilities
for one year before accepting a position, teaching students
with multiple disabilities, including moderate and severe
mental disabilities; physical disabilities; and autism.
Kathy then served as an Area Program Consultant, working
with the Kentucky Valley Educational Cooperative and the
Kentucky Department of Education in a position, which provided
training, technical assistance, and liaison services to
member districts. She then began an eleven year term as
the Director of the Special Education Cooperative for Kentucky
Valley Educational Cooperative where she continued to serve
member districts with training, technical assistance, and
liaison services. For the past two years, Kathy has been
providing administrative consultant services for the Cooperative.
Kathy is available to consult with general and special
education classroom teachers, school administrators, paraprofessionals,
parents, and others on a variety of topics including postsecondary
transition, preschool transition, due process, and parent
education. She is also willing to design training to meet
the specific needs of schools and districts.
Renee B. Leach, Technology Curriculum Consultant
Renee graduated from Cumberland College in 1993 with a
degree and certificates in LBD K-12 Special Education and
K-4 Regular Education. She then earned her Masters degree
in Special Education from Cumberland College in 1998. She
earned her Rank I from University of Louisville in Special
Education with an emphasis in Assistive Technology in 2003.
She is also certified through Rehabilitation Engineering
and Assistive Technology Society of North America (RESNA)
as an Assistive Technology Practitioner (ATP).
Renee’s experience in the field of education includes
5 years of classroom experience in special education both
in a resource and collaborative setting. She served as the
Special Education Program Facilitator for one year for the
Whitley County School District. She has also experienced teaching
in a regular 4th grade classroom for 4 years. Her experience
as a site-based council member, ARC chairperson, KDE record
review team member, academic team coach, cheerleading sponsor,
gifted & talented instructor, teacher and parent offer
a broad range of skills and knowledge to the cooperative.
Renee is available to consult with general and special education
classroom teachers, school administrators, paraprofessionals,
parents, and others on a variety of topics including universal
design for learning, general curriculum, technology pertaining
to regular and special classroom. She is also available to
do observations and consultations with regular or special
educators related to assistive technology needs.
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