Bright Spots in Education

In Episode 13, Jeremiah interviews Assistant Superintendent of Tehama County DOE Veronica Coates on statewide dispute resolution trends and parent voice in the ADR community. Then, he interviews a live panel at the 2026 ADR Conference in Riverside, CA. Our panel features parent Andrea Rodrigues and other ADR SELPA and district practitioners, who share their perspectives on school/family collaboration and takeaways from the conference.  

Resources:  

For more conflict resolution resources visit www.pathways2partnership.org 

For custom resources and walk throughs designed to help parents with the IEP process, visit https://highqualityieps.net/iep-journey/resources-for-families 

For special education guidance, free online learning, and additional resources, visit www.charterselpa.org 

Our host records live at the 2026 El Dorado Charter SELPA Inspiration to Action Symposium where the theme is Unlocking Doors, Opening Opportunities. Jeremiah sits down with renowned educator, storyteller, and inclusion rights advocate Dr. Shelley Moore to give listeners a preview on her keynote presentation for the conference, talk about rethinking curriculum and assessment to address needs instead of complete tasks, and share practical next steps to help unlock doors and remove barriers for students and their families.  

Show Notes: 

www.drshelleymoore.com 

https://www.outsidepinconsulting.com/ 

Instagram: @drshelleymoore 

Bsky: @drshelleymoore.bsky.social 

Facebook: Dr. Shelley Moore 

For additional resources, webmodules, and more, visit: 

https://charterselpa.org/ 

Jeremiah interviews a live panel of charter leaders at the 2025 Charter SELPA Leadership Academy in Sacramento California. New Charter SELPA program coordinator Grace Ridgeway shares her favorite SELPA sped resources, and panelists give insight into challenges, solutions, and successes from the 2024-2025 school year.  

Show Notes:  

El Dorado Charter SELPA Special Education Procedural Guide 

2025-2026 Annual Special Education Playbook 

Charter SELPA Staffing Shortages and Credentialing Resources padlet 

To access guidance documents, professional learning opportunities and other El Dorado Charter SELPA resources, visit www.charterselpa.org 

More about our panelists:

Kerry Hinsche is a special education leader at iLEAD Exploration, an independent study charter school program celebrating the passions and interests of students through personalized learning. The independent study model supports learners with unique needs with an innovative educational approach.

Tim Drury

X - @TheTimDrury  and  @Chrysalis_CS

Facebook: Chrysalis Charter School

LinkedIn - Tim Drury

Instagram: chrysalischarter

#chrysalis 

In Episode 10, sponsored by Pathways to Partnership, Jeremiah sits down with David Dowling, live at the 2025 SELPA Administrators of California ADR Conference to discuss how important active listening, managing your own perspective, and intentional communication can be when resolving or managing disagreements. 

Show Notes: 

David Dowling 

https://www.dowlingdisputeresolution.com/ 

https://law.pepperdine.edu/straus/ (Pepperdine Institute for Dispute Resolution) 

Book Recommendation: 

Getting To Yes (Roger Fisher, William Ury) 

For more about Pathways to Partnership, visit www.Pathways2Partnership.org 

Jeremiah records live at the annual Charter SELPA Leadership Academy in Long Beach, CA. In the Charter SELPA’s first collaboration episode with Pathways to Partnership, Jeremiah sits down with Aubrie Fulk and the P2P crew to learn more about their organization and how they support school leaders, parents, and IEP team members with proactive conflict resolution. Next, he interviews a panel of leadership academy attendees on initiatives at their school, how they support each other in their school communities, and developing stakeholder relationships. 

Pathways To Partnership:  

Aubrie Fulk, Director of Student, Family, & District Support 

Alternative Dispute Resolution & Prevention, Tehama County Department of Education 

https://pathways2partnership.org/ 

California Family Empowerment Center contact map 

LEA Administrator Panel:  

Cynthia Austin, Director of Special Education, New West Charter School https://www.newwestcharter.org/ 

Lizzie Downes, Special Education Program Administrator, https://greendot.org/ 

Tania Gómez- (She/Her/Ella)- Special Education Program Administrator 

Green Dot Public Schools, California [email protected] 

Shalene Wright, Ed.D., Director of Student Services, Environmental Charter Schools 

https://ecsonline.org/ 

Mrs. Ashlee Patel, Westlake Charter School, Coordinator of Special Education 

www.westlakecharter.com 

In Episode 8, we were able to record live at the 2024 El Dorado Charter SELPA Inspiration to Action Symposium. Our theme was The Power of Hope, and I got to sit down with keynote speaker and disability rights advocate Jennifer Wolfsheimer, as well as our morning speaker, best-selling author and professor Dr. Emad Rahim. Hundreds of educators from across the state were in attendance on location in San Diego, and the SELPA was able to recognize and celebrate several amazing schools, and educators for their innovation and dedication to creating hope and bright futures for their students.

Dr. Emad Rahim, PMP, OMCP, A-CSM, CMgr - FCMI 

Lifecycle Capacity Consultant - Nonprofit Lifecycles Institute 

Website: www.EmadRahim.com  

Website: www.Inclusive360LLC.com 

Featured: Huffington Post and Post Standard  

Jennifer Wolfsheimer, MS, JD 

Senior Program Associate (WestEd) 

Linkedin profile: www.linkedin.com/in/jennifer-wolfsheimer-9a52a87 

For Episode 7, Moises and Jeremiah sit down with Diana Pastora Carson, the keynote speaker for the upcoming El Dorado Charter SELPA "A Time to Thrive" Symposium in Sacramento on Friday, January 27th, 2023. Diana speaks on the topic of inclusion and provides practical tips on how listeners can serve as allies for individuals with disabilities in their fight for equal rights and access. Diana also shares important inclusion resources and provides tips on how listeners can shift from inspiration to action for individuals with disabilities in their fight for equal rights and access.

To register for the SELPA’s in-person A Time to Thrive Symposium in Sacramento on 1/27/22, visit the link below: 

https://edcoe.force.com/edcoeevents/s/lt-event?id=a4Q3l000000OCSiEAO 

To learn more about Diana’s work, please visit the following links: 

https://www.dianapastoracarson.com/ 

TED Talk Link:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ruXB3lbiD3U 

(Podcast) Beyond Awareness: Disability Awareness that Matters

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/beyond-awareness-disability-awareness-that-matters/id1599152885 

Additional Resources

Author Paula Kluth (many titles) 

Disability Visibility by Alice Wong 

Care Work by Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha

Black Disabled Art History by Leroy Moore 

The Pretty One by Keah Brown 

Being Heumann by Judy Heumann 

Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution (documentary film) 

Phoenix Rising (documentary film series) 

Think Inclusive with Tim Villegas (podcast) 

Jeremiah records live at the annual Charter SELPA Leadership academy in Sacramento CA and interviews a panel of leaders from across the state on new initiatives at their schools, their improvement plans for the new school year, and key takeaways from the conference. Next, he sits down with conference presenter Jasmine Vance from System Improvement Leads, a CDE and CCEE collaborative project between EDCOE, WSGV, and RC SELPAs. Topics include the science of school improvement, and prioritizing change efforts for maximum impact. 

Show Notes and Resources 

To Learn more about our panelist schools, visit:  

Urban Charter Schools Collective: http://urbancsc.org/ (Sacramento area) 

Howard Gardener Community School: www.hgcschool.org (Chula Vista, San Diego) 

Olive Grove Charter: https://olivegrovecharter.org/ (Central Coast, Santa Barbara or SLO County) 

To access data protocols, training videos, and other resources from System Improvement Leads, visit www.systemimprovement.org or email [email protected] 

El Dorado County Office of Education: www.edcoe.org 

West San Gabriel Valley SELPA: https://www.wsgvselpa.org/ 

Riverside County SELPA: https://rcselpa.org/ 

For more El Dorado Charter SELPA webmodules, training videos, and resources, visit our online learning center at http://charterselpa.org/online-learning-center/