Positive Behavior Workshop
Staff Bios
Dr. Andrew Elgort
Dr. Elgort is a clinical psychologist practicing in
Charlottesville at Poehailos, Dupont and Associates.
Dr. Elgort has over 30 years experience working with children with
various social,
emotional, and educational needs.
In addition to his clinical
practice, Dr. Elgort also works as a school psychologist with the
Albemarle County Schools. His areas of special interest include
Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders, Grief and Bereavement,
Positive Behavior Planning in Schools and at Home, and Crisis
Intervention and Crisis Management within the Schools
Cecily Reynolds
Cecily Reynolds joins us as the Program Director for The Little Gym of
Charlottesville. She teaches motor skill development to children from
ages 4 to 12. Her specialty is with parent/child classes but she also
teaches dance as well.
Ms. Reynolds also uses her experience on the
music review board of Little Gym, International. She graduated from the
College of Wooster with a degree in Psychology.
Ms. Reynolds brings to
this panel her insights as an enrichment provider, experienced with the
inclusion of special needs children in her programs
Marti Snell
Marti Snell (Martha E. Snell) is a Professor at the Curry School of
Education at the University of Virginia. Marti teaches teacher
preparation courses in severe disabilities, intellectual disabilities,
and early childhood special education. Her current research
addresses a) positive behavior support with preschool children with
disabilities or as risk for development and b) beginning communication
in children
with severe disabilities.
Her earlier work has focused on teachers’
roles in inclusion, instruction of students with severe disabilities,
and data-based decision making. She is the author of textbooks on
severe disabilities and strategies for including students with
disabilities in general education. She is a member of the current and
the past two Committees on Terminology and Classification for the
American
Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities.
She has participated
as an expert witness in court cases addressing the appropriateness of
special education programs and diagnosis of intellectual disability in
death penalty cases. Marti is a past president of TASH, was Coordinator
of the Special Education Program for ten years through 2007, and served
as the Interim Associate Dean for Research last year in the Curry
School.
Elly Tucker
Elly Tucker has worked with children her entire adult life, She
received her Masters in School Counseling from The University of
Virginia. She served as County Extension Agent with the 4-H Program for
many years and and then as an Elementary School Counselor and most
recently as a Career Counselor at University of Virginia, totalling
over 30 years of work with children, young adults and families.
Elly now serves as Marketing Director for Rivanna Music (helping
children learn through music). She began this venture when Cathy
Bollinger (singer/songwriter) asked Elly and her family to consult on a
project to help children with autism and other developmental
disabilities learn social skills through music.
Elly loves performing in local musical productions and community
choirs. She and her husband, Bill, live in Albemarle County VA with
their son, Josh, now 14. Their daughter Dory, aged 24 and newly
married, teaches elementary school in Richmond.
Mary Voorhees
Mary Voorhees is currently the co-coordinator for the Social Competence
in Preschool (SCIP) project at the University of Virginia..
The purpose of this project is to develop an intervention and training
package to assist Head Start teachers to use positive behavior support
methods to address children’s problem behaviors and promote social
competence.
Mary also teaches courses for the Early and Responsive Learning
Initiative at UVA to prepare teachers to work with young children birth
to age five with and without disabilities. Mary has coordinated state
and federal grants that have focused on ECSE personnel preparation, the
development and implementation of early childhood training materials,
and model demonstration programs for preschoolers with disabilities or
risk conditions. She has also served as a consultant and inclusion
specialist for the Virginia Department of Education, where her primary
responsibilities were to provide technical assistance and training to
school divisions and regular early childhood programs regarding
recommended practices for young children in inclusive settings. Her
research and publications have focused on personnel preparation,
positive behavior support, and preschool inclusion.