Board of Directors


Terence Stewart, Ed.D., M.S.

President

Terence Stewart is a fervent advocate for exceptional learners, their families, and the special education teachers who support them. He proudly serves as a Special Education Coordinator, 504 Coordinator, special education teacher, and a core member of the Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) team at a Title 1 school in the District of Columbia. Terence has played a vital role in revamping MTSS programs so that at-risk students receive evidence-based interventions at the first sign of struggle. Terence is also a key player in improving school-based policies for determining special education teachers’ caseloads to reduce teacher burnout and keep highly qualified teachers in the classroom. When Terence isn’t working with exceptional learners, he is grooming the next generation of teachers as an Adjunct Professor at American University’s School of Education. He also mentors first-year doctoral students. 

Terence earned a doctorate and bachelor’s degree from American University, and an MS from Central Connecticut State University. His research interests include special education teacher caseload policies and teacher burnout and attrition. He has presented his research at conferences such as the Council for Exceptional Children Convention.


Kelly Edwards Fox, M.S. Ed.

Vice President


Susan Danker, M.S.

Secretary

Susan Danker is a speech-language pathologist and partner of the Reading and Language Learning Center (RLLC).  She holds a Master’s degree in Communications Science and Disorders from Radford University, a Bachelor of Science in Communications Science and Disorders from Radford University and a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Virginia Tech. She has been treating adults and children demonstrating disorders in phonology, articulation, language, reading and fluency since 1999. She also has experience with individuals exhibiting hearing  impairments, learning disabilities, attention deficit disorders as well as emotionally impaired children.

Susan is fully licensed in the Commonwealth  of Virginia as well as DC. She is a member of the American Speech-Language and Hearing Association (ASHA) and the International Dyslexia Association (IDA). She holds a certification as a Structured Literacy Teacher fromThe Center For Effective Reading Instruction since 2018. She began serving on the DC IDA Board in 2024 and is currently serving as the Secretary (2025).


Jeanett Tang-Yonemoto,  M.B.A., M.A.

Treasurer

Jeanett Tang-Yonemoto has over two decades of experience in finance at Bankers Trust/Deutsche Bank and Fannie Mae. She subsequently founded her own consulting business specializing in counterparty risks. Jeanett has held leadership positions on the boards and executive committees of independent schools’ parent associations and the board of a neighborhood non-profit, where she served as treasurer, co-chair of speaker conferences, and special event chair.

Jeanett holds MBA/MA joint degrees from The Wharton School and Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. She received a B.S. in Foreign Service from Georgetown University. She lives in Washington, D.C.



Sarah Irvine Belson, Ph.D.

Advisor

Dr. Sarah Irvine Belson serves as the Executive Director of the Institute for Innovation in Education (IIE) and is a Professor of Special Education and Early Literacy Intervention Leadership in the School of Education (SOE) at American University in Washington, DC. Dr. Belson earned her BA, MAE, and PhD from Arizona State University (ASU) and has worked in schools, school systems, industry, and higher education for over 30 years. Dr. Belson has supervised ECE, Elementary, and Secondary special education pre-service and in-service teachers in Arizona, and DC Public, Public Charter, and Independent Schools. Her current research explores educational opportunity for children with disabilities and teacher education policy in special education and teacher wellbeing. She also served or is serving as PI for a number of sponsored research projects, including funding from the US Department of Education, National Science Foundation, and DC’s Office of the State Superintendent of Education. Dr. Belson’s experience as a K12 special educator and her focus on interventions to increase educational equity and opportunity for children with disabilities is a cornerstone of her research and teaching.


Directors:

Bekah Atkinson, B.S., Health Sciences & Leadership Studies

Jennifer Betts, Ed.M., Curriculum Teaching and Learning Environments

Kate DeVito Cohen, J.D.

Audrey Dolginoff, MA Special Education, LD

Latesha Durkins, Ed.D. Education Policy & Leadership

Emma Garry, B.A. Elementary Education

Grace Giampietro Carrier, M.Ed. Special Education

Susan Jaffe, Ed.D., Special Education

Shenise Miller, Ed.D., Education Policy & Leadership

Nadia McNeil-Thomas, M.Ed. Master Teacher

Erin Phillips

Charmelle Smith, M.Ed., Special Education

Randi Stone, Ed.D. Education Policy & Leadership


Share this page with your friends…
FacebooktwitterlinkedinmailFacebooktwitterlinkedinmail