Leadership

Nan Freund, MEd, BCET, FAET, is a Board Certified Educational Therapist, a Fellow of the Association of Educational Therapists, and a past president of AET. She has been an educator for over 50 years and a founding member of Educational Services Associates, a multidisciplinary group practice in Chicago, for 34 of those years. Prior to becoming an educational therapist Nan taught special education in both public and private schools and had administrative and supervisory experience.

Nan led AET into the digital age, first during her term as president from 2000 to 2002 by insisting the Board use email and then with the creation of AET’s first website during her tenure. In 2014 she founded AET’s Webinar Committee, which she chaired until 2022, bringing high level professional development to members and the broader public worldwide. In addition, she was instrumental in creating an awareness of educational therapy and AET in Chicago, serving as study group leader and regional workshop chair for many years. Nan now lives in Claremont, California, where she conducts a small private practice, supervises Associate Professional ETs who are working toward Professional membership, continues to serve on several AET committees.

Joan Axelrod, MEd, is an adjunct faculty member in the School Psychology program and the Coordinator of the Academic Resource Center (ARC) at William James College (formerly the Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology). She spent many years in private practice as a psychoeducational diagnostician evaluating school-aged with learning and developmental disabilities and consulting to local school systems on assessment and intervention. Her evaluations integrate cognitive, neuropsychological and educational assessment data to develop instructional recommendations. Prior to working in private practice, she was the Clinical Director of the Medical Educational Center at North Shore Children's Hospital, Salem MA. She earned a bachelor's degree from Clark University and a master's in education from Boston University. She has been teaching at William James since 2007 and, since 2014, she has been providing writing and study support to William James students through the ARC.
www.williamjames.edu/about/profiles/faculty/joan-axelrod.cfm 

Jane Holmes Bernstein, PhD has been an AET friend, colleague, and Advisory Board member for many years. She is a staff neuropsychologist at Boston Children's Hospital who has helped to develop, apply and teach a “whole-child” assessment model for the behavioral observation of children with learning and behavioral disorders. She is the co-editor of the popular book, Mind, Brain and Education in Reading Disorders, and is the namesake of the annual Jane Bernstein Lecture in Neuropsychology at Boston Children's. Also an associate professor of Psychology at Harvard Medical School, Bernstein divides her time between her teaching and research responsibilities and her professional work with children in the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago in the West Indies.
http://f1000.com/thefaculty/member/8260755542511366

Edwin Ellis, PhD, is a Research Partner at the University of Kansas Center for Research on Learning and Professor Emeritus at the University of Alabama. Dr. Ellis has authored numerous books and journal articles and is a 5-time selling author. His scholarship is well known and studied in the academic community, and the practical, user-friendly instructional materials stemming from his research are used extensively in intermediate, middle, and high schools as well as in teacher-preparation programs throughout the world. Dr. Ellis is a co-author of The Strategic Instruction Model (SIM) developed at the University of Kansas Center for Research on Learning. The SIM Learning Strategies and Content Enhancement Routines he developed are among the most widely implemented SIM interventions. Dr. Ellis’ most recent work led to the development of Differentiated Visual Tools (DVTs), a series of programs designed to address discipline-specific content literacy in grades K-12. The DVTs are graphic organizer-like devices that use both visual features and embedded prompts individually designed to teach specific content and Common Core Standards in a manner that reduces the cognitive load for both teachers and learners.
makessensestrategies.com/about-the-authors

Maxine Ficksman, MA, BCET, FAET; Past-President of AET, an Educational Therapist in the Greater Los Angeles Area, and published author, has worked in regular and special education for the past 45 years, specializing in guiding students with learning difficulties and their families through the educational process. For the past 25 years, she has developed, coordinated, and taught graduate-level educational therapy training programs.

Andrew Fogelson spent most of 50 years as a film executive, running Marketing and Distribution for three major studios before becoming head of Polygram Films. iI the middle of all of that, he produced six movies, three of which have never been heard of (mercifully) and three that actually made some money: BLUE THUNDER, SPRING BREAK, and JUST ONE OF THE GUYS. More importantly, his late wife, Susan, was a founding member of AET...and my dearest friend.

Edward Hallowell, MD, a child and adult psychiatrist, is a NY Times bestselling author, world-renowned speaker, leading authority in the field of ADHD and a friend and colleague to AET. He is a graduate of Harvard College and Tulane Medical School, and the founder of The Hallowell Centers in Massachusetts, New York City, San Francisco, and Seattle. He was a member of the Harvard Medical School faculty from 1983 until he retired from academics in 2004 to devote his full professional attention to his clinical practice, lectures, and the writing of books. He has authored eighteen books on various psychological topics, including attention deficit disorder, the power of the human connection, the childhood roots of happiness in life, methods of forgiving others, dealing with worry and managing excessive busyness. Dr. Hallowell's newest book, SHINE: Using Brain Science to Bring out the Best in Your People was published by Harvard Business School Press in January 2011.
www.drhallowell.com/meet-dr-hallowell/biography/

Stephen Hinshaw, PhD, is Professor of Psychology at UC Berkeley and Vice Chair for Psychology at UC San Francisco. His work focuses on developmental psychopathology, clinical interventions, and mental illness stigma. He has authored over 300 articles and chapters, plus 12 books. He is a Fellow of the Association for Psychological Science and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He received a Distinguished Teaching Award from UC Berkeley’s College of Letters and Sciences. His research efforts have been recognized by the Distinguished Scientist Award from the Society for a Science of Clinical Psychology (2015) and the James McKeen Cattell Award from the Association for Psychological Science (2016)—its highest award, for a lifetime of outstanding contributions to applied psychological research. His work has been featured regularly in the media, including major newspapers and magazines, the Today Show, the CBS Evening News, ABC World News Tonight, CNN, and many more.
psychology.berkeley.edu/people/stephen-hinshaw

Doris Johnson, PhD, is a longtime friend and colleague to AET and is the JoAnn G. and Peter F. Dolle Professor Emerita in Learning Disabilities at Northwestern University. She is a pioneer in the study of learning disabilities. Along with her colleague Helmer R. Myklebust, she is the author of Learning Disabilities: Educational Principles and Practice, a landmark book that became one of the foundational texts for understanding otherwise healthy children who have difficulty processing certain information. Her research focuses on the importance of symbols in the learning process and how problems affect an individual's ability to understand and use various types of information. She has served as the executive director for the International Academy for Research in Learning Disabilities, remains active in the Learning Disabilities Association of America, and is currently working on an early literacy project with several graduate students for the Chicago Public Schools. https://www.communication.northwestern.edu/faculty/DorisJohnson Barbara Keogh, PhD, is a longtime friend and colleague to AET. She is Professor Emerita in both the Graduate School of Education at the University of California, Los Angeles, and in their Department of Psychiatry. She is a licensed clinical psychologist in California. Her research interests are in children with developmental and learning problems and in learning disabilities. She was the recipient of the 1992 Research Award from the Council for Exceptional Children.

George McCloskey, PhD, is a friend and colleague of AET, and a contributing author to the textbook, The Clinical Practice of Educational Therapy (2010). Dr. McCloskey is a Professor and Director of School Psychology Research in the Psychology Department of the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine. He frequently presents at national, regional and state meetings on cognitive and neuropsychological assessment and intervention topics. Dr. McCloskey consults with a number of school districts and individual clients in Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and California on issues related to improving students' self-regulation capacities in the classroom and at home, behavior management, and assessment and intervention for executive function difficulties related to academic and behavior problems. Dr. McCloskey is the lead author of Assessment and Intervention for Executive Function Difficulties and author of Essentials of Executive Function Assessment.
http://www.georgemccloskeyphd.com/

Marshall H. Raskind, PhD, is an educational researcher and consultant focusing on learning and attention problems. His primary research interests are in the areas of learning difficulties across the lifespan, factors predictive of “life success,” assistive technology, and the impact of online social networking on children with learning and attention problems. His research, interventions, and program development are aimed at fostering the educational and life success of individuals struggling with learning. This work has led to advances in the understanding of academic interventions, assistive technology, social interactions, risk and resilience, online social networking, and lifespan development. Dr. Raskind has previously served as Director of Research and Special Projects at the Charles and Helen Schwab Foundation, Director of Research at the Frostig Center in Pasadena, California, and head of the California State University, Northridge Learning Disability Program and Computer Access Lab. He is a Fellow and past Vice President of the International Academy for Research in Learning Disabilities, as well as a former member of the Research Committee of the Council for Learning Disabilities, and the Professional Advisory Board of the National Center for Learning Disabilities. He is a frequent presenter at international education conferences and author of numerous peer-reviewed professional publications, as well as many consumer-based publications which provide scholarly research in accessible articles to parents, practitioners, and the general public.
www.linkedin.com/in/marshall-raskind-65520738

Michael Spagna, PhD, is the Dean of Cal State Northridge’s College of Education and a supporter of training programs for educational therapists. During his early years at CSUN, Dr. Spagna began to lay the conceptual groundwork for the highly respected Center for Teaching and Learning, which provides national leadership in preparing educators to support the success of all types of learners through cutting-edge innovations in teacher training. Earlier in his career Dr. Spagna taught students with special needs, served as a demonstration teacher at UCLA’s Neuropsychiatric Institute, and helped coordinate UC Berkeley’s Services to Students with Learning Disabilities Program. Dr. Spagna was a contributing co-author to several articles and texts, including a chapter entitled “Counseling with Exceptional Children” in the text Counseling Children and Adolescents (2006); the text Curriculum, Assessment, and Instruction for Students with Disabilities (1999); and several chapters on learning disorders in the two-volume Comprehensive Textbook of Psychiatry (2000).
www.csun.edu/eisner-education/office-dean

Dorothy Ungerleider, MA, BCET, FAET, an educational therapist in Encino, California, was founding President of AET and first Advisory Board Chair, working to standardize the profession of educational therapy. She is the author of the books Reading, Writing, and Rage, and Educational Therapy in Action: Behind and beyond the office door, as well as Psychoeducational Perspectives: A compilation. She and Phyllis Maslow co-authored AET’s” Position Paper on the SAT arguing for extended time as an option for ALL students, as well as the first research paper on efficacy of educational therapy. She served as President of MACE (Multidisciplinary Academy of Clinical Educators), contributing to its document, “Strategies for Public School Reform.” She supervises novice educational therapists and has helped develop training programs in educational therapy at UCLA and California State University Northridge. Ungerleider also mentored public school teachers for Levine’s “Schools Attuned” program; was a faculty lecturer for the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, writing an LD screening tool for the Bench Book for juvenile court judges to identify individuals with learning issues coming through the justice system; spearheaded a pro bono Community Service Project for two juvenile justice agencies, bringing remedial and advocacy services to a delinquent population.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YmgpzpOcMJU
www.dorothyungerleider.com

Maryanne Wolf, PhD, is Director of the Center for Reading and Language at Tufts University. She received her doctorate from Harvard University in the Department of Human Development and Psychology in the Graduate School of Education, where she began her work on the neurological underpinnings of reading, language, and dyslexia. Professor Wolf was awarded the Distinguished Professor of the Year Award from the Massachusetts Psychological Association, and also the Teaching Excellence Award from the American Psychological Association. Her current research in collaboration with Dr. Pat Bowers concerns a new conceptualization of developmental dyslexia, the Double-Deficit Hypothesis. This work was the subject of a recent special issue of the Journal of Learning Disabilities. Along with colleagues Dr. Robin Morris and Dr. Maureen Lovett, Professor Wolf has been awarded a NICHD Shannon Award for Innovative Research and several multiyear NICHD grants to investigate new approaches to reading intervention. She received the Norman Geschwind Lecture Award from the International Dyslexia Association for neuroscience research in dyslexia. She is the author of the RAVE-O Intervention Program, an evidence-based fluency comprehension program for struggling readers that has proven successful in two major federal studies. She has edited the book, Dyslexia, Fluency, and the Brain and is the author of Proust and the Squid: The story and science of the reading brain.
ase.tufts.edu/crlr/team/wolf.htm