REGISTRATION IS NOW CLOSED

Aimee C. Smith-Rodriguez, M.A.

AARC Program Coordinator & Autism Resource Specialist

​Aimee Smith-Rodriguez has worked in rural and urban Alaska since 2013, joining the AARC in 2017. ​She holds a B.A. in Music Education & Theory/Composition, M.A. ​in Teaching with a focus in elementary/middle school and music & a post-graduate endorsement in special education. She is currently completing a Graduate Certificate in Applied Behavior Analysis. Aimee has been involved in the field of education for 14 years as a volunteer, paraprofessional and teacher. She has taught ​or provided support ​in a variety of ​settings,​ including self-contained, inclusion support, general education and camps. In her spare time, Aimee also works as a professional music composer.

Kendra Wolf, M.Ed.

AARC Autism Resource Specialist

​Originally from Minnesota, Kendra attended college at the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities where she earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Child Psychology in 2014. Kendra later returned to earn her Master’s of Education in Early Childhood Special Education with a focus in autism early intervention across cultures and individualized routine-based instruction for families. Kendra began working at SESA in 2016. Before transitioning to the AARC, Kendra worked as a SESA Autism Education Specialist traveling to rural and remote areas of the state supporting school districts servicing students ages 3-21 with autism spectrum disorder.

Jill Locke, Ph.D.

Research Assistant Professor

Jill Locke is an Associate Professor in the University of Washington Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, the School Mental Health Assessment Research and Training (SMART) Center Co-Director, a licensed child psychologist, and research affiliate at the Seattle Children’s Autism Center. To date, her research has focused on the: 1) presentation of social impairment for youth with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in inclusive school settings; 2) identification of best practices for youth with ASD; and 3) understanding of successful implementation and sustainment of evidence-based practices (EBPs) for youth with ASD in public school settings. She was the principal investigator of two foundation grants that highlighted the importance of the organizational context in successful EBP implementation for youth with autism. She also was the principal investigator on an NIMH K01 Career Development Award (K01MH100199) that used quantitative and qualitative methods to examine individual- and organizational-level factors as predictors of EBP implementation in self-contained settings for children with ASD. She is currently the: 1) principal investigator of an Institute of Education Sciences (IES) grant (R324A200033) to examine evidence-based practice use to support youth with autism in inclusive settings; 2) MPI of an IES grant (R305A200023; PIs: Lyon, Locke, and Cook) to develop and test an organization-focused implementation intervention – Helping Educational Leaders Mobilize Evidence (HELM) – to support the use of Tier 1/universal social emotional and behavioral programs and practices; and 3) site PI of a Health Resources Services Administration Autism Intervention Research Network on Behavioral Health (AIRB) grant (UT3MC39436 PI: Kasari) to develop and test an implementation strategy (UNITED) to support the uptake and implementation of three evidence-based interventions that focus on early intervention, school-aged children, and adolescents with autism with the goal of promoting access and services for underrepresented and under resourced communities. Her experiences have highlighted the importance of collaborating with public schools and the reality of working within the constraints of publicly funded systems, their timeline (e.g. school calendar year), and with their personnel.

Kelcey Schmitz, M.S.Ed.

MTSS/School Mental Health Training and Technical Assistance Specialist, Northwest Mental Health Technology Transfer Center

Kelcey Schmitz, MSEd, is the Multi-tiered System of Supports (MTSS) and School Mental Health Training and Technical Assistance Specialist at the University of Washington School Mental Health, Assessment, Research and Training (SMART) Center where she leads the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) funded School Mental Health Team at the Northwest Mental Health Technology Transfer Center (MHTTC). The Northwest MHTTC supports the school mental health workforce in Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington. Kelcey has been involved in many Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) efforts across all three tiers providing training, coaching, and evaluation to schools, districts, families and community organizations to support the social, emotional, and behavioral strengths and needs of students within an MTSS framework. Kelcey also is part of the Autism Intervention Research Network on Behavioral Health (AIRB) research project with Dr. Jill Locke leading the Community Advisory Board and supports other training and technical assistance efforts with schools and districts. Kelcey has a master’s degree in Special Education from the University of Kansas and the parent of a child with autism spectrum disorder.

Joshua Kamerick, Self-Advocate

Independent Living Advocate, Access Alaska

Joshua Kamerick is 37 yrs old. He is an Autistic Self/Peer Advocator, celebrating 20 years this year. He started Self-Advocacy at the age of 17. Author of his first book, titled “Me, Myself and I,” Self- Advocate Handbook/Workbook he is also the business owner of Dreamweaver Arts and Crafts. He is also on many different boards that work with people with Autism and different disabilities. He is working his dream professional job at Access Alaska in Fairbanks, Alaska. His job title is Independent Living Advocate, working on his 2nd year. He helping individuals with disabilities to live where they want to live by breaking barriers.

Joshua is diagnosed with Autism. He wants to let everyone know to not to compare him with another person who has Autism. In the Autism world “they say if you meet someone with Autism. You’ve only met that one person with Autism.” Autism is a Spectrum where there are many levels of severity. Joshua is High Functioning. However, he is still Autistic.

Samantha Weiland, M.A.

SESA Autism Education Specialist

Samantha Weiland earned her Master of Arts in Teaching Special Education in 2010 from Mary Baldwin College in Virginia. She has worked with individuals of various ages with Autism in the traditional classroom setting and in the therapeutic horseback riding environment. Samantha has created social stories for various social and environmental settings for her students for over six years. She has been serving the rural Alaskan communities as an Autism Education Specialist with SESA for five years.

Jennifer Schroeder, B.Sc.Ed., AT/AAC Cert

SESA Multiple Disabilities Specialist

This is Jennifer's 10th year as a multiple disability specialist with SESA. Prior to working at SESA, Jennifer worked at a School for the Deaf in MA and as an intensive needs special education teacher in rural Alaska. Jennifer's passion is helping students who do not communicate in a conventional way learn to communicate more effectively with those in their environment. When she isn't working, Jennifer is an avid cyclist and reader.

Shane Phillips, B.S.

SESA Autism Education Specialist

This is Shane's first year at SESA. He earned his B.S. in Special Education at Southern Illinois University. After university he taught for two years in rural Alaska.

Lyon Johnson, MA, NCSP, BCBA, LBA

SESA Emotional Disabilities Education Specialist

Mr. Johnson holds national certifications in applied behavior analysis and school psychology, as well as a license to practice applied behavior analysis in the State of Alaska. He has been working in the field of education and school psychology since 1992. He started his career in San Antonio, Texas and later worked overseas for the Department of Defense Dependents Schools at Lajes Field, Azores, Portugal. Later, he worked for the Hawaii Department of Education’s School-Based Behavioral Health Program in Leeward District (Oahu). Mr. Johnson has worked at SESA since 2006 as an Education Specialist providing consultation, training and technical assistance.

Anne K. Freitag, MLIS

SESA Librarian

Anne has worked at the SESA Library from 1991-2001, and again from 2003 to the present. Anne received her master's in librarianship and information management from the University of Denver, and also has degrees in computer information systems, English, history, and technology.

Angel Black, M.S.Ed., TVI, COMS

SESA Vision Specialist & Alaska Deaf-Blind Project Coordinator

Angel has worked as a SESA specialist since 2016. She attended Missouri State University where she earned a Master of Science degree in Special Education and Blindness/Low Vision. She recently completed a National Certification in Orientation and Mobility.

John Barrowman, M.S.

SESA Autism Specialist

John Barrowman originally came from a small town in California. He attended college at the University of Oregon where he completed his bachelors degree in psychology and a minor in special education in 2009. He was inspired by a guest lecturer to enroll in a masters program called Project PASS (Preparing Autism Specialists for Schools). He completed Project PASS in 2010, a licensure program for early childhood special education/early intervention, and then his masters in 2011. John moved to Alaska and remained in the Northwest Arctic region working as an intensive needs special education teacher for four years.

Brian Babcock, M.Ed.

SESA Autism Specialist

This is Brian’s third year at SESA. He earned his bachelor’s in sociology at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst and his master’s degree in special education at the University of Alaska, Anchorage.

Tyler Arsen, M.Ed.

AKCAM Grant Coordinator

This is Tyler's first year at SESA. In 2017, he received his bachelor’s degree in general education from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. In 2019, he completed his M.S. in Special Education, and is currently working his way through the Teacher for the Visually Impaired and Orientation and Mobility dual endorsement offered by Portland State University. Here at SESA is coordinating our Alaska Center for Accessible Materials grant for students with print disabilities.