Bio:

Laura is a professor in UD’s School of Education, where she is a faculty member in the master’s program in exceptional children and youth, the Ph.D. specialization in sociocultural and community-based approaches, and the Ed.D. in educational leadership. Laura teaches graduate and undergraduate courses about special education, the transition to adult life for students with disabilities and a senior seminar on disability studies, the capstone of UD’s Disabilities Studies minor, which CDS administers.

Laura’s research interests include understanding the social and community experiences of young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, exploring the meaning of disability in educational contexts and integration of disability studies perspectives in interdisciplinary pre-service professional programs. Recently published work include  “Questions, Questions: Using Problem-Based Learning to Infuse Disability Studies into an Introductory Secondary Special Education Course” (2016, Review of Disability Studies) and “College Peer Mentoring and Students With Intellectual Disability: Mentors’ Perspectives on Relationship Dynamics” (2016, Inclusion). She is co-editor of Negotiating Disability: Disclosure in Higher Education (Fall 2017, University of Michigan Press).

Laura received her doctorate in special education from Vanderbilt University and a master’s degree in rehabilitation counseling from the University of South Florida. Before UD, she worked as a counselor and administrator in community programs for adults with disabilities.

Laura lives in Wilmington, Del., with her spouse and two dogs, and wishes she lived closer to her grandson in Florida. Local passions include popcorn with a good movie.