Building and Sustaining an Effective & Diverse Workforce

As the nation continues to face the Educator Shortage issue, Laurie VanderPloeg will discuss how to move your system from information to implementation! Through this presentation, strategies, innovation practices, exemplar models, funding flexibilities and supporting resources will be shared — so that educators can collectively make a difference.

For more than 40 years, Laurie has been a champion for students with disabilities at all levels of education. Most recently, she served as Director of the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) in the U.S. Department of Education. Prior to joining the department, she had served as President of the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) and the Council of Administrators of Special Education. Simultaneously, she served as the Special Education Director for the Kent Intermediate School District (Kent ISD) and spent many years as a special education teacher, an adjunct professor at Grand Valley State University in the special education administration program and is a parent of an adult with disabilities.

Laurie graduated from Grand Valley State University with a master’s in special education administration and a bachelor’s degree from Grand Valley State College. She holds administrative approvals as both supervisor and director of special education and certification in learning disabilities, cognitive impairment, emotional impairment, and K–8 regular education.