2025 AZCEC Annual State Conference

2025 AZCEC/AZCASE/AZDEBH ANNUAL CONFERENCE

FROM SURVIVING TO THRIVING

MARCH 1ST 2025 8:00 AM - 4:00 PM 

In-Person (limited to 170 tickets) or Virtual (unlimited!)

Dysart Unified School District, District Office Board Rooms, 15802 N Parkview Place, Surprise, AZ 85374 AZ

• We're back in person for a limited audience!  Breakfast and lunch will be provided to in-person attendees.
• This conference will be recorded and made available to everyone who registered.
  
• All AZCEC members are welcome to join the Annual General Meeting from 4:30-5:30 pm (no charge). 
• In-Person Perks: Breakfast, Lunch, Vendor Booths, and the Annual Awards Presentation

State and National Speakers 

KEYNOTE SPEAKER

Daniel Gulchak, Ph.D - Resilience is Brilliance: Let’s Thrive and Shine!

Dr. Catherine Creighton Martin & Dr. Clara Hauth (Instruction)
 - Authors of The Survival Guide for New Special Education Teachers

Heather Pierson with Udall Shumway (Legal) J.D. 
 - Specialist in education law

Mike Paget, M.Ed. (Behavior/Mental Health)
 - Co-Author of multiple books addressing behavior and mental health including Confronting Anxiety: 96 Insights and Strategies for Helping Students Manage Their THINKING and FEELING Powers

Early Bird Rates end January 31, 2025

• $ 99  EARLY BIRD CEC Member 
• $119 EARLY BIRD Non-CEC Member 
• $ 99  EARLY BIRD Team of Three (each member or non-member)

Registration after JANUARY 31, 2025 

• $119 CEC Member 
• $139 Non-CEC Member 
• $119 Team of Three (each member or non-member)

$50 Virtual Rate for AZCEC Student Chapter Members ONLY --> Get code from your AZ Student Chapter.

Paying by Purchase Order?  AZCEC has moved!  Please download our current W9 information for your PO! ArizonaCEC NEW W9

Schedule

7:15 AM - 8:00 AM - Breakfast and Registration

8:00 AM - 4:00 PM - Conference Sessions 

Keynote Speaker

Daniel Gulchak, Ph.D. - Dr. Gulchak is a special educator, global presenter, author, and co-founder of KOI Education who believes that all students can succeed when educators have the right resources. His passion is bridging the research to practice gaps in education to improve student outcomes. His experience includes being a certified special education teacher, university faculty, court appointed special advocate, and board member of several special education associations. He leads design and development of professional development at KOI Education and is an author of four books on positive behavior support systems, has written numerous research articles, and has presented at hundreds of conferences and school workshops around the globe. Dr. Gulchak earned his Ph.D. at Arizona State University.

Dr. Catherine Creighton Martin - Catherine Creighton Martin, a Training & Technical Assistance Coordinator (TTAC) coordinator at George Mason University (GMU), specializes in High Leverage Practices (HLPs), Inclusion, and Mathematics.  In her role at TTAC, Catherine collaborates with school division leaders to identify professional learning goals and capacity building structures. Catherine designs self-paced, virtual, and in-person professional learning sessions to meet division goals to implement high-leverage, evidence-based practices, and specially designed instruction (SDI).  For 10 years, Catherine taught master’s and undergraduate students an adjunct professor at GMU and Marymount University, working extensively with both pre-service and novice teachers. Previously, Catherine taught mathematics for Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) for 9 years, served on the MTSS committee, and as special education testing administrator.  While studying for her master’s and Ph.D., Catherine worked with Dr. Margo Mastropieri and Tom Scruggs on an Institutes for Education Sciences Self-Regulated Strategies Development (SRSD) + POW TREE writing grant as interventionist and researcher. Passionate about serving students with disabilities, Catherine is a parent of an adult child with an autism spectrum disorder and participated in the Virginia Board of Persons with Disabilities Partners in Policymaking Program.

Dr. Clara Hauth - Dr. Clara Hauth is the Program Director for the EdD program at Marymount. Her academic experience includes teaching both graduate and undergraduate online instruction at Marymount, George Mason University and James Madison University. Prior to her work at Marymount, she spent 5 years in the broadcasting industry, training and leading teams in program content, and 10 years as a secondary special education teacher and chair leading teacher training. She serves as a liaison with state and national programs supporting students with disabilities and is an active member of AERA, ASCD, CEC, and divisions CCBD, CLD, DISES and TED. She serves on the DISES board, collaborating with global educational organizations. Dr. Hauth’s transformational leadership in preparing teachers and administrators for careers in the critical field of special education is noted through her co-authored book The Survival Guide for New Special Education Teachers. Her research agenda includes interventions in schools, teacher and school leadership, and global education.  She is the current Program Director for the EdD in Educational Leadership and Organizational Innovation.

Heather Pierson, J.D. - Ms. Pierson comes to Udall Shumway PLC uniquely qualified in the area of education law. Prior to joining Udall  Shumway, Ms. Pierson taught behavior disordered students. During her teaching career, Ms. Pierson was involved in the development and implementation of Individualized Education Plans (“IEP”) and behavior plans and attended several trainings on special education and regular education interventions and strategies. While in law school, Ms. Pierson provided in-home ABA services for autistic children under the age of three and participated in the Whittier Law School Special Education Clinic, which provided special education advocacy services for children with developmental disabilities. Additionally, Ms. Pierson earned her Master’s Degree in Special  Education in 2004.  Ms. Pierson primarily focuses her School Law practice on special education and disability related matters. She routinely defends school districts and other public educational institutions in matters related to disability law matters, such as special education due process hearings, Office of Civil Rights (“OCR”) complaints, Section 504  due process hearings, mediation, and special education state complaints. She provides daily advice and assistance in matters related to special education, Section 504, the Americans with Disabilities Act, student discipline, personnel issues and student records. Ms. Pierson taught Contemporary Developments in Special  Education Law through Northern Arizona University during the Spring of 2014. She has also given in-service workshops to district personnel on a wide range of special education and disability related topics and speaks at state-wide conferences.

Mike Paget, M.Ed. - Mike Paget, M.Ed., has been a teacher-therapist, director of school mental health programs, and consultant in the SC Department of Education. He provides seminars for schools across the US and Canada. An author, Mike serves as secretary on the MSLBD.org Board of Directors. His content is K-12 and appropriate for general and special ed teachers, counselors, administrators, and other support staff. His content focuses on practical strategies and accommodations for responding to a variety of mental health challenges. His topics have included anxiety, acting in disorders, acting out disorders, and trauma and resilience. Since 2000, Mike has given multiple presentations at national conferences, over 450 seminars in cities across the US and Canada, and 70 seminars for individual schools and districts.  Mike is the co-author of Confronting Anxiety: 96 Insights and Strategies for Helping Students Manage Their THINKING and FEELING Powers; Defying the Defiance: 155 Insights, Strategies, Lessons, and Activities for Helping Students with Oppositional Defiant Disorder, 2nd edition; High On The Spectrum: Asperger’s, High Functioning Autism, and Related Personalities; and Lost and Found: Rescuing our Kids from Video, Screen, Technology, and Gaming Addictions.

We thank our sponsors for supporting our conference and Arizona's Exceptional Children!

KOI Education          Goalbook         LEARN Academy        Imagine Learning           Touchmath       Kids First