CANDACE STOLT

Rose C. Engel Award For Excellence In Professional Practice

Candy is a Preschool Teacher and Special Education Coordinator who serves three and four year old at-risk children.

In 1988, Candy helped start the Simpson County Preschool and has had the great honor of being called “Ms. Candy” by her students and their parents since then.

In addition to her roles as a Teacher and Coordinator, Candy also presents for the Kentucky Early Childhood Conference and for the Simpson County Regional Training Center.

Candy’s goal is to help parents feel comfortable, at-ease and welcome during their child’s first school experience. She delights in helping children be the best that they can be both at school and at home.

J. David Sexton Doctoral Student Award

Jade is a doctoral student in Communication Disorders at Florida State University. She also acts as a Clinical Instructor, Grant Coordinator and Project Director for the Team-Based Primary Service Provider pilot project for Early Steps, Florida’s EI program.

Jade’s interests include family-guided early intervention; helping families use everyday routines to promote child learning; evidence-based practices; language and emergent literacy development; supporting children with autism and their families; and the development of children adopted internationally.

One thing Jade is particularly proud of is her ability to influence new professionals. A recent graduate in Communication Studies indicated that she entered the field of early intervention because of work she did with Jade during a practicum experience.

J. David Sexton Doctoral Student Award

Rashida is a doctoral student, a Graduate Research Assistant at the Schiefelbusch Institute for Life Span Studies and a member of the team at Juniper Gardens Children’s Project.

One of Rashida’s professional goals is to contribute to the development of the personal, social, and academic potential of all young children. She will be guided by the shared involvement of parents, professionals and community to promote children’s exploration and life-long learning and instill a sense of pride in their socio-cultural heritage and their identity as humans.

Rashida was selected for the Ford Foundation International Fellowship Program which gave her the opportunity to come to the U.S. pursue her Masters degree.

Merle B. Karnes Award for Service to the Division

Micki is a Professor in the Department of Special Education at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Her primary areas of interest are social and communication interventions and the translation of research to practice.

Micki is proud to have helped launch Young Exceptional Children as an important DEC product.

Micki wants to continue to mentor & collaborate with students, provide user-friendly materials that professionals can easily access, and work with her community to improve the availability of services for individuals with autism and their families.

Kathleen W. McCartan Award 

Sarah is the Assistant to the Director for the Kelly Autism Program and a full time Graduate Student. Sarah’s primary area of interest is young children with autism.

She has had the opportunity to present at state, national and international conferences on the services of the Kelly Autism Program.

Sarah’s goals are to work with young children who have autism and their families and to help teachers and others who serve these children to understand autism and implement strategies so that their students will be successful.

Previously, Sarah was honored as the Kentucky State SCEC student of the year.

JUDY CARTA

Mary McEvoy Service to the Field Award

Judy is a Senior Scientist with Juniper Gardens Children’s Project and a Professor of Early Childhood Special Education at the University of Kansas.

Her primary areas of interest are evidence-based practices for young children, risk factors affecting children's development, monitoring progress in young children and comprehensive interventions for children and families with multiple risks.

Judy is proud to have edited Topics in Early Childhood Special Education for 10 years and of her work in promoting the translation of research and in mentoring graduate students, post-doctoral fellows and early career PhDs.

Judy is also very proud of her ability to foster the independence of her daughter Amelia, a young woman with autism.