Change can come in small steps.

What’s one thing you can do to further a culture of belonging?

Our Mission:

To support educational professionals in engaging high leverage and evidence-based practices that enable all learners to construct their own enviable lives as members of their self-selected communities.

Click each of the following boxes (or press return on the following headings) to understand the intentional language of our mission.

Educational Professionals… Active card

Teachers, paraprofessionals, related service providers, administrators, and teacher educators save lives. Therefore, they should be supported in continuous professional growth to better navigate increasingly complex school environments and implement the programs their students deserve.

Teacher talking to a group of children

Engaging… Press return to reveal.

There are well-established practices that can and need to be implemented in ways that facilitate belonging.

Professionals gathered around a table, working

Enviable Lives… Press return to reveal.

All the people, regardless of their support needs, have the potential to construct lives that lift for others the expectations of what comprises a wonderful life.

Two people laying in the grass, laughing

Self-selected Communities… Press return to reveal.

When people access and become members in the communities of their choice, they form authentic connections where their participation is valued and sought out.

A few children painting

Our Staff:

Carly McVey, MEd, is a Senior Director at OCALI and Director for the new Center of Excellence on Instructional Practice. She has worked for over 20 years in the field of adult learning and professional development and spent the past decade at OCALI advancing the organization’s online offerings for professionals and families. Committed to equipping educators with a range of strategies, Carly has led the development of projects ranging from ASD Strategies in Action to OhioPBIS.org. Throughout her experiences, she’s been driven by her lifelong love of learning and by the determination to ignite this same love in others, whether her own children, students in her classroom, or the professionals she serves.

Rob Pennington, PhD has over 30 years of experience in supporting individuals with a range of support needs, their families, and the professionals charged with serving them. He has served in a range of capacities including teacher, inclusion specialist, teacher educator, researcher, and in leadership roles across multiple organizations. In his spare time, Rob enjoys spending time with wife and rescue dogs, playing loud music, and sampling all the vegan restaurants. See Rob's Vita

Rachel Schultz, MA, is the Project Coordinator for the Center of Excellence on Instructional Practice and the Program Manager for Universal Design for Learning at OCALI. She holds a bachelor’s degree in special education and a master’s in curriculum and instruction, with state licensure as an intervention specialist and endorsement as a teacher of English to speakers of other languages. Rachel is also certified as an assistive technology professional (ATP) through RESNA and a certified professional in accessibility core competencies (CPACC) through IAAP. She is passionate about lifelong learning and is dedicated to providing engaging learning opportunities for educators to implement high-leverage instructional practices for all students. With 20 years of experience in various settings, Rachel is committed to creating classroom communities where all students learn, contribute, and belong.

You're not in this alone. Neither are we.

We continuously solicit feedback from our many connected communities.

We will be building an Advisory Board and network of compassionate and critical friends.