Doctoral Student Bios

Lindsay Carlisle

​Ph.D. in Education, Concentration in Special Education –  School of Education & Human Development at the University of Virginia – expected 2023
M.S. in Special Education, Curriculum & Instruction Specialist – Longwood University
B.S. in Elementary Education – Lebanon Valley College
​

After graduating with her B.S. in Elementary Education and additional certification in Special Education from Lebanon Valley College, Lindsay spent seven years working as a special education teacher in collaborative and self-contained math classrooms across grades 6, 7, and 8 in Pennsylvania and Virginia. After attaining her M.S. in Special Education from Longwood University, she became increasingly interested in supporting special educators’ use of evidence-based practices, leading to her pursuit of doctoral studies and research. Currently, Lindsay is a doctoral student in the School of Education & Human Development at the University of Virginia. Her specific research interests include improving outcomes for teachers of, and students with, emotional and behavioral disorders. Lindsay is interested in using multimedia learning tools to provide teachers with access to, and support with implementing, evidence-based practices to support the needs of students with disabilities.
Office: Curriculum, Instruction, & Special Education (CISE)
Email: lmc8ff@virginia.edu

Sean McDonald

Ph.D. in Education, Concentration in Special Education – UVA School of Education & Human Development-  expected 2024
M.T. in Special Education K-12 & Social Studies Education 6-12 – University of Virginia
B.A. in Political Philosophy, Policy, & Law – University of Virginia

In the spring of 2014, Sean completed his Bachelor’s and Masters of Teaching degrees at the University of Virginia as part of the Education School’s accelerated B/MT program. After graduation, Sean continued his local residency in Charlottesville, serving the Charlottesville City Schools Division as both a teacher and instructional coach for seven years. During these years, Sean assumed multiple positions, including middle school special education teacher and social studies collaborative teacher. As he became increasingly curious about helping students and teachers on a larger scale, Sean transitioned to becoming an instructional coach, where he worked with principals, content specialists, and district coordinators to implement curricula and professional development for teachers from a variety of grade levels and subject areas. Being exposed to this macro perspective of teaching and learning ultimately fueled Sean’s aspirations to pursue a Ph.D. at the University of Virginia. He is currently a doctoral student with a special education concentration in the University of Virginia School of Education & Human Development. His specific research interests include evidence-based practices in vocabulary instruction to support teachers and students with disabilities in inclusion settings. In addition, Sean is interested in research that addresses attrition and retention for special educators of color, and implementing professional development for pre-service and in-service teachers that work in K-12 public schools settings.
 
Office: Curriculum, Instruction, & Special Education (CISE)
Email: sdm6we@virginia.edu

Victoria VanUitert

Ph.D. in Education, Concentration in Special Education – School of Education & Human Development at the University of Virginia – expected 2022
Master of Teaching in Special and Elementary Education -  School of Education & Human Development at the University of Virginia
B.S. Psychology, Utah State University

Victoria is a doctoral student in the special education program at the University of Virginia. Her research interests focus on the development of interventions to support scientific content and conceptual knowledge growth among students with high-incidence disabilities and enhancing teacher practices to further facilitate science achievement in these students. These interests are influenced by her experience as an elementary-school teacher of students with disabilities, English learners, gifted students, and general education students, as well as her experience with NASA’s Pre-Service Teaching Institute. Victoria is a NSF CADRE Fellow (2019-2020), a student representative of the Teacher Education Division of CEC (2020-2022), and was formerly the student representative for the Division of Learning Disabilities of CEC (2018-2019).
Email: vv3ty@virginia.edu