Phil Strain, Ph.D.
Professor of Educational Psychology
Division of Early Childhood
School of Education
University of Colorado at Denver
Phil Strain, Ph.D., is Professor of Educational Psychology and Director of
the Positive Early Learning Experiences Center at the University of Colorado
Denver. Throughout his 34-year career he has focused his professional
efforts on developing, evaluating and replicating behavioral intervention
for young children with autism and children who engage in aggression and
anti-social behavior prior to age three. The results of his work have been
published in more than 200 professional papers and intervention manuals and
have been translated for use throughout Europe, Asia and South America. Dr. Strain has been the principal investigator for dozens of federal and state
grants totaling more than $34 million.
Dr. Strain is involved in replicating the LEAP Preschool model for young
children with autism (one of eight empirically validated programs recognized
by the National Academies of Science) across the U.S. Some 100 classrooms in
20 states are now replicating LEAP. Dr. Strain also is involved in a number
of national consortia efforts to prevent and remediate severe behavior
problems in young children.
Dr. Strain is on the editorial board of 10 journals and is a grant reviewer
for NIH and the U.S. Department of Education. He served recently on the
National Academies of Science Ad Hoc Group on Early Intervention for
Children with Autism and has been a consultant on early intervention
practices throughout the world.
He is the recipient of career achievement awards from the Division for Early
Childhood and the Teacher Education Division of the Council for Exceptional
Children. His research on peer-mediated social skill intervention was
recognized as being one of the 10 most influential discoveries in the field
of behavioral disorders.
Paul Wehman, Ph.D.
Professor of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
and Director of the Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Workplace Supports
Virginia Commonwealth University
Dr. Wehman is Professor of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, with joint appointments in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction and Department of Rehabilitation Counseling. He pioneered the development of supported employment at Virginia Commonwealth University in the early 1980s and has been involved in the use of supported employment with people who have severe disabilities, such as those with severe mental retardation, brain injury, spinal cord injury or autism.
Dr. Wehman is also Director of the Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Workplace Supports and Chairman of the Division of Rehabilitation Research. Dr. Wehman has written extensively on issues related to transition from school to adulthood and special education as it relates to young adulthood. He has published over 150 articles, 24 book chapters and authored or edited 33 books. He is a recipient of the Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr. Foundation International Award in Mental Retardation, was a Mary Switzer Fellow for the National Rehabilitation Association in 1985, and received the Distinguished Service Award from the President's Committee on Employment for Persons with Disabilities in October 1992. Dr. Wehman was recognized as one of the 50 most influential special educators of the millennium by a national survey coordinated by the Journal of Remedial and Special Education (December, 2000) and received the Virginia Commonwealth University Distinguished Service Award in 2001. He is also Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation. He has been principal investigator of more than $24 million in federal grants during his tenure at Virginia Commonwealth University.
Susan Wilczynski, Ph.D., BCBA
Executive Director
National Autism Center
Executive Director of the National Autism Center, Dr. Wilczynski oversees the National Standards Project, updates public policymakers about evidence-based practice related to educational and behavioral interventions, develops assessment clinics specializing in the evaluation of children and adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorders and establishes the parent education and professional training agenda of the National Autism Center.
Dr. Wilczynski has authored numerous articles on the treatment of Autism Spectrum Disorders. Prior to her position at the National Autism Center, she developed and directed an intensive early intervention program for children with Autism Spectrum Disorders at the Munroe-Meyer Institute in Omaha, Nebraska. She has held academic appointments at the University of Southern Mississippi and the University of Nebraska Medical Center. Dr. Wilczynski holds a joint appointment with the May Institute, where she serves as Vice President of Autism Services. She is an adjunct professor at the University of Nebraska. Dr. Wilczynski is a licensed psychologist and a board certified behavior analyst.
