The Steering Group of INCLUDE
The Steering Group for INCLUDE is currently comprised of 8 individuals from around the world who represent various professional organizations, backgrounds, ideas and ranges of experience relating to inclusive education, inclusive design, and Universal Design for Learning. The steering committee works together to frame the goals, direction, and structure of INCLUDE and its work.
Sean Bracken
Dr Seán Bracken is a Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy in the UK and is a Principal Lecturer at the University of Worcester. Seán is the Course Lead for the National Award SENCO (PG Cert), he also teaches on the PG Cert for Learning and Teaching in Higher Education. In 2019, Sean co-edited ‘Transforming Higher Education through Universal Design for Learning: An International Perspective‘. Seán’s research and professional initiatives involve showcasing the benefits of inclusive curriculum and assessment design, especially in higher, further and employment based education. s.bracken@worc.ac.uk
Richard Jackson
Richard Jackson is an associate professor in the department of teaching, curriculum and society at Boston College’s Lynch School of Education and Human Development. He also maintains a long-term affiliation with CAST as senior research scientist. For the past twenty years, he has been fully engaged in the advancement of universal design for learning (UDL) through his teaching, leading and research. Over the years, he has worked with students and colleagues to identify teaching practices that support access to the general education curriculum, examine assistive and universally designed technologies that facilitate student learning, and prepare teachers and leaders in inclusive education. Most recently, he has sought to expand UDL leadership preparation and support beyond the United States by collaborating with Sean Bracken to found INCLUDE. richard.jackson@bc.edu
Ashiya Abdool Satar
An academic in the Department of Communication Science at the University of South Africa (Unisa) with a keen interest in equity, inclusion, and social justice. Her research interests mirror her educational pursuits in the areas of organizational communication, media identity and representation, active youth citizenship, inclusive education, and Open Distance and e-Learning (ODeL) in the Higher Education sector. She has also supervised and facilitated high school learners in a simulated session of the United Nations Assembly at the legislature in the North West province of South Africa, focusing on the global refugee crisis. satara@unisa.ac.za
Elizabeth Dalton
Holding a Ph.D. in Education, Elizabeth was post-doctoral fellow in Universal Design for Learning (UDL) Leadership at Boston College and CAST, Inc. Dr. Dalton taught special needs education at the Community College of Rhode Island, Rhode Island College, and University of Rhode Island. She was adult services coordinator for the Paul V. Sherlock University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities for 18 years. Dr. Dalton currently is senior consultant for Dalton Education Services International (DESI), consulting and teaching in areas of UDL, assistive technology, professional and curriculum development, both online and f2f, and is co-editor, with Dr. Susie Gronseth (U. of Houston), of Universal Access Through Inclusive Instructional Design: International Perspectives on UDL (Routledge, 2020). elizabethmdalton@gmail.com
Mustapha Aabi
Dr. Mustapha Aabi taught courses in Linguistics and Education in the UK and the Middle East where he served in education leadership positions such as the head of department and director. He is currently an Associate Professor and course leader of Educational Psychology at the faculty of Arts and Human Sciences, Ibn Zohr University, Agadir – Morocco. His research interests lie in the areas of trans-linguistics and education. He has collaborated actively with researchers in several other disciplines of education, particularly education quality, leadership and early education on problems at the linguistic, cultural and pedagogical intersections. He has served on several international conference, workshop and training program committees in different capacities. He is the founder of educational and consultancy settings in Morocco and the UK facilitating ways to sustainable teaching and learning development in the MENA region.
Aashna Khurana
Aashna Khurana is a professional Special Educator currently working as Assessment Associate at ASER Centre. Aashna has worked on development of Assessment for All (AfA) Tool, focused on including children with special needs in large scale assessments in India, and ASER 2019 Early Years tool to assess numeracy, literacy, cognitive and socio-emotional skills of children aged 4-8 years. She has understanding of large-scale surveys, and in design/development/translation of assessment tools in various regional languages. She has also developed frameworks for assessments, translations and adaptations, textbooks analysis and adapted curriculum to address the needs of children with disabilities. Her research interests lie in the areas of inclusive education, Universal Design for Learning (UDL), inclusive assessments and Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE).
Luigia Nicholas
Luigia Nicholas is a Postgraduate Tax Law Candidate at Stellenbosch University(SU) in the Western Cape, South Africa. She completed her Bachelors of Commerce in Marketing at Stellenbosch University(SU) in 2019. She is a student assistant and student mentor at the Disability Unit in the Centre for Student Counselling and Development at SU and the Special Needs Manager on the Student Representatives Council at Stellenbosch University where she advocates for a more accessible campus for students, staff and visitors. She has a visual disability and works with the support of assistive technology and a guide-dog named Haiku.
Oressa Power
Oressa (Gray Mullen) Power is the Education Technology Coordinator at William James College’s Office of Educational Development and Innovation in Massachusetts, USA. She obtained her M.Ed. in Global Perspectives: Teaching, Curriculum, and Learning Environments from Boston College in 2022, and holds a Bachelor’s degree in Communications (Media) with a minor in Education and a certificate in Film Studies from the University of Massachusetts Amherst Honors College. Her research interests are Universal Design for Learning (UDL), intercultural communication, Cosmopolitanism, and EdTech applications.
