About me
Forbes SpEd Coaching & Consulting was founded by an educator who did not plan to be one.
After graduating from Oswego State University with a degree in Information Science, our founder took a summer position as a preschool substitute teacher, the intention being temporary employment while pursuing a career in network engineering. What happened instead was a transformation.
A child's reaction to a classroom activity sparked a curiosity about neuroscience and brain-based learning. Independent study followed. Then came the child who changed everything: a young man being passed from classroom to classroom, treated as a problem rather than a learner. When he arrived in our founder's classroom, a promise was made that this student would be taught, included, and seen.
That promise became a career. Twenty-three years in education followed: from preschool teacher to lead educator to master's level study in Special and Childhood Education. A decade plus of working directly with students with disabilities, supporting teachers, and guiding school leaders toward more effective inclusive practices, including a regional director role overseeing Exceptional Children's programming across multiple schools.
The CLEAR framework was built from those 23 years. Not from research alone; from classrooms, from conversations with overwhelmed teachers, from IEP meetings that went wrong and ones that went right. It is the distillation of what actually works, made teachable and scalable.
Forbes SpEd Coaching & Consulting is the professional expression of one founding belief: all children can learn, and no teacher should be left without the tools to reach them.