Who we are

Rachel Lambert

Principal Investigator

Dr. Rachel Lambert’s scholarship focuses on students with disabilities in inclusive mathematics classrooms. Her goal is to increase access to meaningful mathematical experiences for students with disabilities. Dr. Lambert spent over ten years as a classroom teacher, including roles as a general education teacher, a special education co-teacher, and a special education resource room teacher. More at mathematizing4all.com

rlambert@ucsb.edu
@mathematize4all

Kara Imm

Principal Investigator

Dr. Kara Imm is a K-12 teacher educator, based in Brooklyn, who designs and leads on-site professional development and school-based coaching to school communities throughout New York City, across the U. S. and internationally. She teaches at Hunter College (City University of New York), supporting the initial teaching experiences of elementary teaching candidates in East Harlem. For over a decade, she has created original courses for K-12 STEM teachers at Math for America (MfA). In her research and writing, Kara is exploring two frontiers: the role of design thinking in teachers’ work with students at the margins, and the intersection of mathematical modeling, identity development and culturally relevant pedagogy. 

karaimm@gmail.com
@karalouiseimm

Heidi Espinola

Course Facilitator and Researcher

Heidi Espindola is the STEM Coordinator at the Placer County Office of Education. Heidi led a CCSESA grant utilizing NICs to develop the Math Success of All project, a professional development resource for K-6 GenEd teachers, improving their ability to provide high quality math instruction for students with disabilities. She has taught middle and high school mathematics and engineering to populations with high percentages of SED and SWD.

Rachel Schuck

Doctoral Student

Rachel Schuck is a doctoral student at UCSB’s Gevirtz School of Education with an emphasis in Special Education, Disability, and Risk Studies. Her research interests center around exploring the social validity of intervention and education programs for those on the autism spectrum, particularly from the autistic perspective. She is also interested in parent involvement in educational activities for children with disabilities and works as a clinician at the Koegel Autism Center. Prior to starting at UCSB in 2019, she earned a BA in Psychology from UC Berkeley in 2011 and an MA in Special Education from San Jose State in 2017 and worked for over five years in the Autism & Developmental Disorders Research Program at Stanford. She also really loves cats! Rachel can be reached at rkschuck@ucsb.edu.    

Sunghee Choi

Doctoral Student

Sunghee is a mom of an autistic son and a graduate student at UCSB working to help people accept neurodiversity and understand UDL as a curriculum designer.

Avery McNiff

Doctoral Student

Avery is a PhD student at UCSB exploring math instruction for students with learning disabilities. Avery studied art as an undergraduate and spent her first years out of college working in communications and design for nonprofits. She then received an M.Ed in Moderate Disabilities and was a teacher at Landmark School in Massachusetts, which serves students with language-based learning disabilities, such as dyslexia. Avery is super excited to be a part of a team working to share the value of empathy and design thinking in education.

Quinn Greene

Researcher

Quinn is a fourth year undergraduate student at UCSB pursuing a B.S. in Sociology and a minor in Educational Studies. Quinn currently works at an after school care center at an elementary school in Santa Barbara. She also enjoys tutoring the 4th and 5th graders of a neighboring elementary school. Her love for primary education and enthusiastic students drives her passion for education reform, child and student development, and working in classrooms. After graduating from UC Santa Barbara, Quinn hopes to further her experience and research within the education sphere by working directly with schools and students before exploring graduate studies. She aspires to study the education field in ways that inspire and motivate positive change for the institution and for its most vulnerable students.