Barbara Layer is a Consultant and member of the Instructional Support Team at CASE. She holds a BA in regular and special education from Northern Illinois University, an MA in technology from National Louis University, and studied Educational Leadership at Roosevelt University. She began teaching in the south suburbs as a special education teacher for students with physical impairments before working for SASED North as an orthopedic itinerant teacher. Barb retired in 2016 after working for CASE for 26 years as an orthopedic itinerant teacher and as an administrator the last two years at Glenwood Academy. For the past 14 years she has taught at Roosevelt University as a professor in the area of Special Education. As a special education teacher, her focus has always been on helping students develop their talents to become as independent as possible, encouraging her students to plan for post high school opportunities including college and career as appropriate.

Tricia Sharkey is the Assistive Technology Consultant for CASE. She has been an AT consultant for CASE for the past 9 years and is currently RESNA Certified. Tricia is a speech language pathologist by trade. She has worked in both the public school setting and in private practice. As an AT consultant, Tricia often finds herself in conversations with professionals regarding different ways that educators can differentiate for students with differing needs. With many universally available options, teachers have so many tools to differentiate for their students to be successful.

Professional Development Credit: Hours - 0.5

FOR MENTEE ONLY