Dr. Cashman is the Director of The IDEA Partnership at the National Association of State Directors of Special Education (NASDSE). Joanne has a unique blend of academic preparation and practice knowledge. For 27 years she worked as a teacher, building principal and director of special and alternative education and dropout prevention for the Shikellamy School District in Sunbury, Pennsylvania.

Before joining NASDSE, she was the project director of The Interdisciplinary Doctoral Training Program at George Washington University (GWU). Dr.Cashman is a frequent presenter for state and national audiences and has authored articles, practice manuals and book chapters that bridge policy and practice. Her research interests include: shared policy agendas and cross-cutting policy strategies; organizational learning; system convening and communities of practice.

She received her doctoral degree in special education from the George Washington University, Washington, DC.

Carlas McCauley serves as Director of the Center on School Turnaround at WestEd. He has over fifteen years of experience working in school reform and policy development at the local and national level.  Prior to joining WestEd, he oversaw the administration of the federal School Improvement Grants (SIG) Program at the U.S. Department of Education (ED) in the Office of School Turnaround. Since 2007, he helped administer approximately $6 billion dedicated to improving low-performing schools across the country. He is a nationally recognized speaker for his work in developing and supporting, school turnaround efforts as well as other education improvement initiatives within ED.