Jennifer Elgie is a teacher for students with visual impairments, a district resource teacher for students with autism spectrum disorder and the district partner for students with deaf-blindness in the Nanaimo-Ladysmith School District.  She has participated in SET-BC pilot projects such as the Video Modeling Project and the Expanded Core Curriculum, and is currently working on the PRCVI/SET-BC Vision Resource Guide.  Jennifer is a guest lecturer at Vancouver Island University for the Certified Education Assistant and Teacher Education courses and has presented at numerous district, provincial and Canadian conferences. She has a Bachelor of Teaching degree from UBC and is a graduate of Dr. Sally Rogow’s Visual Impairment Program.

Susan Harrison
Assistive Technology Consultant

Bio Coming Soon

Constance McAvoy

Now retired, Constance McAvoy was involved with resource and project development for SET-BC's Provincial Resource Team.

Joanne McCartney

Joanne McCartney received a Master's degree in Special Education from the University of British Columbia in 2008 and is now an Integrated Play Group Master Guide with Friend 2 Friend Social Learning Society. Her research focused on the impact of assistive technology on the written output of students with Down syndrome.

Daphne Mercier is provincial consultant for SET-BC. She is a member of the provincial training and resource team and provides online software instruction and resource development for SET-BC. She has a Bachelor of Teaching (secondary) degree from UBC and has taught Skill Development, Learning Assistance, English, Art, Math and English as a Second Language. She has a diploma in ESL and a Masters Degree in Arts (Curriculum) with a focus on students with autism.

Vicky Midtdal is a BC Vision Teacher and Mobility Instructor since 1982 and is currently employed as a SET-BC Assistive Technology Consultant in the Central Interior. She provides SET-BC services, including consultation, training, resource development, and implementation support for teams in SD#19 (Revelstoke), SD#83 (North Okanagan-Shuswap), SD#22 (Vernon) and most of the Independent Schools (SD#100) in the central interior of British Columbia.  Vicky is a guest lecturer at local universities for the Certified Education Assistant and Special Education Teacher courses and has presented at numerous provincial, Canadian and international conferences.  She has been working in the field of assistive technology for over 10 years.

Michael Mizera is a Vision Outreach Coordinator for PRCVI (Provincial Resource Centre for the Visually Impaired). Prior to this he was a Vision Resource Teacher with the Vancouver School Board # 39. Michael holds a Bachelor of Education degree from the University of Alberta and two diplomas from UBC (Diploma in Special Education for the Multi-handicapped and a Diploma in Visual Impairments). He has worked on various vision projects including the Vision Resource Guide, BAA (braille curriculum and life skills). His passion is advocating for the needs of students with visual impairments and teaching Braille Literacy at summer camp.

Harvinder Nahal is a  District Vision Resource Teacher and Mobility instructor for Richmond School District.  She has been involved in various SET/PRCVI projects and summer camps. Harvinder is committed to furthering the cause of children with visual impairment and it’s her passion to see them grow up to be independent and valuable members of our society.

Carolyn Northcott is a Vision Resource Teacher with the Delta School District. She spent a great deal of time at the University of British Columbia, where she obtained a Bachelor of Science degree, a Bachelor of Education degree, and a Master of Arts degree. Carolyn has been working in the field of visual impairment since 2000.

Jim Oliver
Assistive Technology Consultant
SET-BC

Jim Oliver is a SET-BC assistive technology consultant who provides services, including consultation, training, resources, and support for implementation, for Peace River South, Peace River North, and Fort Nelson school districts. Prior to joining SET-BC, Jim worked for SD #59 for 28 years as a classroom teacher, elementary counsellor, secondary counsellor, and alternative education administrator. He also taught a variety of courses at Northern Lights College.

Kerry Randle
eLearning / ARC-BC
SET-BC

Kerry Randle is a member of the SET-BC Provincial Resource team, coordinating and developing various eLearning initiatives and working in partnership with PRCVI on the Accessible Resource Centre (ARC-BC).  After teaching for 12 years at the elementary and middle school levels, she joined SET-BC in 1999 as the Region 4 Consultant where she enjoyed the beautiful scenery of the Kootenays, providing assistive technology support to school based teams in six school districts.  She continued this role moving to Region 2 (North Shore) in 2004.  Her main interests include online learning environments and technology-based solutions for students with autism spectrum disorders.

Dave Rathwell
Assistive Technology Consultant

Dave Rathwell is a SET-BC Assistive Technology Consultant for Region 2, based in the Fraser Valley. He has been involved in assistive technologies for students who are blind or have low vision since 1989. During that time he has developed curricula for teaching a variety of Braille technologies and has presented them at regional, national and international conferences. Dave also co-teaches the technology course for teachers of students with visual impairments at the University of British Columbia.  He has been instrumental in the development of Braille Quest, a technology and career awareness summer program for youth who are blind.

Dr. Penny Reed

Penny Reed, Ph.D., is an independent consultant in the field of special education specializing in assistive technology services. She was founder and director of the Wisconsin Assistive Technology Initiative from 1993 to 2003 and has been a teacher, consultant and administrator in the field of special education for over thirty years. In 1992 Dr. Reed received the National Leadership Award from the Technology and Media Division of the Council for Exceptional Children.  She has contributed to or written many assistive technology books and is a member of the Leadership Team for Quality Indicators for Assistive Technology Services (www.qiat.org). She regularly consults and provides training on a variety of topics related to assistive technology with a special focus on helping school districts improve their delivery of assistive technology services. View complete bio.

Chris Rolls

Chris Rolls teaches in a multi-age classroom in the rural setting of Youbou, BC, School District 79 Cowichan Valley. Chris is working on a Masters Degree in Literacy and Metacognition. She presents workshops in "Early Literacy" for Malaspina College and the Rural Teacher Conferences. Chris believes that teachers need to share resources and "work smarter, not harder."

Jane Rondow
Assistive Technology Consultant
SET-BC

Jane Rondow is the SET-BC consultant for the Victoria, Cowichan Valley and Parksville school district on Vancouver Island. Her current interests lie in developing and supporting literacy strategies for students with special needs and low and high tech support for students with Autism.

Kathy Ryan
Assistive Technology Consultant
SET-BC

Kathy Ryan is a speech language pathologist working as an Assistive Technology Consultant for SET-BC in Penticton  providing support for students and teams in the central and southern Okanagan, Nicola and Similkameen regions of B.C. She has a bachelor's degree in psychology from Wilfrid Laurier University and a master's degree in speech language pathology from the University of Western Ontario.  Kathy has worked in Ontario, Alberta and B.C. in a variety of settings in her over 20 years of practice including hospitals, health units, universities and school districts.  She has had a longstanding passion for learning strategies that include assistive technology. 

Rita Schouls

Rita Schouls has been a practicing Teacher of Students with Visual Impairments since 2004. Her interest in this field began in 1987 as she worked in Toronto supporting a family who had children with visual impairments. She completed her M.A. in Blindness and Visual Impairments at UBC and in her capacity as a Vision Teacher she has facilitated a parent workshop at the Braille Challenge in Los Angeles and has volunteered at the Parent and Infant Camp on Bowen Island. She served a 2 year term on the PRCVI Advisory Committee and is currently on a Best Practices committee formulating assessment tips for classroom teachers who have a student with a visual impairment in their class. Rita remains committed to encouraging all students attend Space Camp in Huntsville, Alabama – at least once!

Howard Shane
Director, Communication Enhancement Center - Children's Hospital Boston

Howard Shane, Ph.D. is the Director of the Communication Enhancement Center (CEC) at Children's Hospital Boston. Dr. Shane is a Fellow of the American Speech and Hearing Association and the recipient of the Goldenson Award for Innovations in Technology from United Cerebral Palsy Association.

Vision Outreach Coordinator/ARC-BC
PRCVI

Debbie Sitar is a member of the Provincial Resource Centre for the Visually Impaired, providing support to teachers of the visually impaired in the province. Debbie was a Vision Consultant and Orientation and Mobility instructor for over 20 years in the province of Manitoba. Debbie is also a certified braille transcriber. She has been involved in a number of projects including the ABC Braille Study and the Introduction of UEB project. She joined PRCVI in September, 2009.

Laurie Smith

Laurie Smith is a Special Education Helping Teacher for Autism and Dual Diagnosis in School District #36, Surrey. She is a sessional instructor at UBC in the faculty of Educational Psychology and Special Education. Laurie has recently finished a degree at UBC, under the direction of Dr. Pat Mirenda, focusing on ASD.

Anita Strang

Anita Strang, M.ED, has been teaching for 20 years in the Coquitlam School District where she has taken on a variety of different teaching roles including classroom teacher, resource teacher, special education teacher, and computer teacher. She is passionate about finding ways to design inclusive classroom learning environments for all students. During the past two years she has been the team leader for Coquitlam in SET BC’s BC UDL (Universal Design for Learning) project. She shares her UDL journey on her blog: ThinkingUDL.ca.

Lois Turner
Regional Consultant
SET-BC

Lois Turner, M.S., S-LP(C), CCC-Sp, is a Speech-Language Pathologist currently employed as an Assistive Technology Consultant at SET-BC. She has worked in many settings with preschoolers, students and adults who use augmentative/alternative communication systems and additional assistive technology. Her current work is focused on creating communication opportunities for nonspeaking students and supporting students to learn literacy skills based on the Four Block Balanced Literacy model.

Gail Van Tatenhove

Gail Van Tatenhove, PA, MS, CCC-SLP, graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire with a degree in Communicative Disorders in 1977. Her professional experiences include clinical work in a self-contained special education center for children, birth to 21, and as an augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) specialist on a state-wide evaluation team. Currently, Ms. Van Tatenhove is in private practice specializing in AAC with children and adults and works as a clinical consultant with Semantic Compaction Systems in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Darick Wright holds a Master's Degree in Rehabilitation for the Blind: Orientation and Mobility, with certifications in O&M and Low Vision Therapy. He currently coordinates services at the New England Eye Institute Clinic at Perkins School for the Blind. In addition he is adjunct faculty at the University of Massachusetts - Boston, Graduate College of Education and the New England College of Optometry.

Involved in the field of visual impairment since 1985, he has lived and worked in the Boston area for the last 8 years. Prior to this he was full-time faculty at the University of Arkansas - Little Rock, Orientation and Mobility Program.