Meet the Team

Dr. Catharine Lory is the Principal Investigator (Project Director) of Project CREA:TE. She is an Assistant Professor of Special Education in the Department of Early Childhood, Multilingual, and Special Education. Her research focuses on identifying and addressing the educational and behavioral needs of individuals with autism through effective assessments and interventions, including supporting practitioners to engage in research-supported practices with individuals with autism. She has published over 30 peer-reviewed research articles and two book chapters in this area. She has also coordinated federally- and state-funded projects that focused on empowering teachers, paraeducators, and families to implement best practices to improve the outcomes of children with autism and developmental disabilities. 

Dr. Lory has extensive experience teaching graduate and undergraduate courses in the areas of special education, autism, and applied behavior analysis, and has supervised over 200 pre-service and in-service educators and professionals who serve children with disabilities in public school and community settings. 

Dr. Alex Smith is the Co-Principal Investigator (Project Co-Director) of Project CREA:TE. He is an Associate Professor of Special Education in the Department of Early Childhood, Multilingual, and Special Education. He has over 5 years of experience working in higher education. He has 13 peer-reviewed publications and 5 book chapters focusing upon diverse student populations receiving special education services or considered at-risk for said services. He has experience as a PI or Co-PI on three internally funded projects and as a researcher on three federally funded projects, including two with IES and one with NSF. 

He has extensive experience with revising and creating course content at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, as well as experience editing content for IRIS Center and National Center on Intensive Intervention. He has taught over 1,000 students across his time in higher education and is currently overseeing program evaluation for an accelerated program in special education at UNLV (i.e., Rodman).  

Dr. Van Ness is a Co-Investigator of Project CREA:TE. She is an Associate Professor in Residence in the Department of Early Childhood, Multilingual, and Special Education. She has 6 years of experience as a faculty member and 15 years of experience in higher education. Dr. Van Ness has expertise in Emotional/Behavioral Disorders, Autism Spectrum Disorders, and Applied Behavior Analysis. She has 11 peer-reviewed publications and a published book chapter all focused on instruction and behavioral supports for students with Emotional/Behavioral Disorders and Autism. 

Dr. Van Ness is also a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) and nationally certified school psychologist (NCSP). She has extensive experience in working with students with significant academic and behavioral needs in a variety of educational settings (i.e., public school systems, charter systems, juvenile corrections, residential treatment, clinical). Dr. Van Ness has served as the Co-Investigator and/or Senior Personnel on $10.5 million dollars in externally funded projects focusing on training and supporting pre- and in-service teachers programs at UNLV.

Dr. Taylor is a Co-Investigator of Project CREA:TE. He is an Assistant Professor in Residence in the Department of Early Childhood, Multilingual, and Special Education. He has over a year of experience as a faculty member and eight years of experience in Special Education. His research interests include: students with disabilities, emotional and behavioral disorders, educational leadership, change theory, teacher retention, and behavioral systems. He brings forth an extensive background in serving students with disabilities, educational leadership, teaching, and mentoring new teachers. 

Dr. Taylor currently teaches a range of undergraduate and graduate teacher education courses. In addition, he currently serves as one of the project coordinators and oversees program evaluation for the Paraprofessional Pathways Project (PPP), an accelerated program in special education at UNLV. Most recently, he was awarded a grant “Mentoring the Mentors (M2) to Provide Effective Coaching to Preservice Special Educators in Undergraduate Accelerated Licensure Programs” to promote the retention and success of teacher candidates in special education.

Dr. Morgan is a Co-Investigator of Project CREA:TE. He is a Professor of Special Education and the Chair of the Department of Early Childhood, Multilingual, and Special Education. He has over 13 years of experience working in higher education. He currently has 32 peer-reviewed publications and four published book chapters focused on students with LD and EBD from diverse backgrounds in urban environments, as well as in supporting teachers in translating research to practice. He has served as the principal investigator or investigator on $7.3 million dollars in externally funded projects, including an 84.325K grant (i.e., Project SPEN:TT) in the amount of $1.035 million dollars that trained 49 Master’s students in severe and persistent academic and behavioral interventions, 98% of whom are still working as teachers and leaders in special education. 

Dr. Morgan has extensive experience in curriculum design and revision, having designed or redesigned multiple courses in the special education licensure programs at UNLV to integrate principles of diversity and inclusive education. He has advised over 500 Master’s students during his time at UNLV in the special education teacher licensure program and has been actively engaged in the design of graduate programs with a focus on implementation. He currently serves as the project coordinator for the accelerated programs in special education (e.g., PPP, Rodman).