2023 Presenters

We are pleased to present an outstanding program of presenters and speakers. See below for the list of presenters and brief bios.

Azucena Verdin

Dr. Azucena Verdín is an Assistant Professor of Child Cevelopment in the Department of Human Development, Family Studies, and Counseling at Texas Woman's University. She received her MA in Education from Harvard University and her Ph.D. from the University of North Texas. Her doctoral dissertation centered the experiences of Mexican-origin mothers navigating structural and interpersonal barriers while rearing children in the politically contested US-Mexico borderlands during a time of heightened racist and nativist policies. Dr. Verdín's research has been published in international journals such as Feminism & Psychology, The Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, and The Arts in Psychotherapy. She currently teaches courses in lifespan development, research methods, and play and development. Dr. Verdin also coordinates the Latinx Unidos mentoring group on campus and is the Principal Investigator of the TWU Chicana/Latina Flourishing Project.

Laurie Cuchens

Laurie Cuchens has been a preschool teacher and a professional nanny for 25 years as well as a foster/adoptive mom. She is currently a grad student at TWU pursuing a master’s in child life. She is a mother of four teenagers and also lives with her husband in The Colony, TX. In addition to raising a gifted daughter who has always struggled with emotional regulation, she is currently working 27 hours a week with a four-year-old extraordinary child with similar challenges.

Kristin Mathis

Kristin Mathis, a Pediatric Occupational Therapist, is currently a student in TWU's Child Development and Early Education PhD program. She has years of experience teaching preschool and directing an early childhood program. She loves all things preschool, especially social-emotional development, self-regulation, and brain science.

Jennifer Cottle

Dr. Cottle is an Early Intervention Specialist with LifePath Systems Early Childhood Intervention Program, serving the northeast corner of Collin County. Dr. Cottle is also an Adjunct Professor for the Human Development, Family Sciences, & Counseling Department at TWU. She has worked with children and families in various capacities for over 30 years.

Shenee' Bagsby

Shenee' is the Early Childhood Program Supervisor with Workforce Solutions of North Central Texas. She works with early childhood programs and Texas Rising Star.

Cynthia Jones

Cynthia has been in education for 28 years. She is a Certified School Counselor, Licenced Professional Counselor - Supervisor, and a partner with Embrace Counseling Services. Cynthia is in her 3rd year at TWU as a Family Studies Ph.D student.

Danielle Hall

Danielle Hall has been a certified school for seven years. She is pursuing her Ph.D. in Family Studies from TWU. She is also a partner counselor for Embrace Counseling Services. She worked for nine years in special education her main populations were students with ED, Autism, ODD, and ADHD.

Jennifer Stockemer

Jennifer Stockemer is the founder, owner, and director of a small preschool in McKinney, Texas. She is also a doctoral student and instructor at Texas Woman's University in the Human Development, Family Studies, and Counseling department.

Felicia Sprayberry

Felicia Sprayberry has been in education for 28 years. She was a special education teacher for 6 years, then moved into campus administration. For the last 13 years, she has been serving as an early childhood campus principal. She is a doctoral student in Child Development and Early Education at Texas Woman’s University.

Angela Hellman

Angela Hellman has been in early childhood education for 32 years. She taught both special and general education before moving into early childhood administration. She has served as a Principal and Director of Head Start for the past 10 years. Early childhood is her passion, and she loves sharing it with others.

Margarita B. Cuervo

Margarita B. Cuervo has a Ph.D. in Child Development and Early Education. Research topics include literacy learning and effective classroom interactions in Pre-K. Dr. Cuervo’s passion is working with teachers and young children to instill a love of learning through effective interactions that promote social-emotional and academic development.

Tamyra LaFrance

Tamyra LaFrance is an entrepreneur and a TWU doctoral student from New Orleans, LA. She has a B.S. in Human Services Management from UOP and an EMBA from TWU. Tamyra is a creative who is passionate about women's empowerment and aims to connect creativity with concepts to construct goods and services that inspire and empower.

Mayra Chavez

Mayra Chavez has been an early childhood educator for 11 years. She has served in the Pre-kindergarten and Kindergarten classroom and she is currently working on her Ph.D. in Child Development and Early Education.

Ashley Wright

Ashley Wright has been an elementary educator and school administrator for 20 years. Her focus has been on engaging families in building partnerships between home and school. She is currently working on her Ph.D. in Child Development and Early Education.

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