Rae has worked with children and families for over 20 years, first beginning her career in Massachusetts working as an Early Intervention provider for infants and toddlers with disabilities. Rae went on to receive her master’s degree in Special and General Education from Columbia Teachers College and then spent the next 15 years working in schools as a classroom teacher, curriculum developer, and Educational Supervisor. Her work specifically focused on supporting autistic and neurodivergent children using strength-based and interest-driven teaching strategies. Rae then pursued and received her doctorate from the Department of Curriculum and Teaching at Teachers College, Columbia University. Her research explores the lived experiences of students with disabilities using multimodal qualitative data collections to ensure more access to research. In 2022, Rae received the Outstanding Dissertation Award for her work entitled, “Autistic women have always been here”: Autistic Women Story Their Schooling Experiences from the American Educational Research Association (AERA) Disability Studies in Education SIG. Rae’s work is theoretically grounded in an intersectional framing of Disability Studies (DS) and Disability Studies in Education (DSE), specifically the intersections of feminist theory, queer theory, and DisCrit (Disability Studies and Critical Race Theory). Rae is passionate about incorporating Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles into her graduate school coursework and supporting graduate students to bring a strength-based and inclusive stance to their classroom practices. Outside of Bank Street, Rae continues to provide training and support to children, teachers, and families in DIR Floortime methodology as an ICDL Expert Floortime trainer.
Educational Background
Qualifications
EdD
