Meet our Faculty
Our instructors are uniquely qualified to train other educators about Autism Spectrum Disorders, best practices, teaching strategies and the public education system. Experts in the field, all of our instructors have hands-on classroom experience as well as proficiency in mentoring and consultation.
Faculty Adviser
Peter Mundy, Ph.D., is a developmental psychologist with particular expertise in cognitive neuroscience, autism, special education, mental health promotion in schools, child development and early childhood education. Mundy has a joint appointment at the UC Davis MIND Institute and the UC Davis School of Education, and serves as the key faculty representative on our Program Advisory Board in Autism Spectrum Disorders.
Coordinating Instructor
Patricia Schetter, M.A., P.P.S., has been serving children on the autism spectrum and with other behavioral and developmental challenges since 1990. She has worked as a classroom teacher, behavior analyst and as a program specialist for children with ASD. She has been an invited presenter at numerous local, national and international conferences and forums. Schetter is the author of Learning the R.O.P.E.S. for Improved Executive Function and The Autism Program Development and Review Protocol.
Instructors
Gail Cafferata, is a program specialist in Butte County SELPA. She is the lead program specialist for all preschool autism programs and the lead trainer for functional behavioral assessments and analysis, positive behavior intervention plans and quality evaluations of behavior plans. Cafferata has taught in public education for almost thirty years and has experience with students from preschool to college age. She has also worked with students with a wide variety of special needs, including autism, severe handicaps, emotional disturbances and behavioral challenges.
Amber Fitzgerald, M.A., has worked with individuals from birth to adulthood with a variety of special needs, including autism spectrum disorders, emotional disturbance, behavior challenges, and moderate to severe disabilities, for the past 11 years. She has worked directly with students with autism and other behavioral/developmental challenges in both the public and nonpublic school systems as an in-home behavior technician, special educator, district behavior specialist and program specialist for students with ASD.
Kandis Lighthall, M.A., recently retired from public education after a distinguished career. She established one of the first inclusive classrooms on a community college campus for moderate to severe disabilities and her classroom was a Special Education Resource Network demonstration site for the individual Critical Skills Model. She is the 2006 recipient of The Carol Gray Award for her contributions to the field of autism education and is the author of The Student Participation Checklist, R.E.A.D.Y. for Inclusion and What Makes School Great?
Sally Rogers, Ph.D., is a professor of psychiatry and a developmental psychologist with a lifelong focus on developmental disabilities, particularly autism. She is particularly known for her research in early developmental processes and treatment of early autism. At the MIND Institute, UC Davis Medical Center, she is currently involved in a project focusing on teaching language skills to young children diagnosed with autism.
Cathy Smith, M.A., has worked with children on the autism spectrum since 1998. She began her career as a behavior technician providing in-home discrete trial-training and intensive behavioral intervention to young children with ASD. Following the completion of her degree, she began working as an autism specialist, providing consultation, program development and staff training for the Butte County SELPA.
Rodger Stein, M.A., has provided behavior support services since 1990. Stein specializes in behavior supports for high functioning autism/Asperger’s syndrome. As a nationally invited speaker and presenter, he provides professionals and families with approaches to minimize behavioral challenges and develop skills such as self-regulation and self-monitoring. He also provides training to families and school districts across the country in the area of applied behavior analysis related to autism spectrum disorders and developmental disabilities.
Laurie Vismara, Ph.D., is an assistant research scientist in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, UC Davis. Her research focuses on adult learning and treatment of early autism. At the MIND Institute, UC Davis Medical Center, she is currently involved in projects using telemedicine technology and online learning activities for training community-based professionals and parents to implement evidence-based intervention procedures for young children with ASD.
