Announcing our newest board member

Please welcome Jennifer Riggie Ottley, our newest board member who will serve as Treasurer for Ohio DEC.

We thank Margie Spino's 5+ years of service as Treasurer. Margie has generously offered to support Jennifer in the transition to her new role. 

More about Dr. Ottley:

Dr. Jennifer Ottley started her career in special education when she was a high school student at University High School in Morgantown, West Virginia. During her senior year, she completed an internship with students experiencing severe cognitive impairments to aid them in functional and social tasks during their lunch period. Dr. Ottley then completed a 5-year Master’s program at West Virginia University where she obtained her B.S. in Multidisciplinary Studies and M.S. in Elementary Education. From 2004 through 2009, she worked with a boy with profound disabilities in his natural family setting, providing both academic and functional instruction according to his individualized plan.  From 2007 through 2009, she also worked as a teacher of children with autism spectrum disorder in Morgantown, West Virginia. It was during her co-teaching experiences that she realized the critical need to support general education teachers in meeting the needs of children with and at risk for disabilities. Thus, she enrolled at Florida State University to complete her doctoral studies in Early Childhood Special Education.

Dr. Ottley graduated with her Ph.D. in August 2013, when she went on to complete a Postdoctoral Fellowship at the Crane Center for Early Childhood Research and Policy at The Ohio State University.  During both her doctoral and postdoctoral experiences, she focused on supporting teachers and teacher candidates in providing high-quality learning opportunities to all children.  Currently, Dr. Ottley serves as an Assistant Professor in Early Childhood Special Education at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio.  She teaches courses in adaptations, methods, and assessment for learners with special needs in early childhood settings. Her primary research interests focuses on supporting the development of young children with disabilities by enhancing the capacity of early childhood teachers, teacher candidates, and families to meet the children’s individualized needs.

Welcome, Jennifer! Ohio DEC is happy to have you on board.