Policy Breakfast Series
MAKING A DIFFERENCE THROUGH RESEARCH
CEHD's Policy Breakfast Series brings a research focus to the conversation about closing opportunity gaps in Minnesota. Policy Breakfast events examine the role of school leadership, early childhood education, reading and literacy, STEM education, teacher preparation, and children's mental health. Each event discusses the ways CEHD research can inform Minnesota's legislative policies.
Join us for our January event
January 7, 2025
8:00 to 10:30 a.m.
McNamara Alumni Center
University of Minnesota - Twin Cities
Free and open to the public
Our next Policy Breakfast will focus on the State of Children’s Mental Health in Minnesota. This discussion will engage statewide and University leaders deeply knowledgeable and connected with this issue and will identify and expand upon recommendations that will be released in early October from the Department of Human Services formed Acute Care Transitions Advisory Council.
Moderator
Jessica Simacek, PhD, is the Director of the TeleOutreach Center in the Institute on Community Integration and the TeleOutreach Service Hub at the Masonic Institute for the Developing Brain at the University of Minnesota. She serves as the Research Director of the University of Minnesota Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities (MNLEND). Her research focuses on improving access to interventions and supports for children with developmental disabilities, behavioral needs, or complex communication needs and for their families. She is a Principal and Co-Investigator on research projects related to telehealth, communication and positive behavioral support, and her work has appeared in peer-reviewed journals, reports, and book chapters. She has a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology, Special Education, from the University of Minnesota, and is a former MNLEND Pre- and Post-Doctoral Fellow. Dr. Simacek is the parent of children with neurodevelopmental disabilities and understands the needs of these populations firsthand.
Panelists
Amy Esler, PhD, is a licensed psychologist and researcher at the Masonic Institute for the Developing Brain at the University of Minnesota. She completed her PhD in school psychology from the University of Minnesota. Her clinical interests include early diagnosis of autism and care and support of individuals with profound autism as well as fragile X and other rare genetic conditions. Her research focuses on effective interventions for aggression and self-injury, improving equitable access to care, and measurement of behaviors and characteristics for tracking growth and change in development.
Danelle R Dunphy is an Adjunct Professor for the Department of Social Work at the University of Minnesota Duluth, Consultant for the Institute on Community Integration at the University of Minnesota in positive support practices, and a practicing Therapist for Behavioral Services Inc. in Duluth, Minnesota. She is also a social worker with St. Louis County Public Health and Human Services. She has extensive expertise in supporting children and youth with developmental disabilities, complex case management, and trauma-informed and cross-cultural supports for populations who have experienced historical trauma.
Faith Miller, PhD, is an Associate Professor of School Psychology and the John W. and Nancy E. Peyton Faculty Fellow in Child and Adolescent Wellbeing at the University of Minnesota. Her research focuses on the identification and adoption of evidence-based practices in schools, with a particular emphasis on improving outcomes for students experiencing social, emotional, and behavioral difficulties (SEBD). Through her research, she engages an equity lens to examine how multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS) can best be leveraged to support students' social, emotional, and behavioral needs.
Kirsten Anderson began serving as Executive Director of AspireMN in December 2017 after two years as the association's Assistant Director. Past leadership experiences include Sr. Director for Lutheran Social Service of MN (LSS) Metro Homeless Youth Services, where she supported a continuum of services for youth and young families and directed the LSS Advocacy Office, with a strong focus on community-based services. Kirsten began her career in the Lutheran World Relief Office of Public Policy in Washington, DC. Her experience includes deep engagement with various service providers, people served, and community members.
Rachel Freeman is the Director of State Initiatives at the Institute on Community Integration in the Masonic Institute for the Developing Brain at the University of Minnesota. Dr. Freeman has been actively involved in statewide research and technical assistance systems for positive behavior support (PBS), person-centered planning, and other evidence-based practices over 25 years. Her research interests include evaluation design and implementation, the occurrence of self-injurious behavior in individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities and nonsuicidal self-injury, and multi-tiered systems of support. She is an associate editor for the Journal of Child and Family Studies and serves as a Board of Director for Arc Minnesota.
Past events
October 2024: The state of children's mental health
On October 28, CEHD hosted more than 60 educational leaders and policy makers for a Policy Breakfast at Oyate Hall on the campus of the University of Minnesota, Morris. The panel discussed the state of children’s mental health in Minnesota. It identified and expanded upon recommendations that were released in early October from the Department of Human Services-formed Acute Care Transitions Advisory Council.
October 2023: The state of the state's accountability system
On October 30, 2023, CEHD hosted more than 120 educational leaders and policy makers for a Policy Breakfast at the Historic Chateau Theatre in Rochester, Minnesota. Katie Pekel, CEHD’s Executive Director of Educational Leadership, moderated a panel of experts, including: CEHD Dean Michael C. Rodriguez, Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) Commissioner Willie Jett, and Superintendent of Rochester Public Schools Kent Pekel.
January 2023: Minnesota PK-12 special education policy
On January 10, 2023, superintendents, directors of special education and legislators from across the state joined us for a panel. With a wide range of professional experience and research expertise, the panel discussed what policies and practices could exist in Minnesota at the state, system, and school level.
Equal opportunity statement
The University of Minnesota shall provide equal access to and opportunity in its programs, facilities, and employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, national origin, gender, age, marital status, familial status, disability, public assistance status, membership or activity in a local commission created for the purpose of dealing with discrimination, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression.