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Lisa Thomas



Lisa Thomas
Lisa Thomas
Dr. Lisa Thomas is is an Associate Director in Educational Issues with the American Federation of Teachers (AFT). Dr. Thomas is Special Education Policy Analyst and the AFT’s Special Education Cadre Coordinator. In addition, she is the AFT’s Educational Research and Dissemination Course Coordinator for Managing Anti-social Behavior, Managing Student Behavior for Support Staff, and Meeting the Standards for Paraprofessionals.
Dr. Thomas represents the AFT on a number of national leadership and coalition groups, including the IDEA Partnership, Center for Evidence Based Practice for Young Children w/Challenging Behavior Advisory Board, National Center on Student Progress Monitoring Advisory Board, National Accessible Reading Assessment Project Advisory Committee, Center on Personnel Studies in Special Education Advisory Committee, RTI Action Network, National UDL Task Force and State Accountability for All Students Advisory Board. In addition, Dr. Thomas is a former general and special educator and served on numerous state and district committees on issues of disproportionality, cultural competency, and equity and access for diverse student populations.
Dr. Thomas received her undergraduate degree from the University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, in Industrial Management. She completed master course work at the College of Charleston (SC), in Early Childhood Education and received a M.A. in Special Education from Trinity University in Washington, D.C. She completed doctoral studies at the University of Pennsylvania, concentrating her studies in Organizational Leadership and Minorities in Special Education in urban settings. Her leadership philosophy is based on a collaborative model in which she believes effective leaders are developed when they value collaboration with all stakeholders and understand dynamics of cultivating collaborative relationships and using them to foster systemic change. Dr. Thomas is married to Dr. Irvin Thomas and is the mother of three children.


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