North Carolina Inclusion Summit

June 26-27th, 2023

Hosted by Western Carolina University at the North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching (NCCAT) in Cullowhee, NC.

REGISTER ONLINE

Conference Proposal Form: Proposals will be accepted until April 15, 2023
Applicants will be notified by email, of their acceptance status, by May 1st, 2023. 

Registration Cost:
$100 general
$75 for Students, Parents & Pre-K Teachers

Keynote Speaker

Marilyn Friend has spent her career as a U.S. general education and special education teacher (in Virginia and Indiana), researcher, professor, administrator, teacher educator (in Oklahoma, Illinois, Indiana, and North Carolina), and staff developer. Dr. Friend is the Past President of the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC), the largest international professional organization dedicated to improving the educational success and other outcomes of children and youth with disabilities and/or gifts and talents.

She is a Fulbright scholar and has consulted with school professionals nationally and internationally (more than 3500 presentations and projects in the United States (48 states), Canada, Central America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia) as they collaborate to (a) educate diverse groups of students, assisting them to create classroom partnerships through co-teaching, (b) form productive and efficient work teams, and (c) foster inclusive practices for students with disabilities. 

She is the author or co-author of three widely used college textbooks on special education topics; two books on co-teaching; a variety of co-teaching materials for teachers and administrators; more than 70 articles and chapters about collaboration, inclusion, and co-teaching.  Her books have been translated into Danish, Mandarin, Italian, Portuguese, French, and Japanese. 

Dr. Friend’s contributions were recognized when she was the 2016 recipient of the Teacher Education Division (CEC)/Pearson Excellence in Special Education Teacher Education Award.  She was also named a 2019 recipient of the Indiana University School of Education Distinguished Alumni Award, the 2021 recipient of the Division of the Arts in Special Education (CEC) Lifetime Achievement Award, and in 2022 the first recipient of the Academy for Co-Teaching and Collaboration (St. Cloud State University) Lifetime Achievement Award.

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We welcome Individuals with disabilities and their families • Community members • Researchers • Graduate students • Advocates • Administrators • Community-based service providers • Employers • and all others who participate in inclusive practices across the lifespan