Roni Habib

EQ Schools, Inc.

Roni Habib is a speaker, author, and expert in helping leaders, educators, and parents become happier, more resilient, more connected to their purpose, and more playful. The founder of EQ Schools, he speaks and leads workshops in organizations nationally and abroad. His dynamic keynotes leave audiences laughing, insightful, elevated, and inspired to take action.

Early in his career, Roni struggled with the high stresses and demands of teaching, even losing touch with why he wanted to be a teacher in the first place. It was so painful that he finally discovered the power of integrating improv, mindfulness, emotional intelligence, and positive psychology in his own life as well as at work and felt called to share this new approach with the world.

In the last decade with EQ Schools, Roni has taught and inspired thousands of Teachers, Principals, Superintendents, Administrators, Business Leaders, and Parents.

Prior to earning his Masters of Education and teaching credential at Harvard University, he lived in Israel and Belgium. Most importantly though, Roni has a huge heart and loves helping people.

Schedule a call to explore PD at your organization with Roni with this link: https://calendly.com/eqschools.

Sovey Long-Latteri, M.A.

Special Education Teacher - Endeavor ATP at LSHS

Sovey Long-Latteri is a Special Education teacher who supports students with Extensive Support Needs (ESN) in the Adult Transition Program at La Sierra High School of Fullerton Joint Union High School District.

She is a lecturer at California State University, Long Beach in the Education Specialist (EDSP) Credential Program where she teaches Instructional Methods for ESN. She is also a mom to twin 15 year old boys and a 5 year old girl, loves to cook, read all things true crime, tell silly jokes, and hike the hills around her Orange County home. She has been granted the 2022 California Teacher of the Year, 2022 Orange County Teacher of the Year, and, 2021 FJUHSD Teacher of the Year and will present classroom strategies to help nonverbal students in ESN address and work through trauma: co-regulation and sensational awareness.

Audri Sandoval Gomez, Ph.D.

Chapman University|Director of the Thompson Policy Institute (TPI) on Disability

Audri Sandoval Gomez, Ph.D. is the Director of the Thompson Policy Institute (TPI) on Disability in Chapman University's Attallah College of Educational Studies. Before assuming her current role, she worked as a special education teacher and a school district administrator, where she managed the special education departments for nine schools, spanning kindergarten through 12th grade.

Dr. Gomez is the lead and principal investigator on multiple grants and contracts from organizations such as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Oak Foundation, Regional Center of Orange County, California Department of Education, and multiple school districts. Her research and professional focus centers on promoting inclusive programming, universal design for learning, enhancing school culture, and empowering PK-12 educators and administrators to ensure equitable access and opportunities for all students.

Elissa Green Kaustinen

Director of the Families, Agencies, and Schools Together (FAST) Program Children's Hospital of Orange County's Thompson Autism and Neurodevelopmental Center

Elissa Green Kaustinen has been the director of the Families, Agencies, and Schools Together (FAST) program at the Children's Hospital of Orange County's Thompson Autism and Neurodevelopmental Center for the past four years.

Prior to this role, Elissa spent 17 years in the public school system, serving seven years as a school psychologist and ten years as a special education administrator. She possesses extensive experience in areas including special education assessments, inclusive practices, developing Individual Education Plans, counseling, and creating and implementing behavioral programs for students with autism and other neurodevelopmental disabilities.

Throughout her career, Elissa has consistently promoted a culture of inclusivity and has been a steadfast advocate for supporting all students.

Jessica Tunney

Executive Director TLC Public Charter School

Dr. Tunney is a highly accomplished educator and speaker with more than 25 years of varied experience in the field of education as a general education teacher, special education teacher, professional development leader and coach, university teacher educator, and educational researcher. She has authored invited book chapters, peer-reviewed journal articles, and family-focused blogs, and she continues to promote a more inclusive vision of education through presentations prepared for local, state, and national audiences. In 2019, she was named the University of California, Irvine School of Education’s Distinguished Alumni of the Year for her leadership at Tomorrow’s Leadership Collaborative.

Dr. Tunney has degrees from Cornell University (BA, 1994), Bank Street College of Education (MSEd, Special Education, 1999), and University of California, Irvine (Ph.D., Learning, Cognition, and Development, 2016).

Morgan Appel

Assistant Dean, Education and Community Outreach Division of Extended Studies University of California, San Diego

Morgan Appel is Assistant Dean for Education and Community Outreach (ECO) at the Division of Extended Studies at UC San Diego, overseeing a diverse array of globally based programming for PK-post retirement, including opportunities for students, practitioners, administrators, parents, and community stakeholders in English and Spanish. He previously served as Director of Education Programs at UC Irvine’s Division of Continuing Education (DCE) following a research appointment at the Claire Trevor School of the Arts at UC Irvine.

With expertise in binational education transformation and policy, Appel has worked with a number of school districts, universities, and research institutes in the United States and Latin America to explore the impacts of change agentry across segments of education. Professional specialties include gifted and talented education; the neuroscience of teaching and learning; arts integration; parent and caregiver education; and organizational behavior in educational institutions. Beyond his current administrative appointment, Appel teaches a variety of courses at both UC San Diego and UC Irvine and is the host of Creative Conversations on the Education Channel at UCTV.

He serves on the boards of Reality Changers, Discovery STEAM Charter School (Chula Vista), and Urban Discovery Schools (San Diego), as well as on the CEO Advisory Committee for Promises2Kids. In 2023, Appel was appointed as a volunteer lead educator for California by the Robert F Kennedy Human Rights Organization.

Saran Tugsjargal

Student Youth Commissioner California Department of Education Advisory Commission on Special Education

Saran Tugsjargal is a globally recognized leader and one of the top 30 disability leaders in the world. Named a 2024 Diversability Honoree She is the first Mongolian American youth commissioner with a disability to serve on the California Department of Education Advisory Commission on Special Education and in the nation where she represents over 850,000 students with disabilities across California.

An incoming freshman at Rice University, Tugsjargal plans to study Social Policy Analysis and Political Science. She is also a National Youth Fellow for the Center for Advancing Employment Policy under the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP), where she represents over 1 million students with disabilities across the nation. Over the next five years, she will share ideas and experiences with five states to help develop initiatives supporting students with disabilities as they transition from education to employment.

Tugsjargal has represented students with disabilities at numerous conferences across California and has supported key legislative initiatives, including AB 2105, AB 2173, and SB 445. Additionally, she co-authored a juvenile justice publication in collaboration with experts from the Los Angeles County Office of Education and Disability Rights California, outlining eight considerations for improving county juvenile halls. This publication was featured on the Special Edge website. She continues to share her expertise by speaking at conferences on juvenile justice and advocating for the needs of students with disabilities.

Serving Students with Disabilities in Juvenile Justice Facilities: The View from Los Angeles

Morgan Appel

University of California, San Diego Assistant Dean, Education and Community Outreach Division of Extended Studies

Session summary: Inspiration, Action and Beyond...will delve deeply into neurological and socioemotional profiles of those identified/diagnosed as twice and thrice exceptional (2e and 3e). Participants will acquire a practice-based understanding of key characteristics of 2e and 3e learners, and ways in which flexibility, heightened sensitivities, and other factors impact engagement within and outside the classroom.

The session will offer practical, evidence-based approaches for educators and families in a contextually grounded manner, focusing on cognition, socioemotional characteristics, and metacognitive skills.

Attendees will leave with actionable and affirming strategies designed to foster growth, resilience, and wellbeing for twice and thrice exceptional individuals in dynamic learning environments.

Location: Nigeria Room

Jessica Tunney

Executive Director TLC Public Charter School

Session summary: In this session, participants will gain access and insight into the infrastructure, school-wide systems, and key practices that define the full inclusion model at TLC Charter School in Orange County. During the workshop, participants will have opportunities to connect, ask questions, and engage with the materials, resources, and practices essential to TLC’s inclusive learning environment. All practical tools, templates, and strategies presented will be shared to support and promote inclusive education and encourage diverse-by-design classroom environments.

Location: Dubai Room

Audri Sandoval Gomez, Ph.D.

Chapman University|Director of the Thompson Policy Institute (TPI) on Disability

Elissa Green Kaustinen

Children's Hospital of Orange County's Thompson Autism and Neurodevelopmental Center | Director of the Families, Agencies, and Schools Together (FAST) Program

Session summary: This presentation focuses on the process of person-driven planning, a collaborative approach that places individuals with disabilities at the center of their own goal-setting and decision-making processes. Participants will learn strategies to empower individuals with disabilities to identify their strengths, aspirations, and support needs while fostering independence, self-advocacy, and meaningful engagement in their communities.

Location: Bali Room