Laura Schroff, a No. 1 New York Times and international bestselling author and keynote speaker, is a passionate and compelling voice on the power of small acts of kindness and mentorship. Laura has fully committed herself to advocate and inspire others through her books, An Invisible Thread, An Invisible Thread Young Readers' Edition (ages 8-12), An Invisible Thread Christmas Story (ages 4-8), and Angels on Earth. As a keynote speaker at over 200 events and 100 schools, Laura encourages her audience to look for their own invisible thread connections and highlights the importance of opening up their eyes and hearts to the opportunities where they can make a difference in the lives of others. An Invisible Thread brings to life the inspiring true story of an 11-year-old panhandler, a busy sales executive, and their unlikely meeting with destiny in 1986. Since its release in November 2011, An Invisible Thread has been on the New York Times bestsellers list a total of 39 weeks and is the recipient of many prestigious awards, including a Christopher Award, a DreamCatcher Award, a Local Hometown Hero Award presented by New York Congressman Steve Israel and a finalist for Books for a Better Life. An Invisible Thread Young Readers' Edition is a 2019 Parents' Choice Recommended Award winner and received a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Award. In March 2022, An Invisible Thread celebrated 10 years with a 10th Anniversary Edition including a new Foreword by Laura Schroff, and Afterword, by Maurice Mazyck. Over Laura's thirty-year career in advertising sales, she worked with several major media companies. Laura was part of the advertising team that helped launch and make USA Today a successful national newspaper, and was a part of the launch teams of three of the most successful start-ups in Time Inc. history—InStyle, Teen PEOPLE, and PEOPLE StyleWatch. Laura was also New York Division Manager at PEOPLE magazine, and New York Ad Manager at Ms. Magazine.
Soonhee "Sunny" Bailey graduated from the University of Washington with a B.A. in Sociology in 1992 and obtained her J.D. from the Seattle University of Law in 1996. After law school, she worked as a Deputy Prosecuting Attorney in King County and Pierce County. She also served as a Pro Tempore Judge in Pierce County. Judge Bailey moved to Las Vegas in 2003. She served as a Deputy Public Defender until 2006 when she joined the law firm of Rawlings, Olson, Cannon & Gormley (now Olson, Cannon, Gormley, Angulo & Stoberski). She handled all aspects of civil and complex litigation while she served as a Pro Tempore Judge for the City of Las Vegas and the Las Vegas Justice Court. Judge Bailey was also appointed as the Hearing Master for the State of Nevada Taxicab Authority. In 2006, she co-authored the Courtroom Handbook on Nevada Evidence, published by Thomas Reuters (Westlaw). The 2021 publication is its 16th edition. Judge Bailey was appointed the State of Nevada Deputy Labor Commissioner in 2014. She became the Acting Labor Commissioner shortly thereafter until her appointment as a Hearing Master in the Family Division. As a Juvenile Delinquency Hearing Master, Judge Bailey presided over Detention Hearings, Plea Hearings, Motion Hearings, the Juvenile Sex Offender Court, and Contested Hearings. She also presided over minor guardianship hearings and discovery hearings. In 2018, Judge Bailey created the Detention Alternative for Autistic Youth (DAAY) Court, a diversionary court that focuses on providing services aimed to help youth with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) remain out of the criminal justice system. It is the only program focused on youth with ASD in the nation. Judge Bailey is a member of the State Bar of Washington, State Bar of Nevada, Clark County Bar Association, Asian Bar Association and the American Inns of Court.
Erin received her undergraduate from Utah State University and Master of Arts from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. After years of public service in the nonprofit sector and training in human resources, Erin joined Partners in Physical Therapy as an administrator to address the human resource element of a growing business. Erin returned to graduate school where she received a Master's Degree from Southern University School of Social Work. Currently, Erin is a guest lecturer for the undergraduate and graduate social work programs at Southern University as well as Tulane Medical School. As a certified trauma therapist, she holds additional certifications in grief and bereavement counseling, Brain Spotting, EMDR, Emotional Brain Training, hypnosis and Reiki. Together, Erin and Partners in Physical Therapy have embraced the wellness model that recognizes mental health as an integral component to successful patient outcomes. Erin continues to work as an administrator as well as providing mental health services to our patients with chronic pain.
Sarah is a doctoral student at the Institute for Applied Behavioral Science at Endicott College. Sarah's research and clinical interests include teaching independent living skills, menstrual care skills and other skills needed during puberty. She especially enjoys learning the best ways to adapt instructional strategies for these types of skills to align with the cultural preferences of individuals. She currently serves as an adjunct professor at Endicott College and is a mom to two boys.
Cameron Scallan is a behavior analyst with experience supervising services for autistic children, adolescents, and young adults across clinic, home, and school settings. He is currently pursuing a PhD in Industrial and Organizational Behavior Management at Western Michigan University. His current interests include instructional design and developing systems that support employee health and well-being. Although he no longer works as a clinician, Cam uses his knowledge and experience to advocate for practices that deliver meaningful outcomes and reduce frustration for learners in clinical and educational settings.
Scott Riviere, MS, LPC, RPT-S, is a Licensed Professional Counselor and one of the first Registered Play Therapist-Supervisors in Louisiana. He is the Director of K.I.D.Z., Inc., Louisiana's first Play Therapy Institute, where his practice is limited exclusively to children and adolescents and their families. During his 30+ years of practice, he has worked in various clinical settings and has extensive training in the field of Play Therapy. He has served on various committees for the Association for Play Therapy and served on the Board of Directors. He has created several therapeutic products for mental health professionals and is a published author and frequent guest on various media outlets. Mr. Riviere has also produced a series of parent training videos titled Positive Parenting. He is an active speaker at national and state conferences and is approved to supervise counselors seeking state licensure or the Registered Play Therapist credential.
Matt is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst who has been working in the field for over a decade, and served as one of the inaugural board members for Nevada's Board of Applied Behavior Analysis. He opened his own company, LifeABA, in 2021, which is the only ABA company in Nevada to exclusively work with teens and adults. In 2023 Matt became the world's first Certified Behavioral Sexologist (CBS) and strives to promote sex-positive education and interventions to allow everyone, regardless of diagnosis, to lead a happy and fulfilled life.
Owen Clanton was born and raised in Covington, LA. Relocated to Lake Charles in 2001 to play baseball for McNeese State University. There he met his wife, Erin, of 16 years and they have four children. Owen has worked for Calcasieu Parish School Board for the last 17 years as a PE teacher, Assistant Principal, Principal, and currently as the Administrative Director of Middle Schools. Owen is passionate about learning, leadership, and helping all move beyond their perceived potential. Over the course of his career, he has served many different people and has had to learn how to communicate for authentic connection. Owen is grateful for this opportunity to share tools that he has learned that has helped him along his journey.
Dawn has more than 20 years of experience with individuals with disabilities. Her late daughter was diagnosed with autism as well as intractable epilepsy. She has taught individuals with autism for more than 15 years and has taught at various levels including elementary, middle, high and continuing education graduate classes. Dr. Stanfield received her doctorate in Education from the University of Louisiana Monroe in curriculum and instruction in 2018. Her research focused on preparing adolescents with autism for job interviews through video modeling as a support and learning tool. She has served in multiple roles and started her teaching career as a paraprofessional in a middle school self-contained setting. She then went on to teach both resource and self-contained students at various grade levels and served four years in the role of a school level special education coordinator. She currently serves in the role of being part of the Academy of Collaborative Education's (ACE) program director and special education coordinator. ACE is a charter school who serves 96 students with autism spectrum disorder in the educational setting. Dr. Stanfield has been a previous presenter for the Louisiana Autism Conference and is a published author of a book based on her own personal experiences as a caregiver to someone on the spectrum. In her spare time, she serves on several boards and committees for facilities that support those with various disabilities, including GB Cooley Life Services and Dixie Diehards Special Needs Baseball League.
Katelynn pursued her bachelor's degree at McNeese State University, where she began her journey working with children on the Autism Spectrum and with other Developmental Delays in 2009. With a lifelong passion for helping children and their families, she was introduced to ABA through the McNeese Autism Program and later worked as a Registered Line Technician under experienced BCBAs at St. Nicholas Center and Sprouts Behavior Development Center. She is currently serving as Behavior Interventionist for Beauregard Parish School Board and has been there for the past three years. Katelynn is dedicated to assisting teachers and staff in implementing various skills and collaborating in the classroom. Her ultimate goal is to promote acceptance, awareness, and knowledge in the community.
Chad Schulz is the principal at South Beauregard Elementary. He has been named the 2024-2025 Beauregard Parish Principal of the Year and was chosen as one of nine principals from across the state as a Louisiana Principal of the Year Finalist. He has been an educator for 24 years, serving the past seven as principal of SBE. He has been named the Region V LACUE Educator of the Year in 2014 and was also named a Louisiana Elementary Principal of the Year Finalist in 2020, one of only a few educators to be selected for this honor twice. The motto at the school is: SBE is the Place to Be! The school was named a 2023 "Top Gains" school by the Louisiana Department of Education for its growth for students with disabilities and the growth of its economically disadvantaged students. Students, parents, and staff know that they are a part of a creative culture that fosters excitement, inclusion, and success that makes the school "the place to be!"
Rachel has been a special education teacher for the past 9 years. She currently teaches in an elementary school in Calcasieu Parish. She received her BA in Criminal Justice from McNeese State University and a Masters Degree in Curriculum and Instruction from SNHU. She holds state certifications in Elementary Education 1-5, Mild/Moderate Special Education 1-5, Early Childhood Pk-3, and Louisiana State Mentor Teacher. She serves on her school's leadership team and is a mentor teacher to other special education teachers. She is married and has two boys with Autism.
Julie joined the team at St. Nicholas Center for Children in January 2013 as a behavior analyst. She received her master's degree in Psychology with a concentration in Applied Behavior Analysis from McNeese State University. Julie has been working with children with autism for over 10 years in clinical, school and home settings.
Zack is a licensed and board-certified behavior analyst (BCBA) with over 10 years of experience in providing therapy for individuals with ASD, developmental delays and challenging behaviors. Zack joined the team at St. Nicholas Center for Children in 2013 and currently serves as the Clinical Director. He specializes in training staff for the development and implementation of behavior intervention plans to improve the lives of those individuals served. Zack has worked with children and adolescents with varying diagnoses across school, community and center-based settings.
777 Avenue L'Auberge
Lake Charles, LA 70601
United States
ContactLLC@pennentertainment.com
866-355-7111
