Allison Lombardi, PhD
Dr. Lombardi teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in the Special Education Program. She’s also the director of the graduate certificate program in Postsecondary Disability Services.
Dr. Lombardi studies the transition from adolescence to adulthood, with a particular focus on College and Career Readiness (CCR) and higher education experiences of underrepresented groups, including students with disabilities. She focuses on survey design methods and has experience in the development, field-testing, and initial validation of several measures intended for secondary and postsecondary students and college faculty. More recently, she’s focused on leveraging Information Technology (IT) literacy as a means to teach CCR and transition skills to secondary students with disabilities. Currently, she’s the project coordinator of an intervention study of the EnvisionIT curriculum. She’s also exploring the utility of Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) as an implementation vehicle for CCR in high schools, and expanding the discourse on diversity in higher education to include disabilities.
Dr. Lombardi currently serves on the editorial boards of the Journal of Diversity in Higher Education, Career Development and Transition for Exceptional Individuals, and the Journal on Postsecondary Education and Disability. Before joining the faculty at the University of Connecticut, Dr. Lombardi was a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the University of Oregon’s College of Education.
Email: allison.lombardi@uconn.edu
Tracy Sinclair, PhD
Dr. Tracy Sinclair is an Assistant Clinical Professor in the Special Education Program. She teaches courses in both the Integrated Bachelors/Masters (IB/M) and the Teacher Certification Program for College Graduates (TCPCG). Dr. Sinclair earned her PhD in Special Education in May 2020 from the University of Oklahoma concentrating on Transition and Applied Behavior Analysis. Currently, she teaches courses in assessment; behavior intervention strategies; exceptionality and inclusion; student teaching; and instructional practices. Dr. Sinclair is involved with research projects to develop transition assessments in partnership with the University of Oklahoma Zarrow Center for Learning Enrichment. Her other research interests involve infusing cultural humility into educational practices, evidence-based practices to support student learning and behavior, including self-management strategies to promote skills of self-determination. Prior to coming to higher education, Dr. Sinclair was a classroom teacher in both the elementary general and high school special education environments for over 10 years, and has been named Teacher of the Year at the school and county level.
Ashley Taconet
Ashley Taconet is a third-year doctoral student at the University of Connecticut working with Dr. Allison Lombardi. Her research interests include transition and postsecondary education for students with intellectual disabilities or autism, specifically the areas of independent living skills and vocational training. Ashley’s previous experience includes working as an employment specialist, a paraprofessional in transition education and early childhood education settings, and an academic, vocational, and residential mentor for a TPSID (Transition and Postsecondary Programs for Students with Intellectual Disabilities).