Judith Doktor

Judy Doktor has been an advocate for persons with disabilities all her life. While living in Hawaii she served as the director of a pre-school for emotionally disturbed children and a director of a diagnostic clinic for children with learning difficulties. She was named a Hearing Officer for the State of Hawaii. She also served as an evaluator for the school district. She served one term as chief of staff for the Hawaii State Senate Health Committee where she was in charge of guiding legislation mandating the de-institutionalization of persons with developmental disabilities from Waimano State Home.

She received her Ph.D. from Vanderbilt University, where she majored in Policy Development and Program Evaluation. She received a two year post doctoral fellowship in Special Education at the University of Kansas.

After the University of Kansas experience, she moved to California where she became a senior evaluator for the Los Angeles School District. She headed the implementing and evaluating teams for the Chandra Smith Consent Decree, a landmark Special Education Decision.

Currently she instills her students with her advocacy spirit and knowledge of Special Education Law while teaching the undergraduate diverse learners methods classes (EDPS 370) at Calumet Purdue.

Her research interests are as follows: parents of children with autism and their relationships with public school systems, implementation of Professional Development School Programs, School linked services and emergency preparedness guidelines for persons with disabilities.

Before coming to Calumet –Purdue in 2007, she served as a senior evaluator for three SAMHSA funded AIDS prevention grants. She also has experience evaluating Community Based Programs and continues to offer assistance in program evaluation to schools and organizations serving children with special needs.