Meaghan J. Mullen, M.A .—Senior Director, ESP and Clinical Services

Meaghan Mullen is the Senior Director of the Educational Support and Clinical Services Programs for the Los Angeles area. Prior to joining Total Education Solutions she spent several years in various special education assignments of increasing scope and responsibility. Her classroom experiences were strengthened while working with students in the non-public and public school settings as a Special Education teacher specializing in behavior management and modification. She is a graduate of the University of Southern California and holds a Masters degree in Education from Pepperdine University. She is currently pursuing her doctorate in Organizational Leadership. As a certified Behavior Intervention Case Manager (BICM), Meaghan is committed to ensuring each child's program is tailored to meet their individual needs.

Julie Anne Hruby, M.A.—Senior Director of Contracted Special Education Services

Julie Hruby is the Senior Director of Contracted Special Education Services (CSES) for the Los Angeles region. Ms. Hruby has been working in the field of special education for over ten years and has extensive experience in public, residential, and non-public school settings. Prior to joining our company in 2005, she taught language arts to emotionally disturbed and learning disabled teenagers, first in a residential treatment facility and then at a non-public school. Ms. Hruby holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of St. Thomas in secondary education and English, a master’s degree from the University of Northern Colorado in special education, and a master’s degree in educational administration from California State University. She is a certified Behavior Intervention Case Manager (BICM) and holds current credentials in special education and educational administration. Since joining TES, Ms. Hruby has coordinated and overseen special education service provision in the charter school setting in areas including: resource specialists, school psychology, counseling, compliance, and related services.

Dana Clemens, B. A.—Manager, Education Support Services

Dana Clemens joined Total Education Solutions in April of 2005. Prior to joining TES, Dana worked for several years as a house manager at a residential treatment facility for emotionally disturbed boys in Northern California. Among her many responsibilities, she created and implemented behavior strategies for boys aged 7-18 years. Dana started with TES as a behavior intervention specialist and gradually transitioned into her role as Program Manager of the Educational Support Program. Dana received her Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology from Sonoma State University and along with being a Behavior Intervention Case Manager (BICM), she is also currently a Certified Instructor for the Nonviolent Crisis Intervention Training Program. Her dedication and passion for working with children has been instrumental in the growth and success of TES.

Morgan Behny, B.A.—Manager, Contracted Special Education Services

Morgan Behny is the Program Manager for Contracted Special Education Services (CSES) for the Los Angeles region. Ms. Behny manages and oversees contracted special education services between Total Education Solutions and California charter schools. She brings to TES her experience in communications and leadership, having served as business development and marketing coordinator in a communications company prior to joining TES in 2008. Ms. Behny holds a bachelor of arts in communication and leadership from California State University.

Chris Coyle, MA- CCC, SLP.—Speech Coordinator

Chris joined TES in June of 2006. Chris’ main contributions to TES stem from his work as bilingual kindergarten teacher for the Philadelphia public school district where he developed literacy curriculum and assessments in Spanish. Chris continued his study of children’s language development at Temple University as a research assistant for an NICHD funded grant investigating narrative discourse of bilingual children age four to seven. Chris has presented a Symposium on Research in Children Language Disorders (SRCLD) held annually in Madison Wisconsin. He has also contributed to articles on narrative development published in the Journal of Speech Language and Hearing.

Alex Romero—Manager, Supplemental Education Services

Alex Romero has been with Total Education Solutions for four years as the SES Program Manager for Los Angeles. Ms. Romero formally worked for LAUSD for the Division of Special Education, Due Process. She brings with her knowledge and experience in working with families and students from all socio economic areas. This includes working with children with remedial needs. Alex attended California State University, Dominguez Hills and is further pursuing her education. She currently manages 15 school districts within Los Angeles County, oversees a vast number of families, students and service providers.

Debbie Allen, OTD, OTR/L—Occupational Therapy Coordinator

Dr. Allen joined Total Education Solutions in February 2008. After receiving her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from California State University, Long Beach, Dr. Allen went on to obtain a Master of Arts degree and a Doctorate of Occupational Therapy from the University of Southern California, where she focused her studies on program development for internationally adopted children and their families in addition to sensory integration theory, assessment, and practice. Initially working with children and families from high-risk populations as a case manager in the social services industry, she became interested in the developmental disabilities population while working for the Regional Center of Orange County as an Early Start service coordinator. Dr. Allen is a member of the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) and the Occupational Therapy Association of California (OTAC). Certified in Sensory Integration therapy, as well as the administration and interpretation of the Sensory Integration and Praxis Test (SIPT), Dr. Allen oversees TES’ occupational and physical therapy programs.

Lynne M. Porter, M.A.—Regional Manager

Ms. Porter joined Total Education Solutions (TES) as the Regional Manager for Michigan in July, 2002. Under her leadership, TES established its first out-of-state office under the name Michigan Special Education Solutions (MSES). Formerly a Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) of a charter school in Lansing Michigan, Ms. Porter brings with her a wealth of experience both from the traditional as well as from the charter school setting. Prior to serving as a CAO, Ms. Porter helped to establish 4 new Charter Schools in Michigan and one in Colorado. She was an Elementary School Principal for 6 years in Lansing, Michigan as well as special education teacher. She received her Masters of Arts degree from Michigan State University in Educational Administration as well as her Bachelors Degree in Elementary and Special Education. In January of 2000, she was voted as one of the One Hundred People to Watch in the 21st century by the Lansing State Journal and in August of that year spoke at a National Press Conference with Governor George W. Bush on Education. She continues to be an Educational Leader in her community, fulfilling her lifelong commitment to ensure that all children have access to a quality education. In September of 2010, TES/MI established their first clinic in Troy, MI to better meet the needs of children and their parents.

Edwina McKenzie-Madison, M.A. –Special Education Coordinator

Edwina McKenzie-Madison began working at TES in October 2005. Her current role at TES includes compliance and supervision of special education programs and staff at several public school academies in the Metropolitan Detroit Area. She also coordinates the SES program in Michigan. Mrs. McKenzie-Madison holds a Master of Arts Degree in Educational Administration. Prior to joining TES, she taught and then promoted to the Building Administrator, then to the position of Compliance Officer at a Detroit area Public School Academy. Mrs. McKenzie-Madison began her career in education working in the financial aid department at a State University in Michigan. After her tenure at the university, she worked in adult and vocational education in a variety of roles including community liaison, director of financial aid, and student placement officer. In addition, Mrs. McKenzie-Madison worked in an educational marketing firm that focused on marketing adult education program for public school districts to residents in Southeastern Michigan. She is also experienced in oversight of pupil accounting, Title I programs, grant writing and grant management, and writing policy and procedural materials for schools.

Tawnia Novak, M.A.--Regional Manager

Ms. Novak joined the TES team in November 2007. She started the Ohio region with just one employee, and herself. The first year TES Ohio had a total of 8 employees and 7 clients. Now TES- Ohio has over 40 clients through out the state of Ohio and over 75 dynamic educational and professional employees that work within the Ohio Region. With the leadership of Ms. Novak, Ohio is the first entity within TES to develop and provide nursing, grant writing, and English As a Second Language in addition to the array of TES services already provided. Ms. Novak has been responsible for building the business in Ohio which includes marketing, managing and developing clinic based business. She is responsible for managing all the employees within the region and is a service provider conducting in-services, audits, special education coordination. Ms. Novak brings a wealth of experiences to TES from being in the special education field for 16 years. Seven years of teaching were spent in both in public and charter schools. Three years were spent teaching and supervising special education on the Navajo Indian Reservation in Shiprock, NM. While working on the reservation, she worked closely with the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and had the benefit of being trained by the Department of Education in regards to Individual with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) 1997. After a successful career in teaching, she moved into the arena of special education supervision. While in the supervisory role she conducted a number of in-services for staff and clients across five states on Differentiated Instruction, Intervention Assistance Teams, Inclusion, Behavior Management, and Special Education Law. Prior to working with TES, she successfully supervised 17 schools in Ohio, Michigan and Arizona, while ensuring state and federal compliance. Ms. Novak has a great passion to ensure compliance be upheld in regard to both federal and state laws as they relate to special education. Ms. Novak is a dynamic person with exceptional managerial skills, public speaking skills, and overall professional and business confidence that will continue to enhance the success TES.

Latrise Yates, M.A. –Manager, Supplemental Education Services

Latrise Yates joined Total Education Solutions in the Ohio Region in December of 2009 as a Supplemental Educational Services (SES) Specialist I. In March of 2010 she was promoted to be the SES Program Manager, and also continues providing tutoring services. TES had 35 students and 15 tutors during the 2009-2010 school year. Currently there are 64 students in the SES program, which Mrs. Yates has worked diligently to maintain and continue to provide quality services. She ensures to provide that Specialists receive the appropriate resources and training to meet the needs of all students. As the SES Program Manager, Mrs. Yates is responsible for attending Provider Fairs, communicating with the various School Districts, supervising Specialists, and seeking new ways to improve the SES program. Before joining TES, she provided Professional Development Training for Starting Point, which is a resource and referral Agency in the Cleveland area. Prior to that, six years were spent teaching grades 1-3. She has a Bachelors Degree in Elementary Education and a Masters Degree in Curriculum & Instruction. Mrs. Yates believes that having realistic expectations and setting goals is the best way to achieve academic success. Although, she is no longer working in the classroom full-time; she still has an impact on building our future leaders, which continues to be very rewarding to her.

Dana Tappen, M.A., CCC-SLP – Clinic Director

Dana is the Clinic Director for the San Diego region. Prior to joining TES San Diego in January 2009, Dana worked as a speech language pathologist for several local school districts and early intervention agencies as well as owned her own private practice. She graduated from San Diego State University with both her bachelor’s and master’s degree and in the fall will obtain a Special Education Advocacy Certificate. In 2008, Dana received the Award for Continuing Education (ACE) from the American Speech Language and Hearing Association (ASHA), which is awarded to professionals who demonstrate an exceptional commitment to professional development. Dana’s passion and commitment is to provide a family centered and multidisciplinary approach to therapy. She is a Hanen ® Certified Speech Language Pathologist in: It Takes Two to Talk ®, More Than Words ®, and Target Word ®. Dana has continued to further her clinical skills by receiving advanced trainings in the Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS), Lidcombe Fluency Program, The SCERTS ® Model, and Infancy & Early Childhood Training Course for the DIR®/Floortime™ Model. In addition, Dana has also participated in various trainings for Developmental Apraxia of Speech, Autism, language delays, articulation, and insurance billing & coding.

Jill Magnus, B.A.—Manager, Supplemental Education Services

Jill is the SES Program Manager for the San Diego Region. Prior to joining TES in August of 2010, Jill was an elementary classroom teacher for six years. She obtained a Bachelor’s Degree in Liberal Studies from the California State University, Chico. Jill went on to pursue a career in education at the California State University, Monterey Bay where she received a Multiple Subject Teaching Credential with CLAD (Cross-cultural language and academic development). Jill has a variety of experience in the classroom and school environment. Working in a title-one school and a college prep academy have given her the opportunity to teach a diverse group of students as well as be a mentor to new teachers, and a leader of the curriculum development committee. Jill has a strong passion for education and a commitment to children. She believes in a student centered learning environment where all students can be successful, and enjoys sharing her philosophy and experience with her team.

Traci Bean, MA, CCC-SLP—Clinic Director

Traci began her TES career in January 2001 as a Speech and Language Service Provider. She now heads up the Northern California Team as Clinic Director. After majoring in music education at the University of Oregon, Traci received her Bachelors of Art and Masters of Arts in Speech and Language Pathology from San Jose State University and is a member of the American Speech-Language and Hearing Association as well as the state and regional speech and language associations. Past presentations include; “How Special Education Relates to Charter Schools,” “Collaboration and Consultation: bridging the gap between special ed and general ed,” “When to Refer, How to Refer, and Where to Refer,” “Therapy Out of the Box,” “Using Music in Speech Therapy,” “Music Makes Me Merry,” and San Jose State University Graduate Language Disorder Seminar guest presenter. Awards and recognitions include: NSSLHA Honors for outstanding leadership, SJSU College of Education Multicultural Award, Dean’s Scholar, Associated Student Body Leadership Award, as well as an Early Intervention Grant through San Jose State University. Traci continues to inspire her students through her love for language and her passion for music.

Judie Stevens, B.A.—Manager, Supplemental Education Services

Judie Stevens has a BS degree in Business Management from the University of Phoenix. Ms. Stevens manages the Supplemental Educational Services program in the Northern California Region. Prior to her career with TES, Ms. Stevens worked as a Site Supervisor of a school age child care program where she enjoyed working with children of all ages. From the onset of Ms. Stevens’ career she has always worked with school age children and understands that not every child learns the same way. Ms. Stevens has always incorporated different teaching methods when working with children and this is a skill she shares with her team of SES Specialists.