Plenary Speakers

Johnny Collett is the assistant secretary in the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services at the United States Department of Education. In this capacity, he serves as the advisor to the U.S. education secretary on matters related to the education of children and youths with disabilities, as well as employment and community living for youths and adults with disabilities. The mission of his office is to improve early childhood, educational, and employment outcomes, and to raise expectations for all people with disabilities, their families, their communities, and the nation.

Prior to joining the department, Collett served as the program director of special education outcomes at the Council of Chief State School Officers. Collett also served at the Kentucky Department of Education as the state's special education director, as an assistant division director, and as an exceptional children consultant.

Collett, a former high school special education teacher and church pastor, graduated from Georgetown College in Georgetown, Kentucky in 2005 with a Master of Arts in education. In 1994, he graduated with a bachelor's degree from Clear Creek Baptist Bible College and in 1991 he received an associate degree from Southeast Community College, at that time a part of the University of Kentucky college system. Collett also holds a certification in learning and behavior disorders from Kentucky.

Elliot Regenstein is a Chicago-based partner at Foresight Law and Policy Advisors. He is a frequent author and speaker on topics including accountability, state data systems, early childhood governance, and the connections between early learning and K-12. He has extensive experience in state-level policy and advocacy, with a particular focus on early learning; he has also consulted with more than two dozen states on a wide range of education policy topics. Regenstein was one of the chief architects of Illinois' 2006 Preschool for All program while serving in the governor's office as Director of Education Reform, and he co-chaired the Illinois Early Learning Council from 2004 until April 2009. In 2015, he was appointed chair of the Illinois Longitudinal Data System Governing Board, and has served as chair of the Illinois Early Learning Council’s Data, Research, and Evaluation Sub-Committee since its creation in 2009.

Ruth Ryder is the acting director of the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) in the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) at the U.S. Department of Education (ED). OSERS provides leadership to achieve full integration and participation in society of people with disabilities by ensuring equal opportunity and access to, and excellence in, education, employment, and community living. OSEP assumes a national leadership role by supporting its customers and partners through technical assistance, personnel preparation, parent training, technology, data collection, reporting and use, and state monitoring and support.

Ms. Ryder has served at ED since 1988. Currently, she provides national leadership for moving special education accountability to a more results-oriented focus. In addition, Ms. Ryder focuses attention on ensuring that the needs of children with disabilities are addressed in the major initiatives of ED, such as the Every Student Succeeds Act, family engagement, school climate transformation, and early learning.