About the Presenters

Riley Mulcahy, Executive Director of The RILEY Project, stands as a beacon for accessible education tailored for students with learning differences. Drawing strength from his own dyslexia diagnosis, Riley is passionate about giving a voice to students and young adults, enabling them to share their unique stories through The RILEY Project. As a Marketing and Admissions Associate at Compass High School Bay Area, he’s been instrumental in fostering partnerships and amplifying community outreach initiatives, ensuring a supportive environment for students with learning disabilities. With memberships to the International Dyslexia Association and the Learning Disabilities Association of America, Riley continues to make strides in advocacy and awareness. A proud alum of Saint Mary’s College of California, his academic and professional journey underscores a dedication to creating platforms for those with learning differences to shine.

Sharon Updyke has been teaching children with learning differences for 15 years. She discovered her career while searching for educational support for her children, who struggled in the learning environment. Much of her career has been working with students in a one-on-one environment, primarily remediating math skills and supporting students with their executive functioning, adapted learning, motivation, development of positive academic affect, comprehension, and writing skills. She uses a multi-sensory and incremental approach to ensure that concepts are taught explicitly and supports the student in developing a deep understanding of the concepts. For the past three years, she has taught math at Compass High School, specializing in teaching neurodivergent students. This year, she is working as their Director of Teaching and Learning. Through this role, she more closely influences the culture of educating students to be lifelong learners, great self-advocates, and knowing they are cared for and valuable members of society.

Dr. Xin Wei serves as a Senior Quantitative Researcher on the Learning Science Research team at Digital Promise. With over two decades in the field, she excels in leveraging data analytics to improve educational outcomes for students with disabilities. As director of analytics or principal investigator of federally funded projects, Dr. Wei adeptly oversees research design, data analysis, and dissemination. Her research portfolio encompasses a range of topics in special education, from academic growth trajectories in reading and math to the effectiveness of behavioral interventions, K-12 and post-secondary STEM education, and the interaction of students with disabilities with digital learning platforms and assessments. Dr. Wei’s impactful work has resulted in noteworthy publications and has been instrumental in shaping both educational and workforce policies.

About the Moderator

Barbara Pape, Senior Director for the Learner Variability Project at Digital Promise, led a three-year national survey on learner variability and teacher practice, wrote the paper defining learner variability, hosts a monthly webinar series, and co-developed The IEP Project. Previously, she worked in policy analysis and communications for nonprofits and in the U.S. Senate. Barbara has written for numerous publications and was editor of the first electronically delivered education newsletter, the Daily Report Card. Previously, she produced the Teaching & Learning conference for the National Board, worked in the communications office for the AFT during President Al Shanker’s tenure, and headed up government relations for the City Colleges of Chicago. She earned an Ed.M. at Harvard and coursework toward a Ph.D. at the University of Virginia. Barbara launched her career as a middle school teacher in her hometown of Pittsburgh.