Jennifer Coyle

Jennifer received her B.A. in Special Education from Western Michigan University (WMU) in 1999 and her M.A. in Special Education Administration in June 2005. Jennifer has taught students with learning disabilities, emotional impairments, autism, mild and moderate cognitive impairments, traumatic brain injuries and other health impairments in an inclusive middle school setting and in a post-school transition center. During her tenure at the Transition Center, Jennifer developed several employment training sites for students to learn various skills and trades with the guidance of job coaches, para-educators and community members. She also increased community-based instruction/participation and managed a community-based apartment for students to "live" in for three to ten days acquiring vital independent living skills, recreation and leisure experiences and other important daily living skills (i.e. money management, household chores, laundry, grocery shopping, food preparation). Currently, she is working full-time as a Project Coordinator on the National Secondary Transition Technical Assistance Center (NSTTAC) grant at WMU. She is also a doctoral student in the Special Education and Literacy Studies Department at Western Michigan University, specializing in transition focused education and services.