The Special School District of St. Louis County presented UMSL Associate Professor April Regester (at left) with its Special Ambassador Award on March 8. She’s pictured here with her husband, Mark Regester (in back), and nominators Michelle Levi Perez (center) and Debra Fiasco. (Photo courtesy of April Regester)
Alumna April Regester of UC Santa Barbara’s Gevirtz School received the 2017 Special Ambassador Award from the St. Louis Special School District (SSD) as thanks for seven years of innovative and inclusive work on behalf of students, families and community partners. Presented at the annual SSD Salutes banquet March 8, the Special Ambassador Award honors individuals and organizations that demonstrate an extraordinary commitment to the students and staff of SSD.
Regester has been working with SSD since joining the University of Missouri, St. Louis (UMSL) College of Education’s Department of Educator Preparation, Innovation and Research in 2010. She is an active member of SSD’s Inclusive Education Stakeholders Committee, has worked with SSD to develop scholarship opportunities so that parents and students can attend education-related conferences and events, and has invited SSD employees to be a part of the Collaboration for Effective Educator Development, Accountability and Reform (better known as CEEDAR) – a federally funded initiative that Regester helped bring to UMSL. Regester also regularly presents at parent groups and meetings on topics related to inclusive education best practices and has built partnerships between UMSL and SSD that provide further education and training opportunities for SSD staff.
Regester is a tenured Associate Professor at UMSL, where she researches friendship and social supports for severely disabled people, autism, inclusive education, and college and adult life skills for individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) and Supported Living. Regester conducted a Post Doctoral Fellowship at the UCSB Koegel Autism Center, and completed her Ph.D. in Special Education, Disabilities and Risk Studies in the Department of Education in 2009, along with a M.A. in Special Education and a Preliminary Education Specialist Credential from the Teacher Education Program.