As Principal Investigator of the Great Lakes Equity Center, Dr. Thorius (TOR-yuss) developed the center’s design and received funding for its implementation, as well as directs the center’s strategic and research efforts, along with the Co-PIs. She serves as an Assistant Professor of Urban Special Education in Indiana University’s School of Education at IUPUI. Her expertise is in policy and practice related to eliminating racial and linguistic disproportionality in special education, including Response to Intervention frameworks, and educators’ equity-focused professional learning. Previously Dr. Thorius was a Co-Director at The Equity Alliance at Arizona State University, which was the Region IV Equity Assistance Center and served as the professional learning coordinator for two Department of Education national technical assistance and dissemination centers: The National Center for Culturally Responsive Educational Systems (NCCRESt) and the National Institute for Urban School Improvement (NIUSI). Dr. Thorius’s research examines the ways in which systemic factors, including educational policy and educator practices and beliefs, converge to shape educational access, participation, and outcomes for students who have been historically marginalized. Dr. Thorius has a strong record of facilitating partnerships with state departments of education and school districts to create inclusive, culturally responsive educational systems. She also has extensive experience developing professional development resources and providing equity-oriented professional development to states, districts, institutes of higher education, and professional organizations.

Dr. Skelton is Project Director of the Great Lakes Equity Center. As Project Director, she works in collaboration with the Center’s Principal Investigators to plan, direct, and manage projects and services offered to state and local education agencies throughout the Center’s six-state region. Dr. Skelton has worked as an educational consultant for a regional special education resource center in southwest Ohio, a lead consultant for three state-wide school improvement initiatives funded by the Ohio Department of Education, and as an Co- director of Professional Learning and Technical Assistance at the Equity Alliance at Arizona State University and Assistant Director of Professional Learning and Technical Assistance at the Great Lakes Equity Center at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis. She has garnered more than 15 years of experience working in the areas of systems change, school improvement, and educational equity. Dr. Skelton has been an adjunct professor at Northern Kentucky University, the University of Cincinnati, and the College of Mount Saint Joseph. She has co-authored book chapters on implementing systemic change for improved student outcomes, and regularly presents at numerous local, state, and national conferences on various topics related to promoting the achievement of diverse students. smskelto@iupui.edu