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Meet The OA Project Team
Laurie Balsano Wright, Ed.D. (Coordinator)
Dr. Laurie Balsano Wright is a Coordinator of Facilitated Improvement and Support with Placer County Office of Education. Her essential responsibilities include developing and implementing an integrated, coherent system of resources, interventions, and support in the areas of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and Continuous Improvement. Prior to being a Coordinator for PCOE, Laurie was a site principal of a program improvement school within a district identified for Differentiated Assistance, International Baccalaureate Coordinator, Intervention Teacher, facilitator of professional development, and teacher. Laurie brings knowledge and experience from her work at school sites on instructional leadership, student access and engagement, and collaborative practices. She holds a Doctorate in Organizational Innovation from National University. Her impact as a change agent has resulted in sustained performance improvement by strengthening organizational culture and whole systems thinking focused on continuous improvement within the educational setting. Laurie strongly believes in educating the whole child, understanding individual student needs and development, and encouraging staff growth by supporting professional development, building capacity, and facilitating positive change.
Emily DesJardins, M.A. SpEd (Statewide Lead)
Emily is a Program Specialist and UDL Content Lead for the Placer County SELPA. Her background is in special education teaching and working as a Program Specialist for school districts. She has seen firsthand the amazing learning opportunities that Universal Design for Learning can create for children on school campuses. Emily believes in the importance of supporting learning variability in our children to help them understand their learning diversity and build their confidence and knowledge that all humans learn differently. When not working, Emily enjoys spending time with her husband and young children, usually outside doing chores on their small budding homestead
Leah Padilla, M.A. Ed (Coordinator)
Leah is a Coordinator of Facilitated Improvement and Support for the Open Access project. She previously was Program Specialist at Placer County SELPA, supporting districts, parents, teachers and students with a range of supports. Leah has over 20 years of experience supporting students in a variety of settings as a teacher, in both general and special education. She has expertise in the area of literacy and enjoys teaching prospective teachers in best practices for literacy instruction. Leah loves the focus on developing expert learners in the UDL framework and the ability it gives our learners to be successful on their own terms. Leah is a mom of three active young boys and stays busy attending soccer and baseball games.
Melanie Purdy (Administrative Support)
Melanie provides administrative support to all of our Open Access projects and serves in this role for the SELPA as a whole. She has been with the SELPA for 12 years, and is truly the glue that holds it all together! Melanie provides support to our budgeting, travel planning, website upkeep and material development and distribution, but really is there for anything we need. She is extremely well-organized and brings so much energy and positivity to our team. When not working, Melanie can be found socializing with friends, traveling any chance she gets with her husband, and balancing two grown kids with an active (and very busy!) 4th grader who hasn’t found a sport he doesn’t like!
Troy Tickle (Assistant Superintendent)
Troy is the Assistant Superintendent for Placer County SELPA, and our interface with SELPAs across the state as well as our grantors, CDE and CCEE. Troy handles all things fiscal, and will be working with the team on digging deep into the metrics we’ve collected to answer “big” questions about building capacity across evidence-based practices (our charge with this project). Troy has been with Placer County SELPA for the past 5 years, having come from Kern County SELPA as a Coordinator, and a prior educational career as a speech-language pathologist. Troy and his wife, who is a speech-language pathologist in Placer County, keep busy with three very active school-aged kids involved in a lot of extra-curricular activities!
Jennifer Wright, M.A.,CCC-SLP (Statewide Lead)
Jennifer Wright is a Program Specialist and AAC Content Lead with the Open Access grant. Jennifer’s professional career has been focused on AAC and Assistive Technology for over 20 years. Her prior experience includes supporting student’s needs with communication across a range of grade spans. Jennifer goes into every situation ready to ignite enthusiasm and build people’s confidence in doing this exciting work. Somehow, Jennifer manages to find the time and energy to be the Club Director for the Auburn Aces Volleyball Club while also figuring out how to adjust to an empty nest.
Mimi Zimlich (Statewide Lead)
Mimi Zimlich is a Program Specialist and UDL/AT Content Lead with the Open Access grant. Mimi has a background in school psychology and mental health, supporting both general and special education students across a variety of educational settings. She is passionate about using a strength-based approach and believes in building educator capacity so that all students can thrive. She is especially committed to fostering inclusive practices by removing barriers to learning, designing flexible instruction, and supporting access for all students through the thoughtful integration of assistive technology. When she's not working, you can find her planning her next travel adventure, experimenting with new recipes in the kitchen, or enjoying time with family and friends.
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