Experience

Graduate Researcher, Sonoma State University. My thesis asks what paraeducators themselves would want from their training. The study design and interview protocol are complete and the study has IRB approval. I am recruiting twenty paraeducators in inclusive classrooms across the United States for interviews; data collection runs through fall 2026, with reflexive thematic analysis in Dedoose to follow. Advisor: Dr. Elizabeth Ducy.

Research Fellow, Biliteracy and Content Area Integrated Preparation (BCAIP), Sonoma State University. A research training fellowship in qualitative methods, supervised by Dr. Edward Lyon and Dr. Caroline Spurgin. I coded 79 transcripts of interviews with preservice teachers about translanguaging and support for emergent bilingual students, following the project's analysis protocol in Dedoose, and reviewed emerging findings in regular analysis meetings with Dr. Spurgin.

Researcher, Aestima, Latvia. Co-authored three reports on AI in autism assessment and digital employment for autistic adults, contributing literature searches, critical appraisal, and written review sections. For the assessment report, synthesized 57 machine learning and sensor studies on autism screening into comparison tables, identifying the best performing models by data type for a recommended data collection kit. Also curated the knowledge base behind Aestima Superbot, an LLM-based research and evidence-synthesis tool.

Psychologist, OquNow, Kazakhstan. Counseled families of children with disabilities and ran sessions for parents and schools on inclusive education.

Director and Psychologist, El-Zhan Inclusive Kindergarten, Kazakhstan. Led one of the first inclusive kindergartens to open in Kazakhstan as the country moved to expand inclusive education, serving 100 children.

Developer and Instructor, accredited Professional Development Program in Inclusive Education and Training of Paraeducators, Kazakhstan. Trained 90 educators and paraeducators from kindergartens and schools across Kazakhstan, and in 2024 adapted the program into a 30 lecture online course for OquNow, recorded in Kazakh and Russian.

Counseling Psychologist and Play Therapist, Center of Inclusion Yom Yom (formerly Adain Lo), Russia. Began as a volunteer paraeducator in inclusive classrooms in 2014, then joined as staff in 2015, working in person until 2020 and remotely part time from 2020 to 2023, providing play therapy and support in inclusive early childhood settings and running online parent groups.