Anthony J. Plotner, Ph.D.

Tony Plotner is a Professor in Special Education in the Department of Educational and Developmental Science in the College of Education. He received his Ph.D. in Special Education from the University of Illinois. He also holds a M.S. in Rehabilitation from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. His primary research interests center around (1) Enhancing employment and personal outcomes of transition-age youth with disabilities; (2) Improving collaborative service delivery across systems; and (3) Developing and implementing rigorous college opportunities for individuals with an intellectual disability. Tony has procured over 8 million dollars in external funding as Principal Investigator and has published over 80 peer-reviewed publications and book chapters. In his spare time, Tony enjoys playing high-stakes poker, traveling with his wife, and watching re-runs of Saved by the Bell.

Rebecca Smith Hill, Ph.D.

Rebecca (Becca) Smith Hill is Associate Director of the Center for Transition Research and Leadership at USC. She is a social worker, former middle and high school special education teacher, and adjunct professor. She earned her Ph.D. in special education with a focus on transition from USC. Her research interests include self-determination, sense of belonging, dignity of risk, identity development, and overall wellness for transition-age young adults with disability. Becca leverages her experience in the education and social work fields to use tenets of participatory action research as a framework for conducting research with emerging adults with disabilities.

Charles Walters, Ph.D.

Charles “Charlie” Walters, Ph.D., is an Assistant Research Professor at the University of Maryland’s Center for Transition and Career Innovation (CTCI) and a Research Fellow at the University of South Carolina’s Center for Transition Research and Leadership (CTRL). In his work, he leverages a career in education and publicly-funded services for people with disabilities spanning nearly 15 years. As a program evaluator, Charlie has worked on national impact evaluations of secondary transition interventions; internal and external evaluations of the service delivery of Centers for Independent Living; and systems change-driven evaluations of vocational rehabilitation agencies, schools, and Medicaid waiver service providers. As a researcher, Charlie maintains active lines of inquiry related to alternatives to guardianship, the youth initiatives of Centers for Independent Living, and systemic barriers to employment for youth with disabilities.

Shayla Anderson  

Shayla serves as the South Carolina Inclusive Postsecondary Education Consortium (SCIPSEC) Program Coordinator. She received her undergraduate and graduate degrees in special education from Coastal Carolina University, where she worked as a graduate assistant at the Coastal Carolina LIFE inclusive postsecondary education program. After teaching in the K-12 setting, she realized her true passion was in the field of transition. Shayla loves that she now gets to collaborate with professionals in the IPSE field across the state and country! In her spare time, she loves chasing the sun(rise) and dedicating her time and efforts to serving some of her favorite humans through her equine-assisted program, HERD Programs, LLC.

Erica Milliron

Erica is Director of CarolinaLIFE, an inclusive postsecondary education program at USC. Erica graduated from Millersville University in Pennsylvania in 2003 with a dual B.S. in Elementary Education and Special Education and graduated from the University of Kansas in 2013 with a Masters in Special Education with an emphasis in transition. Erica taught special education for 18 years in the public school system in Pennsylvania and served as a transition coordinator for 14 of those years. She spent the last year as a regional Transition Consultant in central PA.

Stephanie Brown  

Stephanie is a doctoral student and assists with the College Access and Preparation Program at the University of South Carolina. She earned her BS in Special Education Learning Disabilities and Master of Education in Visual Impairments from the University of South Carolina Upstate and a plus thirty hours in cortical vision impairments from Perkins School for the Blind. Stephanie has worked in the field of education for 10 years and works for the South Carolina School for the Deaf and Blind Outreach Division as a dual certified orientation and mobility instructor and teacher of students with visual impairments. Stephanie is passionate about the field of research in cortical vision impairments, orientation and mobility for students with multiple disabilities, assistive technology, and self-determination. 

Sarah Livingston  

Sarah is currently a doctoral student in special education with a focus on transition and qualitative research, focusing on dignity of risk in inclusive postsecondary education programs. Sarah is an OSEP grant scholar and has joined the CarolinaLIFE team as the Employment Support Specialist. Sarah is a former elementary and high school special education teacher. While teaching, Sarah taught students with severe and multiple intellectual and developmental disabilities. She taught in the South Carolina public school system in Lexington and York counties for eight years.  She graduated with a BS in Biological Sciences in 2008 and earned her MAT plus thirty in Special Education with a focus on Applied Behavior Analysis in 2013. Both of her degrees were earned at the University of South Carolina. Sarah will spend time focusing on quality of life, equity, and inclusion for the young adults she works with.

Adrianna Shoemaker  

Adri is a Project Fusion Scholar and graduate assistant pursuing her Ph.D. in Special Education at The University of South Carolina. She received her undergraduate degree in sociology and philosophy in 2017 and her master’s degree in special education in 2020. Adri is also a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA). Most recently, Adri served as a middle school special education teacher and department chair. Adri devoted specific time to equipping school staff with the skills to support students in crisis, gaining school-wide buy-in related to serving students in their least restrictive environments, and helping educators understand how instruction at the middle school level affects transition outcomes for students with disabilities.