DARTS Officers

Susan Harvey (2024-2026)

Susan Harvey is Professor of Music at Midwestern State University (MSU Texas) in Wichita Falls, Texas, where she teaches music education courses. She is Director of Music at New Hope Presbyterian Church. Dr. Harvey served as Chair of the MSU Department of Music for over six years and was Music Director and Conductor of the Wichita Falls Youth Symphony Orchestra for nine years. Prior to her appointment at MSU Texas, Dr. Harvey taught elementary music and secondary instrumental and choral music in Virginia public schools for twenty years.

Dr. Harvey regularly presents at local, state, national, and international conferences. Her middle school and high school ensembles have performed at state and national conferences. Dr. Harvey’s writing have been published by Oxford University Press, The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and the Organization of American Kodály Educators.

Dr. Harvey earned a Bachelor of Music Education from James Madison University, a Master of Arts in Education with a major in curriculum and instruction from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, and a Doctor of Musical Arts from Shenandoah Conservatory of Shenandoah University.

Janet Whitman Knighten (2024-2026)

Jann Knighten is an instructor at the University of Arkansas, teaching courses in music education and special education. As a passionate educator and advocate for inclusive music education, Jann has dedicated over 30 years to teaching and advancing the field. She holds degrees in Music Education from East Carolina University and has pursued advanced studies at the University of Texas at Austin and the University of Arkansas, where she is currently a PhD candidate. Her research focuses on including students with learning differences and disabilities in music ensembles. A National Board-Certified Music Educator and former educational ambassador to Japan, Knighten has presented nationally and internationally and serves in leadership roles. Beyond work, she enjoys caring for her animals and supporting sea turtle conservation on Topsail Island, NC.

Kathleen Farrand (2024-2026)

Dr. Kathleen Farrand is an Associate Professor in the Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College, Arizona State University. She has taught 1st grade, 3rd grade, preschool, and at the college level. She currently teaches in the Early Childhood Program in the Division of Teacher Preparation. She has a Ph.D. in Language, Education, and Society and a M.A. in Educational Administration from The Ohio State University. In addition, she has an M.Ed. in Elementary Education from the University of Florida and a B.A. in Film Studies from the University of California, Santa Barbara.

She is interested in practices that improve the social and academic success of all learners in inclusive educational settings. Her areas of research focus on the use of dramatic inquiry in inclusive classrooms found along a continuum of educational placements to support student achievement, collaborative inquiry with classroom teachers to examine teacher change overtime, and the use of therapy dogs to support social emotional wellness for students, faculty, and staff in PK-12th grade. Dr. Farrand is editor for the Visual Impairment and DeafBlind Education Quarterly journal, co-editor of the Journal of the Arts and Special Education (JASE), and she serves on the executive board for the Council for Exceptional Children-Division on Visual Impairments and Deafblindness. Dr. Farrand is past president (2024-2026) for the Council of Exceptional Children- Division of Visual and Performing Arts Education. Her recent publications can be found in British Journal of Visual Impairment, Journal of Visual Impairment and Blindness, TEACHING Exceptional Children, Multiple Voices for Ethnically Diverse Exceptional Learners, and the British Journal of Special Education.

Beverley Holden Johns (2023-2024)

Bev Johns has been in the field of special education for over 40 years, retiring from the public schools where she developed programs for students with learning disabilities and emotional/behavioral disorders. She founded a public school for children with the most significant behavioral challenges. She is the author or co-author of 23 books. She was a Professional Fellow at MacMurray College. She is the recipient of the 2022 DARTS Lifetime Achievement Award, the 2000 Outstanding Leadership Award of CEC, and also the recipient of the Romaine Mackie Award given by the Pioneers Division. She has served as President of CCBD and the Pioneers. 

Michael Dunn (2024-2025)

An associate professor of special education and literacy at Washington State University, Vancouver, Michael Dunn teaches courses applicable to K-12 educators in the Special Education Endorsement, Master’s, and PhD in Special Education Programs. His areas of research interest include developing strategies for struggling writers with technology, and response to intervention (RTI)/Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS). He taught in Toronto (Ontario) area elementary/middle schools for 11 years, teaching students with learning disabilities in reading, writing, and/or math and with disabilities, pervasive developmental disorders (e.g., autism, Asperger’s), attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and multiple disabilities. He has received awards from the International Literacy Association (2011-2012 Outstanding Article Award), a 2009-2010 College of Education Faculty Funding Award, the Judy Nichols Mitchell Research Fellow Award, and the External Funding Award from Washington State University.

Juliann Dorff (2023-2025)

Juliann B. Dorff, a senior lecturer in art education at Kent State University, is the past-president of the Special Needs in Art Education Interest Group of the National Art Education Association (NAEA) and past-president for the Division of the Visual and Performing Arts (DARTS) of the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC). The 2015 Ohio Art Education Association (OAEA) Higher Education Division Award winner, she has presented extensively at the OAEA, NAEA and CEC conferences. In 2019 she was awarded the NAEA/SNAE/VSA Beverly Levett Gerber Lifetime Achievement Award. She has received the Outstanding Teaching Award from Kent State University. Co-author with Linda Hoeptner Poling of four editions of the VSA Teacher Resource Guides: A Series of Visual Art Lesson Plans Designed to Engage Students with Disabilities published by the Kennedy Center, she was an invited author for The Handbook of Arts Education and Special Education and Art for Children Experiencing Psychological Trauma both published in 2018. She was invited by NAEA to present a webinar in February 2021, Collaboration: An Essential Tool for Inclusive Teaching Practices and a co-editor of a special edition of the Journal of Arts Education and Special Education (JASE) 2022.

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Jennifer Smith (2023-2025)

Dr. Jennifer Smith is a Clinical Associate Professor of Special Education in the Department of Educational Studies in the College of Education at Purdue University. She has 19 years of experience as an educator at the elementary level and in higher education. Her areas of interest focus on teacher preparation, creativity/creative self-efficacy for students with disabilities, twice-exceptionality, and developing positive teacher-student-family relationships.

Sedigheh Fathollahzadeh (2024-2025)

Sedigheh is currently a Ph.D. student in special education at Purdue University. She works as a Teaching Assistant and serves as an Operations Coordinator at Purdue University's CREAT (Center for Research and Equipment for Assistive Technology in Education) lab. Additionally, she holds a Bachelor's degree in Fine Arts and two Master's degrees in Fine Arts and Art Education. For the past decade, she has devoted herself to providing art education to individuals of diverse age groups in educational institutions, universities, and the private sector. Her research focuses on unlocking the potential of assistive technology for students with disabilities. Furthermore, she explores how art-based initiatives can be integrated into new forms of media in order to address systemic inequalities, promote public dialogue, and empower marginalized populations.