Illinois Autism Partnership (IAP)

Rose DeCanniere is the Manager of Autism Services for the Illinois Autism Partnership (IAP). Through her experience in disability services, she brings her compassion, empathy, and leadership to her work. DeCanniere has a teaching and administrative background in both school settings and non-profit agencies. She is known for her calming, positive nature, and passion for empowering professionals and people with disabilities. 

 In her current role at Easterseals, DeCanniere strives to coach teachers, paraprofessionals, and clinicians to provide high-quality supports to students with autism. Previously, Rose managed the Adult Services and served as the Principal at Easterseals Academy Chicago Campus. She has developed programming for students and adults with developmental disabilities with an emphasis on social skills and self-determination. 

 Rose is a certified special education teacher with a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Illinois and a Master’s degree in educational leadership from Concordia University.

Katie Ellsworth, M.Ed., is an Autism Specialist for the Illinois Autism Partnership (IAP). Ellsworth's love for working with and advocating for people with disabilities began at a young age when her brother was diagnosed with autism. In her current role at Easterseals, Ellsworth strives to set school personnel up for success in the classroom, school, and community setting. She is most passionate about special education law and parent involvement in student services.

Previously, Ellsworth worked as a special education teacher in elementary, high school and transition-aged classrooms. She is solution oriented and dedicated to helping educators and students succeed through communication, collaboration, and problem-solving.

Ellsworth is a special education teacher with both an LBSl and LBSll certification. She has expertise in effective, research-based strategies for educating students with severe disabilities. In addition, as a multiple disabilities specialist, she's received extensive training in the areas of transition, secondary curriculum, and employment for students with disabilities through her master's degree, which she received from the University of Illinois. Her work in special education is rooted in the whole child approach that focuses on understanding the social, emotional, mental, physical, and academic needs of students and finding ways to meet those needs as they evolve.

Carly Franzgrote MS, CCC-SLP, is an Autism Specialist for the Illinois Autism Partnership (IAP).

Frangrote began her career working with individuals with autism and related disabilities when she was in college as a respite care provider. Her work as a respite care provider inspired her to continue working with this population as she began her career as a speech-language pathologist. As a speech-language pathologist, she supported individuals with complex communication needs within school settings. While working as a speech-language pathologist, Franzgrote gained extensive knowledge in the areas of augmentative and alternative communication and functional communication. Additionally, she encouraged carry over of her student’s communication skills by providing training and support to her colleagues who also worked with students on her caseload. From this experience, Franzgrote discovered a passion for coaching.

Franzgrote received her BA in elementary education with an endorsement in special education from St. Ambrose University. She then earned an MS in speech-language pathology from the same university. In addition to her degrees, Franzgrote holds an LBS1 certification and a certificate of clinical competency from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association.

Sarah Greenfield, MA, BCBA, is an Autism Specialist for Illinois Autism Partnership (IAP) following a ten-year career as a special educator. Greenfield has worked as a special education teacher in elementary, middle school, high school, and transition-aged classrooms. She is passionate about transition services and community involvement for people with disabilities. Greenfield has received extensive training in Augmentative and Alternative Communication and Functional Communication Training through her master’s degree program.

Greenfield is not only passionate about working with students with disabilities, but also training and educating future and current teachers in best practices in special education. She is an adjunct professor at Trinity Christian College where she teaches courses about collaboration in special education and strategies for supporting students with low incidence disabilities.

Greenfield received a BA in psychology from The University of Iowa and an MA in special education from Saint Xavier University. She also received an MA from Arizona State in behavior analysis and is a Board-Certified Behavior Analyst. Greenfield is passionate about creating positive, student-centered classrooms and providing training and coaching to paraprofessionals, teachers & clinicians to support them in serving their students to reach their greatest potential.

Shannon Slawkowski is an Autism Specialist for Illinois Autism Partnership (IAP) following her career as a Special Educator. She worked in elementary, middle, and high school settings. Her love for teaching and advocating for individuals began when she started working for special recreation in 2011. Slawkowski has taken on leadership roles in both therapeutic and classroom settings, where she served as a program leader and mentor teacher. She is passionate about problem solving collaboratively to ensure individuals with disabilities are set up for success across all environments.

Slawkowski received a bachelor’s degree in Special Education LBS I from The University of Illinois. She then obtained a master’s degree in Reading Specialist from Olivet Nazarene University. In her tenure, Slawkowski has received an additional 30+ credit hours in a variety of courses related to the special education field, such as special education law, building community partnerships, and motivating students. Within her classroom, she utilized evidence-based practices and curricula. She has a passion for learning, promoting independence, and creating structured, organized environments, where students with disabilities can thrive. 

Adriana Schmidt, MA, BCBA, is an Autism Specialist for the Illinois Autism Partnership (IAP). Schmidt has been working with individuals with autism and related disorders since 2008. She has held the role of paraprofessional, special education teacher, and instructional specialist. She has successfully coached and trained teachers and paraprofessionals for years. In her tenure, Schmidt has had success not only in supervising students from accredited special education programs but also in supervising future behavior analysts and building data-based instructional programs for struggling readers.

Schmidt completed her bachelor's degree in special education at Northern Illinois University and her master's in education (reading specialist) at Saint Xavier University. She received her BCBA recertification from The Chicago School of Professional Psychology.

Logan Sepsakos, M.Ed., is an Autism Specialist for the Illinois Autism Partnership (IAP). Prior to this role, she was as a special education teacher.

Sepsakos has served as a paraprofessional, resource specialist, and self-contained special education teacher. She has worked with a variety of age groups and diverse needs. Sepsakos is deeply passionate about fostering a welcoming environment, building strong relationships, and utilizing evidence-based strategies to promote academic, social, behavioral, and adaptive skills.

Sepsakos' passion for working with individuals with disabilities began at a young age growing up with her uncle who has hydrocephalus. Witnessing her Uncle Shane’s journey has uniquely shaped her approach to special education. Sepsakos' resilience, joy, and achievements have provided her with invaluable lessons about empathy, advocacy, and the transformative power of education.

Sepsakos holds an LBS1 certification and earned her bachelor’s degree in special education from Eastern Illinois University, as well as her master’s degree in autism spectrum disorders from Grand Canyon University. During her master’s program, Logan learned numerous evidence-based instructional strategies and inclusive practices to best support individuals with autism.

Shannon Wess, MSW, BCBA, is a dedicated professional with an extensive background in autism service delivery and special education coaching, as well as experience in staff leadership and management, coordination of adult programming, and wraparound case management.

With a proven track record in designing and implementing impactful training and staff development programs, Wess excels at energizing and engaging participants in lifelong professional learning. She is passionate about fostering a culture of continuous growth and development, believing that empowered educators and service providers are essential to driving positive change in the lives of those served.

 In addition to training special education professionals, Wess developed and launched First Response, an autism awareness training program for first responders and emergency medical personnel. Wess has also brought her expertise to the professional conference circuit, having been selected to present at regional, national, and international conferences. 

Wess is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst that holds a master of social work with an emphasis in behavioral health from Park University and a post-masters certificate in applied behavior analysis from Purdue University Global.

Jill Wilhite, MA, is an Autism Specialist for the Illinois Autism Partnership (IAP) following her twenty year career as a special educator. She brings an unparalleled commitment to fostering successful learning environments, developing strong relationships with students and families to encourage each child to maximize their independence and potential. Jill has a wide variety of teaching experiences at the elementary and secondary levels in the public school setting.

Wilhite is a certified special education teacher with an additional teaching certification in education of students with visual impairments. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Purdue University in special education and a master’s degree in education of students with visual impairments  Wilhite is a certified Wilson dyslexia practitioner and a Google Level 1 educator. She has unique expertise in effective, research-based strategies for educating students with a wide variety of diverse learning needs. 

In addition to Wilhite's classroom contributions, she has been a valued coach and mentor to new career special education teachers across the state of Illinois. She has coached new career special education teachers to surpass their professional goals, create dynamic learning environments for student success, and develop an extensive knowledge base of education law for effective Individual Education Plan (IEP) writing.