CAPED Leadership

Adam was the Director of Outcomes and a Manager of Service Coordination for the Regional Center of Orange County for most of his tenure from 1994 to 2005. Earlier in his career, Adam worked with individuals with disabilities in a high school, a mental health facility, and retail settings. He conducted research related to families who have children with disabilities for seven years as part of the UC Santa Barbara Special Education Research Lab.

Adam earned a Ph.D. in Education Policy, Special Education and Disability, and a Master of Arts in Psychology and Counseling. He previously served CAPED as the Southern Chair for the Intellectual Disability/Autism Spectrum Disorder Interest Group for many years, and he has been part of the Convention Planning Committee for five years.

Adam grew up with family members who have disabilities. He is a member of several regional professional associations, including the Orange County Local Partnership Agreement Steering Committee, the Postsecondary Education Transition Consortium, the North Orange County Regional Consortium for adult education, the UCLA Tarjan Advisory Committee, and the Orange County Disability Coalition.

Adam co-authored Transition: A Conversation with Parents—A Guide for Individuals with Disabilities, Their Parents, and the Professionals Dedicated to Serving Them. The book provides resources and guidance on key aspects of transition from K–12 education to postsecondary education, employment, and independent living.

Poppy is committed to access and outcomes equity so that all students are free to reach their fullest potential through the transformative power of education. With an ethic of love, Poppy is a strengths-focused champion for spaces of authenticity and belonging.

Poppy is a published author of A Guide to Leadership and Management in Higher Education: Managing Across the Generations and How to Engage in Difficult Conversations on Identity, Race, and Politics in Higher Education. She is also a lecturer in the Department of Administration and Postsecondary Education at San Diego State University.

Poppy earned her doctorate in Postsecondary and Community College Educational Leadership and her master's degree in Education with a specialization in Multicultural Counseling, both from San Diego State University.

A former foster youth whose life was shaped by access to higher education, Poppy's research focuses on the success factors for foster youth who have persisted to college degree completion. Professionally and in her community, she demonstrates a commitment to social justice through service to organizations including CAPED and San Diego State University alumni groups. She is also a former commissioner for the San Diego Commission on Police Practices.

After becoming profoundly deaf at the age of 15, she dedicated her life to providing opportunities and support for people with disabilities. She taught American Sign Language and Disability Issues courses at the University of Nevada, Reno; worked with the legislatures of three states to help shape disability policies; and worked with nonprofit organizations to provide services to individuals with disabilities.

Her passion has always been education. Having completed five degrees, her goal is to encourage and inspire students with educational limitations to strive toward accomplishing their dreams.

Edina strongly believes in advocacy and collaboration to ensure that the barriers students with disabilities face are addressed at both the institutional and state levels.

Mike Sauter has worked in disability services and assistive technology in higher education for more than 26 years. At Saddleback College, he supports students with disabilities through assistive technology, alternate media, accessible materials, and individualized training designed to promote access, confidence, and independence. Over the years, Mike's work has grown alongside changes in technology, from traditional assistive technology and alternate media to accessibility, emerging tools, and the increasing role of artificial intelligence in education. He remains especially interested in practical ways technology can reduce barriers and better support students with disabilities. Mike has been involved with CAPED for many years and has valued the opportunity to learn from, collaborate with, and support colleagues throughout California. He has served in leadership roles within CAPED's Community Interest Groups and currently serves as Vice President of CIGs. For Mike, CAPED has always been about community, shared experience, and the collective effort to improve access and opportunities for students with disabilities.

Outside his work at the college, he serves as a learning disabilities consultant and trainer for the California Community Colleges Chancellor's Office. He is also a partner in a group that provides low-cost learning disability assessments to rural community colleges.

Scott serves as a board member of the California Housing Foundation, which provides housing to California college students with developmental disabilities.

Before his work in higher education, Scott served as a special education teacher, administrator, and school psychologist. He holds a doctorate in Educational Leadership from UCLA, and his research interests continue to focus on postsecondary education and disability.

Her experience includes supporting students with disabilities through instruction, learning disability assessments, career development, and academic counseling. In addition to her leadership within Student Accessibility Services at MiraCosta College, she has served as a Learning Disabilities Eligibility and Services Model trainer with the California Community Colleges Chancellor's Office for the past five years.

Krystle serves as CAPED's Vice President of Engagement and has also served as a co-chair for the CAPED Counseling and Career Development Interest Group.

Before joining MiraCosta College, Krystle worked within the San Diego Community College District for eight years in roles including College 2 Career Educational Coach and Graduate Intern, Instructor, Resource Specialist, Learning Disabilities Specialist, and Acting WorkAbility III Coordinator.

Across these experiences, she has focused on including disability in equity conversations, advancing disability advocacy, and analyzing student data to address equity gaps. She is committed to building collaborative partnerships across institutions to meet student needs.

Before working in community colleges, Krystle worked for the Department of the Air Force, providing resources and services to military families with children with disabilities. Recognizing the need for continued support and access to educational opportunities, she transitioned to work focused on helping adults accomplish their life goals.

Krystle earned her Ed.D. in Educational Leadership and her Master of Science in Rehabilitation Counseling from San Diego State University. She also serves as a board member for the Autism Society of San Diego.

Outside academia, Krystle enjoys playing softball, snowboarding, road trips, and traveling.

Her research focuses on the representation of physical disabilities in media and how adaptive sports can advance authentic disability representation. Bella earned dual bachelor's degrees in Broadcast and Electronic Communication Arts and Cinema from San Francisco State University after transferring from Solano Community College.

A few weeks after graduating with her bachelor's degrees, Bella became an amputee following a traumatic injury. That experience changed both her personal life and her academic interests. As a new amputee, she found community and healing through adaptive sports, which inspired her research and strengthened her commitment to disability advocacy.

Continuing her education while learning to navigate life as an amputee reinforced the importance of accommodations, access, and supportive faculty for student success.

Outside CAPED, Bella volunteers with So EveryBODY Can Move, a national initiative working to improve insurance coverage for sports prostheses, orthotics, and other adaptive equipment. She is also an adaptive athlete and a member of Team CAF through the Challenged Athletes Foundation.

Bella is passionate about making higher education, sports, and communities more accessible so that people with disabilities have opportunities to thrive.

Degrees

• Psy.D. in Clinical Psychology, Pepperdine University
• M.A. in Clinical Psychology, Edinboro University of Pennsylvania
• B.A. in General Psychology, Niagara University

She has worked in disability support programs and services as a Learning Disabilities Specialist for Long Beach City College, Santa Monica College, and Orange Coast College. She also worked as an intern at Santa Ana College and has more than 11 years of experience in disability services.

Before working in the California Community College system, Dawn worked in psychological services at two private universities, a community mental health clinic, two inpatient psychiatric hospitals, and as a substance abuse counselor.

Before becoming Treasurer, Dawn held two other positions within CAPED. She served as CAPED's Membership Chair and as Southern Co-Chair for the Learning Disabilities Interest Group.

Outside work, Dawn volunteers with dog rescue, leads her neighborhood watch, and participates in activities throughout her community. She enjoys spending time with her husband, rescue dog, and friends, as well as traveling, attending live theater, going to movies, dining out, visiting museums, and participating in cultural events.

As a relational leader, she works to build empowered teams by drawing on individual strengths and fostering positive team cultures that enhance service to students, employees, and community partners.

Melinda joined Southwestern College in 2023 after serving as Associate Director and Interim Director at San Diego State University's Student Disability Services. Before her career in education, she worked for 11 years at Toward Maximum Independence, a nonprofit organization serving adults and youth with developmental disabilities, where she served as a Community Outreach and Resource Specialist and Case Manager.

Melinda was raised in Chula Vista, National City, and Bonita and has a strong connection to the South Bay. As a first-generation college student, she transferred from Southwestern College to San Diego State University, where she earned a bachelor's degree in Psychology in 2009 and a master's degree in Education and Multicultural Counseling in 2010.

In 2018, Melinda returned to college and earned a Master of Business Administration from California State University San Marcos. In 2025, she completed her Ed.D. in Community College Leadership at San Diego State University.

Her dissertation, I'm Disabled, Now What? BIPOC Lived Experiences of Late Learning Disability Identification, earned the George Boggs Research Award and the Ron Jacobs Outstanding Research Award.

Melinda's commitment to education and social services is shaped by her family relationships and personal experiences with disability. In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her spouse and their growing children, traveling, photography, nature, cooking, creating, and dancing.

Courtnie has supported NOCE DSS programs including Academics Relationships Independence Self-Advocacy Emotional-Health, College 2 Career, Independent Vocational and Educational Supports, Mobility, Work Independence Self-Advocacy Education, WorkAbility III, and DSS classes.

She is proud of her leadership in promoting programs and services that better include students with disabilities in higher education and competitive integrated employment.

Courtnie earned a Bachelor of Arts in English—Literature, Criticism, and Theory, with a minor in Film Studies, from the University of California, Davis.

She volunteers with Cage to Couch Rescue, a Southern California nonprofit that helps survivors of laboratory animal testing find loving homes and advocates for an end to animal testing.

As Support Services Coordinator at California State University, Long Beach, Jericho provides disability management counseling, develops accommodation guidelines, and helps resolve access-related conflicts.

Throughout Jericho's career, they have built strong faculty relationships while providing accommodation services. Their commitment to equitable educational access is reflected in their evaluation of disability documentation, crisis counseling, and support for students in distress across multiple programs.

In addition to counseling and coordination responsibilities, Jericho maintains data collection and reporting for the Bob Murphy Access Center. They have also created guides for faculty, students, and staff to navigate the updated AIM database and make the accommodation process easier to understand.

Jericho is passionate about helping disabled adults thrive both within and beyond higher education. They also maintain a strong record of referrals to WorkAbility IV and the California Department of Rehabilitation for job readiness and retention services.