Christopher Merideth, Ed.D
Founder and Executive Editor
Who We Are
Dr. Christopher Merideth is an instructor at the University of Portland who teaches future educators in the areas of Neuro-Education and special education. While pursuing his doctorate in education, Dr. Merideth worked as a doctoral fellow engaging in a wide variety of research projects for school districts in the Pacific Northwest. He is also a former public school special education teacher and ESL teacher with over ten years of experience in grades K-12.
Dr. Merideth is passionate about helping future teachers develop strategies that will include students with exceptionalities in inclusive classroom settings. Dr. Merideth has presented his research at many different conferences in Oregon, Texas, Louisiana, Hawaii, and Alberta, Canada. He is the co-editor of the 2017 book Neuro-Education: A Translation From Theory to Practice, a pioneering collection of essays and case studies from multiple authors documenting how they have changed their students’ lives by incorporating knowledge about language and the brain into their classroom practices. In addition to publishing academic articles, Dr. Merideth is also co-editing two forthcoming book anthologies on the topic of Neuro-Education.
Dr. Merideth is available to offer his professional services in the form of consultations, workshops, and educational seminars. To make a virtual appointment, please fill out the contact form detailing your goals for collaboration.
Esteemed Colleagues
Dr. Merideth is honored to partner and collaborate with such an exceptional group of fellow Neuro-Educators.
Ellyn Lucas Arwood, Ed.D, CCC-SLP
Visionary Neuro-Educator, Senior Editor, and Principal Author
Dr. Ellyn Lucas Arwood has been a speech-language pathologist, educator, and special educator for over 50 years and is a professor emerita at the University of Portland, Portland, Oregon, in the School of Education. She is the author of 9 textbooks including Language Function: An Introduction to Pragmatic Assessment and Intervention for Higher Order Thinking and Better Literacy (Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2011), Pro-Social Language: A Way to Think About Behavior (Neuro-Education Press, 2015), and Learning with a Visual Brain in an Auditory World: Visual Strategies for Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders, 2nd Ed. (Neuro-Education Press, 2018). In addition to authoring numerous articles, chapters, and monographs, Arwood is well respected in her field and a prolific presenter in the area of learning and language. Dr. Arwood is the creator of Arwood’s Neuro-Education Model, and The Neuro-Semantic Language Learning Theory – two ground-breaking postulations that teachers can utilize to entirely re-think their approach to education.
Dr. Arwood’s professional website can be found here
Dr. Carol Lam received her doctorate degree in Learning and Leading in the Neuroeducation concentration area at University of Portland, and a Master of Art in Teaching in Special Education. Her research interests focus on Neuro-Education, literacy, second language acquisition, and affective learning. She currently serves as a special education teacher at Portland Public Schools. Before being a special education teacher, she taught ESOL, English language arts, and bilingual classes in secondary and post-secondary settings. She uses NsLLT and VLMs, e.g. story frame, I story, picture dictionary, in her classroom and during 1:1 general education support. In her spare time, she connects with younger learners to help with bilingual language acquisition. She also likes to explore how VLMs can be accommodated with technology and apply the methods to secondary or upper level classrooms.
Dr. Lam’s professional website can be found here
Carol Lam, Ed.D
Special Educator and
Academic Contributor
Ana Lia Oliva, Ed.D, CCC-SLP
Educator; Inclusion and
Equity Specialist
Dr. Ana Lia Oliva is a leader, educator, researcher, and advocate who aims to promote inclusive and culturally responsive practices that honor neurodivergence and recognizes the unique learning potential of every individual. Her research has focused on the advancement of knowledge in the area of adult transformative learning by examining socio-cognitive processes mediated by language and culture. “I have a passion for empowering educators to embrace brain based learning and language practices to support students’ lifelong learning.” Dr. Oliva is the co-founder of the Neuro-Learning and Language Network (NLLN).
Dr. Bonnie Robb is a 23-year veteran and multiple award-winning educator with a doctorate specializing in Neuro-Education. She is a public-school teacher and also serves as an adjunct faculty member in the School of Education at the University of Portland. After seeing a growing achievement gap between children diagnosed with special learning needs and general education students in the classroom, Dr. Robb began collaborating with Dr. Ellyn Arwood to more effectively reach all learners by understanding Neuro-Semantic Language Learning Theory (NsLLT). Educators from throughout the country visit her classroom to observe these innovative and inclusive strategies. These inclusive strategies were very effective in helping me guide all students to academic success.” In 2008, Dr. Robb’s classroom success garnered the notice of the Oregon Department of Education and the Milken Family Foundation who named her Oregon Teacher of the Year in 2008. She was honored again as one of only 25 educators nationwide in 2011 to be awarded the Kappa Delta Pi Teacher of Honor award.
Dr. Robb’s blog with examples of Viconic Language Methods can be found here.
Bonnie Robb, Ed.D
Professor of Neuro-Education, Mentor
Teacher, and Academic Contributor
Carole Kaulitz, M.Ed., CCC-SLP
Speech-Language Pathologist, Educational Consultant, and Established Author
Carole Kaulitz has been in the field of education for 50 years as a Speech-Language Pathologist, Deaf/Hard of Hearing Education Specialist, and Autism/Behavior Consultant in Vancouver, WA. She has extensive training in multiple methodologies related to working with deaf/hard of hearing individuals with social cognitive differences across the life span, with a focus on visual thinking strategies and pro-social communication. “As a consultant, I specialize in working with school district teams who serve children who are significantly impacted and have co-occurring conditions no matter what their age or cognitive levels. I have presented numerous workshops nation-wide on a variety of topics using the lens of Neuro-Semantic Language Learning Theory as my foundation.”
Ms. Kaulitz is the proud recipient of the Washington Speech and Hearing Association, 2009 Clinical Achievement Award, for advancement of clinical services in the profession.
Alyse Rostamizadeh is an elementary and middle school teacher, author, and educational consultant, known for her inclusive practices that build learning communities. Alyse is well-known for her implementation of Viconic Language Methods™ with learners, which allows marginalized students to be a part of the classroom community. “I wholeheartedly believe that all children can learn.”
Alyse is also a Mental Health Specialist from the American School Counselor Association. As a counselor, Alyse supports learners academically and socially to develop prosocial behaviors and advocate for their own learning needs.
Lastly, Alyse is the co-author with Dr. Ellyn Arwood of Neuro-Viconic Education System: A Systemic Approach to Learning.
Alyse Rostamizadeh, M.S.Ed
Teacher, Mental Health Specialist, and Contributing Author
Morgan Beaty, M.Ed
Neuro-Educator and
Academic Contributor
Dylan Hite, M.Ed
Neuro-Educator and
Academic Contributor
Dylan Hite graduated from the University of Portland with a Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education, a Reading Endorsement, and a minor in French. She first became involved in Neuro-Education when she took a class from Dr. Ellyn Arwood during her undergraduate career. This course changed her entire view of, and approach to, teaching and learning. Dylan then had the opportunity to student teach with Dr. Bonnie Robb as her mentor teacher, which furthered her engagement with Neuro-Education practices. After Dylan's undergraduate experience, she taught English in Toulouse, France, as part of the Teaching Assistant Program in France (TAPIF), where she utilized visuals to support dual-language learning. Later, Dylan joined the Pacific Alliance for Catholic Education (PACE) program where she was placed in Boise, Idaho and taught second grade for three years. She incorporated Neuro-Education strategies into her lessons, social-emotional learning (SEL), and behavior management and presented her final thesis to the school. Recently, Dylan contributed to a chapter for a selection of Neuro-Education essays, focusing on visual strategies in dual-language learning. Dylan earned her Master of Education through PACE, along with a English Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) endorsement. She is now teaching 6th-8th grade English Language Arts (ELA) in Los Angeles. Dylan continues to edit multiple scholarly works within the field of Neuro-Education.
Morgan Beaty is a 4th grade teacher in Vancouver, Washington. She attended Washington State University where she graduated with her Bachelor of Arts In Elementary Education in 2020, with endorsements in middle level mathematics and multilingual learners. Shortly after graduating, she started the Master of Arts in Education program at the University of Portland, where she specialized in Neuro-Education. There, she met many members of the Neuro-Education community. She is passionate about providing equitable access to content for her students through the use of Arwood's Neuro-Education Model and regularly strives to implement new strategies based on current, relevant research.
Rebecca Imision, M.Ed
Neuro-Educator and
Academic Contributor
Aaron Green-Mitchell, Ed.D
Educational Administrator and
Academic Contributor
Rebecca Imison graduated from the University of Portland in 2020 with a Bachelor of Education degree and a Special Education Endorsement. During her undergraduate years, she was introduced to the world of Neuro-Education, which ignited her passion for understanding how the brain learns and processes information. This inspiration led her to continue her education by enrolling in a Master of Education program at the same university. Throughout her master's program, Rebecca delved deeply into the application of educational theory to traditional classroom settings. This academic journey has significantly influenced her teaching methodology in her current role as a 3rd-grade teacher. In her classroom, Rebecca employs a variety of Viconic Language Methods (VLMs) to cater to the diverse needs of her students, ensuring that each child is engaged and able to participate in meaningful, project-based learning activities. Additionally, Rebecca has worked alongside colleagues to continue spreading these key ideas and applications through publications, conferences, and in teacher professional developments.
Heidi Parrett, M.Ed
Neuro-Educator, Assistant Editor, and Academic Contributor
As a founding member of the APRICOT Learning Language & Behavior Clinic in Tigard, Oregon, Mabel M. Brown has helped transform the lives of countless students of all ages. While at APRICOT Inc., Mabel worked as a learning, language, and behavior consultant, helping all student populations including individuals with autism, ADHD, auditory processing disorders, Down Syndrome, dyscalculia/dyslexia, and more. Through the use of the Viconic Language Methods, her students made impressive gains cognitively, socially, and academically. She has over 40 years of experience in classrooms and in clinical settings.
Mabel also served as the business manager and book/materials publisher for APRICOT Inc., where she co-authored four educational manuals, as well as the books Pro-Social Language: A Way to Think About Behavior; Visual Thinking Strategies for Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders: The Language of Pictures; and Learning with a Visual Brain in an Auditory World: Visual Strategies for Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders, 2nd Ed. In fact, Neuro-Education Press has had the fortune to re-publish these titles (and more) primarily due to the decades-long efforts of Mabel, Ellyn Arwood, Carole Kaulitz, and other associates to bring these resources to fruition.
Sherry Steppel, M.Ed
Neuro-Educator and
Learning Strategies Consultant
Sherry Steppel is a neuro educator who utilizes the Viconic Language Methods during private individual tutoring sessions to increase student’s language acquisition. She has a passion for the neuroscience of learning and applying the concepts of language to educational and cultural experiences.
Sherry received her Bachelor of Art in Elementary Education and her Master of Education with a concentration in Neuroeducation from the University of Portland. During her educational career, she researched current note taking trends and applied Arwood’s Neuro-Education Model to propose different methods for note taking, which allow people to grow their concepts and language function. She educated first grade students for three years, which allowed her to incorporate the strategies of the NsLLT and ANM to create a strength based learning environment in which all students could access their learning.
Heidi Parrett attended the University of Portland for her B.A. in elementary education, M.Ed in Neuroeducation, and reading endorsement. Heidi currently teaches at a private elementary school in the Pacific Northwest.
A highlight of Heidi’s career so far has been helping kindergarten and first-grade students acquire new concepts by utilizing Viconic Language Methods (VLMs) that draw on the strengths of her students’ learning systems. Heidi is also the co-editor of a forthcoming Neuro-Education book anthology showcasing how brain-based learning can be applied to efforts of social justice within educational contexts.
For a profile of Heidi’s work in the classroom, check out this article here.
Mabel Brown, M.A.
Neuro-Educator, Associate Editor, and Established Author
Dr. Aaron Green-Mitchell currently works as vice principal at Helensview Alternative School.
In that role, Aaron works with teachers individually and in group professional development settings. He’s been a guest speaker and resource for university classes, educators, and UP doctoral students.