Sarintha Buras Stricklin, Ph. D
Dr. Stricklin has worked in early childhood education for 25+ years in a variety of roles including consultant, trainer, administrator, researcher, faculty member, and classroom teacher. She has managed major federal- and state-funded grants & projects, supervised teams of professionals, published numerous manuscripts, and served in leadership positions and consulting roles at the national, state, and local levels. She served as an Associate Professor in the Early Intervention Institute at LSU Health Sciences Center where she taught courses in a master’s program, administered and supervised an exemplary early intervention program, and conducted classroom-based research on effective teaching strategies. She was the Managing Editor for the Journal of Early Intervention for 9 years and Research Team Member for the federally funded National Early Childhood Transition Centers. Currently, Dr. Stricklin provides consulting, training, and coaching services to several early care and education programs in support of full implementation of Louisiana’s new Birth to Five Standards, child assessments, and teacher evaluations.
Valerie Read Martinez
Ms. Martinez is a registered Pathways Level III Trainer and currently provides training and job-
embedded coaching to early care and education providers across 5 parishes in south Louisiana. She develops and implements whole group professional learning sessions and follow-up coaching activities to support administrators and teachers to enhance kindergarten readiness. She has 11+ years of experience having worked as a classroom teacher, early childhood consultant, trainer, and researcher. Ms. Martinez has specialized in services and supports to toddlers, including those with special needs and disabilities. At LSU Health Sciences Center, she co-authored the Connect Model of coaching services and coaching training modules to support providers and caregivers of toddlers with autism. Ms. Martinez also has provided extensive technical assistance to child care centers around the use of positive behavior supports for children with challenging behaviors.
Julie Paley
Ms. Paley is a certified speech and language pathologist and a board certified behavior analyst who has specialized in young children birth to 5 years of age. Currently, Ms. Paley serves as a part-time evaluator for children birth to 3 years to determine EarlySteps eligibility, holding certification as a Battelle Developmental Inventory-II assessor. She has recently focused on coaching as a model to support child care to meet the needs of young children with Autism Spectrum Disorders and serves as a certified CONNECT Model providers. Previously, Ms. Paley consulted with Project PACT (Partnerships for All Children Together), a training and technical assistance project at LSUHSC. She partnered with developmental specialists to develop and evaluate training modules used to support child care providers around the state. These PACT modules are still being used today within regional child care resource and referral agencies.