CQL Announces 2021 Disability Research Mentorship Program Students

Posted on July 20, 2021

CQL | The Council on Quality and Leadership released application information back in May 2021 about its Disability Research Mentorship Program for Black Graduate Students. The program was established in 2020 to help Black students build up their resumes with research publications. Through the program, students access data to analyze and receive guidance during the research and peer-review publication process.

The 2021 Mentorship Program Students

CQL has chosen the students for its second cohort of the program, after receiving and reviewing a number of commendable applications from a variety of impressive candidates. The students who have been selected for the 2021 Mentorship Program displayed a passion for disability research and valued the impact that it can have on the lives of people with disabilities and the supports that they receive. CQL is excited collaborate with these well-qualified students, not only providing guidance and mentorship, but also learning from their insight and expertise.

Regina Frazier

Regina Frazier is a licensed Pk-12 special education teacher and a licensed administrator in the state of Virginia. She is currently a PRISE (Policy & Research-Intensive Special Educator) scholar at Virginia Commonwealth University pursuing her doctorate in Special Education.

She is proud alumni of Virginia Commonwealth University, where she attained her bachelor’s degree in Communications and Public Relations. Her master’s of education in administrative supervision is from Virginia State University. Regina’s policy and research interests lie in developing, implementing, and evaluating strategic initiatives to improve the education provided to children and youth with disabilities in our public k-12 school systems.

In particular, she is passionate to help find solutions to address our pervasive shortage of special education-licensed teachers and prepare effective school principals who understand how to retain these essential members of the school team.

Elizabeth Holliday Morgan

Elizabeth Holliday Morgan, Ph.D. is an new Assistant Professor in Educational Leadership at University of California Sacramento (CSUS).

An educator by training, she holds a Master’s in Education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and has supported Early Childhood practitioners in utilizing developmentally appropriate practice and inclusion strategies since 2004. Her area of research focus includes Early Childhood and Early Intervention Services with a specific interest in under-represented populations.

She has co-authored publications titled “Narratives of single, Black mothers using cultural capital to access autism interventions in schools” in the British Journal of Sociology of Education and “Caregiver Voices: Cross-Cultural Input on Improving Access to Autism Services” published in the Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities and has several additional publications under review. Before arriving at CSUS Elizabeth worked as a researcher at the UC Davis MIND Institute and recently completed an NIH T36 Training grant with the Global Alliance for Training in Health Equity Research (GATHER) program where she spent a month interning for the African Population Health Research Center in Nairobi, Kenya. When she isn’t thinking about autism service equity, Elizabeth enjoys the theater and spending time with her family and their dog, Billie Jean.

Learn More About The Mentorship Program

In the Disability Research Mentorship Program for Black Graduate Students, guidance and support will be provided to the students in carrying out their research and working through the process of peer-review for publication. The objective of the program is that the students will have an accepted/in-press or under review peer-reviewed publication (sole or first author) which they can add to their CV. CQL will also work with the students to identify opportunities to share their research through different mediums such as webinars, conferences, etc.

Students in the Mentorship Program will be mentored about disability research and publication by CQL’s Director of Research, Carli Friedman, Ph.D., as well as CQL’s President and CEO, Mary Kay Rizzolo, Ph.D.

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Since 1969, CQL | The Council on Quality and Leadership has been a leader in working with human service organizations and systems to continuously define, measure, and improve quality of life and quality of services for youth, adults, and older adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, and psychiatric disabilities. CQL offers accreditation, training, certification, research, and consultation services to agencies that share our vision of dignity, opportunity, and community for all people.