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Heather George, Ph.D., joined USF in 2001 and serves as the Director of the Florida PBIS Project. She is a Professor in the College of Behavioral and Community Sciences and Director of the Florida Center for Inclusive Communities (FCIC), a University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCEDD). Dr. George also serves as Co‑Director of the National Center on Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS), is a past president of the International Association for Positive Behavioral Support (APBS), and facilitates the PBIS State Leaders Network. With extensive experience in training, technical assistance, and systems‑change using the multi-tiered PBIS framework, Dr. George supports implementation efforts across local, state, national, and international levels in various settings. She has co‑authored more than 135 scholarly publications, delivered over 470 presentations, and secured over $101 million in external funding as a principal or co‑investigator. Before moving to Florida, Dr. George served as the TA Coordinator for Louisiana’s PBS Project and as an administrator for a community‑based respite, rehabilitation, and vocational program in Indiana. She earned her M.S. in Clinical Psychology from Indiana State University and her Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction with emphases in Special Education, School Psychology, and Reading from Louisiana State University.

Catherine Raulerson joined the FLPBIS Project in 2015 and currently serves as the State Program Coordinator for the FLPBIS Project to provide leadership support to project staff. In addition to her Program Coordinator role within the project, Catherine also continues to provide technical assistance and training to school districts that are implementing a multi-tiered system of behavior aligned with the project mission. Catherine also supports the FLDOE Advancing Wellness and Resiliency in Education (AWARE) state grant for evaluation with the project management team. She is a Nationally Certified School Psychologist, holds a Specialist of Education degree in School Psychology from the University of Florida, and a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology from Florida State University. Prior to joining the FLPBIS Project, Catherine worked as a School Psychologist, District Coordinator for PBIS, a district MTSS Coach, and a Regional Coordinator for the Administrative Multiagency Network for Students with Emotional/Behavioral Disabilities Project. Catherine’s interests are in systems change, MTSS and resiliency in schools.

Nichole Fintel joined the FLPBIS Project in 2018 and currently serves as the project’s Evaluation Coordinator. In this role, Nichole oversees the collection and maintenance of data and the development of reports to guide the project and its participating districts and schools in making data-based decisions regarding implementation of behavior supports. She also supports the evaluation of the FLDOE Advancing Wellness and Resiliency in Education (AWARE) state grant, and coordinates evaluation efforts for the Florida Connect grant awarded by the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP). Nichole previously served as a training and technical assistance specialist at the national technical assistance center for SAMHSA’s Healthy Transitions and Project AWARE grantees. She holds a Master’s of Science degree in Public Health and a graduate certificate in translational research from the University of South Florida.

Brooke Curtiss currently serves as a Technical Assistance Specialist with the FLPBIS Project and began working with the project and supporting districts in 2018. Brooke holds her Specialist of Education degree in School Psychology from the University of Florida and a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology from Florida State University. Additionally, Brooke has been a Board Certified Behavior Analyst since 2014 applying those skills both within the public education setting and private work. Prior to joining the FLPBIS Project, Brooke worked as a School Psychologist with Hillsborough County Public Schools for 13 years. While working as a School Psychologist, Brooke helped to facilitate MTSS for both academics and behavior while serving as her school’s PBIS Team Co-Facilitator and Lead Facilitator for behavioral supports at the Tier 2 and Tier 3 level. Brooke’s interests include systems change, early intervention, exceptional student education, disproportionality, and integrated service delivery.

Kristi Gomez serves as a Technical Assistance Specialist with Florida’s PBIS Project. Prior to joining the project, she served as the PBIS District Coordinator for 5 years, supporting 43 schools, in Clay County, Florida. In her 16 years in Clay, she also served in many roles including classroom teacher and instructional coach. Kristi also served as a member of her district's Multi-tiered System of Support (MTSS) District Leadership Team, Professional Learning Advisory Council, and the District Accreditation Team. She holds a bachelor's degree in education from the University of North Florida and a master's degree in educational leadership from the University of West Florida.

Lauren Kowalski is a Technical Assistance Specialist with the Florida PBIS Project. With a career in education in Florida dating back to 2005, Lauren brings extensive experience in classroom instruction, leadership, and district-level roles. She has a strong background in both primary and secondary education, where she played a key role in implementing PBIS and MTSS at the school-wide level. Additionally, she served as a mentor teacher, instructional leader, and contributed to various district planning and curriculum teams. Most recently, Lauren was the PBIS District Coordinator for Martin County, where she managed PBIS implementation across 22 schools and provided training and support to 15 district PBIS coaches. In this role, she also oversaw all K-12 prevention initiatives within the district, including training, monitoring, and reporting on these programs. Lauren holds a bachelor’s degree in international business from Penn State University and an Elementary Education certification from East Stroudsburg University.

Betsy Lazega currently serves as a Technical Assistance Specialist with FLPBIS Project and began working with the project in 2017. Betsy holds a Specialist of Education degree in School Psychology from the University of South Florida, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from the University of South Florida. Prior to joining the FLPBIS Project, Betsy worked in Hillsborough County Public Schools for 16 years.  She served as a School Psychologist, district facilitator for MTSS, and a District Resource Teacher for Charter Schools. She also provided consultation and support to new School Psychologists in the district as an Instructional Mentor.  Her research and applied interests include systems change, exceptional student education, social justice, and disproportionality.

Jayson Lobley serves as a Technical Assistance Specialist with Florida’s PBIS Project. Jayson holds a Specialist of Education degree in Educational Leadership, a Master’s Degree in Mental Health Counseling, and Bachelor’s Degree in Communication and Processes Disorders. He also holds professional certifications as a Board Certified Behavior Analyst and Licensed Mental Health Counselor. His experiences have included work in residential treatment facilities, home and community behavior and mental health services, and K-12 education. Prior to joining Florida’s PBIS Project, Jayson served in several capacities over a 20-year career within Brevard Public Schools as a Behavior Analyst, PBIS District Coordinator, and school and district administrator. During this time, Jayson scaled up PBIS across the district and aligned initiatives within the PBIS framework through leadership and training for school and district staff members. Additional activities included supervision of the district’s behavior support team and intensive work with struggling schools to establish tiered behavior supports for all students. His interests include systems leadership and change, Applied Behavior Analysis, and school-based mental health.

Sabrina Stewart currently serves as a Technical Assistance Specialist with the Florida PBIS Project. Sabrina holds a Master of Arts (MA) in Applied Behavior Analysis from Ball State University and has been a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) since 2013. Prior to joining the FLBIS project she served as a PBIS District Coordinator (DC) for about 10 years in a large Texas school district comprised of about 120 schools, more than 100,000 students and about 9,000 staff. During the 24 years that Sabrina worked for Northside Independent School District in San Antonio, Texas she served in various roles: Special Education and General Education Teacher at campuses, Campus Coordinator, District Behavior Specialist through Student Services, Behavior Education Coordinator through the Whole Child Department and Campus Behavior Program Coordinator (BCBA) for a Special Campus for students with significant behavioral needs. She provided professional development related to classroom supports, verbal de-escalation, physical intervention, parent in-home support, multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS) and PBIS. Sabrina has had the opportunity to work at all levels, elementary, middle and high school with staff, students and families as both a teacher and support staff. She collaborated closely with the District MTSS Coordinator, counselors, school psychologists, and school administrators. Sabrina has expertise in training schools in the implementation of schoolwide and classwide PBIS, planning at the district level, and coaching leaders through classroom implementation of PBIS at Tiers 1, 2 and 3.

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