Multi-tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) in Action

Alice Tomasini

Dr. Alice Rodli Tomasini is an adjunct faculty for the School of Education, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. She earned a doctorate in Social and Cultural Studies in Education from the University of California at Berkeley. She teaches foundations of teaching, and the curriculum design course for the Single Subject Teacher Credential Program. She also enjoys teaching an undergraduate course in children’s development and learning that is a foundational course for the Equity in Education Minor and Multiple Subject Teaching Credential Program. She has been integrating visual art, music and drama into her secondary school and college teaching since 1985, in California and in Mexico (2003-2015). She teaches world drumming to young English learners in an after-school program. Summers, she will be teaching a global program that she created--Cal Poly in Ireland: Children’s Development, Arts and Equity.

Julia (Judy) Johnson

Julia 'Judy' Johnson, EdD, was appointed by Governor Schwarzenegger as the LEP (Licensed Educational Psychologist) member to the Board of Behavioral Sciences, State of California, serving from August 2005 to 2008, with a reappointment by Governor Brown from 2008 to 2012. She has served as a member on the State Stakeholders Committee for the Mental Health Services Act (MHSA), chair of the BBS Consumer Protection Committee, chair of the BBS Planning Committee, chair of the Continuing Education Provider Committee, and as a member of the Policy/Advocacy Committee.

Johnson, of Brea, has been in private practice as a licensed educational psychologist for more than 30 years, assisting parents, community agencies, universities, and school districts with educational planning. She was previously on faculty at the University of Redlands as a professor in the MA in Education/School Counseling Program and at Mount Saint Mary’s College in Los Angeles. She had a 35 year career as a school counselor and a school psychologist in districts throughout the state, serving as educational coordinator for counseling programs and supervisor for counseling interns in multiple mental health disciplines. Previously, Johnson was a part-time professor in educational counseling and special education at California State Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo.

She is a member of the California Association of School Psychologists (CASP), the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP), and the American Board of School Neuropsychology. She completed a Doctorate in Leadership for Educational Justice at the University of Redlands in 2011. Dr. Johnson completed preliminary work on developing a code of ethics for LEPs in California for her dissertation. Johnson is a Board Member of Lift Renewal Ministries, a private nonprofit organization that promotes leadership development within church communities throughout the world, The Dibble Institute, a private nonprofit organization that promotes mental health and positive relationships for youth, and The Riverside Assn of School Psychologists.

Currently, Dr. Johnson is a full-time faculty member in the School of Education at Azusa Pacific University, teaching in the Graduate Programs for School Counseling, School Psychology, and Clinical Counseling. Areas of teaching, research, curriculum development, and private practice specialty include: Active Parenting Workshops, Autism Spectrum Disorder and Neurodiversity, Post Concussive Syndrome and Return To Learn/Return To Wellness, PTSD, Crisis Intervention and Response, Resiliency Skills and Restorative Practices, School Neuropsychology, Suicide and Threat Assessment, and MTSS across educational settings.