About me
Stephen M. Kwiatek, Ph.D., is an assistant professor of special education at Utah State University (USU). Stephen’s research interests focus on preparing youth with disabilities for equitable postschool lives through three strands: (a) general education teacher involvement in college and career readiness efforts; (b) secondary transition best practices (i.e., evidence-based practices, predictors of postschool success); and (c) interagency collaboration. Stephen has team grant writing experience applying for and securing federal grant funding focused on improving postschool outcomes for students with disabilities. He is an editorial board member for Career Development and Transition for Exceptional Individuals (CDTEI) and Rural Special Education Quarterly (RSEQ). Prior to his time at USU, Stephen taught students with low- and high-incidence disabilities in Illinois, and he ran his district’s work program to prepare students for postschool employment. To support his students, Stephen partnered with local businesses and the local area career center to prepare his students to obtain and maintain employment. He earned his doctorate from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte where he was a graduate research assistant at the National Technical Assistance Center on Transition. He was also a postdoctoral research associate in the Illinois Center for Transition and Work at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and he supported teachers in Illinois with preparing students with extensive support needs for employment.
