Our mission statement
At Rising Tide Educators, we are driven by the prevailing belief that the success of students with disabilities is crucial in creating the best classrooms, communities, workplaces, and world. For this reason, Rising Tide Educators is dedicated to the preparation of these students to succeed in higher education and beyond. Through deliberate instruction, targeted skill development, and evidence based supportive frameworks, Rising Tide Educators ensures that every student with a disability is prepared to successfully navigate the challenges of a post-secondary education, earn their degree, and embark towards their dreams.
Meet the Board
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Dr. Julie Loppacher
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Dr. Ani Aharonian
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Dr. Charlotte Gjedsted
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Dr. Jeff Salmons
BOARD BIOS
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Founder & Executive Director
Julie Loppacher works as the Director of the Kortschak Center for Learning and Creativity at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. She has over 20 years of experience working in higher education at the intersection of learning support and academic success for students with disabilities. As an equity driven educator, Julie strives to improve the college and university experience for students with disabilities while educating and inspiring teachers and faculty to create inclusive learning environments within their schools and classrooms.
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Board Chair
Ani Aharonian serves as the Research and Evaluation Coordinator for Foster Youth Services at Los Angeles County Office of Education. With a background in educational psychology and psychometrics, she is a passionate advocate for using data to improve educational experiences and opportunities for historically underserved students, families, and communities. She has over 15 years of professional experience in organizational and institutional research in K-12 and community college districts.
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Board Secretary
Charlotte Gjedsted works as the Director of Innovation and Lower School Technology and Design teacher at the Mirman School for Gifted Students in Los Angeles. She has over 13 years of experience working in K-12 independent schools, as a classroom teacher, support staff, and administrator. Charlotte has a background in educational psychology, technology integration, and supporting neurodiversity in K-12 settings. She strives to teach educators how to leverage technology to support students with disabilities learn and thrive in school.
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Board Treasurer
Jeff Salmons is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst with over 17 years of experience, has worked extensively across homes, public schools, and community settings. Currently, Jeff leads district-wide initiatives in public education, focusing on improving behavior assessment, planning, and treatment implementation. He holds a Master’s degree in Psychology with an emphasis in Applied Behavior Analysis from California State University, Los Angeles, and a Doctorate in Education with a focus on Educational Psychology from the University of Southern California. Jeff is dedicated to empowering educators and families with effective strategies to help individuals with disabilities reach their fullest potential.
A letter from our Founder
Dear Friends,
I am thrilled to introduce you to Rising Tide Educators, a non-profit organization born out of a simple yet powerful belief: that the success of students with disabilities is an essential element to building our best classrooms, colleges, communities, workplaces and world. Our sole purpose is to support students with disabilities in the transition into and successful completion of higher education equipped with the skills, knowledge and confidence to build the life of their dreams.
With nearly 20 years in higher-education, I have seen firsthand the exceptional contributions that our students with disabilities make to their communities while navigating both structural and systemic inequities. Due to the extra challenges this population encounters they face a variety of other challenges such, lower graduation rates, longer time to graduation, and graduating with more debt, just to name a few. Imagine what this population could do if they didn’t have to navigate these systems alone?! At Rising Tide Educators, we aim to support these students by providing the necessary knowledge, skills and support from high school through college graduation!
We envision a world where students with disabilities can seamlessly navigate any classroom and campus and reserve all of their energy for cultivating the life of their dreams. By supporting students with specific knowledge relevant to transitioning into higher education, self-advocacy, executive functioning, building a mentor network, and more we are working to bring in a new era of educational experiences for students with disabilities. Whether through our workshops, coaching, or mentorship network, our goal is to support students in developing their own agency in their academic life and beyond. We are striving to build a community who can rise together, learn from one another, and create lasting positive change in education.
We cannot do this alone. It is through partnerships, community involvement, and the unwavering support of people like you that we will make a meaningful difference. I invite you to ride the tides of change with us as we work to elevate, educate and empower students with disabilities in higher education.
Thank you for being part of this rising tide.
Warm regards,
Dr. Julie Loppacher
Founder, Rising Tide Educators