Saili S. Kulkarni, Ph.D. California State University Dominguez Hills Special Education Assistant Professor

Dr. Saili S. Kulkarni is an Assistant Professor of Special Education at California State University Dominguez Hills. She completed her doctoral work at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2015. Dr. Kulkarni’s research focuses on the areas of teacher education, teacher beliefs about disability and race, and the perspectives of culturally and linguistically diverse students with disabilities and their families. She currently teaches courses in special education assessment, multicultural special education, disability studies in education, and research methods in education. She recently won an award for distinguished service to students at CSUDH, where she serves as an avid research mentor. Prior to graduate study, Dr. Kulkarni worked as a special education inclusive elementary teacher for the Oakland Unified School District where she created the district’s first Inclusive Teacher Network which allowed teachers to support each other and provide inclusion-related resources in a forum space. She is a program coordinator and web-developer for the Special Education Leaders in Early Childhood Teaching (SELECT)-LA Grant Program funded through the U.S. Department of Education. SELECT-LA prepares early childhood special education teachers to engage in family -centered, inclusive practices and work in the Los Angeles Unified School District. Dr. Kulkarni is committed to issues of equity in schools and building resistance through community-based approaches.