BJ Gallagher, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, has worked with Thinkport/Thinkfinity (T2) since working in Baltimore City Public Schools (BCPS). In June 2007, BJ retired as the Team Leader for the Assistive Technology Team in BCPS. Shortly thereafter she moved to Deep Creek Lake in Garrett County and opened a private practice working with children and adults in the rural Western Maryland counties. In addition, BJ teaches graduate courses for McDaniel College, College of Notre Dame, Frostburg State University and Johns Hopkins University. She provides expertise supporting individuals with oral and written communication assistive technology needs. She is an advocate of Universal Design for Learning, which the resources on both Thinkport and Thinkfinity truly foster.

BJ Gallagher willingly participated in the Verizon Foundation's Pilot state cadre training initiative. She worked tirelessly to recruit and deliver professional development across the state of Maryland. Reaching out to both experienced and novice educators in remote areas, BJ pre-assessed groups of educators and differentiated her professional development to meet their varied needs. She expertly modeled the very principles that she includes in her T2 (Thinkfinity and Thinkport) trainings! We value her participation and consider her an excellent role model for trainers and educators.

Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is “a blueprint for creating flexible goals, methods, materials, and assessments that accommodate learner differences…it is meant to underscore the need for multiple approaches to meet the needs of diverse learners” (Center for Applied Special Technology, n.d.). Sharing the resources available via Thinkfinity and Thinkport allows students full access to their educational potential. The overwhelming “Thank yous” and “Ah has” from preservice teachers and teachers across Maryland have kept me motivated to continue spreading the word about how invaluable the resources via Thinkport/Thinkfinity continue to be.