[Webinar] Special Education Needs (SEN) in Chinese International Education

Monte Rosen is an accomplished figure in the realm of education and mental health support. Monte was serving as the Managing Director and Founder of ELG from its founding in 2006 up until June 2024 when he stepped into an advisory role.
Since 2006, ELG has been a beacon of hope for thousands of children, families and over 90 schools, supporting children with autism, learning disabilities, and mental health. Monte’s visionary leadership propelled ELG to the forefront of the field, championing the vital concept of “neurodivergent affirming” practices in education. More importantly, Monte is the proud father to two adult neuro-divergent children who grew up in the Shanghai international schools, giving Monte a unique perspective to question why we keep trying, and failing, to force-fit neuro-divergent children into neuro-typical systems. Monte has an undergraduate degree in psychology, and has an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

Dr. Shari Rosen has lived in Shanghai, China since 2003 and has consulted extensively with international schools and families that have children with special learning needs. She is the co-founder and senior consultant at The Essential Learning Group, Shanghai, China. ELG is a social enterprise that provides comprehensive, multidisciplinary developmental assessment and intervention services, and mental health care. ELG also offers a full-day special education school program for children whose needs cannot be met in mainstream schools.

Dr. Rosen has a PhD in speech language pathology and is a Master’s Degree candidate in forensic psychology. She has received several prestigious awards, including the inaugural SENIA Advocacy Award in 2014 and the International Professional Women’s Society’s Social Contributor of the Year Award in 2017. She was selected as one of China’s 2021 Superwomen. Dr. Rosen has a unique understanding of learning disabilities, based on her personal experience as an autistic individual with ADHD who is also the parent of two neurodivergent children. She is passionate about promoting strength-based, neurodiversity affirming practices and teaching.

Brandi Fox is an urban and international education specialist with over 25 years of teaching experience spanning from Early Childhood through collegiate settings in the US and China. She transitioned to teaching after two of her three sons were diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. Advocating for her own children helped Brandi to recognize the need for improvements in special education and ignited her passion for overall equity in education.​

Early in her career Brandi accepted a special education teaching role with the Indianapolis Public School district where she took part in groundbreaking initiatives in special education including the Full Purpose Partnership and Kaleidoscope Program. These experiences and the associated training equipped her with the knowledge and skills to make a positive impact in inclusive education across multiple settings.

Brandi considers herself a lifelong learner earning an undergraduate degree majoring in Genetic Counseling while minoring in Biology, Early Childhood Education and Environmental Science, master’s degrees in Teaching and Educational Leadership with endorsements in reading, special education, autism spectrum disorder, and science, a certificate in curriculum and instruction as well as a Harvard certificate in School Management and Leadership. Brandi is currently in pursuit of a doctorate degree focused on Educational Leadership at Indiana State Universty.

Regarding her work in education, Brandi is driven by her personal motto, “There is a person on the other side of your effort.”

Dr. Sally Hewat is a certified practising speech-language pathologist, Associate Professor at the University of Newcastle, Australia, Vice President of Technical Services at OST Therapy, China and academic director of the Allied Health School Services program, in Asia. Sally is passionate about supporting the development of health and wellbeing and has a strong belief in the transformative power of human connection that is enabled through one’s ability to communicate. Her 30-year career has spanned various clinical and educational settings in Australia, Canada, North America, and Asia, where she worked in public health, private healthcare, and various governmental and non-governmental organizations.

Fengyi Kuo, DHS, OTR, CPRP, is an occupational therapist actively engaged in program development and teaching at various universities and hospitals across the US and China. Her prior affiliations include Indiana University School of Rehabilitation Sciences, Riley Child Development Center (RCDC) at Riley Hospital for Children, University of Indianapolis, Gannon University in Pennsylvania, MetroHealth Medical Center in Cleveland, Ohio, and Taipei City Psychiatric Hospital in Taipei, Taiwan.

With experience in trauma-informed care, mental health recovery, and community-based program development, she holds certifications as a psychiatric rehabilitation practitioner (CPRP), SibShops trainer, and mindfulness facilitator (TMF from UCLA Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior).

Her recent endeavours involve collaborative work with public-private organizations in Southeast Asia, focusing on pediatric and adolescent mental health using a community-based train-the-trainer model. Notably, she was honoured as the recipient of the 2013 American Occupational Therapy Foundation (AOTF) Community Service and Volunteerism Award, acknowledging her advocacy in facilitating healthcare access for immigrants and refugees resettled in the United States.

David has worked in Sino-Foreign higher education for over 20 years, 14 of which have been at the University of Nottingham Ningbo China (UNNC) where he has held a variety of academic and leadership roles. Currently, David leads the university Business Development Office to create impactful partnerships with industry and raise university profile in China.