Education Expert Witnesses: 11

Dr. Erika Simmons’ work as a Certified Life Care Planner is distinguished by more than 20 Years of experience in Education, Special Education, and Educational Leadership, combined with doctoral-level training and real-world systems oversight. This background uniquely positions Dr. Simmons to serve as both a life care planning professional and a credible expert witness, particularly in cases involving children, adolescents, and young adults with educational, behavioral, and developmental needs.

As a former principal, district director, and adjunct professor in special education, Dr. Simmons brings an applied understanding of how services are designed, delivered, documented, and evaluated within public and private educational systems. This enables her to develop life care plans that are not only comprehensive, but realistic, evidence-based, and aligned with how supports are actually implemented in schools and related service environments.

Dr. Simmons’ expertise in IEP Development, Functional Behavior Assessments, MTSS, and Progress Monitoring allows her to clearly articulate educational and behavioral needs in a manner that withstands legal scrutiny. She is able to explain complex educational concepts, service delivery models, and future support needs in clear, accessible language for judges, juries, and attorneys—bridging the gap between educational practice and legal standards.

Areas of Expertise:

• Forensic review of educational records, evaluation of IEP development and implementation, and analysis of progress monitoring practices to determine whether students were provided a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE).
• Examination of the legal and procedural integrity of Functional Behavior Assessments (FBA), Behavioral Intervention Plans, accommodations, and related services, assessing alignment with statutory requirements and established professional standards.

Having served in leadership roles responsible for compliance, program evaluation, and assessment at the district level, Dr. Simmons understands the legal and regulatory frameworks governing special education and related services. This perspective strengthens her expert testimony by grounding opinions in established standards, data-driven decision-making, and accepted professional practices.

In expert witness settings, Dr. Simmons is experienced in reviewing records, identifying service gaps, projecting future educational and functional needs, and supporting opinions with documentation, research, and professional standards. Her testimony reflects a balanced, objective approach rooted in professional experience, methodological rigor, and a clear understanding of the long-term educational and life impacts of injury or disability.

Paul W. Burkett, JD, CPCU, CIC, ARM,CRM, ALCM is an Insurance and Risk Management specialist. President and CEO of Snoaspen Insurance Group, Inc., Mr. Burkett began his career as a Loss Control Representative for SAFECO Insurance Company after serving as an Officer in the United States Air Force. During his career with SAFECO, he served as a Loss Control Supervisor, Loss Control Manager, Commercial Sales Representative, Division Commercial Lines Underwriting Manager, and Regional Workers Compensation Manager.

From Safeco Insurance Company, Mr. Burkett worked for Frank B. Hall & Company as a Vice President in charge of Risk Management Services. He was responsible for design and implementation of alternative insurance programs such as pools, self-insurance, and captives. From Frank B. Hall, Mr. Burkett assisted in establishing the Meadowbrook of Colorado office and focused on developing specialized group programs. Paul assisted in establishing TUITIONGard which specialized in coverage for private student loans provided through banks in the United States.

Mr. Burkett currently provides litigation support services to attorneys for both Plaintiff and Defense. He has been deposed and/or testified approximately 10 rimes in the last five years.

Areas of Expertise:

• Insurance Company Good and Bad Faith
• Agent / Broker Standard of Care
• Insurance Industry Customs and Practices
• Risk Management
• Business Contract Insurance Clause Analysis and Application
• Insurance Coverage Analysis
• Insurance Claims Disputes Analysis

View Paul Burkett's Consulting Profile.

Dr. Joseph S. Schwartzberg, is an Educational Consultant / Expert Witness who provides consultation and testimony on cases involving students with disabilities and School safety matters.. Dr. Schwartzberg was responsible for developing and administering legally compliant special education and general programs for 35 school districts in NY before doing likewise for the 14 districts of North San Diego County. For 13 years, he served as the Senior Director of the North Coastal Consortium for Special Education for the San Diego County Office of Education. 

Litigation Support - Dr. Schwartzberg has provided expert witness services to counsel representing both plaintiff and defense in state,federal as well as family court. 

Areas of Expertise:

• IDEA
• School Safety
• ADA
• Standards of Care
• Other Agency Responsibilities
• Non-public Schools
• Appropriate Programming for Students with Disabilities

Certification / Credentials:

• School Administrator and Supervisor (SAS)
• School District Administrator (SDA)
• Professional Clear Administrative Services Credential
• Professional Clear Single Subject Teaching Credential : Health Science
• Learning Disabilities, Emotionally Handicapped, General Special Education
• Nursery, Kindergarten, Grades 1-6
• Health and special classes of the orthopedically and similarly handicapped
• Teacher of children with special learning handicaps

View Dr. Schwartzberg's Consultant Profile.

Virginia Rhodes, Ed.D. has an extensive background in public schooling with over 35 years of experience in duty and standard of care: teacher, principal, hiring, supervision, evaluation and instruction in K-12 settings. Her research and role as an elected school board member in a large city district informs her expertise in school policy and district administrative and teaching functions. Dr. Rhodes provides expert witness research, reports & testimony for districts and law firms, working with both plaintiff and defense cases. Dr. Rhodes' services are available nationally and internationally, as she is culturally competent, and travels regularly, presenting at conferences and observing schools. Previous cases have included student injury & death, religious/race, disability discrimination, wrongful termination, sexual abuse, physical abuse of children with multiple abilities, administrative supervision, teacher supervision, actions of paraprofessionals including teacher assistants, security guards, and school resource officers, as well as school evaluations & recommendations for school selection in domestic cases. 

Areas of school-related expertise include:

• Disciplinary policy & practices
• Standard of care and duty for administrative, teachers, paraprofessionals, support staff
• Safety issues: accidents, health & other safety and emergency procedures
• Physical and/or sexual abuse of students by staff or peers
• Teacher & administrator personnel issues: hiring/firing/discrimination/training/evaluation
• School climate, culture, SEL (social-emotional learning), trauma-informed practice
• Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) issues or incidents within both personnel and student settings
• Challenges of hIgh-poverty schools & districts
• Urban school research & new trends in teacher leadership
• Issues involving STEM, environmental, magnet, and other specialty programming
• Deposition & court testimony, document review & analysis
• Innovative & 21st-century practices vs. typical or common but unacceptable practices

View Dr. Rhodes' Consulting Profile.

Carolyn M. Kossack, Ed.D, is an Educational Consultant and School Evaluation Specialist / Expert Witness. Dr. Kossack has more than 32 years of experience in public education, including approximately 24 years in educational leadership and administrative roles, such as Superintendent, Principal, and Assistant Principal.

Ideal Client Engagement - Parents and their attorneys requiring an expert for school placement during custody disputes, including school comparisons/review and academic programming, and school administrators requiring an expert to review policies and procedures for compliance. 

Consultation Services - Dr. Kossack is available for confidential, non-testifying consultation to attorneys, including:

• Case evaluation and educational issue identification
• Review of school policies, procedures, and administrative practices
• Educational record and document review
• Assistance with case development
• Discovery and deposition preparation
• Policy and procedure review
• Evaluation of educational claims

Expert Witness Services - Dr. Kossack draws on her many years of experience in education to assist with Child Custody school reviews and placements, comparing public, private, charter, therapeutic, and special education schools based on the child’s educational needs, school climate, student support services, safety, programming, and educational considerations.

Areas of Expertise: 

Educational Administration School Operations Student Supervision School Safety Risk Management Personnel Supervision

Special Education Administration Bullying Title IX Athletics and Extracurricular Activities Field Trips Educational Consulting / Policy and Procedure Review

Dr. John F. Doherty is an experienced Public and Private School Educator who has focused his work on improving schools through effective hiring practices, supervision and training of staff, and building a school culture of sustainability. In his current role, he serves as a School Liability Expert Witness.

Dr. Doherty has over 35 years of experience as a superintendent, assistant superintendent, principal, assistant principal, department chair, coach, and teacher. He is the co-chair of the Massachusetts Department of Education Safe and Supportive Schools Commission and chair of the Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents Professional Development Committee.

Litigation Support - Dr. Doherty provides consultation and expert witness services to plaintiff and defendant attorneys throughout the US and Canada. As a court-qualified education administration and supervision expert, he applies his experience, education, and training to the review and analysis of cases to determine the professional standard of care from case inception to resolution, including expert reports, deposition, and trial testimony.

Ideal Client Engagement - Attorneys litigating matters involving the question of liability for school or youth-serving agencies (daycare, camps, aftercare, church childcare) regarding the standard of care, student-supervision, staff training, in any type of injury or incident involving the school/agency, such as wrongful death, personal injury, sexual harassment/abuse, Title IX, Section 1983, in daycare through college/university and more.

Areas of Expertise:

School Liability School Standard of Care School Administration Negligent Supervision Student Sexual Assault / Abuse / Harassment Harassment / Intimidation / Bullying Discrimination Title IX Employee Hiring / Training / Supervision Special Education

Student Personal Injury Student Wrongful Death Daycare / Preschool Camps Aftercare / Student Clubs Youth-Serving Programs Education Law School Violence School Comparisons Custody Issues

 

Monica Ballard is an Organizational Development Consultant with 25 years of experience specializing in the Prevention of Harassment, Discrimination, and Retaliation. She has trained over 500 Human Resources professionals in conducting investigations and trained over 10,000 persons on the subjects of harassment, discrimination, and retaliation.

Monica has written over 20 workbooks and produced 4 web-based training programs on the prevention of harassment, discrimination, and retaliation, and has written 4 workbooks on Conducting Effective Investigations. She has served as a consultant for numerous Fortune 500 companies, including American Express, ARCO, Sizzler Int’l, First Interstate Bank, Exxon, Jack-in-the Box, Washington Mutual Bank, Ritz Carlton Hotels, Goodyear Tire & Rubber, RAND Corporation, MCA/Universal Studios, MTA, and Motown Record Company. 

Monica has been Interviewed on CBS News, CNN, and Fox News, and featured in newspapers including the WSJ, LA Times (8 times), US News & World Report, Time Magazine, Chicago Tribune, Miami Herald, New York Times, and others. 

Litigation Support - Monica has been designated an expert witness in 226 Employment Lawsuits. She has testified at trial or arbitration 20 times. Approximately 50% of her cases have been for the plaintiff, and 50% for the defense. She has been used by the EEOC as an outside Human Resources Consultant and twice in EEOC litigation.

Areas of Expertise:

Harassment Lawsuits Discrimination Lawsuits Retaliation Lawsuits

Failure to Engage in an Interactive Process Private Executive Consulting for Anger Management Remedial Training on Harassment, Discrimination, or Retaliation

Monica has been designated to testify on the following topics:

• Company anti-harassment, anti-discrimination and anti-retaliation training. Was the training compliant with State and Federal laws?
• Company policies and procedures on those same topics. Were the company's policies compliant under both State law and Federal law?
• The investigation into employee complaints - were the investigations adequate and reasonable?
• Were the investigations conducted immediately, in an objective manner, and were they thorough and complete?
• Did the investigators come to a conclusion after the investigation?
• Did the investigators communicate the results of the investigation to the complainant, the alleged perpetrator and those others with a "need to know"?
• Did the investigators and the employer remedy the situation?
• Did they ameliorate the effects of the harassment, the discrimination and/or the retaliation?
• Did the employer guard against retaliation and did the employer continue to monitor the workplace after the complaint was resolved?
• Did the employer have effective accommodations for employees with disabilities, and did the company engage in an interactive process with the employee with a disability?

View Parallax Education's Consulting Profile.

A Special Education expert for five decades, Dr. Steven C. Imber served as a professor of special education from 1973-2021. He serves as a special education advocate, consultant to attorneys, parents and schools. He has conducted more than 600 independent educational evaluations.

Education:

• B.S. Psychology (High Honors) State University of New York at Buffalo
• Doctoral Studies, Clinical Psychology, University of Connecticut
• M.A. from the Department of Educational Psychology (Special Education - Learning Disabilities), University of Connecticut (Kappa Delta Phi)
• Ph.D. from the Department of Educational Psychology (Special Education -Emotional Disturbance (High Honors)

As a special education expert, Dr. Imber has worked on cases with children, adolescents and adults with a broad array of disabilities. He provides professional advocacy and consultation for children with the following disabilities:

• Autism Disorders
• Attention Deficit Disorders
• Emotional and Behavioral Disorders
• Emotional and Behavioral Disorders Intellectual Disabilities (Cognitive Deficits)
• Learning Disabilities
• Other Disabilities and Disorders

Areas of Expertise:

• Criminal Defense of Individuals with Disabilities – competence to stand trial and comprehension of Miranda Warning Rights
• Family Custody Matters involving Disputes regarding matters of Education and Special Education
• School Safety
• Special Education Regulations and Law
• Wrongful Death

Dr. Imber has been involved in cases from the following states: Alaska, Arizona, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Washington and West Virginia. 

Depositions and Direct Testimony
Dr. Imber has testified in federal court, various district courts, superior court, family and probate court and in numerous due process hearings since 1975.

Below are listed recent cases in which Dr. Imber provided testimony during depositions or directly in various court matters:

• October 21, 2021, Family Court: State of Hawaii, Plaintiff
• October 19, 2021, Hancock County Circuit Court, West Virginia Criminal Action, Defendant
• September 29, 2021, Chicago Public  Schools Cook County, Defendant
• July 6, 2021, Worcester County Probate and Family Court, Plaintiff
• August 10, 2021, Springfield District Court, Defendant
• May – June 2019, Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Division of Administrative Law Appeals, Bureau of Special Education Appeals BSEA, Plaintiff

Additional Accomplishments

• Published several articles in national and international journals within the fields of special education and psychology
• Presented at several local, state, regional, national and international conferences and meetings

Rhode Island Office Sprout Building 166 Valley Street Providence, RI 02909 Telephone: 401-421-4004

New York Office 61-43 186th Street Fresh Meadows, NY 11365 Telephone: 516-273-1961

Dr. Imber's CV is available upon request.

Reasoning, Inc., led by Dr. Timothy Habick, provides expert forensic linguistic services for trademark disputes, defamation cases, authorship attribution, and document evaluation.

With over two decades of experience, we deliver precise analyses, expert testimony, and solutions rooted in linguistic science and professional standards. 

Our work spans high-profile cases globally, including evaluating trademark confusion, resolving authorship disputes, and ensuring clarity in legal and educational documents. Dr. Habick's expertise in multilingual contexts and AI-detection analysis adds unique value to complex cases. Committed to meticulous, ethical practice, we provide transparent, evidence-based insights to address your language-related challenges effectively

Areas of Expertise:

AI Linguistic Certainty Disinformation Libel Defamation Slander Trademarks Invasion of Privacy Copyright Infringement Discourse Analysis Logical Analysis Logically Flawed Argumentation

Plagiarism Education Educational Examinations Bias and Fairness Psychometrics Authorship Identification Preventive and Corrective Language Interventions Optimal Design for High-Stakes Documents Generally Accepted Interpretive Principles Contracts Legitimate and Illegitimate Interpretations of Text Communicative Malpractice

Professional Affiliations
International Language and Law Association

Germanic Society of Forensic Linguists

International Association of Forensic Linguists 

David K. Easlick, Jr., is a Hazing and Risk Management Specialist and a member of the State Bar of Michigan for over 30 years. Mr. Easlick was the Executive Director of Delta Kappa Epsilon Fraternity for over 20 years. In such a role, he became familiar with just about all outrageous conduct by undergraduate young men on the college campus. He spent years combating it and attempting to correct and eliminate it. His experience includes Hazing, Binge Consumption, Sexual Misconduct, or other Risk Management Violations. 

Mr. Easlick has been a member of the Fraternity Executives Association for 30 years, an affiliate member of the North American Inter-Fraternity Conference, an associate member of the Association of Fraternity/Sorority Advisors, a business member of the Association for Student Conduct Administration, and a past member of FIPG and FRMT, Litigation Support - Mr. Easlick is the most qualified expert witness regarding Fraternal Law Suits. As a lawyer and former litigator, he offers unique advice to counsel. Mr. Easlick does not try cases and is not seeking out litigation clients. His role is an expert witness and consultant and his services include trial preparation, discovery preparation, review services, and other legal advice to litigation counsel. Mr. Easlick is currently appearing in several cases on the plaintiff's side, and he has successfully completed one case on the defendant's side as well as fifty-nine on the plaintiff's side.

Areas of Expertise:

Fraternities Sororities Fraternity Hazing Fraternity Risk Management College Campus Risk Management

Fraternity Binge Drinking Hazing Prevention Substance Abuse Sexual Misconduct Fraternity Initiation

Dr. Alaina Desjardin, DBA, is an Education Expert Witness and Policy Analyst with extensive experience in K–12 education, higher education, behavioral services, special education support, research, planning, evaluation, assessment, accountability, and institutional process review. She brings leadership experience across school district administration, university teaching, curriculum development, doctoral mentorship, and educational program evaluation.