Shelley Neilsen Gatti is an associate professor in the Department of Special Education in the School of Education. Shelley started at the University of St. Thomas in 2006 after working in Minneapolis Public Schools for six years. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota in 2001 in Educational Psychology, Special Education. Shelley specializes in Emotional and Behavioral Disorders (EBD) and coordinates the EBD program in our department. Her areas of research include school-wide PBIS in alternative sites, reflective practice, and professional development models to support teachers’ use of evidence-based practices. Shelley grew up in Montana and has a M.A. in Curriculum and Instruction and a B.A. in Elementary and Special Education from the University of Montana. In her free-time Shelley spends time with her son playing hockey, bike riding, and hiking along the river.

• Publication 1: Allday, A., Neilsen Gatti, S., Hinkson-Lee, K., Hudson, T., Russel, C. & Klienke, A. (2012). Training General Educators to Increase Behavior Specific Praise: Effects on Students with EBD. Journal of Behavior Disorders, 37(2).
• Publication 2: Watson, C. & Neilsen Gatti, S. (2012). Professional development through reflective consultation in early intervention. Infants and Young Children, 25, 109-121.
• Publication 3: Neilsen Gatti, S., Watson, C. & Siegel, C. (2011). Step back and consider: Learning from reflective practice in Infant Mental Health. Young Exceptional Children

• On the Executive Board for the Council for Children with Behavior Disorders (CCBD) since 2009, served as the secretary from 2009-2011and currently a Delegate to the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) Delegate Assembly.
• Shelley will be featured in Exemplars from the Grants and Research Office, a publication highlighting faculty and graduate-level research at the University of St. Thomas. This will feature a project that she is working on with Todd Busch, Char Ryans and Kim Adams (Char and Kim are both adjuncts).