Candice Styer, Ph.D.
Candice Styer has worked in the field of special education for over 25 years. She received her teaching certification, M.Ed, and Ph.D at the University of Oregon. She developed the life skills assessment and curriculum over the last 20 years while teaching middle school and high school students with moderate and severe disabilities. She has trained a number of school districts to administer the assessment and implement the curriculum. She has also trained teachers and paraprofessionals in the areas of Transition Planning, Behavior Management, and Curriculum Development.

In addition to her years in the classroom, she has worked as a consultant and trainer for the Center for Autism and Related Disabilities (CARD) at the University of South Florida. Dr. Styer was the Special Education Director for the Lopez Island School District, and she has worked as a case manger for the Developmental Disabilities Department.

Dr. Styer has been developing the practices and content in the Styer-Fitzgerald Functional Academics Program throughout her career with an emphasis on the vital mix of research supported best practices and classroom practitioner experience based wisdom. She currently is teaching in a transitional program in the Seattle Public Schools. In addition to her first love, classroom work with students, she continues to share her knowledge and experiences with other teachers in a variety of settings. 
 
Suzanne Fitzgerald, M.Ed.
Suzanne Fitzgerald has worked with children and adults with developmental, physical, emotional, and behavioral disabilities in classroom, camp, vocational, residential, and recreational settings for the past 14 years. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Human Services from Western Washington University and her Teaching Certification and Masters in Special Education degree from the University of Washington.  She also serves as a Project Partner with Washington Sensory Disability Services where she assists children who have significant disabilities or are deaf-blind. In that role, she provides training and other support to families and service providers. 

Suzanne began collaborating with Dr. Styer on the Styer-Fitzgerald Program for Functional Academics as  she entered the special education program at the University of Washington.  Recognizing the unique value of the material, Suzanne collaborated with Candice to standardize and refine the Program's content and structure and has added complementary material from her own work in the field. She currently is enjoying a beautiful new classroom setting in the Snohomish School District where she is a Life Skills Teacher in the high school program. She also mentors new teachers.