Rae Leeper

Rae Leeper, EdD, is a Professor and Program Director for Early Childhood Special Education at Bank Street. With over 20 years of experience in early intervention, teaching, and curriculum development, she specializes in supporting neurodivergent and autistic children through strength-based and interest-driven strategies. Her research focuses on the lived experiences of students with disabilities, utilizing multimodal qualitative methods and intersectional frameworks from Disability Studies, feminist theory, and queer theory. She advocates for Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles in graduate education and is an ICDL Expert Floortime trainer.

Education:

• EdD from the Department of Curriculum and Teaching, Teachers College, Columbia University
• Master’s in Special and General Education from Columbia Teachers College

Research Interests: Rae’s work examines disability narratives through intersectional lenses, emphasizing autistic women’s schooling experiences. She prioritizes equitable access to research participation for marginalized groups, leveraging qualitative methodologies to amplify underrepresented voices.

Awards:

• 2022 Outstanding Dissertation Award from AERA Disability Studies in Education SIG

Professional Contributions: Rae combines academic leadership with practical training, offering DIR Floortime methodology support to educators and families. She designs graduate coursework integrating UDL to foster inclusive classroom practices.