Lauren Melissa Ellzey (she/her), MSLIS, provides on-site and remote consultation services to support and empower educators to establish inclusive and equitable classrooms that cultivate self-determination, engagement, and belonging. She also designs and delivers professional development to practitioners to deepen their understanding and build their capacity to cultivate inclusive spaces reflective of the intersectional needs of their students. She teaches graduate level courses on the social model of disability, understanding autism, inclusive education, and strength-based, neurodiversity-affirming and proactive supports.
As an autistic self-advocate, Lauren Melissa has firsthand experience working alongside the Autistic community in the movement towards societal inclusion. Within the classroom setting, she specialized in early childhood and secondary education. During her time as an educator and librarian, she also served as a diversity and community specialist as a part of Teach For America’s corps member training. In all, she passionately pursues authentic Autistic inclusion as a collaborative effort beside educators, practitioners, administrators, families, and Autistic individuals themselves.