Ilene Schwartz

Dr. Ilene Schwartz is a professor in the Area of Special Education at the University of Washington and the Director of the Haring Center for Research and Training in Education at UW.  She earned her Ph.D. in child and developmental psychology from the University of Kansas and is a board certified behavior analyst (BCBA-D). Dr. Schwartz has an active research and professional training agenda with primary interests in the area of autism, inclusive education, and the sustainability of educational interventions.  She has had consistent funding from the U.S. Department of Education since 1990 and serves on a number of editorial review boards, including the Topics in Early Childhood Special Education and the Journal of Early Intervention.  Dr. Schwartz is the director of Project DATA, a model preschool program for children with autism that has been in operation since 1997, and is currently involved in research projects examining the efficacy of the Project DATA model with toddlers and preschoolers with autism.

Dr. Schwartz has been working with children with ASD since 1978. She is dedicated to developing, evaluating, and disseminating effective and sustainable instructional strategies for students with disabilities. She is committed to helping every child with a disability have access to a high quality, inclusive educational experience.