Shakira Durham is a 2004 graduate of La Sierra University’s School Psychology program. She returned to her alma mater to earn an EdD in Administration and Leadership, which she completed in 2019. Her dissertation focused on parents of African American special education students, while her other research interests include the identification of students with learning disabilities, multicultural issues in education, and school neuropsychology.

Currently employed as a program specialist for the Pittsburgh Unified School District, Shakira trains school psychologists, special education teachers, speech pathologists, occupational therapists, physical therapists, and school site administrators about IEP compliance, special education law, and best practices in special education. She also mediates conflicts between the district and parents, arranges and supports professional development opportunities, manages special education programs, is the case manager for students in the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Program, educates parents about special education law, and more. She brings vast experience to the role thanks to her previous roles as a school psychologist, marriage and family therapist, and behavioral health counselor.

Shakira’s educational background includes a BA in Psychology from California State University, Hayward in 1998 and an MS in Marriage and Family Therapy from Loma Linda University in 2000. She also earned her license as an educational psychologist from the Board of Behavioral Sciences in 2011.