Our Team
Strength in Knowledge
With more than 150 years of combined leadership experience and work across Districts, County Offices, State Agencies, our thought leadership in the field of SPED is unparalleled.
Leadership
Arjun Kushwaha
Managing Director
He has more than two decades of special education dynamic leadership experience and has worked with multiple LEAs to improve educational achievements for students with disabilities.
Arjun has served on various county and State educational committees to streamline resources, data, services and instructional pedagogies. In his role at Expatiate, he is responsible for conceptualizing, developing and launching innovative services to improve special education programs for schools and agencies.
Arjun strongly believes in the One Student philosophy and advocates tirelessly for removing learning barriers for students with exceptional needs. His demonstrated talent is leveraging technology and developing new models of service delivery designed to promote inclusion. Arjun’s work has benefitted students at school districts, county offices and charter schools by developing and implementing high quality sustainable special education programs.
Kim Hopko
Senior Director
Consulting ServicesKim has an extensive background in the field of special education with more than 44 years of experience. She began her career as a Speech Pathologist working in an Aphasia classroom, and then moved into Special Education administration. Kim served in a variety of positions from Assistant Principal, SELPA Director and Director of Special Education for the Los Angeles County Office of Education (LACOE), a regional education agency serving 80 school districts. She spent 12 years as Director prior to her retirement in June 2015.
Kim’s passion has always been meeting the needs of students. She enjoyed being at school sites, working with students and staff. She developed partnerships with the district hosts, engaging them in inclusive education for all special education students.
Kim gladly accepted the opportunity to contribute her skills in the field of special education with Expatiate Communications as the Senior Director of Consulting Services. She works directly with charter schools and LEAs to provide guidance and support to their special education programs.
Alice Parker
National Director of Special Education
Alice Parker has more than 50 years of experience in the classroom, as a building principal, a district administrator, an assistant superintendent of public instruction for California for 8 ½ years, and as a consultant in special education. Her areas of expertise include public policy and practice as well as special education models that meet federal and state compliance but are rooted in the Multi-Tier System of Success and Response to Instruction/Intervention approach and are focused on improved outcomes for all children at risk of school failure. She has worked as a consultant to state departments of education, local school districts, charter management organizations and agencies, and was the co-monitor for Los Angeles County Offices of Education and Probation’s Settlement Agreement for the Casey A. Settlement Agreement. Parker has provided support, consultation, and training in improving leadership; reducing disproportion; and implementing MTSS/RtI, inclusive preschool options, systems change, and supported living and work options for youth with disabilities, including youth known to the juvenile justice system.
Dr. Parker was president of Parker Educational Consulting, Inc., the national director for special education for FourPoint Education Partners (formerly Cross & Joftus, LLC), and the chair of the advisory board for Oneder.com. Parker is a past president of the National Association of State Directors of Special Education, the recipient of their Heritage Award, and the recipient of the National Association of School Psychologists’ Friend to Children’s award for advocacy for students and youth with disabilities. Parker has a doctorate from the University of San Francisco in Education-Organization and Leadership, a Masters in Communicative Disorders from San Francisco State University, and a B.A. from Indiana University in Speech Pathology and Audiology.
John H. Hess
Doctor of Education
Dr. Hess has worked in the special education field for over 50 years. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Speech Pathology and Audiology, a master’s degree in Special Education (with a focus on emotionally disturbed, learning disabilities, and developmental disabilities), and a Doctor of Education in School Administration, with a minor in special education.
At the beginning of his career, as a speech pathologist and audiologist, he established a speech program for four school districts in Indiana. He established a special education cooperative for six school districts in southern Indiana and was the Director of that cooperative for four years. Dr. Hess served as the Executive Director of the Southeastern Indiana Rehabilitation Center, serving clients in eleven counties in southeastern Indiana. From 1978- 1987, he was the Director of the Clark County (IN) Special Education Cooperative, an urban area near Louisville, Kentucky, serving 2,000 students with disabilities. In this role, he also supervised the nursing staff, administrated the gifted education program, and managed staff development. He was elected President of the Indiana Council for Exceptional Children, President of the Indiana Council of Administrators of Special Education, and served on the State Advisory Council on Education of the Handicapped at the Indiana Department of Education. Additionally, he was a member of the Indiana State Committee on the Emotionally Handicapped, serving as Chairperson and Editor of the Principal’s Guide for Implementing and Managing Programs for Seriously Emotionally Handicapped Students. He has served as an adjunct professor at Indiana University Southeast and Indiana University Bloomington, as well as an associate professor at Whittier College, Whittier, CA.
After completing the coursework and residency requirement for his doctoral degree, Dr. Hess moved to California and served from 1988 to 2009 as the Executive Director of the Whittier Area Cooperative Special Education Program (WACSEP), serving 5,500 students with disabilities for seven school districts in Los Angeles County. The Cooperative was known throughout California for its excellent programs for students with disabilities. During his tenure as the Executive Director of WACSEP, he also served as the Chairperson of the SELPA Administrators organization and as a member of the Stakeholders’ Group: California Division of Special Education at the California Department of Education, which developed the quality indicators for the statewide monitoring system known as the Quality Assurance Process. Dr. Hess was also the President and Treasurer of the Region 11 Coordinating Council for Special Education Personnel Development, which provided professional development across Los Angeles County.
After he retired, Dr. Hess worked as a consultant for FourPoint Education Partners and the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), the second largest school district in the nation. As Interim Director for the LAUSD Charter Operated Special Education Programs, Dr. Hess was responsible for ensuring that 47 charter schools understood their duty to meet the needs of students with disabilities in charter schools. He also worked as a consultant for the ABC Unified School District, Norwalk-La Mirada Unified School District, Beverly Hills Unified School District, and Palisades Charter High School, all in California. He was an expert witness in the class action lawsuit, J.N. et al v. Oregon Department of Education et al.
Dr. Hess served on the Board of Directors of the Council for Exceptional Children for three years and was the Executive Director of the California Council for Exceptional Children for six years. He has served seven years as the President of the Board of Directors of TASK – the parent training information center for southern California. Dr. Hess has presented workshops and trainings in special education for various audiences and organizations, including the Council for Exceptional Children and the Council of Administrators of Special Education.