Dr. Kathleen M. Farrand is an associate professor at Mary Lou Fulton College for Teaching and Learning Innovation, Arizona State University. She received her B.A. in Film Studies from University of California-Santa Barbara in 2001, her M.Ed. in Elementary Education from University of Florida-Gainesville in 2006, her M.A. in Educational Administration from The Ohio State University in 2014, and her Ph.D. in Language, Education, and Society (Inclusion and Teacher Inquiry) from The Ohio State University in 2015. She is interested in practices that improve the social and academic success of all learners in inclusive educational settings. Her current research examines the impact of therapy dogs on teaching and learning as well as the mental health and well-being of students, faculty, and staff in PK-12 the grade education spaces. Dr. Farrand is the editor for the Visual Impairment and DeafBlind Education Quarterly journal and serves on the executive board for the Council for Exceptional Children-Division on Visual Impairments and Deafblindness (DVIDB). She is also co-editor of the Journal for the Arts and Special Education (JASE) by the Council for Exceptional Children’s Division of Visual and Performing Arts Education (DARTS). She is the past president (2022–2024) for the Council for Exceptional Children-Division of Visual and Performing Arts Education.

I am a doctoral student and research assistant in the Learning, Literacies, and Technologies program at Arizona State University. For more than five years, I have been working as a board-certified music therapist (MT-BC) in clinical and educational settings. I have two master's degrees in music therapy and business administration, with an emphasis in health system management. I completed my bachelor's in voice performance, double majoring in psychology. Ever since I got into the doctoral program, I've been interested in socio-emotional wellbeing and teaching and learning outcomes in PK-12 educational settings.