Al Cavalier, Ph.D., is a retired Associate Professor Emeritus of Special Education in the College of Education and Human Development at the University of Delaware (UD). He received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Notre Dame and master’s and doctoral degrees in Psychology/Developmental Disabilities from the University of Alabama. He started his professional career as Program Coordinator at the Partlow State School, a large residential facility for children, youth, and adults with intellectual disabilities and autism in Alabama, where he was responsible for overseeing the implementation of individualized habilitation programs for approximately 450 residents. As the Program Director of the Warrior Center, a developmental center for 192 adolescents with developmental disabilities in Alabama, he designed and supervised behavioral programs and automated teaching environments. After this role, Dr. Cavalier was director of a research program at the National Headquarters of The Arc, where he was involved in the design and evaluation of new assistive technologies for persons with intellectual disabilities. At UD, he teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in applied behavior analysis, positive behavior support, classroom management, and controversial issues in special education. He served on the UD Human Subjects Institutional Review Board for over 16 years. Dr. Cavalier’s main research interests involve teaching persons with disabilities self-management skills to improve their independence and productivity and designing technology-enhanced prompting systems to improve the health and fitness of persons with disabilities in community-based fitness centers. His wife is a supervisor of special education in a school district in Pennsylvania. Together they have two young-adult children. Dr. Cavalier was diagnosed with a disability at 10 years of age. He serves on the GACEC in the roles of a representative of an institution of higher education and a person with a disability.

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