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VIDBE - Q Volume 6 4 Issue 1
from visual impairments to research. We worked long hours and Deborah
had very high expectations, but she also cared very deeply about me as a
person and we developed a close friendship. I kno w that I am not the only
student that she affected so deeply. Deborah's former doctoral students,
Sarah Ivy and Mackenzie Savaiano, are now successful professionals in
the field and have expressed their deep gratitude for Deborah below.
"Deborah left an i ndelible mark on me both personally and
professionally. My work is in large part a product of her advisement and
mentorship, and specifically her conviction that experimental intervention
research was most needed at this time, given the emphasis on evidenc e -
based practices in policy. Personally, I admired Deborah most for her faith,
humility, honesty, and generosity. She was a woman not afraid to admit her
shortcomings, and always strove to do what she felt was right and
honorable. She was whip smart too. I am so grateful to have known her;
words are insufficient to convey it." Sarah Ivy, Florida State University
"The first research project I ever worked on was a competency for my
doctoral program. I administered a repeated reading intervention to
students w ith low vision and when I submitted a poster proposal to CEC
2012, it was accepted. This was my first CEC acceptance and I was
ecstatic, but CEC was in April and I was due with my first child. Rather than
