Department of Child Development, Literacy and Special Education

Dr. Kelly A. Clark is an assistant professor of special education. She currently leads both special education sections of the RCOE Mathematics Clinic. She was also a part of the Chancellor’s Innovation Project that started the RCOE Mathematics clinic in 2021. Additionally, she is the program director for the special education leadership graduate certificate program. 

She was a first-generation college student and has 8 years of experience as a special education teacher for children with mild, moderate and severe intellectual disabilities, multiple disabilities, autism, learning disabilities, and emotional and behavioral disorders. These experiences created the foundation for her advocacy and support for special education teacher preparation and education. She is certified in both general and adapted curriculum for special education, middle school mathematics. Additionally, she holds curriculum and instruction and principal licenses in North Carolina. Her Ph.D. in special education focused on improving transition planning, support, and services for students with disabilities as they transition to life after high school with a special emphasis on preparing them for employment. Prior to working at Appalachian State, she worked at the K. Lisa Yang & Hock E. Tan Center on Employment and Disability at Cornell University where she taught Disability Law in the ILR School Disability Studies program and led the Transition and Education grant programs.

She is a member of the Council for Exception Children (CEC), Teacher Education Division (TED), Division on Career Development and Transition (DCDT) and Division for Autism and Development Disabilities (DADD). She is also a member of TASH, an international disability advocacy organization. She serves as the President of NC TASH. Additionally, she serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Case Learning for Exceptional Learners (JCLEL).

She has been recognized for her work, receiving the college’s Outstanding Scholarship/Creative Achievement Award in 2024. She recently received a Department of Labor grant serving as the Co-PI for Rural Equity for Special Education (RESE): Developing and Supporting Career Pathways in Special Education in Rural Appalachia.

Dr. Clark earned her B.S. at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro where she was a student-athlete; M.S.A. at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, and Ph.D. at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.  

She enjoys reading, music, hiking, and chasing around her two children.

Kelly Clark’s CV