Melissa Mancuso is the Senior Director of Specialized Instruction, Quality IEP, and Professional Learning on the Special Education Office Instructional Team in the NYCDOE. In this capacity, she leads a team of staff developers to ensure that schools are supported with high-quality professional learning on the development of Individualized Education Programs and implementation of evidence-based practices for specialized instruction citywide. She has been an educator for over 15 years, primarily as a special education teacher and instructional coach. Her work has focused on implementing and promoting evidence-based practices in literacy, specially designed instruction, and behavior supports for students with disabilities and providing technical assistance with developing school-level, collaborative structures supporting continuous improvement for students with disabilities.