Dr. Natalie Holdren is the Education Specialist Credential Coordinator (Extensive Support Needs) and a Continuing Lecturer and Supervisor of Teacher Education at the Gevirtz Graduate School of Education at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Her work focuses on family–professional partnership, inclusive education, and preparing educators to facilitate meaningful IEPs.
Dr. Holdren’s teaching and scholarship focus on helping educators build strong, respectful partnerships with families of students with disabilities. She is particularly interested in how teachers can be prepared to lead IEP meetings that are clear, collaborative, and responsive to family priorities. Her work emphasizes practical strategies for communication, trust-building, and shared decision-making, with attention to equity and inclusion. Through coursework, supervision, and professional development, she supports future educators in translating inclusive values into everyday practice in schools serving students with extensive support needs.
Dr. Holdren earned her Ph.D. in Education with an emphasis in Special Education, Disabilities, and Risk Studies from UC Santa Barbara in 2017. She also holds a Master’s degree in Education and an Education Specialist Credential (Moderate/Severe). She serves as a Senior Consultant with the National Center for Alternative Dispute Resolution in Special Education (CADRE) and as a Board Member of the Alpha Resource Center of Santa Barbara, a nonprofit supporting individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families across the lifespan. Dr. Holdren has previously served on the Board of Directors for TASH and as Past President of the California chapter and is a co-author of the 8th edition of Families and Professionals: Trusting Partnerships in General and Special Education (Pearson).