About the Author

Norena A. Hale, PhD has spent her career in special education, as a teacher, higher education instructor, state administrator, consultant, and researcher. She retired from the Minnesota Department of Education in 2006 after 26 years as a state administrator and director of special education. Then she became an educational consultant through the North Central Regional Resource Center at the University of Minnesota. The Center provided technical assistance to eight state special education agencies in the north central region. Dr. Hale also has 20 years experience as a family and local historian through the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy, the Minnesota History Center, and a number of genealogical societies. Most recently, she has been researching and writing about various aspects of special education history in Minnesota through the MnSELF (Minnesota Special Education Leadership Foundation) and the Minnesota Historical & Cultural Heritage Funds.