Isaura Barrera, Ph.D.

Isaura Barrera, Ph.D.

Isaura Barrera, Ph.D., is a native of South Texas whose interest in cultural diversity was stimulated at an early age, as she realized that the colorful autumn leaves that she cut out in first grade had no correspondence to any leaves she had actually seen. She has worked for more than 25 years in early childhood special education programs in San Antonio, Texas, and western New York State, as well as in New Mexico. Dr. Barrera holds a bachelor's degree in major communication sciences and a master's degree in speech pathology from Our Lady of the Lake University in San Antonio, Texas. She holds a doctoral degree in education research and evaluation, with concentrations in early childhood and bilingual special education, from the State University of New York at Buffalo. As an associate professor in the Special Education Department at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, Dr. Barrera coordinates the Early Childhood Special Education concentration within the graduate special education program. She continues to work nationally as a consultant. Her research focus is the Skilled Dialogue approach and its related materials, including a preschool language screening protocol for linguistically diverse preschoolers.