Project Highlights

Joel Bocanegra, PhD

Professor of School Psychology

Dr. Joel O. Bocanegra earned his Ph.D. in Educational Psychology with a concentration in School Psychology from the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee in 2014. He is a Nationally Certified School Psychologist and a licensed psychologist. Dr. Bocanegra joined Idaho State University in 2014 and currently serves as Chair of the Department of School Psychology and Educational Leadership. His research focuses on training and supervision, systems-level change, mental health, and the integration of technology in practice.

Erika K. Coles, PhD

Associate Professor of School Psychology

Dr. Erika Coles completed her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology at the State University of New York (SUNY) at Buffalo in 2007. She is currently an Associate Professor in the School Psychology and Educational Leadership Department at Idaho State University, as well as a licensed psychologist. Her research interests include the dissemination of evidence-based interventions for ADHD and related disorders, particularly in regular education classrooms.

Chung-Hau (Howard) Fan, PhD

Professor of School Psychology

Dr. Chung-Hau (Howard) Fan, is a Professor in the Department of School Psychology and Educational Leadership at Idaho State University. His professional and research interests include improving response-to-intervention methodologies, such as reducing measurement error in progress monitoring and developing systemic troubleshooting approaches for effective RTI implementation. He is also interested in school-wide positive behavior support, special education leadership, and behavioral consultation training.

Donald Hastings, EdD

Assistant Professor of Educational Leadership

Dr. Donald S. Hastings is an Assistant Professor of Educational Leadership at Idaho State University, specializing in leadership, trust, motivation, and effective instruction. He teaches graduate-level courses and guides dissertation research, drawing on over three decades of experience as a K–12 teacher, principal, and district administrator. A two-time award winner, Dr. Hastings has been recognized with the prestigious Texas Monthly Top Schools Award and as the Norwalk-La Mirada USD Site Administrator of the Year. He earned his Ed.D. in Educational Leadership and his Master's in applied psychology and education administration.

Nai-Jiin Yang, PhD

EMPWRing Grant Coordinator

Dr. Nai-Jiin Yang, earned her doctorate in School Psychology from Utah State University in 2025. She currently serves as the EMPWRing Grant Coordinator at Idaho State University, where she partners with local educational agencies, community organizations, and state leaders to expand training programs, strengthen the school psychology workforce, and advance culturally responsive, evidence-based practices that build lasting systems of support for children and adolescents.

Peter C. Koehler, MA

Idaho State Board of Education

Peter C. Koehler, a Parma native, brings more than two decades of military and public education leadership experience to the Idaho State Board of Education. He served 21 years in the U.S. Army, retiring as a Lieutenant Colonel, before transitioning to education as a teacher, principal, area director, and superintendent. He later served as Senior Deputy Superintendent and Chief of Staff at the Idaho State Department of Education. Koehler holds degrees from the University of Idaho and Boise State University, along with administrator certification from Northwest Nazarene University. He is a member of community and conservation organizations, including Trout Unlimited, the Henry’s Fork Foundation, the Idaho Community Foundation, and the Veterans of Foreign Wars.

Jill Radford, EdS

Clinical Instructor of Deaf Education

Jill Radford, Ed.S. is a Clinical Instructor and Program Lead for the Master of Science in Deaf Education program at Idaho State University. She has more than 20 years of experience in Deaf education and currently contributes to national initiatives through the Laurent Clerc National Deaf Education Center. Her work focuses on ASL/English bilingual education, literacy, teacher preparation, and language access. As a Deaf professional and mother of five bilingual children, including two children with Deaf Gain, Jill’s work promotes a linguistic and cultural view of hearing levels, drawing upon both her lived and professional expertise.

Lawrence (Larry) R. Rogien, PhD

EMPWRing Regional Liaison

Lawrence (Larry) R. Rogien, PhD, was born and raised in Michigan where he met and married his bride of 50 years. He started his education career in Northern Montana in a one room school teaching grades 1-8. He has degrees in school administration, counseling, school psychology, and educational psychology. His bride says he is educated beyond his intellectual capacity, but she has more degrees than he. Currently Larry works as a school psychologist in several rural Idaho school districts. Hobbies include family, learning, outdoors, gardening, building an experimental aircraft, and music.

Annette Schwab, AA

Educator Ethics & Background Checks Coordinator

Annette Schwab has been working for the Idaho Department of Education since 2005 in a variety of positions. She began working with background checks and ethics in 2009 and discovered this was her passion. Since that time, she has helped improve efficiency in the processes for both background checks and ethics cases. Annette earned an Associates of Arts degree in 2005. Since that time, she has gained an expert level of knowledge regarding the Code of Ethics for Idaho Educators, which has qualified her to coordinate educator ethics at the state level.

Karen Toerne, EdS

SESTA Statewide Coordinator

Karen Toerne, EdS, is a school psychologist with 20 years of diverse experience across Idaho’s large, rural, and charter school districts, serving as both an employee and a contractor. She proudly serves as the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) Idaho delegate and currently works as a consultant for Idaho SESTA (Special Education Supports and Technical Assistance). In this role, she provides training and guidance to school districts statewide. Her unique access to state leadership fuels her passion for advocating for school psychologists, teachers, and students. Karen lives in Boise with her husband and their rescue dog, and loves visiting her two young adult daughters in Los Angeles and Salt Lake City.