About us | SHINES Training Grant Project

Nancy Bagatell PhD, OT/L, Principal Investigator (PI)/Project Director (PD)

Dr. Bagatell is Professor and Director of the Division of OS/OT. Dr. Bagatell will be responsible for overall organizational and fiscal management including working with grant faculty to recruit, mentor, retain, advise, and evaluate Scholars; develop flyer/website; write annual reports; conduct the Project Team meetings; oversee evaluation efforts; and monitor service agreements and follow-up. As an OT, Dr. Bagatell has worked in various educational settings and developed a transition program. Her research is focused on the transition to adulthood for youth with developmental disabilities.
Bria Dunn, DPT, Fieldwork Coordinator

Dr. Dunn will help recruit Scholars for PT and will be responsible for locating fieldwork sites, supporting fieldwork educators and scholars during fieldwork, and coordinating the collection and analysis of evaluation data for PT scholars. Dr. Dunn is Clinical Assistant Professor in the Division of PT. She primarily works in the Department’s Faculty Practice (outpatient orthopedics) where she serves as a clinical instructor for DPT students and mentor for PT residents. Dr. Dunn also works with the Division’s director of clinical education and is involved in a joint project with Novant Health to increase fieldwork placements in southeastern NC.
Bridgette LeCompte, MS, OTR/L, Co-Project Director

Ms. LeCompte is Assistant Professor in the Division of OS/OT and the Consultant for OT to the NCDPI. Ms. LeCompte will serve as co-project director with Dr. Ray. As a state level consultant, she delivers professional learning and technical assistance to school-based OTs, administrators, educators, related service providers, parents, students, and institutes of higher education across NC. In collaboration with colleagues, Bridgette has also focused efforts on recruitment and retention of related service providers. Ms. LeCompte is a first-generation college student.
Sara Peña, MEd, MS, OTR/L Project Coordinator

Ms. Peña will help recruit, advise, retain, mentor, and evaluate Scholars from both OT and PT. Ms. Peña joined the Division of OS/OT as the coordinator for a joint project with Novant Health to increase the workforce in southeast North Carolina, an underserved part of the state. Ms. Peña is responsible for securing fieldwork sites and providing training to clinical educators in a variety of sites, including the public schools. Ms. Peña was an OT in the Durham Public Schools for six years where she served Title I schools and was a clinical educator for fieldwork students.
Laurie Ray, MPT, PhD, Co-Project Director

Dr. Ray is Associate Professor in the Division of PT at UNC-CH and serves as the Consultant for Physical Therapy and Medicaid cost recovery for NCDPI. Dr. Ray will serve as co-project director with Ms. LeCompte. Dr. Ray has over 20 years of experience in school-based PT practice in NC. She teaches in the DPT and Pediatric Residency programs. She is a nationally recognized expert in school-based practice. Dr. Ray is a first-generation college student with a strong commitment to advance equitable education, healthcare, and representation, especially in physical therapy.
Linn Wakeford, PhD, MS, OT/L, Co-Project Director

Dr. Wakeford is Associate Professor in the Division of OS/OT and currently serves as the MS Program and Admissions Coordinator. She will serve as a Co-Director of the project with Dr. Bagatell. She will work with Ms. Peña to recruit, advise, retain, mentor, and evaluate the OT scholars participating in the project. Dr. Wakeford has over 30 years of experience working with children/youth with disabilities in various settings, including school-based practice, and she is currently the OT faculty for the LEND (Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and related Disabilities) traineeship program.