Catharine Lory, Ph.D., is an assistant professor of special education and a Board Certified Behavior Analyst-Doctoral (BCBA-D). In 2024, she was appointed DEIJ faculty fellow in the College of Education's Office of Faculty and Inclusive Excellence to facilitate initiatives that support faculty and staff development and foster a positive climate. She also serves as a mentor for the Holmes Scholars Program of the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, which supports racially and ethnically diverse students pursuing graduate degrees in education.

Lory has extensive experience working with individuals with autism and developmental disabilities across ages (toddlers to adults) in school and community-based settings. Her research addresses the educational and behavioral needs of individuals with autism and developmental disabilities. She also empowers scholars, practitioners, and families to engage in practices that promote equity and inclusion for individuals with disabilities. 

Lory explores the intersection of special education and higher education equity to design strategies to support the professional needs of historically marginalized groups in higher education. Lory has disseminated her work through more than 30 peer-reviewed publications and over 100 conference presentations. She has received over $2.5 million in grants and contracts as principal investigator, key personnel, or consultant. She earned national recognition for her scholarly contribution to the field and received the Early Career Research Award from the Division on Autism and Developmental Disabilities in 2024. In addition, she serves on the editorial boards of top-tier journals, including Research in Autism, Education and Training in Autism and Developmental Disabilities, and Learning Disability Quarterly. For more information on Lory’s research and current projects, visit her Autism ACCESS Lab website.

Pronouns: She/Her