The Governing Board of The Ohio Coalition for the Education of Children with Disabilities (OCECD) announces Marbella Cáceres as Assistant Director
The Governing Board of the OCECD is very pleased to announce Marbella Cáceres as the new Assistant Director as of August 19, 2019. For several years Marbella worked as an Instructor for a Vocational Career Center. In 2006, she began working at the Ohio Coalition as their Multicultural Information Specialist/ Trainer, later becoming the OCECD Statewide Multicultural Director. Marbella had served with Lee Ann Derugen as Interim Co-Executive Director since December 1, 2018.
Marbella has worked tirelessly in serving the multicultural/multilingual families across the state, developing and coordinating multicultural trainings and groups for empowerment and education. She has provided individual assistance to a multitude of multicultural parents across the state regarding their rights as parents of children with special needs, and has trained other Multicultural/Multilingual staff across the state in the special education process. Marbella collaborated with stakeholders to initiate the first statewide support group for Latino parents of children with special needs (PLANEO).
Marbella has studied special education and participated in professional development courses offered by the Ohio Department of Education, Pacer Center, CADRE, OSEP, and other professional organizations. In 2013, Marbella received a professional certificate from the University Of Wisconsin School Of Continuing Education in Nonprofit Management: Board Relations, Grant Planning and Programming Impact. She has received numerous recognitions and awards for her strong leadership in advancing the educational needs of children with disabilities in Ohio.
Marbella Cáceres’ support role as Assistant Director will continue the mission of the Ohio Coalition for the Education of Children with Disabilities (OCECD), which is to endorse and promote efforts to provide appropriate quality education for children and youth with disabilities. We do so in the belief that all children have a right to a meaningful and relevant education. This belief affirms the dignity of each child or youth with disabilities, whose needs are unique and whose needs must be met equally and appropriately.
OCECD is dedicated to insuring that every child with disabilities is provided a free, appropriate public education. We will continuously strive to improve the quality of our services for all children and youth with disabilities in Ohio.