Beth Harry

Beth Harry is a professor of special education in the Department of Teaching and Learning at the University of Miami. Her research focuses on the intersection of culture, family, and disability. In 2002 she served as a member of the National Academy of Sciences’ panel studying ethnic disproportionality in special education, and in 2003 she received a Fulbright award to study the education of minority children in Spain. She completed her secondary education at St. Andrew High School in Kingston, Jamaica, received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees at the University of Toronto, and received her PhD from Syracuse University. After teaching in general education in Canada and Trinidad, she entered the field of special education in response to the birth of her daughter, Melanie, who had cerebral palsy. Also in response to Melanie’s needs, Beth founded the Immortelle Center for Special Education in Port of Spain, Trinidad.