Meet Our Staff

Hello, I am Bobbi Fisher and I proudly serve Mid-State Special Education as the Executive Director. This is my first year as MSSE Director and I am excited to serve our 13 member districts in this new role. I have been working in the field of special education for more than 15 years. My grandma inspired my career path by being an exceptional special education teacher for many years. After graduating from Staunton
High School, I attended SIUE and graduated with my Bachelor of Science in Special Education. I happily taught special education in the Hillsboro school district for 10 years. Teaching is a truly rewarding profession and every single student I ever taught was most definitely one of ‘my kids’. I taught 2nd through 5th grade at the elementary school and I also taught 9-12th graders at the high school. Both age groups brought their own rewards and challenges. I am grateful for the teaching experience I gained prior to being a Program Coordinator. After earning my Master’s Degree in School Administration, I left teaching and started my career as a Program Coordinator. It was definitely difficult for me to leave my students and take this leap, as my students will always have my heart. My favorite part of my job is helping teachers and visiting students in their
classrooms. I don’t smile at work like I do when I get to interact with students. I enjoy
being able to be part of these wonderful school districts that are making students the
priority and developing plans to make them successful. My husband and I are raising
our boys outside of Staunton. I have three boys: Chase, Bryce, and Johnny. Between
our 3 boys and our three dogs, I am always happily busy. In my free time, I greatly enjoy
traveling, camping, spending time with family, and reading.

I have been with Mid-State for over 28 years.  My roles have changed as we have grown and consolidated over the years but thankful to be here.  I worked for Mid-State as a high school senior in 1988, left and returned full time in November 1992.  Currently, my main responsibilities are accounts payable and ordering materials.    My hobbies are relaxing in my spare time, watching or traveling to softball games and being with family.

Hello, I’m Shera Nail and I began my journey as a Mid-State Special Education employee in November 2017.  I’m extremely grateful for the opportunity to be a part of helping  those in Special Education. Currently I complete student data entry and enjoy working daily with wonderful teachers and staff for 7 school districts.  I love working in the educational system.  The talents, passions and hobbies of teachers and students alike are infectious.  I am honored to be a part of this process with all I serve.

In 1999 I graduated from Colorado Christian University with B.A. in communications and began working in the banking industry while obtaining my M.B.A. from Rockhurst University in Kansas City. After some time in banking I transitioned into the medical industry. When I moved to Illinois in 2012, I started working for HSHS Medical group and was with them for over 8 years. I joined Mid-State Special Education in July 2021 and my responsibilities included student data entry. I’m glad I can help process the needed paperwork so teachers can spend more time investing in their students. My goal is to serve those in Special Education so they can maximize all the opportunities available to them. When not at work I spend time with my husband Curt and our two kids. I also lead the children’s ministry at Southside Church in Litchfield. As a Kansas City native I’m a loyal fan of the Chiefs, Royals, and Mizzou.

Growing up with a sibling who had Battens disease led me to the field of special education. I wanted nothing more than to ensure student’s time learning in school was a joyful experience and to work closely with their families to provide as much support as possible. I am so grateful for all the students, families, and educational communities I have been blessed to serve. Throughout my many years in the field of special education I have worked as a paraprofessional, special education teacher, a behavioral specialist, and as a special education administrator. I earned my B.S. in 1998, a M.S. in 2007, and participated in additional post graduate courses that have led to additional areas of licensure. I continue to enjoy participating in course work, professional development activities, and reading special education journals and books.  All these years later I still firmly believe all students should be educated in the least restrictive environment, learning should be a joyful experience, and when all members of the students educational team work together great things happen for students. My home is in a small rural community where my husband, Gary, and I have enjoyed watching our son, Noah, grow up. When I am not working, I enjoy spending time with family and friends, reading, cooking, and crafting.

Follow your passion, and it will lead you to your purpose. Education has been my purpose for the past 30 years working as a special education teacher and teaching/co-teaching English for all students. I earned my B.S. (Special Education) from Greenville College, M.S. (Instructional Technology) at SIUE, and my second M.S. (Administration) from EIU. These experiences have led me to become a Program Coordinator at MSSE to continue supporting students and the individuals dedicated to these students. Throughout the years, my husband, Todd, has fully supported me along with my children who I adore! Todd is the owner of Knodle Farms Incorporated (the family farm) in rural Fillmore. In my spare time, I often become the “hired wife” when help is needed. My oldest daughter, Katie, is a Nurse Practitioner and is married to Austin Wollerman. They have given me two wonderful grandkids, Adeline and Hudson. My middle child, Lacey, is an Account Manager at AcuFast (swine genetics) and is married to Ryan Schumacher. My youngest, Ethan, recently graduated with a degree in Precision Ag and will be a part of Knodle Farms Incorporated using his degree on the farm and helping other local farmers. In my free time, I enjoy gardening, camping with my close friends, and playing with the grandkids. 

Hi! My name is Dawn Theivagt. I am a Program Coordinator, serving the Litchfield School District. I began my career with Mid-State Special Education as a team member in July of 2019 after serving 12 years in another district. I am passionate about my work and enjoy seeing kids learn new things and make improvements.  My husband and I have four daughters, who we enjoy spending time with. We refer to ourselves as “fixer-uppers.” We seem to always have a project in the works. We also enjoy doing things outside. Our favorite things to do are traveling, camping, boating and side-by-side riding.

I am a new school psychologist serving the Litchfield school district. I attended SIUE for my bachelor’s, master’s, and specialist degrees. While obtaining my specialist degree, I completed my internship in the Hillsboro school district (my home town!) under the guidance of fellow psychologist Amanda Cunningham. I feel very blessed to have stayed with Mid-State across my internship and going into my career. It has certainly made the transition from student to professional much smoother! It was very eye-opening to graduate in the midst of a pandemic and start my career that way too! Most recently, I obtained my national certification (NCSP). In my free time, I enjoy sketching/drawing, watching TV series, working out, and playing video games. It may interest you to know that I am a dual citizen of both the United States and Brazil (where my mom and her side of the family is from). We typically go there as a family every few years. I love spending Christmas and New Year’s on the beach! My favorite aspect of being a school psychologist is being able to share with parents their student’s strengths and capitalizing on those strengths. Because we typically assess students who often are achieving lower academically, it is always heartening to be able to share one or two areas where the student is making great strides- even if it is not academically!

Hello!  My name is Amanda Cunningham.  I have been a part of Mid-State Special Education in the role of School Psychologist since 2006.  I have a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from Greenville College, now Greenville University.  I also have a Master’s in Clinical Child Psychology from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville and a Specialist degree in School Psychology from SIUE as well.  In addition, I recently obtained my Principal endorsement through SIUE.  Currently, I serve the Hillsboro School District as their School Psychologist.  I enjoy working with all age levels, watching students grow and develop, and love serving on various committees for the district and within the community.  I have a passion for social/emotional development and mental health awareness, as well as providing the best possible academic resources and instruction for students.  For this reason, I serve on the district Social/Emotional Learning committee, am heavily involved in the Response to Intervention process at the elementary level, and have a key role in the implementation of mental health programs at the junior high and high school level.  I serve as the chair of the David A. Imler Youth Assessment Project which is a collaboration between the Hillsboro School District, Hillsboro Area Hospital, and Southern Illinois University School of Medicine Population Science and Policy Department.  This committee’s work has brought projects such as Sources of Strength and the Blues program to our high school and junior high, as well as the potential to expand beyond just the Hillsboro School District.  It is an exciting and beneficial collaboration that I feel blessed to be a part of!

Personally, I am married to Ben Cunningham, a teacher in the Hillsboro School District, and we have three children, Mitchell, Jackson, and Kate.  They are very active and we enjoy watching them participate in sports and music activities.  We also co-own a business in Hillsboro, Hilltop Elite Academy of Tumbling & Trampoline, Inc. (HEAT).  It is a gym with typically 200+ students where we teach tumbling, trampoline, and double mini.  We enjoy providing this opportunity to students in our community and surrounding areas.  It keeps us busy in the evenings but we love teaching our athletes!  I am also heavily involved in my church, Hillsboro Free Methodist Church.  I lead the children’s Christmas program every year, help run Vacation Bible School each summer, assist with children’s church, serve on both the children’s and adult discipleship teams, and participate in the church’s annual Christmas musical each year.  Needless to say, I enjoy being busy and love making a contribution to my community!

I began my career as a School Psychologist with Mid-State Special Education in 1998 and have enjoyed working for the organization ever since.  The first 21 years of my career were spent working primarily in Litchfield School District, as well as some time working at the elementary level in Panhandle School District, before transferring to Carlinville School District where I am currently assigned.  In 2007, I achieved my national certification to become a Nationally Certified School Psychologist.  I am the recipient of the 2004 Illinois School Psychologists Association Ted Smith Memorial Practitioner of the Year Award and the 2004 Illinois School Psychologists Association Practitioner of the Year Region 05 Award.  I was also recognized through Mid-State Special Education in 2013 as a recipient of the You Make the Difference Award.  As I approach my 25th year working as a school psychologist, my passion for the field of school psychology endures, as does my desire and drive to advocate on behalf of all children.

I have been working as a school social worker for 25+ years in the Hillsboro School District. I received both my Bachelor’s and Master’s in Social Work from Taylor University (1993) and Washington University (1995), respectively. In addition to providing individual and group counseling to K-12 students, completing behavioral rating scales and interviewing parents for Social Developmental Studies, I provide bi-monthly social skills lessons in all Pre-K to 2nd grade classrooms. I have incorporated ventriloquism in these lessons for the last 12 years. Since 2008 my wife and I have adopted 4 foster children in addition to our 3 natural children. My interests include woodworking (antique furniture), home restoration, and watching the Green Bay Packers.

Hello. My name is Velvet Balmer. I began my career in speech language pathology following graduation with my Master of Arts degree in 1989 from SIUE. I began working within the schools, then hospital, rehabilitation, long term care and home health environments. I have been fortunate to work in diverse settings with a wide variety of individuals from infancy through geriatrics. My primary goal is to prepare students for their future in whatever way best meets their needs. I currently serve students in the Morrisonville and Litchfield school districts. As a small town “speech teacher”, I work with children who have difficulty producing speech sounds, are unable to speak, struggle with language skills, stuttering challenges, hearing impairments, social skills impairments and more.
I grew up in Montgomery County and returned to live in the area in 2001. I have two children who are my joy and who have inspired me to be a better teacher. My daughter is a paraprofessional who works with special education students. My son has autism and has taught me so much from the viewpoint of a child with special needs. I have also learned much about the educational experience from the viewpoint of a parent. I spend my free time enjoying the company of friends and family. I like playing word games, cooking, and listening to music. I also enjoy researching and developing materials to benefit my students and other children with speech and language impairments.

I am a licensed speech-language pathologist. I received my bachelor’s degree at Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville in 2017 and my master’s degree at Eastern Illinois University in 2019. Following graduation, I completed my clinical fellowship at an Elementary School during the 2020 COVID pandemic. I currently serve the Edinburg and South Fork school districts. Being an SLP is my favorite thing to do and it is so rewarding to watch my students say their targeted sound for the very first time.  

My boyfriend and I just moved to the area within the last year with our two dogs, Beau and Layla. Outside of school, I enjoy spending time with friends and family, watching movies, shooting pool, and playing with my dogs.  

Hello! My name is Chloe Foppe, and I am the Hearing Itinerant for the Bond and Fayette Counties. I have received my Bachelors in Speech and Language Pathology at SIUE and Masters in Deaf Education at Washington University. Before working at Mid-State, I experienced student teaching at the Central Institute for the Deaf, St. Louis Public Schools, and BASSC. I really enjoyed each rotation and learned so much from my experiences. Deaf and hard of hearing students amaze me every day, and I love working with each and every student. I will be targeting skills such as expressive and receptive language, vocabulary, listening, self-advocacy, and troubleshooting devices/technology. I live in Breese, IL, with my husband, Logan. I enjoy spending time with family and friends, going on the lake, and anything that involves being outside.

I was raised in the Mississippi Delta as a farmer’s kid. When I was in the 9^th grade I decided I wanted to be a Social Worker. My Social Work degree is from Harding University in Searcy, AR. After 10 years of Social Work and lots of “battle scars”, I left SW for teaching in a private school setting. Seven years of teaching a combined class of 3^rd and 4^th graders was fun and a valuable learning experience. From 1987 to 2004 all my time was in private non-profit Christian agencies/school. From 1995 to 2015 I lived in far south TX (Mission), right on the boarder of Mexico. After all the years in private agencies I had to make a change to prepare for retirement. I believe the Lord opened “perfect” doors. The door that I walked through in 2004 to current is teaching students who are blind or visually impaired. I was able to get an accelerated teaching certification and VI certified in short time through TX Tech. Univ. In 2013 I got my Master’s Degree in Cross-Categorical Special Education.  I worked for a school district of 10,000 plus students for 11 years prior to moving to IL.. IL was not on my radar, but as the Lord does, He opens “perfect” doors. In 2015 I moved to Worden, IL after accepting the TVI position for SMASE (Macoupin County). I have been blessed to work alongside Mid-State schools as a TVI. Teaching students who are VI/blind has never been a job, but a pure blessing. These students have taught me so much about perseverance.

I am single and have no children, but I do have two sweet little puppy dogs. I love the great outdoors and spend as much time outside as possible. Mowing (farming) my yard, walking my dogs, pruning my flowers and trees are my peaceful chores. Church is a huge part of my personal life. I do have some family in Sikeston, MO and enjoy seeing them whenever possible.