About CAI
CAI was founded by Drs. Flanagan, Ortiz, and Alfonso whose extensive research has led to groundbreaking work in the areas of assessment, evaluation, and intervention, including culturally and linguistically diverse learners. The individual and collective work of Drs. Flanagan, Ortiz, and Alfonso have resulted in hundreds of publications, books, and assessments that have earned numerous distinctions. They have now created a web presence to provide practitioners with a place to access their work, request training, seek consultation services, provide useful resources, and so much more!

Dawn P Flanagan, Ph.D.
Founder
Dr. Flanagan is a Professor of Psychology with the School Psychology Training Programs at St. John’s University, Queens, NY. She is also an Affiliate Clinical Professor at the Yale Child Study Center with the Yale University School of Medicine in New Haven, CT. Dr. Flanagan serves as an expert witness, learning disabilities consultant, and test/measurement consultant and trainer for organizations both nationally and internationally. She teaches psychoeducational assessment for intervention and understanding, diagnosing, and treating specific learning disabilities. Her research interests include investigating the technical adequacy of psychometric approaches to the identification of specific learning disabilities, the effects of measurement error on diagnostic accuracy statistics, development of a consensus model of cognitive-achievement relations, conducting expert consensus studies on the broad and narrow abilities measured by a variety of ability tests. Dr. Flanagan is a widely published author best known for the co-development of the Cross-Battery Assessment approach and its corresponding software system (X-BASS), an operational definition of specific learning disabilities, a widely recognized pattern of strengths of weaknesses method of identifying specific learning disabilities, and an intervention library for students and teachers (IL:FIRST®). She most recently co-authored and co-edited books including Contemporary Intellectual Assessment: Theories, Tests, and Issues 4e; Essentials of Specific Learning Disability Identification 2e; and Essentials of WISC-V Assessment. Finally, she is the recipient of the President’s Award from the Learning Disabilities Association of America (LDA), the inaugural Contributions to Practice Award from APA’s Division 16 (School Psychology) for exceptional contributions to the field through innovations in practice, and Lifetime Achievement Award from KIDs Inc. at the 11th annual school neuropsychology conference.

Samuel O. Ortiz, Ph.D.
Founder
Dr. Ortiz is Professor of Psychology and Director of Graduate Programs in School Psychology at St. John’s University, New York. He holds a Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Southern California and a credential in school psychology with postdoctoral training in bilingual school psychology from San Diego State University. He has served as Visiting Professor and Research Fellow at Nagoya University, Japan, as Vice President for Professional Affairs of APA Division 16 (School Psychology), as member and Chair of APA’s, Committee on Psychological Tests and Assessment, as member of the Coalition for Psychology in Schools and Education, as representative on the New York State Committee of Practitioners on ELL and LEP Students, and as member of APA Presidential Task Force on Educational Disparities. Dr. Ortiz serves or has served on various editorial boards including Journal of School Psychology, School Psychology Quarterly, and Journal of Applied School Psychology and is a member of the Society for the Study of School Psychology (SSSP). Dr. Ortiz has published widely on a range of topics and is a frequent presenter at professional conferences as well as an internationally recognized expert on issues involving nondiscriminatory assessment, evaluation of English learners, Cross-Battery Assessment (XBA), and specific learning disabilities. He is author of the new Ortiz Picture Vocabulary Acquisition Test (Ortiz PVAT)—the first test with dual norms designed specifically for English learners and English speakers. He is also primary co-author of the Cross-Battery Assessment Software System (X-BASS v2.0), the Culture-Language Interpretive Matrix (C-LIM), and co-author of the Intervention Library: Finding Resources for Students and Teachers (IL:FIRST v1.0). His books include “Assessment of Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Students: A practical guide,” which is currently under revision, and “Essentials of Cross-Battery Assessment, 3rd Edition.” Dr. Ortiz is bilingual (Spanish) and bicultural (Puerto Rican).

Vincent C. Alfonso, Ph.D.
Founder
Vincent C. Alfonso, Ph.D., is Professor in and Former Dean of the School of Education at Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington. He also served as Interim Dean of the Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology at Yeshiva University and Professor in and Associate Dean of the Graduate School of Education, Fordham University, New York City. He is past president of Division 16 (School Psychology) of the American Psychological Association (APA), and Fellow of Divisions 16, 5, and 43 of the APA. He is also Fellow of the Association for Psychological Science. In February 2014, he received the Outstanding Contributions to Training award from the Trainers of School Psychologists and in August 2017, he received the Jack Bardon Distinguished Service Award from Division 16 of the APA. Dr. Alfonso has published scholarly work for nearly 30 years and most recently he co-edited Healthy Development in Young Children: Evidence-based Interventions for Early Education published by the APA and Psychoeducational Assessment of Preschool Children (5th Edition) published by Routledge. He is co-author of Essentials of Bayley-4 Assessment and the forthcoming Essentials of Infant, Toddler, and Preschool Assessment. Dr. Alfonso is a board or committee member of the following: Council of Divisions/APA Relations, Trainers of School Psychologists, and the Council of Directors of School Psychology Programs.

Kristin Makena, Ph.D.
Executive Director
Dr. Kristin Makena joined the CAI team to launch the company as their Executive Director. Dr. Makena is a licensed educational psychologist, consultant, and adjunct professor at Cal Poly University. She has worked as a school psychologist, special education administrator, and Interim Executive Director for the California Association of School Psychologists. Dr. Makena has a background in business development and co-founded Empower LEP and Makena Solutions. She is a subject matter expert for the Board of Behavioral Sciences and Board member for the Institute for Research and Theory Methodologies. She received the Distinguished Leader Award from the Administrators Association of San Diego for her state recognized work in San Diego Unified School District during the pandemic. She also received the Nadine Lambert Outstanding School Psychologist Award from the California Association of School Psychologists and School Psychologist of the Year from the San Diego Association of School Psychologists. Dr. Makena completed her Ph.D. in Integrated Mental Health where she gained a wealth of experience in the health and wellness field. Her classic grounded theory dissertation Theory of Illuminating focused on how individual move through the change process. She has been teaching and guiding companies, districts, and families through a strengths-based approach to intervention that leads individuals through self-discovery into more positive and productive lives.