Rhonda Nese, PhD, is an Associate Professor in the Department of Special Education and Clinical Sciences at the University of Oregon and the Director of the Nese Lab. She is also a Principal Investigator (PI) within the Prevention Science Institute, a multidisciplinary research institute at the University of Oregon. Her research involves equitable intervention delivery within a multi-tiered behavior support framework focused on preventative practices, including the implementation of alternatives to exclusionary discipline practices, bullying prevention, mental health and substance use prevention, and middle to high school transition supports for students receiving special education services. Dr. Nese serves as the PI on grants to develop and test the effectiveness of the Inclusive Skill-building Learning Approach (ISLA), an instructional and restorative alternative to exclusionary discipline, funded by the Institute of Education Sciences (R305A180006) and the National Institutes of Health (1R01DA059401-01). She is also PI on a grant to develop and evaluate Project Elevate (PE), a model of coordinated and connected services across school systems aimed at supporting students with Emotional and Behavioral Disorders (EBD) during their transition from middle school to high school, funded by the Institute of Education Sciences (R324A260010). Dr. Nese is the recipient of the 2026 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Exemplary Leadership Award, from the Division of Equity and Inclusion at the University of Oregon, and the 2022 Presidential Equity Award from the NorthWest PBIS Network.