Biography

Misty Parsley has bachelors and masters degrees in Speech Language Pathology and a doctorate degree in Special Education Administration. She has dedicated her career to students with disabilities, previously serving as an autism consultant and special education coordinator in public schools. She also worked for four years in the Vanderbilt TRIAD program providing state-wide consultation to schools and providing support to families and students with autism through social skills programs and home consultations. She has presented both locally and nationally on autism and postsecondary topics. 

Parsley is an assistant professor and the Director of Special Education Programs at Lipscomb University where she teaches in the graduate and undergraduate special education programs. Her passion is including people with disabilities in all aspects of the community and ensuring that they have the same opportunities to participate as do all other individuals. She started the IDEAL program, Igniting the Dream of Education and Access at Lipscomb, in January 2014.