About Third Sight

Dahlia Shaewitz is the founder and CEO of Third Sight LLC, a consulting firm dedicated to centering disability inclusion in every aspect of policy, strategy, and leadership. Raised by Deaf parents and a lifelong advocate, Dahlia brings 30 years of experience driving systemic change, coaching leaders, and elevating diverse talent in workplaces and communities. Through her work at Third Sight, she champions the belief that disability is a natural part of the human experience — and that authentic inclusion benefits everyone. Dahlia is known for her sincerity, her commitment to equity, and her sustainable or long-lasting impact on organizations seeking to become truly accessible and inclusive. Dahlia is an expert in knowledge translation — helping both researchers and end users to understand and effectively communicate the information that can have a positive impact on our lives. She is a sought-after executive coach and mentor, known for driving systems change and fostering authentic, inclusive workplaces. In 2020, she was selected for inclusion in Many Facets: America's Women Commemorate the 100th Anniversary of the 19th Amendment published by the National Alliance for Partnerships in Equity (NAPE). She is an iPEC certified executive leadership coach and is a trainer in MENTOR®, a leadership assessment tool that supports emerging leaders.

Dr. Crandall is an education researcher and consultant with more than 25 years of experience in postsecondary and PreK–16 contexts. Her expertise includes inclusive leadership and policy and practice, underserved students, and translating research into practice. She has led qualitative and survey research initiatives on marginalized students in education, family engagement, people with disabilities in the workforce, freedom of expression, and innovation in leadership and education delivery. She currently partners with Third Sight, LLC as project director for the Special Olympics Family Engagement Toolkit Evaluation Project. She has developed eLearning content and evidence-based tools for Special Olympics and college and university leaders. Her work includes federally funded projects with the U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Department of State, as well as training and curriculum development for educators and policy leaders. Dr. Crandall is founder of Collegium Insights, a consulting firm focused on capacity building, strategic planning, knowledge translation, and research and evaluation across the education sector.

Tawana Bandy-Fattah designs, manages, and directs research and evaluation projects designed to identify and investigate social problems, utilizing both qualitative and quantitative research skills. Ms. Bandy-Fattah leads the implementation evaluation for the Real Pay for Real Jobs demonstration project in collaboration with Northwestern University and funded through the Virginia Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services' grant from the U.S. Department of Education's Rehabilitation Services Administration. Prior to joining Third Sight, Tawana worked as a research evaluator at Polaris Project, and a Research Deputy Director at the Council for a Strong America. Tawana has expertise in research on adolescent development, family dynamics, and the application of research to public policy. She has authorized dozens of reports and briefs and has co-authored academic papers. Tawana holds a bachelor's degree in Family Social Science and has completed graduate training at Howard University.

Jennifer Jiggetts is the Founder and Chief Creative Officer of Jennifer Jiggetts Jewelry, a jewelry business featuring dazzling, handcrafted pieces that solve style solutions. She successfully moved the social enterprise to Lesotho in southern Africa to strengthen the global supply chain of inventory that sustains women entrepreneurs in remote communities. Jiggetts is also a coach for creatives and entrepreneurs to help small business owners to grow and sustain their initiatives. Currently, she serves as a strategic partner with Third Sight to support communications and business development to position the organization for visibility, long-term growth, and success.

Dr. Kevin Merges is the Chief Global Impact Officer at Saddle River Day School. His research includes student solving discrete mathematics problems in online portals and pattern recognition in Pre-Kindergarten students. He has presented at conferences around the world, on the topic of communication through online environments and the use of emerging technologies in schools. Dr. Merges served as a Board member of the Global NGO Executive Committee and the Women Against Violence and Exploitation (WAVE) Foundation. He works with NGOs focused on serving people with disabilities during disasters, using artificial intelligence to support children unable to attend school, and on the opportunities of emerging technologies to assist all people during relocations from natural and human-caused events.

Jessica Enderlin Nadzam has spent nearly a decade in the education field with roles in teaching, instructional leadership, curriculum design and program management. She works in the policy arena as a research and policy analyst. With her training in research and data analysis and her contextual knowledge of policy, Jessica is a versatile researcher who can adapt to almost any topic or research design. At Third Sight, Jessica serves as the research assistant on the implementation evaluation for the Real Pay for Real Jobs demonstration project in collaboration with Northwestern University and funded through the Virginia Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services' grant from the U.S. Department of Education's Rehabilitation Services Administration. She also provides data and management support on the Special Olympics Family Engagement Toolkit evaluation project. Jessica completed her doctoral degree in Educational Leadership Policy at Texas Tech University.

Chantelle Pinkney is the founder of JustChantelle LLC, where she provides hands-on IT support and consulting for businesses across industries. With more than 30 years of experience in technology, she has built a reputation for making complex IT challenges simple and manageable. Chantelle’s background covers a wide range of software and hardware, giving her the tools to create solutions that truly fit her clients’ needs. In 2023, JustChantelle began consulting with Third Sight LLC to support all internal IT functions and to provide customer service support. Chantelle works with small businesses like Third Sight to share her expertise and passion for helping organizations thrive through reliable technology. Her goal is always the same: to take the stress out of IT so businesses can focus on what they do best.

Melissa is the founder and CEO of I Am Special Consulting, LLC, a consulting agency committed to advancing person-centered practices in disability inclusion. Her work spans education, local and federal employment partnerships, business development, and personal/family coaching. At Third Sight Melissa leads initiatives that center people with disabilities involved with the justice system and addresses disability health inequities. With extensive experience in employment consulting within the disability community, Melissa is dedicated to building pathways that foster long-term, sustainable careers. She is deeply committed to empowering people to find their voice, share their unique value, and take their rightful place in the community while pursuing their fullest potential.

Calvin Spivey has more than ten years of experience in education and research. As a teacher, researcher, and project manager combined with deep data analysis skills, Calvin has led projects from formulation to analysis and reporting. Mr. Spivey co-authored a NAEP series of infographics and statistical reports. He has developed and managed the NAEP Background Survey and created surveys and feedback reports for program evaluation at the American Association of Educational Research. Mr. Spivey is trained as a qualitative and quantitative researcher and has conducted qualitative interviews in both Spanish and English. As a project manager, he develops efficient processes using Python as a primary technical tool and brings empathy towards colleagues and clients. At Third Sight, Calvin designed and led both qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis processes for the AAPD evaluation. Calvin’s friends and family include people with disabilities; he is keen to include their voices in spaces where it is rarely heard.

Myra Thomas has more than 10 years of experience as an evaluator of early and elementary educational programs and programs to support people with disabilities using mixed methods research. She has worked extensively as an evaluator of educational initiatives, curricula, and approaches. Ms. Thomas also has evaluated programs to support the inclusion and employment leading to economic self-sufficiency of people with disabilities. At Third Sight she conducted qualitative data analysis for the AAPD Summer Internship Evaluation and led implementation evaluation activities for the Real Pay for Real Jobs demonstration project in collaboration with Northwestern University and funded through the Virginia Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services' grant from the U.S. Department of Education's Rehabilitation Services Administration. Ms. Thomas facilitates professional learning sessions and workshops for adults on topics that include accountability, data use, evaluation, and leadership in education. Her areas of expertise include early literacy, child language development, data use, literacy coaching practices, and disability inclusion and employment. Ms. Thomas completed her master's degree in Education at Harvard Graduate School of Education in Language and Literacy, where she focused on evidence-based early language and literacy teaching, universal design to support young learners with disabilities, and literacy coaching practices.

Channet Williams has more than 25 years of experience planning and implementing conferences, workshops, exhibits, and meetings. Ms. Williams provides comprehensive planning services for small to large conferences, including web site content development, timeline management, budgets, staff supervision, client interaction, logistics planning, development of meeting materials, travel coordination and participant reimbursement, and onsite and post conference support. She also coordinates efforts of other functional areas including reproduction, distribution, and information technology. At Third Sight, Channet supports logistics on the Pathways to Careers project with the Virginia Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services, a grant funded by the U.S. Department of Education. Previously, she served as lead conference planner for a number of federal and state-funded projects for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, the U.S. Department of Education, the New Mexico Alternate Performance Assessment, the International Conference of Adults Learning Mathematics, and The Wallace Foundation.