Vesna’s professional career in education started in Baltimore City public schools two decades ago, where she held multiple roles, from classroom teacher to school principal. It continued at Sheppard Pratt schools, where she became passionate about special education. Throughout her professional experience at both public and non-public schools, she strived to support and reinforce the development and growth of each student, their relationship with each other, their school, and their community. Vesna firmly believes that every child has the potential to learn and meet individual goals, regardless of disability. Her dedication to working with neurodiverse students has been further enhanced by involvement in educational research focusing on students with autism spectrum disorder through the University of Notre Dame of Maryland and the Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs. She holds a B.A and J.D. degrees at Belgrade University (Serbia), a M.A from Towson University, and a Ph.D. from Notre Dame University of Maryland. She has been an invited presenter to nationwide educational conferences, including American Educational Research Association Conference and Northeastern Educational Research Association, as well as various districts’ professional developments.