Megan Best
Assistant Professor
Megan Best is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Early Childhood, Special Education, and Counselor Education at the University of Kentucky. She earned her Ph.D. in Special Education from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Before entering higher education, Dr. Best taught high school students with disabilities and served as a special education administrator.
Dr. Best’s research focuses on three interconnected areas: (1) supporting special educators in developing and implementing student- and parent-directed transition services; (2) empowering transition-aged youth with disabilities in self-advocacy, particularly during the transition to adulthood; and (3) developing and implementing accessible research practices for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Across her work, Dr. Best seeks to center the lived experiences of individuals with disabilities and to co-conduct research alongside them. Her scholarship emphasizes collaborative and inclusive research practices that promote self-determination and publicly engaged approaches to improving transition outcomes for youth and adults with disabilities.