Julia Gibbs

Julia Gibbs serves as an early intervention evaluator, a role she has held for three years following two decades as a classroom teacher. In her current position, she assesses children from four weeks old through age five in their homes to identify developmental disabilities and connect families with speech, physical, and occupational therapy services. A significant portion of her work involves children born with neonatal abstinence syndrome, a focus shaped by her doctoral dissertation on its effects on future learning and development. Gibbs holds an undergraduate degree and a master's in reading from East Tennessee State University, where she also earned her reading specialist certification. She completed an educational specialist degree with an administrative endorsement at Lincoln Memorial University and a PhD in education at Carson-Newman University. She is currently pursuing a doctorate in psychology at Capella University. Her transition to early intervention followed a severe case of COVID-19 in 2021 that required a tracheostomy and ended her classroom teaching career. Gibbs attributes her expertise to years of observing developmental patterns in her classroom that led her to research drug exposure in children. She aspires to leadership and research roles focused on neurological development for affected children.