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Gail Ewell is the founder and executive director of Hope Technology School (HTS). Under her leadership, HTS has grown from a pilot program of five students in 2001 to an award-winning, fully-accredited K-12 school, a licensed preschool, and a vocational education program called Life Skills Pathway.
Developing new generations of educators
For over twenty years, Gail has specialized in teacher training and development. She built our teaching and leadership staff from the ground up and continues to help teachers implement effective inclusion for all students. Gail’s vision inspires generation after generation of young scholars to pursue careers in education, and many HTS graduates have gone on to become educators at HTS.
Bringing professional and personal vision to HTS
Gail brings both personal and professional experience to her work at HTS. She holds a degree in education with an emphasis in human services from Northeastern University. Her early experience in social work exposed her to many diverse populations and gave her a deep desire to serve the underserved.
As a parent of three adult children, Gail is a compassionate advocate for students and caregivers. Her passion for education and her commitment to empowering families have been instrumental in establishing HTS as a leading institution for both typical and neurodiverse students.
Advocating for inclusion, accessibility, and education
Gail is a thought leader in inclusive education. Since the 1990s, she has been a dedicated advocate for accessibility. Recognizing the widespread misunderstandings about autism at the time, Gail organized informative workshops for parents. These events featured expert speakers and provided valuable insights into autism and its treatments, inviting numerous families to participate and learn. Since then, she has spoken at countless events, appeared on podcasts, and written op-eds to share the benefits of inclusion with schools, organizations, and the broader community. She has spoken all over the world and at major companies and educational institutions including LinkedIn and UC Berkeley, and was a presenter at a 2017 event at Menlo College called “Shine A Light on Autism.”
In her free time, Gail is active in her community. She played a pivotal role in starting non-profit organizations called E-Soccer and E-Life. These programs now serve hundreds of families in the Bay Area and beyond through specialized classes and inclusion services for typical and neurodiverse children. She has also started and managed parent support groups and community conferences.
During the pandemic, Gail built a partnership with Dignity Health/Sequoia Hospital to host a sensory-friendly vaccine clinic for individuals with disabilities who could not access typical vaccination sites. She was a consultant for Palo Alto Medical Foundation’s sensory-friendly clinic as well and led a training for their medical staff about giving care to adults and children with special needs.
Gail has been instrumental in creating collaborations between HTS and international education delegations from countries like Korea, Japan, Laos, and the Netherlands. These international visits have been driven by the uniquely inclusive and innovative educational framework at HTS.
