has over two decades of educational and professional experience serving college students with disabilities.
Sears is the director of Beckwith Residential Support Services and the assistant director of academic services with the  at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. She holds a Ph.D. in community health with a rehabilitation emphasis from the University of Illinois and is currently a research assistant professor of kinesiology and community health. She is a researcher at the . 
Key research areas

Factors impacting the career readiness of college students with disabilities
Empathic design methodology and its impacts on overall quality of life outcomes for everyday living
Emerging adulthood and disability identity

Notable Honors, Awards, Affiliations: 

University of Illinois Emerging Women Leaders - Nominee, 2022-2023
Outstanding BSW Field Education Instructor Award for the 2017-2018 academic year -  School of Social Work, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, April 2018
Recipient of the Robert Greenberg for Innovation Award - 4th Annual Career Opportunities for Students with Disabilities (COSD) conference, Northbrook, IL, November 2013
Recipient of the Chancellor’s Academic Professional Excellence (CAPE) Award, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, April 2012
Association of Higher Education & Disability (AHEAD)