Charles “Charlie” Walters, Ph.D., is an Assistant Research Professor at the Center for Transition and Career Innovation. His work sits at the intersection of evaluation, systems change, and disability policy, with a focus on improving education, employment, and postsecondary outcomes for youth and adults with disabilities. Drawing on.15 years of experience across education and publicly funded service systems, Charlie brings a practitioner-informed perspective to rigorous research and evaluation.

As an evaluator, Charlie has led and contributed to multi-site evaluations of federally funded model demonstration projects and statewide initiatives, including Disability Innovation Fund and TPSID projects supported by the U.S. Department of Education. His portfolio includes national impact evaluations of secondary transition interventions; internal and external evaluations of Centers for Independent Living; and systems-focused evaluations of vocational rehabilitation agencies, K–12 systems, and Medicaid waiver service providers. Across these efforts, his work emphasizes cross-agency collaboration, implementation fidelity, and the translation of evidence into practice. Charlie maintains active lines of inquiry related to alternatives to guardianship, inclusive postsecondary education, the role of Centers for Independent Living in supporting youth, and systemic barriers to employment for youth and young adults with disabilities. In addition to his research and evaluation work, he provides national technical assistance to states and grantees, serves in editorial and peer-review roles, and regularly facilitates professional learning focused on building capacity for data-informed decision-making and equitable systems change.

In addition to his role in the Center for Transition and Career Innovation (CTCI) at the University of Maryland, Charlie is also a Research Fellow in the University of South Carolina’s Center for Transition Research and Leadership (CTRL).

Plotner A., Walters, C., Smith Hill, R., & Reynolds, M. (In Press). Community and Technical Colleges as a Pathway to Careers for Youth with Disabilities. In P. Wehman (Ed.), Life Beyond the Classroom. Brookes Publishing Company.

Walters, C., (2026). Supported decision-making as an everyday classroom practice. DADD Express, 36(4), pp. 1-3. Retrieved from https://daddcec.com/publications/dadd-express 

Walters, C., Smith Hill, R., Waldron, C., Russell, C., Mansour, C., Badger, J., Deibler, E., & Shogren, K. (2025). Reimagining self-determination in research, education, and disability services and supports. Journal of Disability Policy Studies. https://doi.org/10.1177/10442073251404904 

Allison, M., Crane, K., Allison, R., & Walters, C. (2025). Leadership perspectives on organizational strategies driving success in state vocational rehabilitation agencies. Rehabilitation Counseling Bulletin. https://doi.org/10.1177/00343552251355342 

Walters, C., Seipp, J., Plotner, A., & Crane, K. (2025). State Differences in the transition service delivery of Centers for Independent Living. Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation. https://doi.org/10.1177/10522263251356238 

Plotner, A., Smith Hill, R., Walters, C., & Rother, Y. (2025). Contextualizing disability identity in the academic literature: A scoping review. Identity. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/15283488.2025.2481133 

Walters, C., Smith Hill, R., Plotner, A., & Springgate, A. (2025). Special education professional perspectives on challenges to supporting youth with disabilities and their families into legal adulthood. Education and Training in Autism and Development Disabilities. 60(1), 35-48.

Walters, C., Allison, M., & Kuhlwein, M. (2025). Understanding the Independent Living Network at the State Level. Retrieved from https://transitionta.org/the-role-of- centers-for-independent-living-cil/ 

Walters, C. & Henry, M. (2025). A practical guide to data security and management for Disability Innovation Fund grantees. Retrieved from https://ncrtm.ed.gov/library/detail/practical-guide-data-security-and-management-disability-innovation-fund-grantees

Plotner, A., Starrett, A., Walters, C., & Smith-Hill, R. (2024). An examination of transition professional profiles based on value-based principles: A latent profile analysis. Developmental Disabilities Network Journal, 4(2), 102-126.

Walters, C., Plotner, A. & Crane, K. (2024). Investigating trends in the youth transition service delivery and consumer demographics of Centers for Independent Living. Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation, 61(2), 175-184.  

Walters, C., Smith Hill, R., & Plotner, A. (2024). Advancing supported decision-making through special education professional advocacy. Inclusive Practices, 3(3), 61-68. https://doi.org/10.1177/27324745241265088 

Plotner, A., Walters, C. & Rother, Y. (2024). Examining a leadership development initiative for college students with intellectual and developmental disability: A brief report. Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation. 60(3), 321-326. 

Plotner, A., Walters, C. & Gonzalez, S. (2024). Exploring special education and Center for Independent Living professional beliefs on collaboration and the value-based principles that drive secondary transition service delivery. Journal of Disability Policy Studies. 34(4), 266-267. https://doi.org/10.1177/10442073221131284 

Walters, C. & Plotner, A. (2023). A Delphi study to generate, clarify, and prioritize professional recommendations on age of majority-related practice in special education. Journal of Disability Policy Studies. 35(3), 185-197. https://doi.org/10.1177/10442073231185740 

Walters, C. & Plotner, A. Centers for Independent Living and secondary transition service delivery for students with significant disabilities (2023). Journal of Rehabilitation. 89(1), 38-42.  

Walters, C., Plotner, A., & Oertle, K. (2023). Perceptions of special education teachers on guardianship and alternative options for adult decision-making support. Journal of Rehabilitation. 88(3), 4-10. 

Shoemaker, A., Plotner, A., Walters, C., Bloom, M. & Mojica, A. (2023) Inclusive postsecondary education provider perspectives of stressful situations for college students with an intellectual disability. Journal of Inclusive Postsecondary Education. https://doi.org/10.13021/jipe.2023.3248 

Plotner, A., Mazzotti, V., Kwiatek, S., Chang, W., Check, A., Mojica, A., & Walters, C. (2022). Evidence-based practices for secondary transition planning and supports for youth with autism spectrum disorder. In L. Chezan (Ed.), Guide to Evidence-Based Practices for Practitioners Working with Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Rowman & Littlefield. 

Walters, C., Imle, B. & Plotner, A. (2022). Age of majority in special education and the compliance-driven denial of student dignity and autonomy. In R. Williams (Ed.).  Handbook of Research on Challenging Deficit Thinking for Exceptional Education Improvement (pp. 420-435). IGI Global.

Smith Hill, R., Walters, C., Stinnett, C. & Plotner, A. (2022). Social work as social justice: Supporting the autonomy of youth with disabilities through alternatives to guardianship. 40(4), 503-513.  Journal of Child and Adolescent Social Work. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10560-022-00895-9 

Plotner, A. & Walters, C. (2022) The importance of Centers for Independent Living supporting youth with disabilities: A critical contribution to maximize transition service delivery. Career Development and Transition for Exceptional Individuals. https://doi.org/10.1177/21651434221116310 

Walters, C. & Stinnett, C. (2022) Navigating guardianship and adult decision-making support in inclusive higher education programs. Impact Feature Issue on Inclusive Higher Education for People with Intellectual, Developmental and Other Disabilities, 35(1), 46-47.

Walters, C., Plotner, A., Allison, M. & Mojica, A. (2022). An exploratory study of special education director experiences with issues related to age of majority, guardianship, and alternative options for adult decision-making support. Journal of Special Education Leadership, 35(1), 18-32. 

Plotner, A, & Walters, C.  (2021). Perceptions of district- and school-level special education leaders on guardianship and adult decision-making support. Journal of Disability Policy Studies. https://doi.org/10.1177/10442073211006395

Plotner, A., Walters, C., Oertle, K. & Trach, J. (2020). Results-focused service delivery for the transition from high school to adult life. In D. Strauser (Ed.), CareerDevelopment, Employment, and Disability in Rehabilitation (2nd ed., pp. 315-330). Springer Publishing Company. 

Charlie currently serves on the evaluation team for multiple federally funded disability and rehabilitation initiatives supported by the U.S. Department of Education’s Rehabilitation Services Administration through the Disability Innovation Fund (DIF). He leads the evaluation of Building Resiliency, Independence, Dignity, Growth, and Empowerment (BRIDGE CT) (84.421E), a model demonstration project of the Connecticut Department of Aging and Disability Services’ Bureau of Rehabilitation Services focused on systems change and cross-agency collaboration to improve transition service delivery for children and youth with disabilities. Charlie also supports the external evaluation of the University of Wisconsin–Madison’s Promoting Retention in Meaningful Employment (PRIME) project (84.421F), a DIF model demonstration initiative aimed at improving long-term job retention outcomes for adults with disabilities who have received vocational rehabilitation services.

Additionally, Charlie leads the evaluation of a five-year U.S. Department of Education–funded TPSID project establishing the Maryland Inclusive Higher Education Consortium and supports the research agenda of a longstanding research-to-practice partnership between the University of Maryland and the Mid-Atlantic ADA Center. His work across these projects emphasizes rigorous evaluation design, cross-system collaboration, and the translation of research into practice to improve outcomes for youth and adults with disabilities. Alongside his work as an evaluator, Charlie provides technical assistance through the National Technical Assistance Center on Transition: The Collaborative (NTACT:C) and New Editions, the national technical assistance provider supporting 27 DIF model demonstration projects funded under the most recent DIF funding cycle (84.421F). He serves on the editorial boards of the Journal of Disability Policy Studies and the Journal of Rehabilitation, is a grant reviewer for the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research, and facilitates both the Florida Postsecondary Education Program Planning Institute and NTACT:C’s Capacity Building Institute.