Check Out Dr. Jennifer Strong’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Dr. Jennifer Strong.

Hi Dr. Jennifer, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I started as a little girl from a small village in Seldovia, Alaska, with a big dream and a front row seat to real service. My parents opened a tiny medical practice where my father was the only doctor in town. They were everything at once: clinicians, intake, billing, emergency response, and community anchors. When families could not pay, they bartered. I watched my parents accept salmon or halibut in exchange for stitches, checkups, or medical care. That experience shaped how I view service, dignity, and responsibility. It also gave me the courage to build something of my own.

Growing up, we did not have adequate special education services. Students struggled without reading intervention, supports were inconsistent, and many children quietly fell through the cracks. One of my own family members was among them. I went into school psychology because I wanted to change that reality for families and students who were not being fully understood within the educational system.

Early in my career, I realized many parents did not even know they had the right to request an Independent Educational Evaluation, or that an IEE could be funded by the district at no cost to them. Even when families learned about the process, they encountered another major problem: fragmentation. Speech in one office, occupational therapy in another, psychoeducational testing somewhere else, and no coordinated team responsible for understanding the entire student.

Cognitive Diagnostic Associates (CDA) was built to solve that problem.

Our primary focus is Independent Educational Evaluations, many of which intersect with mediation, due process hearings, settlement discussions, and expert witness services. We approach cases through both a clinical and forensic lens. Our team analyzes educational history, timelines, prior interventions, records, assessment validity, and eligibility criteria under state and federal education law. We produce reports that are clinically grounded, operationally useful, written in plain language, and legally defensible.

Independent evaluations serve an essential role within the special education system. Without independent analysis, many disputes involving eligibility, services, placement, timelines, implementation, or compensatory education would lack the data necessary to move forward through mediation or due process. Our role is not advocacy for one side or the other. Our role is to establish accurate data, clarify student need, and provide a defensible framework for decision making grounded in evidence rather than assumptions.

What started as a small practice in Orange County has since expanded to 21 office locations serving families across California and 12 additional states, with continued national expansion underway.

Our operating philosophy is simple: clinical excellence plus operational discipline. Hire deliberately, train consistently, standardize SOPs, We prioritize the student, support the family, collaborate with counsel when needed, and keep conclusions unbiased and actionable so the schools can implement immediately and measure transparently.

At the center of everything is still the lesson I learned growing up in Alaska: meet people where they are, respect their circumstances, and never let complexity or bureaucracy become the reason a child goes without support. That belief built CDA. Today we help families navigate some of the most difficult educational situations of their lives by bringing coordinated, evidence based clarity to a student’s history.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Not smooth but necessary. The first hurdle was awareness: many parents didn’t know they had the right to an IEE at no cost. We addressed it with consistent education on social media and a few freeway billboards that pointed families to clear next steps. The second hurdle was professional resistance from a very small subset of colleagues. We saw a few social media posts and short-lived Google reviews trying to discredit our outreach, often from practitioners who struggled to sustain or scale private practice models themselves or district coordinators wary of increased independent evaluations in their districts. The noise faded quickly. Parents, by contrast, embraced the clarity, coordination, and results.

There’s also a structural hurdle built into the process. When a family requests an IEE, a district has two choices: approve and fund it, or decline and file for due process to defend its evaluation. Families often experience the latter as intimidating, especially when they’re already overwhelmed.

The final hurdle is procedural: some districts set contracting criteria that function as barriers, such as requiring outside evaluators to carry unusually high Sexual Abuse and Molestation (SAM) coverage before approving a vendor agreement. On the front end, that slows parent access to the federal right of a free appropriate public education (FAPE). On the back end, after we complete the IEE and submit an invoice, payment can be delayed for months, sometimes attributed to county audits or internal reviews. Families face the delay up front; CDA absorbs the delay on the back end. It’s important for parents to know that special education law requires that IEEs be secured and processed without unnecessary delay.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
What I’m most proud of is the team we’ve built. Our team is tough. Our team is direct. They are clinically sharp and built for complex special education cases that involve conflict. We are comfortable working in forensic environments where evaluations, records, timelines, and recommendations are heavily examined.

Every clinician here can serve as an expert witness in due process hearings, write detailed and accurate reports, and drive meaningful change for the child. They analyze district programming with balance: crediting teachers and special education teams where it’s due, and candidly naming systemic gaps that prevent a student from receiving an appropriate education. What sets us apart is scope and rigor. There’s no one else in the nation doing what we do at this scale with this level of coordination and operational discipline.

Is there anyone you’d like to thank or give credit to?
My parents, first and always. Watching my dad serve as the only doctor in our Alaska village while my mom ran the practice with grit and grace set my standard for service, discipline, and dignity. My Uncle Bruce shaped my formative years with steady guidance. My aunt Claudia and Uncle Ward shaped my high school years, pushing me to aim higher and stay accountable. My brother Shaun supported me on the computer science side, outthinking me in the best way and helping brainstorm and shape the early systems and strategy that let CDA scale. The four districts I worked for also deserve credit; they showed me both the strengths and the shortcomings of special education in practice, and that contrast pushed me to build something better. I’m also grateful for two close personal friends—both practitioners in our company—whose counsel and loyalty have been foundational. Without all of these people, I couldn’t be where we are today.

Pricing:

• Free

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.cdacompany.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cognitivediagnosticassociates/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CognitiveDiagnosticAssociates/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/cognitive-diagnostic-associates/?viewAsMember=true
• Twitter: https://x.com/CogDiagAssoc
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/cognitive-diagnostic-associates-newport-beach?osq=Cognitive+Diagnostic+Associates&dd_referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.yelp.com%2F
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@cogdiagassoc

Image Credits
Cheryl and Dr. Larry Reynolds at the Seldovia Clinic
My parents at the Seldovia Clinic in Alaska, where they cared for our community for decades. Now retired and in their 80s.

Three generations
With my kids Jack, Blake, and Sydney, alongside Grandma Cheryl and Grandpa Larry. We honor the children’s late father, who passed last year.

Newport Beach Living recognition
Featured in Newport Beach Living Magazine for our community work and growth.

Chamber welcome
Receiving a Newport Beach Chamber of Commerce plaque recognizing CDA’s local impact.

CDA on the freeway
Our billboard campaign helping parents learn about their right to an independent educational evaluation.

Labor Day team spotlight
CDA practitioners featured in our Labor Day post—celebrating the team that powers our mission.