About our President

Terry Lancaster’s passion is special education. She loves inspiring her special education students with a love for learning. Whether it is hatching chickens in her classroom to learn about the life cycle, going on a walk through the school to show off a new math skill, or just taking a dance break she is always thinking of mixing fun and learning for her students.

Terry started her journey in special education because her youngest son had severe learning disabilities, so she received training to home-school him, starting in 1993. Throughout that process, she was drawn to special needs, eventually completing her Masters in Education, Cross Categorical Certification, plus 30 additional post graduate credits. During all that time, she promised God that she would not use this training and information just for herself and her situation, but for others. After finishing 22 years in Special Education, Terry retired in 2023.

Using her gifts for God has always been important to Terry. Terry and her husband Bob helped start a new church called Genesis in Wildwood, MO, where they still serve. The church does many local events to help others, but also believes in international service, which is why they have sent teams to countries such as Ecuador.

On her third trip to Ecuador in 2014, Terry was privileged to visit a special education school. The teachers there were excited to receive additional special education training, and Terry was able to leave them with many ideas for their own classrooms. However, her time with them was short, and inspired her to do more, which is why she founded the Cotinga Foundation.