She completed a postdoctoral fellowship in Universal Design for Learning (UDL) at Boston College, in collaboration with CAST. She is a graduate from the Joint Doctoral Program in Special Education from the University of California, Berkeley and San Francisco State University. Professor Hartmann is a licensed special educator and has published, presented, and consulted nationally and internationally in her field. In her research, she examines how to support learners with multiple and complex special needs. She also studies the UDL framework and teacher education.