I offer values-based legal representation for children, youth, and their families.

I have been advocating for students with disabilities and their families for over two decades. My career in advocacy began in 2002 when, as an instructor at William Patterson University in New Jersey, I met a group of very bright and motivated college students who struggled to read at the college level. I began to delve into research about how reading works in the brain and how most students with reading-related learning difficulties do not receive appropriate evidence-based literacy education in the early grades. I value reading as a fundamental cornerstone of learning and essential to civic engagement.

         The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) gives states and public school districts the funding and the framework to provide students with disabilities the free appropriate public education, or FAPE, they are entitled to. My work is dedicated helping parents exercise their rights and their child’s rights to an appropriate education.

       I handle Special Education cases at all levels from parent education, advocacy at IEP team meetings, due process hearings, judicial review, and federal court appeals. I also handle cases on behalf of students facing disability discrimination in school sports or areas outside of school; students facing racial discrimination in school; disability rights cases involving college students; and cases involving families with disabled children facing housing discrimination. I also represent students in school discipline matters and young people in the juvenile justice system.

     My own education includes a B.A. from Colby College in Maine, an M.A. from Middlebury College's Bread Loaf School of English in Vermont, and my law degree from the University of Maine School of Law. I also attended the Wrightslaw Special Education Law Institute at William & Mary in Virginia. I am a member of the Council of Parents, Attorneys, and Advocates (COPAA) and the International Dyslexia Association (IDA).n and youth in schools, the community, and the justice system.