Find Your Special Education Advocate

Shannon understands firsthand what it means to navigate special education as a parent. That experience fuels her ability to connect with families, communicate clearly with school teams, and bring everyone together to build IEPs that truly serve the student. Her collaborative approach helps families feel heard and prepared at every step.

Focus areas: IEP advocacy, 504 Plans, family and school collaboration

Stephanie brings a rare view of both the family experience and the systems that shape educational decisions. With a bachelor's degree in criminal justice from the University of North Texas and more than 25 years in professional leadership, she reviews evaluations, IEPs and 504 Plans, progress data, behavior information, and school records to find unmet needs, service gaps, and concerns that call for action.

Her service as a school board trustee gives her insight into district operations, policy, and decision-making. She has advocated for educational interests on Capitol Hill and at the Texas Capitol and trains elected officials on special education. Her advocacy is also personal: she began navigating special education after her own child's diagnosis of ADHD, an expressive language disorder, and several learning disabilities.

Guided by the purpose of IDEA, she helps families advocate for programs that create real progress now and prepare students for further education, employment, and independent living.

Focus areas: evaluation and records review, IEP and 504 development, ADHD and learning disabilities, behavior support, meeting preparation · Austin, Texas area, serving all 50 states

Cindy spent 27 years in education as a classroom teacher, literacy specialist, and member of a school administration team. She holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Central Florida, master's degrees in Emotional Handicaps and Varying Exceptionalities from Nova Southeastern University, and National Board Certification as an Early Childhood Generalist.

Her advocacy is personal too. Cindy has guided her own children through special education, and she brings that experience to every family she supports, making sure student needs are clearly communicated to the school team.

Focus areas: intellectual disabilities, autism, speech and language, learning disabilities, literacy

Rachel brings a rare perspective to the IEP table: she has experienced special education as the student, the teacher, and now the advocate. Diagnosed with dyslexia, dysgraphia, and ADHD, she knows personally how much the right instruction and support can change a child's educational path.

She earned degrees in special education from the University of Tennessee and Vanderbilt University and spent nearly a decade as a special education teacher before becoming a professional advocate. Today she combines lived experience, classroom expertise, data, and special education law to help parents understand what their child's evaluations and IEP are really telling them, identify unmet needs, and advocate confidently for appropriate services and supports.

Focus areas: dyslexia, dysgraphia, ADHD, evaluations, data-driven IEPs

Lauren has sat on nearly every side of the special education table: special education teacher, educational diagnostician, independent advocate, and parent of a child with an IEP. She has worked in inclusion, co-teaching, and specialized classrooms in California and Texas, supporting students with complex academic, behavioral, and medical needs. She holds a master's degree in education with an emphasis in special education, along with Texas EC–12 special education and educational diagnostician certifications.

Her assessment background lets her read an evaluation for what it actually tells the team: whether the data support the decisions being made, when more assessment may be needed, and what the results mean for the child's program. Lauren also provides comprehensive independent educational evaluations designed to tell a child's story, not simply generate scores.

Focus areas: evaluations, eligibility, independent educational evaluations, inclusion

Linda helps families prepare for school meetings, understand their rights, and pursue appropriate services and support for children with diverse learning needs. As a board member for a high school district, she works to expand resources, strengthen educational programs, and promote access to meaningful support for all students.

Her advocacy is also personal. She navigated the IEP process for her own son and has supported two grandchildren receiving special education services, so she understands both the educator's obligations and the concerns parents bring to the table. Based in California, she has supported families throughout the United States, helping them approach meetings with clarity, confidence, and a focus on constructive solutions.

Focus areas: IEP meeting preparation, parent rights and supports, services review, families in California and nationwide

Alan is the founder of The IEP Coach, a virtual advocacy practice built to give parents the same insight schools have on their side of the table. Before founding it, he spent years inside the system as a special education teacher, campus leader, and 504 coordinator. He knows how eligibility decisions get made, how evaluations get written, and where the process most often breaks down for families.

Alan holds master's degrees in Special Education and Educational Leadership, plus a graduate certificate in School Leadership and Performance Assessment. His depth is in ADHD and executive functioning, emotional disturbance and behavior support, and autism, including FBAs, BIPs, and manifestation determination reviews, and he works with families across the full range of IDEA disability categories. His Navy background shows up in how he works: direct, organized, and unwilling to let a family walk into a meeting unprepared.

Focus areas: ADHD and executive functioning, behavior support, autism, evaluations, ARD and IEP meeting strategy

Leigh holds a Bachelor of Science in Deaf Education (All Level) and General Education (K–8), along with a certificate in General Special Education. Learning to read did not come easily for her, and that experience shaped a career spent helping students access language, build understanding, and discover what opens up when they can truly communicate and read.

She brings the same commitment to advocacy. Leigh understands both the classroom and the system, and she stands beside families to make sure their children receive the services, access, and support they need, always with the student at the center.

Focus areas: deaf and hard of hearing, language access, literacy, communication