If you've ever wanted to crawl inside my brain to have a conversation on special education advocacy, law, and practice, here's your chance. Amy Bonn, consulting attorney, with COPAA, speaks. my. language. Amy and I have a hearty conversation about our jobs as special education attorneys, and it's just too good! Sometimes while I record with guests, I write down the time that a particular quote happens or a quote itself. I had to stop writing on this one, because I'd filled two big Post Its!!!! Tune in for All Things SPED Law and Advocacy today!

Transcript: https://share.descript.com/view/LBuZb8GKRdH

Amy Bonn, Esq. - Amy is a Nebraska attorney providing legal representation to families of children with disabilities in special education matters. Amy is a summa cum laude graduate of Creighton University School of Law, where she was a member of the board of editors of the Creighton Law Review. She is licensed to practice in state and federal courts in Nebraska.

Amy is also a proud parent of children with developmental disabilities. She completed a ten-month traineeship in disability advocacy and leadership at the University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities at the Munroe-Meyer Institute, University of Nebraska Medical Center, where her research focus was on parental advocacy in special education.

Today we roll out a new series on the podcast called COPAA Conversations by chatting with Denise Marshall, the CEO of the Council of Parents, Attorneys, and Advocates. COPAA’s mission is to protect and enforce the legal and civil rights of students with disabilities and their families. The organization offers trainings, an amazing conference, public policy work, legal assistance, really effective committees, and more! It's seriously my one-stop shop for information and community in my work. Denise and I chat about all things COPAA in this episode, and of course, we dive into some of our favorite advocacy tools and ideas! I hope you'll join us and check out COPAA!

Transcript: https://share.descript.com/view/Tx38ehX5c7M

Denise Stile Marshall, M.S. - Denise has led the Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates (COPAA) since 2005. She graduated from Johns Hopkins University with a Master of Science in Applied Behavioral Science. Denise has over 40 years’ experience in the field of disabilities in a variety of support, management, and advocacy capacities. She has a wealth of non-profit association management experience and is a dynamic trainer, experienced in leading sessions for participants of diverse abilities and experience levels. Prior to becoming the CEO of COPAA Denise was the Director of Training and Educational Outreach for the national organization TASH from 1995-2005, the Program Manager and trainer for Maryland Leaders in Disability Policy; and a Positive Behavior Support specialist and Director of the National Training Center for The Kennedy Krieger Institute in Maryland among other consulting and management positions. Denise's specific areas of interest are civil right to quality education, positive behavioral supports, prevention and reduction in the use of restraints, abolishment of seclusion and aversive techniques, family supports, grassroots advocacy, self-advocacy, and experiential learning. Denise and her husband are the parents of two children and have three grandchildren, one of whom has Down syndrome.

Ever feel like you need to up the ante on your Negotiation but feel stuck in how to do that? How about a tool that psychologists use to help people get to the root of their own struggles? In today's episode we're going to dive a little deeper into a concept I call "Tactical Empathy," and we'll work on validating the emotions of all of the people at the IEP table. For some people this is super intuitive. For others it isn't, which is okay, because there are a few things you can do to change the vibe of a meeting in a snap!!!

Transcript: https://share.descript.com/view/8sQAp7hltLn