Aimee Rankin Zundel has been an education attorney for her entire legal career. She founded Zundel Law in 2022. Prior to opening her own practice, Aimee was a Partner at Weiss Burkardt Kramer, a leading Pittsburgh education law firm representing public school district clients. Throughout her time as a legal advocate, Aimee has used the same collaborative, student-centered approach she is known for. Aimee has represented clients at all levels of state and federal court, as well as administrative agencies such as the Pennsylvania Office for Dispute Resolution, Office for Civil Rights and Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission. Aimee has expertly handled special education cases, student discipline matters, employment matters, and Title IX investigations. Aimee graduated, magna cum laude, from the University of Mount Union with a B.A. in Sociology. She obtained her law degree from The University of Pittsburgh in 2008, where she participated as Senior Research Editor for The University of Pittsburgh Law Review. Aimee was named a Super Lawyer Rising Star for 2020-2022, and proudly serves as Vice Chair of the PBA Exceptional Childrens’ Committee.

Dr. Amy Pastorak serves as the Assistant Director of the Bureau of Special Education (BSE) for the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE). Dr. Pastorak’ s role is to support the mission and lead the initiatives of the BSE. The BSE works collaboratively with educators, schools, agencies, and other stakeholders across Pennsylvania to ensure students have access to quality and meaningful educational supports, services, and opportunities while complying with state and federal guidelines. Prior to joining PDE, the majority of Dr. Pastorak’ s tenure in education has encompassed leadership roles in large, diverse school districts directing programming and supports to increase outcomes for students with disabilities. She served as the Director of Special Education for the Central Dauphin School District, a Special Education Supervisor for the Chambersburg Area School District and Program Director within a residential treatment facility setting. Dr. Pastorak earned a bachelor’s degree in Journalism and Mass Communications and doctorate in Leadership and Administration from Point Park University. She earned a master’s degree in Special Education from Shippensburg University and holds a Special Education Supervisory certificate from the Pennsylvania State University.

Ms. Brooks is the Administrative Partner at Wisler Pearlstine. She is a member of the firm’s Special Education and Education Law practice groups, focusing her practice on advising school administrators on legal issues in student services and special education. A strong advocate for her clients, Ms. Brooks helps schools understand and navigate the existing legal framework to proactively achieve their goals. She routinely attends school board meetings, litigates for schools in administrative and local agency proceedings through the appeals process and defends them against legal claims brought under the Individuals with Disabilities in Education Improvement Act (IDEIA), Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, and the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Ms. Brooks also represents schools in investigations by the PA Department of Education and US Office for Civil Rights. A former teacher and collegiate coach, Ms. Brooks brings practical, knowledgeable experience, from her involvement in the educational community, to her practice. She advises school clients regarding student records and the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), issues of risk management, matters of child abuse and reporting under the Child Protective Services Law, Homelessness under the McKinney Vento Act, sexual harassment, and gender equity involving Title IX, and bullying and harassment investigations under Pennsylvania’s Anti-Bullying Law. In addition, Ms. Brooks handles matters regarding the Public School Code of 1949, including transportation, enrollment, residency, custody, discipline, charter schools, Pennsylvania Approved Private Schools, and private schools.

Mr. Faust is special counsel to the education law firm of Sweet, Stevens, Katz & Williams. He has represented public school entities throughout Pennsylvania in special education and civil rights litigation since 1986, appearing at every level of the state and federal judiciary and in hundreds of administrative due process proceedings. He has spoken widely on special education, student services, and civil rights to audiences of educators, attorneys, college students, and parents and has appeared as an expert witness on special education. Mr. Faust received his law degree from the Dickinson School of Law a very long time ago.

Bradley Flynn is a partner with the Montgomery Law Group. He concentrates much of his practice on education law, including special education; school discipline; anti-bullying litigation under the Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights Act; Abbott and high-quality preschool programming for disadvantaged students; employment litigation for teachers and superintendents; representing private preschools in litigation; advisement on business and contract matters for private schools; regulatory compliance for private schools and colleges; contract litigation with private schools; civil rights litigation on behalf of students; and higher education litigation on behalf of college and graduate students. In addition, his practice includes criminal and juvenile defense, especially for students charged with crimes and truancy. He also handles family law cases, with a focus on advocating for children and their best interests regarding their educational needs. Brad brings a unique perspective to the firm, having spent many years working in schools directly with children with special needs. He received his undergraduate degree and master’s degree in legal history from Rutgers University, and his law degree from Vermont Law and Graduate School. He is admitted to practice in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Maine.

Brian Jason Ford has served as a Special Education Due Process Hearing Officer since 2010. In addition to adjudicating due process hearings, Hearing Officer Ford helps parties resolve their disputes without hearings through the Office for Dispute Resolution’s alternative dispute resolution initiatives. Hearing Officer Ford received a JD with a certificate in advocacy and dispute resolution from Penn State Law and practiced special education law on both sides of the aisle before becoming a hearing officer.

Ms. Say is the Chair of Stock and Leader’s School Law Group and practices in the areas of education (school) for public school districts throughout the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. In her school practice, she has developed expertise in advising school districts in special education, gifted, discipline, and civil rights matters. She counsels her clients through internal compliance audits and defends them in administrative hearings and federal litigation. She represents school districts before various administrative bodies, including the Bureau of Special Education, Office for Dispute Resolution, Office of Civil Rights, Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and in federal and state court. In more recent years, she has served as an expert witness in various special education matters. Ms. Say is privileged to hold a position on several insurance panels as counsel for school districts who are subject to claims under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. She serves as a court-appointed certified mediator in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania. In her local practice, Ms. Say pioneered the Stock and Leader Special Education Series, which includes a compilation of seminars addressing the latest topics in Special Education presented to Special Education Directors, Supervisors, Pupil Personnel Administrators, head teachers and School Psychologists. During the COVID‐19 pandemic of 2020, she hosted weekly conference calls with her clients, guiding them in their navigation of the legal pitfalls of educating disabled students in their virtual and hybrid educational settings. She regularly presents for the PA Exceptional Children’s Conference (ECC), Lehigh University’s various Special Education Conferences hosted by Dr. Perry Zirkel, Pennsylvania School Board Association, and Pennsylvania Bar Institute workshops. In 2021, she was selected to give the time‐honored “Year in Review” for the ECC, alongside a parent attorney/colleague. More recently, she has enjoyed speaking across the United States to special educators, at the Tri‐State Law Conference for Nebraska, Kansas, and Iowa, the Utah Law Conference, and the Northern Plains Law Conference for North and South Dakota and Montana. In 2012 and for eight consecutive years, Attorney Say was named to the Pennsylvania Rising Stars list as one of the top up‐and coming attorneys. The list, published nationwide in Super Lawyers® magazines, highlights individuals under the age of 40 who have significantly impacted their professional careers. Additionally, she was the recipient of the Legal Intelligencer, Lawyers on the Fast Track in 2015. In 2020, she was awarded the Central Pennsylvania Business Journal’s Women of Influence award.

Ms. Skidmore has been active in the field of special education dispute resolution in Pennsylvania since 1994. She earned her undergraduate degree in Special and Elementary Education from Slippery Rock University, her Juris Doctor from Duquesne University, and her Master of Education in a program of general special education from the University of Pittsburgh. Currently a full time special education hearing officer, Ms. Skidmore previously served for fourteen years as an appellate hearing officer in Pennsylvania’s former two-tiered system along with private law practice experience. She was also trained in basic and special education mediation and has experience with collaborative dispute resolution. Ms. Skidmore has been a frequent speaker and lecturer on various aspects of special education and disability law, has co-authored several articles related to due process, and remains active in numerous special education and legal professional organizations.

Christopher J. Conrad is a shareholder in the Camp Hill, PA office of Marshall, Dennehey, Warner, Coleman & Goggin, PC. Mr. Conrad is a member of the firm’s Professional Liability Department and Co-Chair of the firm’s Special Education Law Practice Group. Mr. Conrad devotes a significant portion of his practice to the representation and defense of school districts, intermediate units, career and technology centers and other academic institutions in all manner of employment, civil rights and special education litigation. Mr. Conrad is a 1998 graduate of The Pennsylvania State University and a 2001 graduate of The Pennsylvania State University Dickinson School of Law, where he volunteers as an Adjunct Instructor. Mr. Conrad also serves pro bono as a certified mediator for the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of PA.

David G. C. Arnold practices in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania. He is also Of Counsel to the law firm Robson & Robson. Mr. Arnold graduated from the Villanova University School of Law in 1987. Mr. Arnold has been admitted to practice law in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the Sate of New Jersey since 1987. Mr. Arnold is also admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court, the United States Court of Appeals for the Third and Fourth Circuits, and the United States District Court for the Eastern and Middle Districts of Pennsylvania, and the District of New Jersey. Mr. Arnold maintains an active special education practice which is limited to the representation of students and their families. Mr. Arnold brought and won the landmark special education case Lower Merion School District v. Student Doe, 593 Pa. 437, 913 A.2d 640 (2007).  Mr. Arnold lectures frequently on topics related to special education law.

Mr. McAndrews has worked for over forty (40) years in the public and private sectors in several roles in the fields of estate planning and disability law. He is the founder and Managing Partner Emeritus of McAndrews, Mehalick, Connolly, Hulse, and Ryan Law Offices, P.C., a fifteen attorney law firm with offices in Berwyn, Scranton, Wyomissing, Wilmington Delaware, and Metropolitan Washington D.C., which regularly represents individuals and their families in a variety of areas, including estate planning/administration, special education matters, special needs trusts, elder law, abuse of vulnerable persons, guardianships, higher education abuse/discipline matters, and injury cases. He frequently acts as a consultant to other public and private attorneys with regard to estate planning/administration, disability and special education issues. Mr. McAndrews has served as Executive Director and Staff Counsel to two select committees of the Pennsylvania State Senate which evaluated Pennsylvania’s system of care for the intellectually disabled and drafted proposed legislation designed to modernize Pennsylvania’s legal basis for the provision of care to the intellectually disabled. He served for fifteen (15) years as a Special Education Hearing Officer for the Pennsylvania Department of Education, and was assigned to determine the appropriate educational classification, program, and placement of school-age children with disabilities. Mr. McAndrews was also selected to serve as one of the first appellate hearing officers in Pennsylvania under new Department of Education regulations. During his seventeen (17) years as a prosecutor in the Philadelphia area, and thereafter in criminal defense matters, he handled many cases involving defenses of mental disability. He successfully pursued a conviction against the wealthiest murderer in American history, John E. DuPont, for the murder of Olympic gold medal wrestler, David Schultz. He is also a frequent contributor for national and local news media involving legal and political issues and has offered commentary for CBS, NBC, NPR, the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, USA Today, The Legal lntelligencer, and many other news outlets. For over 30 years, Mr. McAndrews was an instructor of Civil Rights, Constitutional Law, Criminal Justice and Business Law at Villanova University, Immaculata University and Drexel University. He is a frequent lecturer to national conferences, Bar Association Committees and advocacy groups concerning special education, estate planning/administration, the rights of the elderly and individuals and with disabilities and has authored numerous articles regarding these matters. He has served as a member of the Pennsylvania Bar Association’s Elder Law Council and served for a decade as Chairman of The Disability Law Committee of the Delaware County Bar Association. Mr. McAndrews obtained his law degree from Villanova’s Charles Widger School of Law in 1978 and was awarded a Bachelor of Science Degree in Education together with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Political Science from Villanova University in 1975. Dennis is the author and sole actor of a play entitled “If JFK Survived Dallas: Presidential Reflections of an Elder Statesman”. He has also written “The Open” a screenplay which chronicles Ken Venturi’s dramatic victory in the 1964 United States Open Championship where he overcame heat exhaustion to achieve a triumph after years of being a washed-up tour professional.

Gabrielle has dedicated her life to children and education. After beginning her career as a public school teacher, she attended law school and in 2000 combined her love of education with her love of the law to become an education attorney. She has represented both school districts and parents over the past 23 years, litigating matters from administrative hearings through appeals to the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. She is a sought after authority on special education law in Pennsylvania, frequent speaker, and trusted advisor. Gaby has been named a Pennsylvania Superlawyer since 2013 and is a Main Line Today Top Lawyer and Delaware County Daily Times Top Lawyer. She is a graduate of Villanova University School of Law, JD; University of Pennsylvania, Graduate School of Education, M.Ed.; and St. Joseph’s University, BA. To deepen her understanding of the inner workings of school districts in order to further enhance her service to them, Gabrielle is also currently pursuing her doctorate in Educational Leadership at Neumann University.

Ms. Goldsmith has been serving the needs of children and families in the area of special education for 20 years. Prior to founding Bradley Goldsmith Law, Ms. Goldsmith practiced law at McAndrews Law Offices. During her 19 years at McAndrews Law Offices, Ms. Goldsmith became a Shareholder of the firm and was Supervising Shareholder of the Special Education Department for almost 10 years. Ms. Goldsmith is the Parent Attorney Representative to the Stakeholders Council of the Office for Dispute Resolution and has recently been appointed to the Professional Advisory Board of the Learning Disabilities of America. Ms. Goldsmith frequently speaks at National and State-Wide Special Education Conferences including the LDA, Arthritis Foundation, COPAA and PBI. Ms. Goldsmith offers substantial expertise in the area of Special Education Law and handles a wide variety of special education matters, civil litigation cases and criminal justice issues.

Ms. Bradley is a co-founding Partner of Bradley Goldsmith Law, LLC located in Wyomissing PA. Ms. Bradley represents clients across the state of Pennsylvania in all aspects of special education matters including due process, manifestation and expulsion hearings pursuant to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and the Public School Code. She participates in Individualized Education Team meetings to obtain appropriate programs and placements for her clients. She pursues cases on behalf of her clients including matters related to identification, eligibility, IEP disputes, tuition reimbursement, bullying, disability discrimination and school discipline. In addition, she has represented juveniles charged with criminal acts as well as families facing PIAA disputes.  Prior thereto, Ms. Bradley was an Assistant District Attorney in Berks County where she prosecuted defendants charged with felony and misdemeanor crimes including Homicide, Rape, Burglary, Robbery, Assault, Theft, and DUI. Additionally, she managed the Intermediate Punishment Program which is offered as an alternative to prison and is designed to assist, rather than punish, people with addictions. She also served as the lead attorney for the juvenile justice unit for two years. Ms. Bradley was also an adjunct professor in the Political Science Department at Albright College where she taught Criminal Law and Civil Liberties. Ms. Bradley graduated cum laude from Villanova University School of Law in 1999. In addition, she graduated magna cum laude with honors from Susquehanna University in 1996. Ms. Bradley is a member of the Berks County Bar Association and the Pennsylvania Bar Association. She is active in her church, St. Ignatius,  and her community where she volunteers for St. Ignatius Loyola Regional School and Berks Catholic High School.  Ms. Bradley also provides trainings to various organizations including the ARC of Lancaster and Lebanon County and the ARC of  and Northampton and Lehigh County.  She has also published articles for The Pennsylvania Lawyer and The Berks Barrister.      

Mr. Steele’s practice focuses primarily on the legal needs of children with disabilities. He also provides special needs trusts to insure that those in need continue to qualify for programs and benefits. He is a partner at Steele Schneider and heads the firm’s special education practice. He is a graduate of the Duquesne University School of Law. He also holds a degree in Music Education from Youngstown State University. Prior to attending law school, he worked as an elementary music educator. He is a member of the Pennsylvania Bar and has been admitted to the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania. He is admitted to practice in Pennsylvania and before the U.S. District Court Western District of Pennsylvania.

Judy Baskin joined the Law Offices of Kenneth S. Cooper as a full-time attorney in 2017. Judy earned her J.D. from the University of Puget Sound School of Law (now Seattle University) in 1984. From 1985 until July 2006, Judy was a public defender in Seattle, Washington, handling Dependency, Juvenile and Felony cases. In August 2006, Judy returned to the Philadelphia area, joining The Defender Association where she served as a Child Advocate. In September 2009, Judy joined the School District of Philadelphia’s legal department, serving as an Assistant General Counsel in the special education unit until joining the Law Offices of Kenneth S. Cooper.

Kalani Linnell is an experienced education law practitioner with a keen understanding of the issues from both a legal and practical standpoint. She advises clients in matters involving special education, student civil rights, and operations/practices. She is an associate with Sweet, Stevens, Katz & Williams LLP. In the years before joining the firm, Kalani worked with law firms with significant education law practices. She also worked as an investigator and hearing officer for a consulting firm that advised educational institutions in major areas of legal compliance. She also worked as a teacher in a large Pennsylvania school district prior to attending law school. As such, she has a deep understanding of the challenges teachers and administrators face on a daily basis in terms of discipline, safety, and plan/goal implementation. She is especially dedicated to the issue of Title IX compliance, both its historic regulations and the impending new directives. In 2020, she was invited to join a select group of attorneys providing guidance on the rules to the State University of New York. She also advised the Pennsylvania School Board Association on model policies relating to Title IX, and she has delivered a number of live presentations on the subject, including “The Intersection of Title IX and Special Education” at the Council for School Attorneys/National School Boards Association conference in 2023, and “The Equitable Application of Title IX,” to the Council of Administrators of Special Education (CASE) Law and Leadership Academy in 2024. She maintains a constant commitment to professional development by seeking opportunities to learn, grow and share through client in-service training, writing legal alerts and articles on cutting-edge topics, and presenting live continuing legal education programs and seminars. She is a graduate of Drexel University, Thomas R. Kline School of Law (J.D., cum laude) and West Chester University of Pennsylvania (B.S.Ed., magna cum laude). She is admitted to practice in Pennsylvania and the U.S. District Court, Eastern and Middle Districts, and the U.S. Court of Appeals, Third Circuit.

Ms. Metcalfe has practiced special education and pupil services law since 2010 and has represented both school districts and parents. She is currently the Managing Attorney of Special Education for Raffaele & Associates, LLC where her focus is advocating for students and families in all aspects of education. She has expertise in all areas of special education: analyzing and providing advice regarding special education documents, attending IEP meetings, litigating due process hearings, and advocating for clients in federal court. She has conducted numerous professional development and training opportunities for parents, teachers, administrators, attorneys, and other professionals regarding the IDEA, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the corresponding Pennsylvania special education regulations as well as the gifted regulations. Prior to her special education practice, Ms. Metcalfe began her law career as a public defender at the Defender Association of Philadelphia representing both adults and children in criminal matters which gave her extensive training in the courtroom as a litigator. She then transitioned to the Child Advocate Unit and represented dependent youth in Philadelphia in both dependency and delinquency court. Ms. Metcalfe graduated from Temple University Beasley School of Law in 2002 with recognition in Outstanding Oral Advocacy and cum laude from Muhlenberg College in 1999 with a Bachelor of Arts in both Political Science and Philosophy. She is barred in both Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

Kristen Weidus is a Partner at Ruder Law, where she focuses her practice on education and disability rights law. Kristen also manages the firm’s federal practice, where she represents students and their families discriminated against because of race, sex, gender, gender identity, disability, and otherwise. As a resident of Greensburg, Kristen remains active in the Westmoreland Bar Association, currently serving on its Board of Directors, Co-Chairing its Women In Law Committee, and formerly chairing the Young Lawyers Committee and Membership Committee. She received the Westmoreland Bar Association’s Outstanding Young Lawyer Award in 2016, and currently serves as a Zone 6 Delegate in the Pennsylvania Bar Association’s House of Delegates. Kristen was also selected as a Pennsylvania Rising Star by SuperLawyers in 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024. Kristen graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of the District of Columbia David A. Clarke School of Law in Washington, DC in 2012. She worked as a law student attorney in the Took Crowell Institute for At-Risk Youth, representing students with disabilities enrolled in the DC Public Schools. Kristen graduated Cum Laude from Hiram College in 2009, and is currently the President of Hiram’s Alumni Executive Board. Beginning in 2000, she worked for the HELP Foundation Summer Program, an extended school year program that serves children with disabilities in Northeast Ohio. Kristen is licensed to practice in the state courts of Ohio and Pennsylvania, the United States District Courts for the Western and Middle Districts of Pennsylvania, as well as the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.

Lee is a shareholder and the Vice Chair of the Employment Law Practice Group at Marshall Dennehey, P.C., where he represents employers in the full spectrum of discrimination, harassment and retaliation claims, including claims pursuant to Title VII, the ADA public accommodation, the ADEA, the FMLA, whistleblower, housing discrimination and related tort claims. He is experienced in handling wage and hour lawsuits, including class and collective actions, pursuant to the FLSA, the Pennsylvania Minimum Wage Act and the Pennsylvania Wage Payment and Collection Law. Additionally, Lee serves as the Vice Chair of the firm’s School Leaders’ Liability Practice Group. He routinely defends school districts, charter schools and other academic institutions in civil rights litigation, as well as in special education due process matters alleging violations of the IDEA and related federal and state statutes. Lee serves as lead counsel for clients from a wide range of industries, including construction, manufacturing, restaurant and hospitality, education, real estate development, health care and non-profit organizations. He has served as lead counsel in a number of employment litigation matters in federal court and state court, as well as before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission, the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations. Additionally, Lee advises clients on how to avoid employment disputes altogether by counseling them on compliance with federal, state and local laws with respect to hiring, discipline, medical leave and terminations, as well as conducting workplace investigations and creating and updating employment policies and procedures to proactively manage employee relations. In 2004, Lee graduated from Syracuse University with a double major in Communications & Rhetorical Studies and Political Science. Following graduation, he attended Widener University School of Law, receiving his juris doctor, cum laude, in 2007 and was awarded a Business Organization Law Certificate, with honors. During his time in law school, Lee served as an administrative board member of the Delaware Journal of Corporate Law and as a member of the Moe Levine Trial Advocacy Honor Society. He joined Marshall Dennehey Warner Coleman & Goggin as a summer associate in May 2006 and continued to work with the firm during his final year of law school. Following graduation, Lee returned to the firm as an associate in August 2007. In addition to his employment practice, Lee has experience litigating environmental, toxic tort and professional liability matters. He has been recognized as a Pennsylvania Super Lawyer: Rising Star by Philadelphia Magazine in the area of Employment Litigation: Defense in from 2012 through 2021. Rising Stars are chosen by their peers as being among the top-up-and-coming lawyers in Pennsylvania. Only 2.5 percent of Pennsylvania attorneys receive this honor each year.

Macy T. Laster is an Associate in the Education Law practice group at Wisler Pearlstine, LLP. Ms. Laster is admitted to practice in all Pennsylvania State and Federal Courts as well as the Supreme Court of the United States. She is a member of the Pennsylvania, Montgomery, and Bucks County Bar Associations and the Pennsylvania Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. Ms. Laster was included in the 2024 and 2025 editions of the Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch® in America for Education Law. She has presented on numerous occasions, to attorneys, advocates, and school administrators, on topics involving special education. She received her law degree in 2018 from Syracuse University College of Law, where she also earned a Certificate of Advanced Study in Disability Law and Policy. While attending law school, Ms. Laster served as a student attorney at the Disability Rights Clinic, providing indigent clients with free legal services. Throughout her time at Syracuse, she was a senior member of the school’s nationally renowned Moot Court Honors Society and was recognized in intra-school competitions for her oral advocacy and legal writing abilities. Prior to embarking on her legal career, Ms. Laster earned her undergraduate degree in Education and Public Policy, with minors in Sociology and Women’s Studies, from Pennsylvania State University in 2015.

Ms. Wakelin is a Senior Attorney in the Philadelphia office of the Education Law Center. Her work focuses on litigation efforts to advance educational access issues for all students. In addition to supporting ELC’s impact litigation, Ms. Wakelin manages the Education Helpline, which is a statewide helpline that provides advice, resources, and direct representation on education civil rights issues. Prior to joining ELC, Ms. Wakelin was a supervising attorney with the Special Education Clinic at Equip for Equality in Illinois. There, she led a multi-attorney team to represent students with disabilities in both individual and systemic educational matters. Before becoming a supervising attorney, Ms. Wakelin was a staff attorney and an Equal Justice Works Fellow at Equip for Equality. As a 2008 Fellow, she created the Autism Project, which provided legal representation and self-advocacy training to families seeking to obtain critical research-based educational services and appropriate school placements for their children with autism. Ms. Wakelin began her career as a high school special education teacher in Mississippi and later attended Northwestern University School of Law. At Northwestern, she represented students at-risk of school expulsion and served as the Managing Attorney of the Journal of Law and Social Policy.

Maria C. Ramola is a member of the Education and Litigation practice groups at McKenna Snyder LLC. Her primary practice areas include special education, charter school law, workers’ compensation and federal tax exemption for non-profit schools and foundations. Her legal experience prior to her association with the Firm includes in-house trial counsel for an insurance company in Philadelphia, corporate counsel for a specialized foster care agency and environmental claims management with a major insurance company in Philadelphia. She also worked in the non-profit sector as a Chief Operating Officer/Development Officer for a leading Latino community development corporation and as an Executive Director of a regional office of a national organization which promotes diversity education. She is a member of the Pennsylvania and New Jersey Bar Associations. She is a graduate of Widener University School of Law, Wilmington, DE (J.D.) and Villanova University (B.A., Political Science.)

Ms. Snyder is the Chair of the Special Education Law Practice group at McKenna Snyder LLC. She concentrates her practice in the areas of: special education law, charter school law, education law, school reform & insurance defense. She represents clients in a variety of matters pertaining to state and federal laws and regulations, including but not limited to IDEA and Section 504. Prior to entering private practice, she clerked for the Honorable Bonnie Brigance Leadbetter of the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania. While in law school, she interned for the Honorable Juan R. Sanchez at the Chester County Court of Common Pleas. She received her J.D. from Villanova University School of Law, where she earned the Theodore L. Reimel Distinguished Service Award. She received her B.A. in English, magna cum laude, from Villanova University. She has been admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, the United States District Courts for the Eastern, Middle & Western Districts of PA, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, the Supreme Court of New Jersey, the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, and the Supreme Court of Ohio. Ms. Snyder is also a member of PBA’s Legal Services for Exceptional Children Committee and has been an invited lecturer at state and national conferences on special education and education law topics, including sessions at: PBI’s Exceptional Children’s Conferences; Pennsylvania Coalition of Public Charter Schools’ conferences; Education Law Association and Lehigh University. Ms. Snyder may be reached at: nsnyder@mckennalawllc.com.

Nicole is a founding partner of Batchis Nestle & Reimann. Before co-founding the Firm, Nicole was a partner at Schnader Harrison in Philadelphia, where she was a commercial litigator for more than 25 years. She has extensive experience in trying cases to verdict before judges and juries in federal and state court, mediation, and alternative dispute resolution.  Since 2015, she has devoted her practice to obtaining appropriate educational programming and placement for students through the IDEA’s administrative and judicial process and vindicating students’ civil rights in federal court.  In 2017, she tried a Section 504 service animal case to verdict in the Middle District of Pennsylvania.  The Court refused to instruct the jury that Buddy, the service dog, was a per se reasonable accommodation for the student.  The Third Circuit reversed and ordered a new trial.  Berardelli v. Allied Services Inst. of Rehab. Med., 900 F.3d 104 (3d Cir. 2018).  Most recently, Nicole won an appeal in the Third Circuit seeking to reverse the district court’s holding that ADA/Section 504 claims lose their independent existence, and the student loses the rights, procedures and remedies available under them when parents pursue administrative procedures under the IDEA. Jennifer Binder Le Pape et al v. Lower Merion School District, 22- 2931 (June 4, 2024) (“A denial-of-FAPE claim under the IDEA can be resolved through an administrative appeal, but ADA and Section 504 discrimination claims seeking compensatory damages, even if on the same facts, should be resolved through summary judgement and, possibly, trial.”). Nicole is a graduate of Northeastern University School of Law and Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey.  

Rebecca Heaton Hall is a Partner at Weiss Burkardt Kramer LLC. She concentrates her practice on education law with a primary focus on the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEIA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. She is primarily known for her research and work on Emotional Disturbance and Social Maladjustment. She has co-authored a book titled Assessment and Identification of Students with Emotional Disturbance and Behavioral Needs (LRP Publications, 2020). Rebecca has a diverse legal background that has provided her with the opportunity to serve as a surrogate parent in Pennsylvania schools, educational advocate, parent attorney, school district solicitor, and educational consultant. She uses her diverse background to provide our clients with a unique advantage and perspective. Rebecca routinely defends school districts in complex due process hearings and in the state and federal courts in the Commonwealth. Rebecca is a frequent lecturer on
legal updates regarding the IDEIA and Section 504. She has written extensively on legal compliance in schools for students with disabilities and has formed a unique research, and advocacy approach with Dr. Jessica Dirsmith, D.Ed., NCSP. She and Dr. Dirsmith actively research to find innovative methods to assist schools in targeting the social, emotional, and behavioral needs of students. Their ongoing research efforts have gained national and international traction and focuses on prevention and interdisciplinary collaboration. Their research has been presented at Seitoku University in Tokyo, Japan, at the 40th International School Psychology Association, the University of Basel, Switzerland for the 41 st International School Psychology Association, the Association of School Psychologists of Pennsylvania, the National Association of School Psychologists, LRP Institute, and numerous other venues. Her research was highlighted by the United States Department of Civil Rights in its July 2019 briefing to the President, Vice-President, Speaker of the House, and Senate Majority Leader. In 2006, Rebecca received her Juris Doctorate from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law. She graduated cum laude at West Liberty State College where she received a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration. Rebecca is admitted to practice law in the state courts of Pennsylvania, the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania and the Supreme Court of the United States.

Sarah Dragotta is a Senior Associate of Sand & Saidel, P.C. in the Corporate Practice Group. The primary focus of her practice is Education law.  Ms. Dragotta founded her own law practice in 2002, after a successful career of more than two decades as an educator. Since that time, Ms. Dragotta litigated dozens of cases in State and Federal Court. She polished her courtroom skills in City Hall in the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas in civil litigation. Ms. Dragotta has represented hundreds of students, teachers and faculty, at every level — from early childhood to higher education, including for parents and guardians in regular and special education matters. She recently joined the Sand & Saidel, PC, Philadelphia law firm bringing with her previous experiences in school law and in representing non-profit educational institutions. Prior to becoming a lawyer, Ms. Dragotta worked in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, in various positions, using her education and clinical skills, in three areas of certification. She has served as a Director of Special Education, a Speech and Language Pathologist, and a Teacher of the Hearing Impaired. Ms. Dragotta understands education law from early childhood through higher education. She assisted in the licensing and government contracts of various children’s centers in Philadelphia, with the daily operations and management of the centers, from writing curriculum to hiring and mentoring staff. She has successfully represented parents and guardians of students, with matters in regards to regular education, special education, other health impairments, and gifted education. Ms. Dragotta also represents college students, providing defense and counsel against accusations of academic misconduct and other social violations where character and academic programming are in jeopardy and grades are in dispute. In addition, Ms. Dragotta provides private and confidential legal counsel to teachers and other professional educators, faculty and staff from early childhood day care centers to higher education institutions. She works hard to resolve the issues they face in academics and in the marketplace concerning performance, discipline, tenure and integrity. She is licensed to practice before the U.S. District Court Eastern and Middle Districts of Pennsylvania, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. She is a graduate of Temple University School of Law, J.D., Lehigh University, M.Ed., and the Pennsylvania State University, B.S.

Ms. Alvarado founded Alvarado Law, LLC, which is dedicated to representing students and families, including Spanish speaking families, in obtaining appropriate special education services as well as reasonable accommodations for entrance, licensing, and certification examinations for persons with disabilities. She has secured appropriate special education services, placement in the least restrictive environment, independent educational evaluations, compensatory education, and tuition reimbursement, in administrative proceedings and federal court. As a frequent speaker to community groups, bar associations, and advocacy organizations, Ms. Alvarado provides an understanding of student’s rights and access to special education, including the impact of recent legal developments on our students. As a member of the Pennsylvania Bar Association Committees of Legal Services for Exceptional Children and the Learning Disabilities Association of America, she addresses issues involving equity in education for low income and culturally diverse populations. She is a 2022 recipient of the Distinguished Service Award from the ARC of Lehigh and Northampton Counties. Ms. Alvarado is published in the Pennsylvania Bar Association Quarterly and L.R.P. Publication, and is featured in newspapers, podcasts, and Puerto Rican Panorama, a talk show addressing the concerns of the Latinx population. She was born in Ecuador and as an attorney who is culturally Latina and fluent in Spanish, has successfully represented hundreds of children with disabilities for 30 years.

Mr. Warner, originally from Eldersburg, MD, is a magna cum laude graduate of Dickinson College in Carlisle, PA with a B.A. in Political Science. He went on to receive his J.D. from the Duquesne University School of Law in Pittsburgh, PA. Mr. Warner has been practicing law since 2007, when he began his career with the education law firm of Sweet, Stevens, Katz & Williams, where he remains today as a Partner. His practice focuses primarily on the representation of Pennsylvania school districts in matters of special education. While Mr. Warner devotes much of his practice to representing clients in matters of special education litigation, he also spends a significant amount of time providing in-service training to school districts regarding various matters, including development defensible special education programming and confidentiality/disclosure issues involving education records, gifted programming, development of comprehensive special education evaluations, and navigating IEP meetings. He also frequently presents at conferences focused on special education legal issues. He has served as a co-chair of the Exceptional Children’s Committee since 2016.