History

With an undergraduate degree in psychology and a law degree both from SUNY Buffalo, after many years of cold and snow, Jean moved to Atlanta.  After taking and passing the bar exam, she found a way to combine her interests by being hired as an attorney for the Georgia Advocacy Office (GAO), the state Protection and Advocacy agency.  In that role, Jean traveled to all parts of Georgia, meeting with families and service providers, as she represented the interests of individuals with developmental disabilities who had been harmed or deprived of their rights including, but not limited to the areas of:  education; employment; access to buildings/programs; government benefit, etc.

As GAO grew, Jean was able to narrow the scope of her work to that of advocating alongside families of children with disabilities to obtain the necessary educational services and supports to which the children were entitled.  Through this position, she authored, edited and revised the book, Advocating for Your Child's Education, a manual which has had thousands of copies printed, translated into Spanish, and distributed statewide.

After 20 years with GAO, Jean decided that she could effectuate more change for children in private practice, and was hired as an associate by Jon Zimring and Dawn Smith.  In this position, Jean honed her existing skills and acquired new ones required for a private practitioner.  As her children grew older, so grew the needs of her family.  As a result, Jean decided to open a practice working out of her home in 2005 through which she has continued to provide representation, advocacy, resources, training and support for families, legal guardians, and caregivers of children with disabilities in all parts of Georgia.