I grew up in Colorado to include schooling up in Ft. Collins (CSU Rams), military in Colorado and Pennsylvania, and more schooling in Pennsylvania and New Mexico. I have put my roots down in New Mexico – The Land of Enchantment. I have been a zookeeper (B.S. Zoology), an 8th grade teacher (M.S. Secondary Education/Sciences, teaching physical science), a criminal defense attorney & prosecutor (18 years), and am on my 2nd state agency. Currently I am the Chief Counsel for Special Education with the New Mexico Public Education Department. We are a very small team – currently 2 people -- myself and Ms. Sharyn Perea. We handle Dispute Resolution processes for students with disabilities to include State complaints, due process hearing requests and stand-alone requests for mediation and/or facilitated IEPs.
The Center for Appropriate Dispute Resolution in Special Education
Supporting the prevention and resolution of disputes through partnership and collaboration