CELEBRATE PRO BONO WEEK
 

The Youth Advocacy Foundation (YAF) is

celebrating pro bono week 2024!


Each day, throughout this week, we will be highlighting firms and people volunteering their time to ensure Massachusetts' children and emerging adults are able to receive access to an equitable education, by sharing some of the incredible work they're doing or have done this year.

We'd like to start by thanking Alison Sclater for acting as Pro Bono Counsel of Morgan, Lewis & Bockius.

Thank you Stephanie Faraci and Laurie Burlingame of Morgan, Lewis & Bockius for representing a 9-year-old girl who was attending a charter school. She has ADHD and dyslexia and the charter school was not supporting her special education needs. Instead, the school retained her in a lower grade which led to serious bullying by other students. She is now back in her home district public school in a language-based program at her appropriate grade level and she is feeling more confident and better about herself.

We'd like to give a big thank you to Laura Lerner of Morgan, Lewis & Bockius for helping four students this year through her pro bono representation. Laura represented this first student over the past two years and secured an appropriate out of district placement for her, after trying an in-district program with a 1:1 aide. This year there have been challenges with transportation and Laura has stepped up to help. Laura also continues to support two brothers, both on the autism spectrum with respect to their special education needs. Additionally, Laura continues to support a student with dyslexia, who she represented when he was back in 6th grade, and now he is in his last year of high school.

Thank you Stephanie Faraci of Morgan, Lewis & Bockius for representing two more students this year in addition to the student discussed earlier. Stephanie is representing a student whom her firm has worked with since 3rd grade and who is now a junior in high school. This student has dyslexia and over the years, Morgan Lewis attorneys have ensured this student received the appropriate services in school and also secured tutoring services throughout the summer. The student is now attending a vocational school and is excelling in all subjects with a bright future on the horizon. Additionally, last year, Stephanie secured an appropriate out-of-district placement for a non-verbal student who came home from her public school with unexplained bruises. She continues to advocate for this student at IEP meetings and as transportation issues have arisen.

We'd like to thank Steve Miklus and Nicola Sullivan of Morgan, Lewis & Bockius for representing a 14-year-old multilingual learner with autism, depression, and anxiety. He has struggled for years, being bounced from one out-of-district placement to another without a real understanding of what supports and programming he needs to be successful. This Morgan Lewis team helped get him an independent evaluation that laid out clearly what he needs and he has just started at a new school. The family and the attorneys are optimistic that he will be able to flourish here.

We'd also like to thank Shannyn Henke of Morgan, Lewis & Bockius and Melissa Waite of MassMutual for representing an 8-year-old boy with an emotional disability who was punished with seclusion at his public school. He is in a new program and they are monitoring his progress there.

Thank you to Kristen Gagalis of Anderson Kreiger for representing a 17-year-old autistic young woman, who, thanks to Kristen's advocacy last year, was appropriately placed in a day school that is able to meet her needs. It has been a tough transition for the student and Kristen is working with the new school to make sure the student's needs are properly being addressed.


Thank you to TJ Roskelley also of Anderson Kreiger for successfully fighting for improved transition services, assistive technology, and inclusion support for a teenager with autism who had made no progress in his district high school for years. He is now on-track with a terrific program to support him until he ages out of high school in a few years.

Please join us in thanking these incredible attorneys for volunteering their time and expertise!

Pro bono work is a professional responsibility and an individual ethical commitment for every lawyer, and this week we celebrate those who have given their time as part of our pro bono panel. To learn more about Pro Bono Week please visit:

https://www.americanbar.org/groups/center-pro-bono/celebrate-pro-bono/

Marlies Spanjaard, CEO and President

Michele Scavongelli, Executive Director


YAF Board of Directors

Duci Goncalves, Chairperson


Directors

Edith Bazile

Laura Bickel, Clerk

Allyson Black-Foley

Alondra Bobadilla

Jeremy Cohn, Emeritus

Chris DiMeo

Josh Dohan, Emeritus

Ami Fatula, Treasurer

Amy Feinman

Katherine Hall Page, Emeritus

Camai Mazzulla

Jeff McCarthy

Steven J. Pacini

Calixto Perez, Jr.

Deb Poppel

Suzanne Schlossberg

Bridget Treco-Bettez, Vice President

“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”  
-Nelson Mandela
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