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2011 Presenter Bios

Paul Alig
Staff Attorney, TeamChild, Tacoma,Washington

Paul Alig is a staff attorney at TeamChild in the Pierce County office.  Mr. Alig’s practice regularly involves representing youth with disabilities who have been excluded from public school and require legal assistance to obtain a free appropriate public education. On these cases Mr. Alig works closely with the youth’s criminal defense attorney, and other professionals, to ensure the holistic needs of the youth are met in a manner that addresses the root causes of a youth’s involvement in the criminal justice system. Prior to coming to TeamChild Mr. Alig was an attorney in Washington State’s Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) where he worked on special education issues for the State of Washington and conducted citizen complaint investigations of school districts.  Mr. Alig was actively involved in developing special education procedures in Washington’s Administrative Code pertaining to the identification of learning disabilities and state policies relating to “Response to Intervention” methodologies.  Mr. Alig graduated from the University of Oregon, School of Law in 1997.

Lu Ann Anderson
Special Education Coordinator, McMinnville School District, McMinnville, Oregon

Lu Ann Anderson is a special education coordinator for the McMinnville School District.  She assists the Director of Student Services in the areas related to compliance with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) including secondary transition, Systems Performance Review and  Improvement and is the district coordinator for Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. Ms. Anderson was previously an education specialist with the Oregon Department of Education. In that role she had responsibility as the lead specialist for secondary transition.  She has also worked as a private consultant to school districts in the areas of secondary special education program development, the development and enhancement of programs for students with significant cognitive disabilities and teacher coaching/mentoring.

Hillary Behrman
Statewide Legal Supervisor, TeamChild, Seattle, Washington

Hillary Behrman is the statewide legal supervisor at TeamChild, a nonprofit civil legal advocacy project for youth in Washington State.  TeamChild represents young people seeking support to overcome obstacles due to poverty, disability, neglect, abuse, racism and other forms of discrimination.  TeamChild has won national recognition for its innovative efforts in bridging the gap between the juvenile justice system and the community and reducing reliance on incarceration of young people. Prior to coming to TeamChild Hillary worked as a public defender at Society of Counsel Representing Accused Persons (SCRAP) and as the statewide juvenile resource attorney at the Washington Defender Association. She has trained lawyers and community members both locally and nationally on topics ranging from educational advocacy for youth to representing juveniles in adult court. Hillary was the lead project advisor for the 2003 American Bar Association’s report on Washington: An Assessment of Access to Counsel and Quality of Representation in Juvenile offender matters. Hillary was a Public Interest Law Scholar at Georgetown University School of Law and received her J.D. in 1992.

Art Cernosia
Attorney/Education Consultant, Williston, Vermont

Art Cernosia is an attorney and an education consultant from Williston, Vermont. He is also associated with the University of Vermont's Education Law Institute. Art previously worked as a teacher, a practicing attorney, staff member with the Northeast Regional Resource Center, and served as an Assistant Attorney General assigned to the Vermont Department of Education. He also volunteered as a surrogate parent for students with disabilities who were placed in juvenile detention facilities in Vermont. He provides training, consultation and other technical assistance services to state and local education agencies and advocacy organizations throughout the nation pertaining to special education legal issues.

Doug Cheney
Professor, Special Education, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington

Douglas Cheney, Ph.D., is Professor of Special Education at the University of Washington (UW), Seattle, where he directs the master's program to prepare teachers for educating students with emotional or behavioral disabilities (EBD). Dr. Cheney also co-directed UW's doctoral training program in Positive Behavioral Interventions and Support (PBIS); Washington's Behavior Research Center on effective behavioral interventions; and Washington's PBIS Network between 2001-11. He has extensive research experience, having been awarded over 10 million dollars of funds from the US Department of Education and from state departments of Education and Mental Health in Washington, Oregon, and New Hampshire over the past twenty years. Dr. Cheney has been a consultant to numerous school districts and state departments, and is a Past President (1998-99) of the International Council for Children with Behavioral Disorders. He is currently the Co-editor of The Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders, Associate Editor for Intervention in School and Clinic, and on the Editorial Boards of Behavior Disorders and Beyond Behavior.

Dan Comden
Access Technology Consultant, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington

Dan Comden began working with college students with disabilities in 1983 and has served as Access Technology Manager at the University of Washington since 1992. While working as the technology coordinator in the early years of DO-IT, he provided hands-on assistance and training to high school students with disabilities, helped teachers, students and parents learn about Access Technology (AT) options, and trained service providers and staff to deliver AT support. He has written and presented extensively in the AT arena on a national and international scale. Dan also manages the Access Technology Center at the University of Washington, providing computing resources, alternate text, and training for the University community with disabilities who seek access to computing and the Web.

Elaine Eberharter-Maki
Attorney at Law, Eberharter-Maki & Tappen, P.A., Boise, Idaho

Elaine Eberharter-Maki, J.D., has practiced law since 1985, receiving her law degree from the University of Idaho in 1984.  She is a partner with the law firm Eberharter-Maki & Tappen, PA and practices in all areas of education law. Ms. Eberharter-Maki has represented school districts throughout Idaho since 1995 and has a particular interest in special education, student discipline, and employment issues. She teaches a graduate-level course in special education administration for the University of Idaho—Boise, a graduate-level course in education law for the University of Phoenix—Idaho Campus, and has been a speaker at the University of Washington’s Pacific Northwest Institute on Special Education and the Law annually since 1996. Ms. Eberharter-Maki is also frequently invited to speak to educators, administrators, and board members relative to various legal issues. She acts as a hearing officer for the Idaho Personnel Commission, and the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality. Prior to private practice, she served as a deputy attorney general for the State of Idaho and as in-house counsel to the State Superintendent of Public Instruction, the State Department of Education, the State Board of Education, and related State agencies.

Suzy Harris
Assistant General Counsel, Portland Public Schools, Portland, Oregon

Suzy Harris is an assistant general counsel for Portland Public Schools.  Previously, she was a sole practioner representing school districts and educational agencies with a focus on special education and Section 504.  She has also been a legal specialist for the Oregon Department of Education, an attorney at a state protection and advocacy agency and, before law school, a special education teacher.  She provides training and technical assistance on issues related to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, and related state and federal laws.  She is a frequent presenter at state and regional special education conferences and writes a blog at spedlawnews.blogspot.com/ .

Graham M. Hicks
Attorney at Law, Graham M. Hicks, P.C., Beaverton, Oregon

Graham is an attorney in private practice in Beaverton, Oregon. He advises and represents school districts throughout Oregon and Southwestern Washington on special education law and other disability law matters. After 33 years with the Portland office of Miller Nash, LLP, Graham founded his own law firm in 2006. He is a member of the Education Law Association, NSBA Council of School Attorneys, Oregon Council of School Attorneys, and the state bars of Oregon and Washington. Graham is a frequent presenter at law conferences and conducts workshops and trainings for school district staff on a variety of special education topics. He is an author of "The Educator's Guide: Student Discipline in Oregon," a widely-used reference on discipline of general and special education students.

David Hokit
Attorney at Law, Curran Law Firm, Kent, Washington

David Hokit is a shareholder of the Curran Law Firm, P.S., where he has practiced since becoming a member of the Washington State Bar in 1983.  For the past 20+ years his practice has focused exclusively on education law and the representation of public school districts.  He is a frequent lecturer on school law topics, and an active member of the Washington Council of School Attorneys and the National Council of School Attorneys.  Mr. Hokit earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Colorado and his law degree, cum laude, from Seattle University.

Cinda Johnson
Assistant Professor and Director, Special Education Program, Seattle University, College of Education, Seattle, Washington

Dr. Johnson is a specialist in special education and transition services. She is a leader in the field of secondary special education, serving on the National Post-School Outcome Center Advisory and Technical Assistance Board and other state and national committees, and is the principal investigator for a training and research grant in secondary special education. Dr. Johnson presents at national and international conferences on preparing children with disabilities for life after high school and is the author of the Guide to Transition Services in Washington State, the Guide to Age Appropriate Transition Assessment, Exemplary Practices in Secondary Schools, and Washington State Post-School Outcome reports from 1997 to the present. She wrote the chapter, Positive Behavior Support and Transition Outcomes in 2004 for Students in Secondary Settings in Transition of Secondary Students with Emotional or Behavioral Disorders, Arlington, VA, Divisions of the Council for Exceptional Children.

Darcy Kriha
Attorney at Law, Franczek Radelet & Rose P.C., Chicago, IL

Darcy L. Kriha represents public school districts and special education cooperatives throughout Illinois. In addition to overall school board representation, Ms. Kriha is known for her expertise related to special education and high-profile student discipline matters. Ms. Kriha has given oral arguments in two precedent-setting special education cases before the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, both of which were decided in favor of the school districts: T.D. v. LaGrange School District No. 102, 222 F.Supp.2d 1062 (N.D. Ill. 2002); aff'd. 349 F.3d 469 (7th Cir. 2003) and Beth B. v. Lake Bluff School District 65, 211 F.Supp.2d 1020 (N.D. Ill. 2001); aff'd. 282 F.3d 493 (7th Cir. 2002). Ms. Kriha was Counsel of Record for Amici Curiae in the United States Supreme Court case Arlington Central School District Board of Education v. Murphy, No. 05-18 (2006). The U.S. Supreme Court held in favor of the School District, holding that parents who prevail in special education disputes are not entitled to expert witness fees. She represented the National School Boards Association, the American Association of School Administrators, the New York State School Boards Association and the New York State Council of School Superintendents in support of the Arlington Central Board of Education. In July 2006, Ms. Kriha was selected by the Law Bulletin Publishing Company as one of Illinois' "40 Under Forty Attorneys to Watch." She was recognized for her unique and exceptional lawyering skills in the field of education law and her commitment to the profession, including extensive volunteer work. Ms. Kriha joined the firm in 1997. She received her law degree in 1992 from the John Marshall Law School and graduated magna cum laude from Mundelein College in 1989 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology.

Andrée Larose
Attorney at Law, Morrison, Motl & Sherwood, PLLP, Helena, Montana

Andrée represents individuals with disabilities on a variety of matters, with a particular emphasis upon representing students and their families in special education matters throughout Montana.  She has argued and obtained favorable results in two cases before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals:  N.B. v. Hellgate Elementary School District, 541 F.2d. 1202 (9th Cir. 2008) and W.G. v. Target Range School District No. 23, 960 F.2d 1479 (9th Cir. 1992).  The Target Range case was the first in the 9th Circuit to set the standard for denial of FAPE based on procedural violations and failure to provide meaningful parental participation.  Andrée has been practicing special education law for 23 years, first as an attorney with Disability Rights Montana for twenty years, and in private practice for the past three years.  She has a long track record of obtaining appropriate educational services for students both through settlement and litigation at administrative, district court and appellate levels.  She has also participated in numerous task forces and work groups on sponsored by the Montana Office of Public Instruction and others on special education issues.  Parents Let’s Unite for Kids (PLUK) has presenting Andrée with an “Angel” award for her work enforcing the educational rights of students with disabilities.

Jonathan Mooney
Writer and Activist, President, Project Eye-To-Eye, Santa Monica, California

Jonathan Mooney is a writer and activist with dyslexia who learned to read when he was 12-years-old. He since earned an honors degree in English Literature at Brown University and has written and published two books. The first, "Learning Outside The Lines" (now in its 14th printing) hit bookshelves when he was 23. This, coupled with his most recent book, "The Short Bus," has established Jonathan as one of the foremost leaders in LD/ADHD, disabilities, and alternative education.

Jonathan also founded and is President of Project Eye-To-Eye, a mentoring and advocacy non-profit organization for students with learning differences. Project Eye-To-Eye currently has 20 chapters, in 13 states working with over 3,000 students, parents and educators nation wide. Jonathan won the prestigious Truman Scholarship for graduate studies in disability studies and social change, and was a finalist for the Rhodes Scholarship. In 2003, the LD Access Foundation recognized his work for students with disabilities with the Golden Advocacy award. Previous honorees include David Boies, Judith Rodin, former President of The University of Pennsylvania, and former New Jersey Governor Thomas H. Kean.

Jonathan is a highly sought-after speaker and has lectured in 43 states and three countries. He has lectured at: Harvard University's Graduate School of Education, Brown University, the University of Wisconsin School of Education, New York University Medical School's Grand Rounds, Teachers College Columbia University, the University of Pennsylvania, Vassar College and many other institutions of higher education. Jonathan also has given keynote addresses at most major national education conferences and speaks frequently to students of all ages. Jonathan has appeared in The New York Times, USA Today, NPR, ABC News, New York Magazine, The Washington Post, The Boston Globe and numerous other local and regional papers in the cities, states, and countries where Jonathan has traveled.

Dave Richards
Attorney at Law, Richards Lindsay & Martin LLP, Austin, Texas

David M. Richards is a graduate of Texas Tech University, and the University of Texas School of Law. He is a partner in the Austin law firm RICHARDS LINDSAY & MARTIN, L.L.P., where his practice is focused on the defense of school districts and special education co-ops. Dave is the General Counsel for the Council of Educators for Students with Disabilities, and is a frequent presenter on special education and §504 at education service centers, school districts, state-wide events, and national conferences throughout the United States. His analysis on education law issues frequently appears in LRP's publications The Section 504 Compliance Advisor, The Special Educator, and Your School and the Law.

Tim Sell
Senior Attorney, U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights, Seattle, Washington

Tim has been with OCR since 1999 and has handled a wide range of cases involving athletic eligibility of students with disabilities and participation by students with disabilities in extra-curricular activities. Before coming to OCR, he directed the University of Washington's internal complaint investigation and resolution office, working directly with administrators, disabled student services, department faculty, and others to ensure compliance with Section 504 and Title II of the ADA. He has also practiced law in Maryland, the District of Columbia and Washington, and as a public defender in King County, represented children and parents in juvenile court abuse and neglect proceedings. He resides on Bainbridge Island, Washington, and enjoys spending time with his family, golfing, bicycling and skiing. He performs regularly in musical theatre productions on Bainbridge and with the eclectic swing dance band "Get the Oxygen Tank".

Patrick Tomblin
Executive Director of Special Services, Lake Oswego School District, Lake Oswego, Oregon

Patrick Tomblin is the Executive Director of Special Services for the Lake Oswego School District in Oregon. Patrick has been in special education for 16 years serving in the school districts of Central, Salem, Albany and currently, Lake Oswego. He has also been an adjunct faculty member in the special education department at Western Oregon University where he taught special education law.  Patrick serves on several stakeholder committees with the Oregon Department of Education.

Jan Tomsky
Attorney at Law, Fagen Friedman & Fulfrost LLP, Oakland, California

Jan E. Tomsky is a managing partner of Fagen Friedman & Fulfrost LLP's Sacramento office. She has an extensive practice involving student matters, with a particular emphasis in special education and student discipline. Ms. Tomsky's expertise in special education matters has helped scores of districts to address issues and resolve disputes in this specialized field. She has had significant success representing school district clients in mediations and due process hearings as well as in special education-related litigation in state and federal courts, including the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Ms. Tomsky has assisted districts in countless student expulsion hearings, particularly those that involve complex or sensitive issues, and has successfully defended the districts' decisions on appeal to county boards and in court. Ms. Tomsky received her J.D. from the Boalt Hall School of Law at the University of California at Berkeley. She received her M.S. in Education (with an emphasis in special education and student development) and her B.A., summa cum laude, from Dominican University of San Rafael.

Julie J. Weatherly
Attorney at Law, Resolutions in Special Education, Inc., Mobile, Alabama

Julie Weatherly, Esq. is the owner of Resolutions in Special Education, Inc. in Mobile, Alabama and is a member of the State Bars of Alabama and Georgia. For over twenty-five years, Julie has provided legal representation and consultative services to educational agencies in the Southeast and across the country in their efforts to comply with the laws applicable to educating students with disabilities. In June of 1996, Julie appeared with Leslie Stahl on CBS news program "60 Minutes" to discuss the cost of meeting the legal requirements of the IDEA. She has been a member of the faculty for many national and state legal institutes and is a frequent speaker at special education law conferences. Julie has developed a number of videotape training series on special education law and has been published nationally as a part of her trainings, workshops and seminars. She is the author of the legal update article for the National CASE quarterly newsletter and is a member of LRP's Special Education Attorneys Advisory Council. In 1998, Julie was honored by Georgia's Council for Exceptional Children as Georgia's Individual who had Contributed Most to Students with Disabilities.

Diane F. Wiscarson
Attorney at Law, Wiscarson Law, Portland, Oregon

Diane Wiscarson, Esq., represents students and their families in education matters, with a particular focus on special education law. Having experienced the sometimes difficult IEP process first-hand as a parent, Diane has a unique parent perspective on how to navigate the IEP maze, as well as recognized legal expertise. Diane actively represents families throughout Oregon and Washington. Additionally, Diane serves on numerous boards and committees related to special education interests, and is a frequent presenter at local, state, regional and national meetings and conferences.