Guest

My name is Elizabeth Brown and I am a navigator for pediatric partnerships at Ed Navigator. I work with families who have been referred to Ed Navigator by their pediatricians, usually for special education concerns. And I work with those families to help them request evaluations and navigating what can be a very complex education system. I come to this work with ten years of experience as a special education teacher and administrator. So I do really have a insider's perspective into what should be going on in schools. And how that is not always happening, especially for some of our more vulnerable families. 95% of our families that we support are Spanish speaking. So it's a great privilege to be able to serve them, and to work beside them, to advocate for what's best for their children. 

The key is to start with a passion for teaching and education. That needs to be your foundation. If you want to get more into advocacy work, then the more specialized you can become in what you know, the better equipped you are to serve families. Make sure that service is something you really are interested in before starting in a career in education or advocacy.

As a first-generation American, my mom wasn't involved in my schooling because there weren't meaningful opportunities for her to be involved. Schools didn't make an effort to communicate in Spanish or find ways to involve families like mine.

I get referrals from pediatricians to conduct outreach to families who require additional support with school enrollment or are requesting a special ed evaluation. I primarily support parents and caregivers in navigating the special education process for their child, connect with schools to ensure appropriate supports and services are offered and implemented to support struggling students, and keep medical providers in the loop about their patients' progress, evaluations, and support plans.

Lizbeth Brown

About Lizbeth

Lizbeth Brown

About Lizbeth

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