Helping special needs students and families make informed decisions through advocacy and education.
Imparting wisdom in the special education process to our most vulnerable students
Advocacy for Education came about because of the injustices I witnessed when my sister was misdiagnosed by our local school as being “mentally retarded” but is severely dyslexic.
My sister has suffered tremendously as a result of never having the education she needed and lost all hope that she could learn and have the life she may have wanted. Seeing someone loose hope in life is a terrible thing to behold. This had such a profound impact on me that I became a special education teacher and a special education administrator.
As a special education teacher and district administrator I worked tirelessly to provide students and their families with information needed to make informed decisions regarding their special education rights and services. Here at Advocacy for Education we work with families and students to assist in improving the quality of education for every client regardless of their ability to pay.
Malinda Clickner has a passion for children’s rights and especially those children without a voice. Her career has been predominately in a corporate environment focusing on people and change management with a high degree of accountability and metric based strategic wins. Her heart is with Special Education children and their needs with regard to educational support and services that can and should be available to all demographics and in a variety of settings regardless of socio-economic background. In her personal time, she enjoys spending time with her family and friends first and foremost, going to church and small group, cooking, gardening and working with kids.
Dr. Phillip Powell has worked in higher education since 1989. He has a passion for teaching and mentoring future leaders. Dr. Powell chose to become a board member for Advocacy for Education because of his passion for helping people. He states, “When it comes to education, everyone deserves equal access and attention to their learning needs”. Dr. Powell is currently the Associate Dean for Graduate Programs and Academic Policies at Trinity Christian College. In his role at Trinity, he coordinates the development of new graduate programs, and provides operational support for Education and Counseling graduate programs. He has an Ed.D. in Instructional Technology, and, a Bachelor of Arts in Communication from Northern Illinois University. He also holds a Master of Arts in Communication from Governors State University. During his tenure as an Associate Professor at Valparaiso University, he taught courses in Communication and assisted in creating a graduate program in Digital Media. His professional and personal endeavors includes documentary filmmaking and video production.
Cheryl Andrews is a highly seasoned ethical professional. Her proficiencies include community program creation and implementation, team collaboration and fiscal management. She earned an M.A. in Economics and Finance from Prairie View A&M University of Texas, and a B.A. in Administration of Justice and Human Services from Southern Illinois University, She began her journey in behavioral health administration as a senior counselor and moved into the positions of Director and Executive Management. Cheryl is committed to serving disenfranchised populations. She has served as a change agent to support primary care in the form of clinical and practice transformation for low-income and underserved populations. Her ability to work in collaboration demonstrates her passion for assisting communities in need. Cheryl states, “I am committed to helping communities raise the quality of life for all individuals, this is the reason why I chose to become a member of the Board of Directors.”
I watched my special needs sister struggle through school without the assistance she needed that may have changed her life. My sister was misdiagnosed by our school as intellectually disabled (the term used at that time was mentally retarded) After I became a special education teacher, I learned that my sister is severely dyslexic, which is under the category of a specific learning disability. The differences between these two disabilities are drastically different. This misdiagnosis had a detrimental effect on the quality of her life. Our parents, like so many other parents believed what the school administrators and teachers told them about my sister. They trusted the school officials to do what was right and best for their daughter. They had no one to help them to understand special education process, nor the services that my sister was eligible to receive. She did not receive any services to help her. My sister went through school and when she left, she was still unable to read, and had little to no basic math skills. My parents did not know how to help her and did not know where to go to get help. The school system failed my sister and our parents. This experience has had a devastating impact that has lasted for her life.
Advocacy for Education is the result of my personal and professional experiences as a special education teacher, and special education administrator. Our passion is to assist parents and families with the special education process in a way that was not available to my parents. We are determined to equip families with the information needed to make informed decisions about the education of their children. No parent should feel hopeless because they do not understand the services that are available through special education for their child. Advocacy for Education was created to help students and families understand the special education process.
