Alicia Finn

I attribute my success to survival - surviving the system, creating rapport with families, and building teams for them so they have something to look back on and someone to converse with other than me. My passion drives everything I do. It started with my son, who had six areas of difficulty and was denied services by the school. When the evaluator came to my house to tell me I wasn't going to get anywhere, I asked if he was on a federal grant and he turned white - that's when I knew this was where I was supposed to be. I learned from the Native American developmental preschool programs, and everything they taught me, I still remember and pass on to the people I work with. My background in international politics gave me a hint about how to navigate systems, and I learned that I had more power being an advocate than I would have as an attorney. At one point I had 90 cases, and I loved it. I established somebody in each district that I could go to and work together to figure things out. The schools even tracked me across districts, but now they know who I am and they don't get nervous because I've brought in resources for them. My most notable achievement is survival - surviving the system, creating rapport with families, and building teams for them.

The best advice I ever received was 'Keep doing what you're doing.' That went more to my heart than anything else. It validated the passion I have for helping children and families navigate the education system, and it encouraged me to continue the work that matters so much to me.

First of all, I tell people - and once I get through explaining it, they don't do it, but anyway - read the law. Find out what works and what doesn't work for you. If you don't understand it, find somebody that does and get a mentor. Have them take you through meetings, do court cases, and experience the whole thing before you really start to make sure that you want to do this, because you can really wreck it. I was in a meeting one time where the parent needed an interpreter, and the school gave her an interpreter who was telling the Hispanic mother not to take services that were needed. I picked up on it even though my Spanish is not that good, and we had to stop and get another interpreter. If I can understand that something's wrong, then we need to fix it. You need to be prepared and know what you're doing before you step into these situations, because families are depending on you.

Money is the biggest challenge. We had six districts go bankrupt, so they don't have money to really provide the supports children need. They've had to reduce their staff and have very few resources. They're using things like hiring a speech therapist, but it's online, and I don't like speech therapists online. I like staff for the child, person to person, because it stays with them much longer. There's no money to hire these people, but they're trying to do the best they can. My daughter's friend is a bus driver who's teaching life skills, and she doesn't have a college degree, just a high school degree, but she's very good and picks up a lot, so they're very lucky to have her. The lack of funding is forcing districts to get creative, but it's not ideal for the children who need in-person, specialized support.

The most important value to me is that everybody and every child has a gift. If some things are going wrong, we certainly haven't found that gift yet, and we need to work to get there. I believe in taking the time to find each child's gifts and helping them succeed. I also believe that money gets in the way, which is why I don't charge families for my services. I want families to feel comfortable coming to talk to me without financial barriers. My passion drives everything I do - it's not about the money, it's about making a difference in children's lives and helping them reach their potential.