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Legal Assistant Today Magazine

featuring Dona Wright

Dona Wright is a Paralegal/Advocate in the law firm of Wyner & Tiffany.  As a Paralegal/Advocate, she assists with intake & consultations of prospective clients, review of records, case analysis, case management, preparation & attendance at IEPs, mediations & due process hearings, in addition to the preparation of documents for filing in federal court.

Ms. Wright has many years of experience in the field of special education and advocacy.  From 1997 to 1999, she volunteered in the marketing of a new Non Public Agency to 80 school districts in 5 counties.  From 1998 to 2003, Ms. Wright attended over 300 IEP meetings and advocated on behalf of parents, at no cost to the families.  From 2000-2003, Ms. Wright also worked for the Law Office of Steven Wyner, in addition to attending numerous due process proceedings as a volunteer.

Ms. Wright is a certified "Behavior Intervention Case Manager", (BICM), and has designed and provided full day trainings and workshops related to IEPs and "Behavior Support Plan" development to parents and Harbor Regional Center counselors.  She has been a guest speaker at post-graduate courses at Cal State LA, addressing autism, behavior, and parent advocacy to students attending a Master's program in Autism, in addition as guest speaker at Cal State Dominquez Hills addressing IEPs, assessments, and parent advocacy to students attending a Masters program for school psychologists.  In October 2004, she presented a workshop for future teachers at the eighth annual "Future Teachers Conference" at Santa Monica College.

From 1999 to 2004, Ms. Wright was also Vice President of Advocates for Special Kids, www.advocatesforspecialkids.org, and participated in the research and development of its website and documents contained on the website.  She submitted testimony to the California State Assembly Education Committee public hearings in Sacramento, March 2000, and attended and submitted testimony to the Advisory Commission on Special Education public hearings, in November 1999.

Ms. Wright attended college in Woodland Hills & Hawaii, and graduated from the St. Joseph School of Radiologic Technologists in 1976, licensed at the state and national level and received a Fellowship in Mammography from UCLA in 1988.

Ms. Wright is also the parent of a young adult son with an autism spectrum disorder.  Her passion for special education is related to how his disability and the difficulties of securing an appropriate education for him affected their family and his life.  Her goal is to help parents and to be involved in the systemic change of the special education system in our country.