I began my career as a special education teacher in rural and suburban school districts in Texas. after getting a Master’s in Special Education from Indiana University. After four years of teaching both special and regular education, I was admitted to the University of Texas School of Law and graduated in May, 1984. After graduation I held a yearlong internship at Haynes & Fullenweider in Houston working on appeals and civil rights litigation. I took a year off to have my first child and then went to work for Bracewell & Patterson litigating school law and commercial cases for four years. I left Bracewell after my second child was born and went to work for two former partners at Haynes & Fullenweider, Robert Wallis and Brenda Keen, on civil rights, employment and family law cases. An opportunity arose to serve the Texas Education Agency as an independent hearing officer resolving cases under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and later adding mediation of special education cases to my services for TEA. I also worked for a small labor and employment firm for a few years while continuing to serve TEA as a hearing officer and mediator. I made several presentations and served on panels over the years at the National Academy for IDEA Independent Hearing Officers and Administrative Law Judges and conducted hearing officer trainings for the Texas Education Agency. I have been a speaker at special education law conferences and seminars in Texas on topics such as discipline under the IDEA, dyslexia services under the law, and annual case law reviews. I was asked to train a new team of administrative law judges at the Texas State Office of Administrative Hearings and retired from there in December 2019. Since then I have devoted my time to hearing officer training and mentoring and research and writing projects. I am an active member of the State Bar of Texas, the State Bar College and the Austin Bar Association.