Jane Burnette is a new Service Facilitator for IEC, and she will be conducting IEC’s Housing and Transportation Alliance grant. Ms. Burnette has written and edited special education publications for more than 20 years. She worked with the Council for Exceptional Children for 13 years, collaborating with some of the best researchers and practitioners in the US to develop high quality publications to meet the needs of teachers, administrators, and others involved in the education of students with disabilities. Prior to working at CEC, Jane contributed her expertise to special education research projects at JWK International Corporation and at Nero & Associates, where, among other projects, she managed the White House Conference on Handicapped Individuals Follow-Up and contributed to early studies of mainstreaming that helped to shape the Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975.
Note: The edits of an English speaker are not applied to this bio. Instead, Debbie’s own American Sign Language way of expressing herself is left untouched.
Grew up in a foster home in Cleveland, Ohio, there were quite turnarounds for my hearing disability. Although my foster parents who were reared Down South and the children of the sharecroppers had to migrate to the North for economic betterment as well as for mine, we both had to struggle for our survival in some ways.
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For as long as she can remember Stephanie’s parents called her their miracle child. She was born prematurely and not breathing. Her parents had a choice, they chose to wait and pray. Having mild CP, she faced many obstacles through the years. Learning to do everyday tasks, things which most others take for granted, was difficult. Not being able to walk until the age of 7 made school challenging. She was always encouraged to do her best and discouraged from using the word “can’t.” As she got older, she became more aware of her physical limitations and more importantly, to the barriers that she encountered in society. With a strong family support system, she has had many opportunities for which she is very thankful. She believes that she has learned more from her own life experiences than she could ever learn from a book.
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Roberta first came to IEC as a volunteer, while attending school to become a medical assistant. On the last day of her externship she was offered a part-time job at IEC as an office assistant. She quickly moved to full-time as she was promoted to the Community Action position. From that position she learned, from hands on experience, about advocacy, The American’s with Disabilities Act (ADA), and Independent Living history. She then moved into the position of Service Facilitator where she was able to meet people face-to-face and worked hard to get the services they so badly needed. Currently, she holds both the position of the Community Action Specialist and an EDCD PAS Facilitator. Her time is split between visiting consumers to make sure they are receiving the proper amounts and kinds of care needed in their own homes and working with groups of people interested in making positive changes for people with disabilities in Virginia.
Continue reading the Roberta McEachern, Community Action Specialist, Co-Elderly or Disabled Consumer Directed Personal Assistant Services Facilitator article
