Join me in welcoming Cheryl Poe to the Alliance Against Seclusion and Restraint team. Cheryl is an amazing advocate, teacher and parent with a tremendous background in special education.
Cheryl Poe is the founder and owner of Advocating 4 Kids, Inc. a Special Education Advocacy organization that provides resources, information, and workshops to parents and professionals with a special focus on addressing needs of Black and Brown children and those from lower-socio economic status.
Cheryl holds a Master of Arts Degree in Urban Education and Counseling. She also has completed over 15 credit hours of post graduates hours in psychology. In June of 2004, she completed the Nation Group Psychotherapy Institute at the Washington School of Psychiatry in Washington D.C. in the study of Group Psychotherapy. Mrs. Poe completed a two-year term as the Student Outreach and Recruitment Committee Chair person for the Mid-Atlantic Group Psychotherapy Society Board of Directors and was awarded with the Jefferson Cup for leadership in her role.
Cheryl was the Chair for the National Association for the Education of African American Children with Learning Disabilities (NAEAACLD) Parent Network.
Cheryl also service on the board for the Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates (COPAA) where she helped develop strategic goals to address the needs of minorities within the organization. Mrs. Poe also served as the Co-Chair for the Social Racial Equity Committe where is she developed, created and implemented activites to ensure the needs of Black and Brown Children were address and respected within the COPAA organization. Special Education Advocate Training (SEAT) through the Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates (COPAA) which is a year-long course that will help her better serve current and future clients.
Cheryl was recently, (March 2017) elected to be the President of the Board for a new national special education not- profit called the National Allies for Parents in Special Education (NAPSE).
Cheryl’s work experience includes over 18 years of working with children with various disabilities and their families as an In-home clinician and a therapeutic foster Case manager.
Cheryl is the mother two boys with learning disabilities ages 23 and 21. Ms. Poe prides herself on understanding the struggles that parents face when dealing with special education issues. Ms. Poe is diagnosed with ADHD and learning disabilities and received special education services in as a child! Mrs. Poe is a passionate advocate who has walked the walk as a parent of a Black American child with a disability and understands the fears, trauma and struggles that parents face. Her oldest child was a victim of a school system that failed to believe he deserved the services needed to be successful and who used his race as a factor to treat him less than.
With over 15 years of various mentorships, training, and experience Mrs. Poe has become a nationally recognized Special Education Advocate and Expert. Her vast experience includes:
- Founding member and current Board President for the National Allies for Parents in Special Education (NAPSE).
- Past Board Member of the Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates (COPAA).
- Past Co-Chair for the Social Racial Equity Committee for COPAA.
- Past Chair of the National Association for the Education of African American Children with Learning Disabilities (NAEAACLD) Parent Network.
- Guest trainer for the Special Education Advocate Trainer (SEAT) through the Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates (COPAA).
- Presenter at the National Allies for Parents in Special Education (NAPSE) 2018 inaugural conference.
- Presenter at the William & Mary Law Institute of Special Education Advocacy Summer Conference Alumni Track.
