Bruna E. Pedrini is a Director with the law firm of Fennemore Craig and practices in the areas of accessibility, anti-discrimination, and education law. She has extensive hands on, high level, experience representing builders, developers, colleges and universities, sports and concert stadiums and venues, as well as restaurants and hotels to comply with federal, state, and local accessibility requirements and in ADA and Fair Housing litigation. Bruna handles disability and accessibility complaints, fair housing, sexual harassment, Title IX and retaliation complaints filed with federal and state administrative agencies. Bruna represents educational institutions in a broad range of discrimination complaints and compliance reviews, sexual misconduct cases, and in policy development and implementation. Bruna served as Chief Counsel of the Civil Rights and Conflict Resolution Section for the Arizona Attorney General’s Office and was a Visiting Professor at the Sandra Day College of Law. She earned her B.A. at the University of Iowa, her M.A. at UCLA and her J.D. at the University of Minnesota Law School where she was Associate Editor of its Law Review.

Hope N. Kirsch is a founder and managing partner of the education law firm Kirsch-Goodwin & Kirsch, PLLC (est. 2006) which serves students and their families throughout Arizona in disputes with schools. Hope is a licensed special education teacher and worked in the New York City public schools for 18 years as a special education teacher and school administrator. She assists and represents clients with IEPs, 504s, discipline (suspensions, expulsions, MDRs), mediation, OCR Complaints, Due Process Complaints, mediation, and appeals. Hope earned a B.S., cum laude, in Special Education from Boston University (1975), an M.A.(Ed.) in Special Education from New York University (1977), and a J.D. from Brooklyn Law School (1991). She is admitted in the state and federal courts of Arizona, New York and New Jersey, and the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.

Dennis Naughton has served as the General Counsel of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Phoenix since 2012. In his capacity as General Counsel, Mr. Naughton acts as a principal legal advisor to the Bishop, the Superintendent of Catholic Schools, and the 29 Catholic elementary schools, 6 Catholic high schools, and 29 Catholic preschools in the Diocese of Phoenix.

Lori Kirsch-Goodwin is a partner in the education law firm of Kirsch-Goodwin & Kirsch, PLLC, in Scottsdale, Arizona, founded in 2006. She is a 38 year litigation attorney whose practice is devoted to education and special education matters on behalf of students and their families throughout Arizona. Lori has a Bachelor’s degree from Syracuse University and her law degree from Bridgeport (now Quinnipiac) University. Lori began advocating for students with disabilities when one of her twin sons, now 29 years old, was found in need of special education back in Kindergarten. Lori is regularly involved in eligibility/MET and IEP meetings, MDRs, disciplinary due process hearings, OCR, IDEA Due Process, and DDD appeals. She is admitted to practice in the state and federal courts in New York, New Jersey, Arizona and the 9th Circuit, and is AV-rated. Lori prevailed in a case before the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals that involved appropriateness of a school’s selection of location of a school for a student on the spectrum. She is an AV® Preeminent rated attorney and is appointed to serve as Judge Pro Tem for the Superior Court of Arizona.

Maria Syms has called Arizona home for more than 20 years. The mother of three children who have attended Arizona public district and charter schools, parochial schools, and private schools, Syms lives the “one size does not fit all” approach to education. Syms is currently the Associate Superintendent/Director of Legal Services for the Arizona Department of Education. She has spent her career fighting to raise academic achievement and empower parents. Syms served as an Arizona State Representative for LD28, Assistant Attorney General, Assistant United States Attorney, Paradise Valley Town Councilwoman, and private attorney. Syms is an active member of the Arizona State Bar and is also admitted to practice in California, Hawaii, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Washington D.C. Syms was a judicial clerk for the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. She has served as a Legal Instructor at ASU Law School and an Adjunct Professor of Appellate Practice at the University of Hawaii School of Law. She holds a Master in Public Administration from the Harvard Kennedy School and a JD degree from American University where she was Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of International Law and Policy. She holds a B.A. in Government from Smith College. Syms resides in Paradise Valley with her husband of 27 years, Dr. Mark J. Syms, a surgeon who specializes in hearing loss treatment.

Heather Pierson is a partner at the law firm Udall Shumway PLC in Mesa, AZ. She is a member of the firm’s School Law section, representing the firm’s education law clients throughout the State. Ms. Pierson comes to Udall Shumway PLC uniquely qualified in the area of education law. Prior to joining Udall Shumway, Ms. Pierson taught behavior disordered students. During her teaching career, Ms. Pierson was involved in the development and implementation of Individualized Education Plans (“IEP”) and behavior plans and attended several trainings on special education and regular education interventions and strategies. While in law school, Ms. Pierson provided in-home ABA services for autistic children under the age of three and participated in the Whittier Law School Special Education Clinic, which provided special education advocacy services for children with developmental disabilities. Additionally, Ms. Pierson earned her Master’s Degree in Special Education in 2004. Ms. Pierson primarily focuses her practice on special education and disability related matters. She routinely defends school districts and other public educational institutions in matters related to disability law matters, such as special education due process hearings, Office of Civil Rights (“OCR”) complaints, Section 504 due process hearings, mediation, and special education state complaints. She provides daily advice and assistance in matters related to special education, Section 504, the Americans with Disabilities Act, student discipline, personnel issues and student records. Ms. Pierson taught Contemporary Developments in Special Education Law through Northern Arizona University during the Spring of 2014. She has also given in-service workshops to district personnel on a wide range of special education and disability related topics and speaks at state-wide conferences.