Conference Speakers

Katherine (Kattie) Henderson, Esquire

Katherine "Kattie" Henderson was appointed Legal Director for DRMS in 2020. Kattie is a graduate of The University of Southern Mississippi where she obtained her B.S. in Forensic Science. She then pursued her law degree at Mississippi College School of Law where she graduated in 2010. Prior to serving as Legal Director, Kattie worked primarily for immigrants' rights. Kattie has a passion for advocating for people and equipping people with the knowledge to advocate for themselves and their families.

Amy K. Bonn, Esquire

Amy K. Bonn is an attorney with The Law Office of Amy K. Bonn, LLC, where she dedicates her practice to representing the families of children with disabilities in special education matters in Nebraska. She is also a proud parent of children with developmental disabilities. She is a frequent presenter on special education legal issues before audiences of families, lawyers, and support professionals, and she has published articles on special education law and advocacy. As a consulting attorney with the Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates (COPAA), Amy works in support of COPAA’s Amicus and Litigation committee work. An Air Force spouse for almost 20 years, Amy is particularly passionate about advocating for military-connected children with disabilities. Amy serves on the Board of Directors of the Arc of Nebraska and the Legislative and Advocacy Committee of the Nebraska Council on Developmental Disabilities. She received her law degree from Creighton University and an M.A. in English from the University of Pittsburgh.

Richard Courtney, Esquire

Richard A. (“Rick”) Courtney has practiced law since 1978 and is a founding partner of the Jackson law firm of Frascogna Courtney, PLLC, where he chairs the Courtney Elder Law Associates planning group. His primary areas of practice are elder law, public benefits law (Medicaid, Medicare and SSI), personal asset protection and estate planning, trusts and trust administration, special needs planning for persons with disabilities, guardianships and conservatorships, nursing home and disability rights, and probate administration. Rick is the first attorney in Mississippi designated a Certified Elder Law Attorney by the American Bar Association-accredited National Elder Law Foundation. Rick is a former Director of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA) where he serves on the Trusts and Special Needs Law Sections Steering Committees; the Trusts and Estates Section of the Mississippi State Bar (former Chair); and the Special Needs Alliance, Inc., a national organization of special needs planning attorneys (former President). He has been selected as a member of the Council of Advanced Practitioners of NAELA, and is a Fellow in the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel. He is the author of A Lawyer’s Guide to Working with Special Needs Clients published by the American Bar Association.

Mary Margaret Gay, Esquire

Mary Margaret Gay is a founding member of the wholly women-owned law firm Gay Jones & Kuhn PLLC and concentrates her practice on strategies to help her clients anticipate and eliminate risk. Locally, Mary Margaret works to provide personalized legal services for small business startups and entrepreneurs to help their vision and brand become a reality. She works closely with businesses to create best practices, and trains their employees, and others involved on how to put these into play.

In addition to her corporate and small business work, Mary Margaret and paralegal/advocate Rachel Roberts work in Mississippi to assist students, parents, and school districts with issues related to Title IX, bullying, implementation of independent education plans and strategies to increase communication of students, teachers, and administrators.

Sarah Beth Jones, Esquire

Sarah Beth Jones is a founding member of Gay Jones & Kuhn licensed in Mississippi and Alabama.  She strives to serve her clients with enthusiasm and excellence as they collaborate together to reduce risk and identify smart solutions to legal issues. She focuses her practice on coordination of special projects and implementation of creative defense strategies in the mass tort arena.  Sarah Beth has a passion for assisting small businesses in her community and working with parents, children, and schools to improve the quality of education for students with special needs.

Rachel Roberts, Paralegal

Rachel Roberts is Litigation Coordinator and Lead Client Paralegal at Gay Jones & Kuhn.  She has more than fifteen years of experience serving as a mass tort paralegal for clients involved in national litigation. As a mother of a daughter with Mosaic Down Syndrome, Rachel understands first-hand the personal and educational challenges facing both individuals with developmental disabilities as well as their parents and guardians.  Rachel uses her passion for children with special needs to serve as an advocate and liaison between parents and schools ensuring children have the tools they need for their education.  She knows from personal experience how complicated and daunting the process of finding educational resources and advocates for a child can be for a parent.

Where

This is an online event.

When

Online sign in opens at 8:15 am, Conference begins at 9:00 am

Thursday, July 29, 2021 from 9:00 AM to 4:15 PM CDT

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Contact

Mickey Alford
mickey@msccd.org
(601) 969-0601