Audrey Vernick

Experience

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  The Detroit News

  Jun 1990 - Dec 1991

  Staff Photojournalist
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  Reuters News Agency

  Jan 1991 - Jan 1994

  Freelance Photographer

  http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2014/01/29/dorchester-man-files-discrimination-against-catholic-school-says-lost-job-because-was-gay-married/0KswVITMsOrruEbhsOsOeN/igraphic.html

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  The New York Times

  Dec 1991 - Dec 1998

  Freelance Photographer

  FREELANCE PHOTOJOURNALISTAudrey's photographs have appeared in newspapers and magazines worldwide, including The New York Times, USA Today, Time, Newsweek, Forbes, Vogue, Parents, TechCapital, Capital (France) and Der Spiegel (Germany), Reuters, and Associated Press-----http://anntrasoncoaching.com/NYT.pdf

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  Crystal Springs Uplands School

  Aug 1995 - Jun 2008

  Photography Instructor

  Audrey taught photography to high school students during the school year, and to middle school students during some summers. She chaperoned school trips to Costa Rica and China and assisted students with independent study projects and Senior Projects. Each year, Audrey helped the students mount an exhibition of their work.

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  Freelance

  Jan 2000 - Jan 2004

  Guest Lecturer

  The Academy of Art College (San Francisco)The San Francisco Art InstituteThe Sonoma Community Arts Center numerous Bay Area High Schools

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  Author

  Jan 2000 - Jan 2003

  Book Author

  Author and Photographer of the following titles:Picture the Girl • Hyperion Books • 2000Unveiled: Images and Intimations of Marriage • Hyperion Books • 2003---------------------http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/812433.Picture_the_Girlhttp://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3767710-unveiled

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  Camp Bennett

  Jan 2010 - Aug 2011

  Founder

  Audrey created an intensive Constraint-Induced Movement Therapy (CIMT) program in 2010: Camp Bennett.Camp Bennett was a three-week summer camp, designed as an intensive, therapeutic, play-based group dynamic serving children ages 2 through 12 who had strokes and subsequent hemiplegia (partial paralysis of one side of the body). Camp Bennett used a Constraint-Induced Movement Therapy (CIMT) technique in which the unaffected upper limb was casted to prevent use leaving the affected (weak) limb to be forced to work. Children spent six hours per day for 3 weeks learning how to better use their affected arm, and integrating that use into everyday bilateral activity. At the beginning of each day, the children would don a removable cast on their unaffected arm, forcing them to use their affected arm to play games, sing songs, eat, etc. By the end of each 6 hour day, the cast was off again and they were using both hands for these activities.Our goal was to provide an option that was fun and full of activities with a group of kids. This way, the children would develop a sense of self-confidence as they are surrounded by peers who are just like them. Kids can make tremendous progress in a camp with a playful, summer-camp feel, rather than a clinical one. Show less

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  CP Peer Group

  Oct 2012 - Jan 2015

  Founder & Facilitator

  In the fall of 2012, with the support, advice, help and love from many, Audrey created a Peer Group for Kids Aged 8-12 with Cerebral Palsy at Support for Families in San Francisco. The group was formed as a place for kids with CP to play, socialize and interact. Kids participated in activities, games, relaxation exercises, social time, and more. The facilitator of the group was Kris Meadows, a young man with CP who was also a student of Occupational Therapy, and Sara Oletti, a special education teacher. While their children were participating in the Peer Group, parents attended the "Parents of Children with Cerebral Palsy Group" which Audrey facilitated.More than a dozen families participated in our monthly group and weekend outings. This group continues to be a basis for camraderie, answers to questions, friendship, support and more. Show less

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  Community Alliance for Special Education

  Apr 2016 - May 2018

  Special Education Advocate

  The Community Alliance for Special Education (CASE) was formed in 1979 to protect the lawful educational rights of children with disabilities by fostering the fair and just implementation of IDEA and state special education law. CASE advocacy staff, thoroughly trained in special education law, helps families and school districts work together when designing appropriate special education programs for students with disabilities, who are at risk for school failure, so they can succeed in school, get a job and become productive members of their community.CASE supports families by going with them to IEP meetings as a primary service. The CASE service model is based on the premise that the special education process is first and foremost an educational process. It should be collaborative, non-adversarial and student-oriented. CASE methods empower parents so that they can effectively advocate for their children in the educational process. CASE services strive to prevent disagreements between parents and school districts from escalating to the need for court intervention.Services provided by CASE:• Technical assistance consultations to families and professionals on special education rights, responsibilities and services regarding specific special education students or issues;• Direct representation at Individual Education Program (IEP) meetings on behalf of students with disabilities and their parents;• Training on special education rights and services to parents so they to can better advocate for appropriate special education programs and services on behalf of children with disabilities. Show less

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  Pediatric Epilepsy Surgery Alliance

  May 2016 - now

  Audrey Vernick serves as the Director of Educational Advocacy and Training for The Brain Recovery Project and is responsible for coordinating the design, development, and training for its Educational Advocacy Program. Audrey has completed the Special Education Advocate Training Project TM (SEAT) training provided by the Council of Parent and Attorney Advocates. The year-long SEAT program is the only nationally developed and recognized course that provides participants with training to become a special education advocate. Individual education plan (IEP) meetings can be complicated and challenging for parents and guardians of children after hemispherectomy. Our program offers assistance with IEP meetings by providing parents or guardians with an advocate who understands how hemispherectomy surgery may affect a child in the educational environment. Advocates are also available to provide support to school personnel and parent training on the aftereffects of hemispherectomy surgery which impact a child’s ability to access the curriculum and educational environment. We help parents understand the medical, cognitive, and behavioral challenges a child may have through life, as well as guide parents through financial and life care issues. If parents want to connect with other families, or need IEP help in school, we’re here to help. We also provide templates of letters for school and other key publications to help clinicians help parents find the resources they need after surgery. For the educator who has a child who’s had brain surgery to stop seizures, our teacher’s portal links them with pertinent research, helpful guides, and other important information to support their critical work. For the physical, occupational, speech, or other aligned therapist helping a child after brain surgery to stop seizures, our videos, guides, paradigms, and lists of relevant research and resources help these aligned professionals treat their patients. Show less

  • Director of Patient and Family Advocacy

    Jul 2020 - now

  • Director of Educational Advocacy and Training

    May 2016 - Jul 2020
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  The Brain Recovery Project: Childhood Epilepsy Surgery Foundation

  Jul 2020 - Nov 2022

  Director of Patient & Family Advocacy

  Empowering parents and self-advocates with the skills and information they need to access quality education, services, transition into adult life, and access community living supports.