John Flanders - President

John Flanders continues the tradition of his grandfather, Cyrus G. Flanders who served as the head of the Governor’s commission on the employment of the Handicapped.  He began his involvement in special education early in 1996 when his then three-year-old son had a profound hearing  loss as the result of contracting Pneumococcal meningitis. In 1997,  significantly as the result of his family’s experiences in the PPT process he enrolled in the University of Connecticut School of Law.  Following Graduation, he spent two years as the Children’s Rights Advocate for the A.G. Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing in Washington DC. He has since practiced in Connecticut representing families with children with disabilities from 2002.  He was appointed executive Director of  CPAC in December 2015, and served until 2020.  John has served on many Commissions  and groups working on the rights of people with disabilities, including  notably the Connecticut Council on Developmental Disabilities and the  State Advisory Committee on Special Education, serving as a member of  the Executive Committee of both groups. He was a member of Cromwell Board of Education for 6 years, and is on the Committee to Support People with Disabilities. He formally served as a member of Cromwell’s Board of  Selectmen for four years, Board of Finance for five years and as First  Selectmen from 2009-11.  He is a director of the Connecticut Association of School Based Health Centers and is chair of its Legislative and Advocacy Committee.  He has been a contributor to the U. S. Access Board on education issues the Hearing Loss Association and the Cochlear Implant Association of America.  He was raised by wolves.

Naomi Nova is a parent of two children on the autism spectrum and is a special education attorney for children with disabilities.  She is deeply committed to education reform with a special focus on exclusionary discipline, including the use of restraint, seclusion, suspensions, and expulsions on schoolchildren.    Naomi is an active member of the SEEK Legislative Committee, and has testified before the Education Committee of the Connecticut General Assembly in support of legislation to limit the use of restraint and ban the use of seclusion. Naomi graduated from Case Western Reserve University School of Law in 2007.  She is currently in private practice and represents families at PPT meetings, mediations, and due process hearings.

Andy Feinstein has represented children with disabilities and their families pursuing appropriate educational programs for the past twenty-two years, first in Hartford with Attorney David C. Shaw, from 2008 to 2015, as a solo practitioner in Mystic, Connecticut, and, since July 1, 2015, as the owner of Feinstein Education Law Group, LLC. He is a founder, the treasurer and Legislative Committee chair of Special Education Equity for Kids in Connecticut (SEEK-CT).  He serves on the Board and as co-chair of the Government Relations Committee for the Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates (COPAA), the preeminent national special education advocacy organization.  He has argued a number of cases on behalf of COPAA before the Second Circuit Court of Appeals.  He serves as an adjunct professor of special education at Central Connecticut State University, teaching both special education teachers and administrators. Attorney Feinstein graduated from Wesleyan University in 1972 and the New York University School of Law in 1975. He completed the Senior Manager in Government Program at the Kennedy School, Harvard University, in 1983. He has served as a professional staff member of the House Committee on Armed Services and Chief Counsel of the House Civil Service Subcommittee. Formerly, he chaired United Cerebral Palsy of Greater Hartford and served on the Board of Community Health Charities of Connecticut for many years.  He was formerly the Treasure of Temple Emanu-El in Waterford, Connecticut, and teaches eighth grade Sunday school.  Andy lives in Mystic with his wife Liz Bochain and their grandson Jacob.

Stacey Tié is a professional Non-Attorney Special Education Advocate at the Law Office of Laura Heneghan, LLC.  Stacey has been practicing Advocacy professionally since 2019. She has completed coursework related to special education advocacy through the Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates (COPAA) Special Education Advocacy Training (SEAT). She also completed Wrightslaw’s Special Education Law & Advocacy Training. Stacey received her certification in Mental Health First Aid USA through the National Council of Behavior Health.  She has completed 60+hours of training in Orton Gillingham. She is a member of the Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates (COPAA). Stacey has an associate’s degree in Theater from the American Musical and Dramatic Academy and a Bachelor in Business Finance from Pace University.

Jessica de Perio Wittman serves as the Director of the Law Library and Associate Professor of Law at UConn Law School where she teaches Advanced Legal Research, Technology and Law Practice, and Special Education Law.  Her research interests focus on assistive and adaptive technologies and its intersection with the law and libraries. Professor de Perio Wittman has held many leadership positions within the American Association of Law Libraries (AALL) and continues to be a member of AALL, Law Librarians of New England (LLNE), Southern New England Law Libraries Association (SNELLA), and the Connecticut Bar Association.  She is a frequent presenter on cybersecurity and teaching legal technology competencies to today’s law students, as well as other topics related to equity, diversity, and inclusion in law librarianship and legal education.  She received her J.D. from Seattle University School of Law and her M.L.S. from the University at Buffalo.