Perry A. Zirkel is University Professor Emeritus of Education and Law at Lehigh University and a nationally recognized expert in special education law. Holding a Ph.D., J.D., and LL.M., he has authored over 1,700 publications, presented in all 50 states, and received numerous prestigious national awards for his scholarship and research.

Linda Fusco is passionate about education. She is an attorney who cut her teeth in the special education classroom. Linda provides private, independent IEP facilitation, proactive legal /educational consulting and meaningful, memorable staff development.

Linda Fusco has been featured in a public television program focusing on Inclusion. She is a frequent speaker, presenter and instructor at numerous professional conferences, institutes and university programs. She achieved permanent certification in elementary and special education. Linda holds a Bachelor of Science degree in special and elementary education. She has a Masters of Education degree in Early Childhood Education. Additionally, she earned a law degree, a Juris Doctor, in 1992.

With over 25 years in practice, Jane Williams is among the most experienced attorneys currently representing school entities in special education and student matters. She has served as a hearing officer and advisor to school boards in student expulsion matters, and provided school district boards with in-service programs concerning special education and pupil services. She provides both proactive and defense representation to school entities in all phases of special education litigation.

She is a well-regarded speaker and consultant on special education and other education law-related topics, having lectured statewide to a variety of organizations consisting of both educators and attorneys. She has served for years as a planning committee member of the Lehigh University College of Education Special Education Law Symposium, and participated as a moderator and presenter over the years.

Jane has served in several leadership roles in the Pennsylvania School Board Solicitors Association, including that of president. She is a member of the Pennsylvania Bar Association.

Christina Stephanos focuses her practice on the ongoing guidance and representation of school districts across a wide range of education law matters. She regularly consults with clients on matters involving IEP and Section 504 compliance, guides districts through administrative due process hearings, and conducts comprehensive special education audits that deliver actionable recommendations for programming, staffing, and infrastructure.

Christina brings a powerful and rare perspective to her legal practice, having spent six years as a classroom educator. In addition to her law degree, she holds a diploma in Special Education, certificates in both Reading and Elementary Education, and taught Language Arts and Special Education.

Prior to joining the firm, Christina built a strong foundation in courtroom advocacy and child welfare, serving as a staff attorney for the Defender Association of Philadelphia’s Child Advocacy Unit and as an assistant district attorney in the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office.

Erin D. Gilsbach, Esq., is EdLaw Interactive’s founder and Executive Director. A nationally-recognized speaker on a wide variety of school law topics, Atty. Gilsbach has dedicated her career to ensuring that schools have all of the resources that they need to comply with the wide variety of federal and state laws to which they are subject.

Her vast knowledge of school law as well as her informative (and entertaining!) speaking style make her a highly sought-after speaker schools and education-related organizations. Her approach is practical and often hands-on, and she uses a multi-modal approach in her school law trainings. Atty. Gilsbach has been a practicing school law attorney for the past 20 years, where she has exclusively represented schools of all types, including public school districts, public charter schools, parochial schools, and private schools.

Prior to entering private practice, Atty. Gilsbach worked for three years at the PA Department of Education’s Office of Chief Counsel, and, prior to that, she taught public high school English. Voted by her peers as a Rising Star Attorney in SuperLawyers and Philadelphia Magazines for 5 consecutive years, Atty. Gilsbach has served as President of the PA School Boards Association (PSBA) Solicitor’s Association and as a member of the Board of Directors of the National School Boards Association’s (NSBA) Council of School Attorneys (COSA).

She has also authored three books and many school law articles. She has been a frequent presenter and collaborator for many state and national organizations, including PA, NY, and IL state Departments of Education; the National Business Institute (NBI); the Pennsylvania Bar Institute; the PA, NY, and ND School Boards Associations; PSBA’s School Solicitor’s Association; NSBA; COSA; the PA Bar Institute; the PA Association of Student Assistance Professionals, and multiple school nursing associations across the country. She has provided trainings for hundreds of public, charter, and non-public schools throughout the U.S.

Suzanne Pontious joined Sweet, Stevens, Katz & Williams in 2020. She has worked in both the public and private sector and is a seasoned litigator, both in court and administrative proceedings.

Before joining the firm, Sue served as deputy city solicitor for the City of Philadelphia Law Department’s Child Welfare Unit. There, she managed a high-volume caseload of dependency matters in various stages of litigation. As a core courtroom team captain, she trained and supervised new attorneys on her team. She also conducted CLEs and attorney trainings.

Prior to that, Sue worked at a private law firm that served as solicitor for various municipalities, including school districts and other public entities.

She is also a veteran of the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office, having served as a legal intern during law school. After law school, she clerked for the Honorable Diane E. Gibbons, Bucks County Court of Common Pleas.

Chris Bambach is primarily involved in the representation of school districts and entities in matters of special education throughout the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. He represents school entities at both the administrative and appellate levels, and also proactively provides informed counseling to his clients in all matters of special education.

Chris joined Sweet, Stevens, Katz & Williams after several years of practice involved in complex and general civil litigation in Pennsylvania and Mississippi. He now puts his comprehensive and successful background in litigation to work every day in successfully resolving matters for his clients.

Angela J. Evans is the founder of The Law Offices of Angela J. Evans, a full-service public education law firm established in 2017 and located in West Wyoming, Pennsylvania. With over twenty years of legal experience, Ms. Evans has dedicated her practice to representing Pennsylvania public school districts, primarily throughout the northeastern region of the Commonwealth.

Her work includes special education litigation, labor and employment matters, solicitor services, labor negotiations, professional development, and representation of school districts in administrative proceedings and in state and federal courts. Ms. Evans provides practical, responsive counsel tailored to the individual needs of her clients, with an emphasis on proactive guidance, compliance, and effective advocacy.