Meet Karen Wooten

Karen is cofounder of Special Education Defense, a special education advocate, parent, and community volunteer who is passionate about helping families understand and navigate the special education process. Prior to co-founding Special Education Defense, Karen worked as a special education advocate with a private law firm, supporting families as they navigated special education matters.

As a mom of four, including her youngest daughter, who experiences disability, Karen’s advocacy began personally. She often says that helping her daughter find her voice ultimately helped Karen find her own.

Karen believes families are strongest when they have both knowledge and support. She works alongside parents to help them understand their child’s rights, participate confidently in the IEP and 504 process, and build the skills to advocate for their child along the way.

Karen serves on the Oregon Department of Education’s Dispute Resolution Committee and is a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA). She is also a Certified Peer Support Specialist, participates in community and public speaking events, and serves on the fundraising committee for a local pediatric therapy nonprofit, helping organize events and support fundraising efforts for children and families in her community.

When she isn’t advocating, Karen enjoys spending time with her husband and four children, being outdoors, gardening, traveling, reading, and keeping up with her Goldendoodle puppies.

Meet Susana Ramírez

Susana Ramírez is a co-founder of Special Education Defense / Defensa de Educación Especial, an independent bilingual advocacy practice dedicated to protecting the educational rights of students with disabilities and ensuring that school districts comply with federal and state special education laws.

For more than 25 years, Susana has worked with children and adults with disabilities, their families, educators, attorneys, community organizations and policymakers. Her experience includes advocacy under IDEA, Section 504 and the ADA; dispute resolution; disability and legislative policy; parent education and leadership development; and culturally responsive practices in special education as the law requires.

Originally from Mexico City, Susana moved to the San Francisco Bay Area to pursue a professional ballet career. Her life changed direction following the birth of her son Kevin, who is on the autism spectrum, but her ballet career had already set the stage for whatever came her way. Navigating special education and disability systems on his behalf led her to advocate for other children and families and reinforced her belief that parents possess essential knowledge about their children and must be respected as equal participants in educational decision-making.

In 1999, Susana founded Parents in Action / Padres en Acción to educate, mentor and empower Spanish-speaking parents of children with disabilities. She led the organization for more than two decades, helping families understand their rights, participate effectively in special education meetings and develop the skills to advocate for their children. In 2002, the Oregon Council on Developmental Disabilities recognized Susana as an Advocate of the Year for establishing Parents in Action and advancing fairness and justice in special education.

From 2001 through 2019, Susana served as a Special Education Advocate with Disability Rights Oregon, Oregon’s federally designated Protection and Advocacy organization for people with disabilities. During her 18 years there, she assisted families confronting complex educational disputes, systemic barriers and violations of students’ legal rights while conducting trainings and participating in legislative and policy initiatives.

Susana’s work has also extended to state and national policy. Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber appointed her to the Oregon Council on Developmental Disabilities and the Oregon Special Education Task Force. She served for more than a decade on the Oregon Department of Education’s Dispute Resolution Committee and also participated in an Oregon Attorney General task force addressing sexual assault of people with developmental disabilities and Oregon Developmental Disability Services’ Blueprint Case Management Committee.

In 2011, President Barack Obama appointed Susana as a citizen member of the President’s Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities, where she served through 2015 and contributed to national policy recommendations concerning inclusion, self-determination, education, employment and community living.

From 2020 through 2024, Susana worked in private legal practice, assisting attorneys and families with special education matters and helping families navigate both legal requirements and practical realities.

Susana has also shared her advocacy experience with future special education teachers and administrators at Portland State University and with first-year law students at the University of Oregon School of Law, encouraging future attorneys to consider special education law as a career.

Away from her professional work, Susana enjoys spending time with family and friends, attending concerts, playing the piano, ballet, reading, writing and traveling.