Advocate to Educate founder and owner Eryn Schnel Yolac, is a wife, parent of two kids, and was diagnosed with Dyslexia at age six. her personal experiences and struggles to find proper reading intervention and mental health services as a child with Dyslexia, have guided her to her life’s mission; to advocate for the children who are like her. Eryn’s professional training began in the classroom and progressed quickly when she decided to devote all her time and educational prowess to being a Board Certified Education Advocate. Eryn has extensive experience advocating for children with Dyslexia, Intellectual Disabilities, Anxiety, and Depression as well as other complex cases requiring intensive academic support, medical care, and residential mental health services. 
 

Qualifications & Professional History​

• BA in Education, Antioch University LA

• Credentialed Special Education Teacher with 15 years of classroom experience

• Nationally Board Certified Education Advocate™, Fellow (NSEAI)

• COPAA-SEAT Training

• Educational Therapist Certificate Program- Association Of Educational Therapists

• Dyslexia Advocate Certificate Program - Dyslexia Institute of San Diego

• Certified PEERS Provider: teaching social skills to teens and young adults.

• BA in Photography, Brooks Institute of Photography

Dr. Karen Komosa-Hawkins is an advocate working with Advocate To Educate. Karen has trained, mentored, and supervised hundreds of school-based professionals in school psychology over the last two decades across three local school districts, at LMU, and beyond. She focuses on facilitating educational equity and authentic inclusion, and research based practices. Karen has worked directly with and advocated on behalf of individuals with exceptional needs in a variety of capacities for nearly 30 years across 4 school systems. Her work has included conducting independent educational evaluations specializing in educationally related mental health disabilities as well as other disabilities.

Qualifications & Professional History

• Associate Clinical Professor and Assistant Director for the School Psychology Program within the School of Education at Loyola Marymount University (LMU)

•  B.S. in Human Development and Family Studies from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

• M.A. in Community Counseling

• Ph.D. in School Psychology from Loyola University Chicago.

• Holds credentials in school psychology and administrative services and a license in educational psychology.