On Wednesday, October 16, New York State Assemblymember Jo Anne Simon, along with Gaynor alum and Communication Coordinator & Community Liaison for Asm. Simon, Stephanie Brown ’13, visited Gaynor to speak at an assembly for the Silver, Green, and Blue Clusters as part of Learning Difference Awareness Month. The duo came to speak about advocacy at the state and local level, and the importance of students learning to advocate for themselves and their learning difference.
Asm. Simon began her work with learning differences as a teacher of the deaf and sign language interpreter, before becoming a disability civil rights attorney for a number of years. She was elected to represent the 52nd District of the New York State Assembly (Brooklyn) in 2014. She is the Chair of the Committee on Ethics and Guidance and the Commission on Legislative Ethics. Asm. Simon hosts an annual Dyslexia Awareness Day in Albany, and passed legislation so that children can learn to read by identifying their learning differences and ensuring appropriate educational interviews. Aside from her work for those with learning differences, Asm. Simon has also passed legislation on campaign finance reform, gender equity, and gun violence prevention.
At the assembly, Asm. Simon was joined by Stephanie Brown ’13, who works on her legislative staff as Communication Coordinator and Community Liaison. After graduating from Gaynor in 2013, Stephanie went to The Birch Wathen Lenox School and then University of Michigan. Stephanie has been interested in legislation for several years, beginning when she was at Gaynor and ran for student body president. When she was at Birch Wathen Lenox, she became involved with gun violence prevention movements, and then after graduating from Michigan she worked on several other political campaigns before finding her way to Asm. Simon.
The assembly began with the two taking turns speaking about their backgrounds, how they got involved in legislation, and specifically how they started working with legislation focused on learning differences. Asm. Simon shared that after her election to the assembly, she felt one of the biggest problems was that many teachers did not know enough about learning differences and how they can affect a student’s performance in school unless they were special education teachers. She wanted to raise awareness, and so she started Dyslexia Awareness Day. Each year, she said there are more and more people who come, ranging from teachers, to parents, to legislators, who either have students, or children, or family members who have dyslexia, and they want to learn more about it. Gaynor’s Director of Outreach and Innovation Emily Barnes has also visited Dyslexia Awareness Day, and saw firsthand how Asm. Simon has worked to advocate for those with dyslexia.
For the rest of the assembly, Asm. Simon and Stephanie answered questions from the audience. Many students asked about Stephanie’s experience having dyslexia, and how she has handled her learning difference since leaving Gaynor. Answering the question “How have you handled having dyslexia? Is it hard for you?” she said, “I think patience, and being patient with yourself is important. And so is wanting to work hard. I didn’t start reading out of nowhere, it took a lot of work, which I know that you guys are also doing every single day.”
The students also asked about Asm. Simon’s work in law, with one question being “When you started doing law and helping people with dyslexia, how did it feel listening to their cases?” Simon answered, “Usually when we talk about lawyers, they talk about having a “big win” or something. But what actually helped me in continuing to do that work is that you really make a profound change in the life of the person you’re representing. Sometimes just having a person who believes in you, and who fights that battle for you, is worth everything.”
“I think patience, and being patient with yourself is important. And so is wanting to work hard. I didn’t start reading out of nowhere, it took a lot of work, which I know that you guys are also doing every single day.”
-Stephanie Brown ’13
The students asked very thoughtful questions, and were really engaged with the idea of advocacy and feeling proud about your learning difference. We are so thankful to Assemblymember Jo Anne Simon and Stephanie Brown ’13 for stopping by Gaynor and speaking to our students. We hope every student feels confident in advocating for themselves and their needs.
In fact, there were so many questions that Asm. Simon and Stephanie couldn’t answer them all during the assembly! If your child has a question for Assemblymember Jo Anne Simon or Stephanie Brown ’13, you can submit them by emailing communications@stephengaynor.org.
To listen to our Gator Gab interview use the link below, and skip to 3:25!