As a graduate of Boston College Law School, Georgetown University School of Foreign Service, and Wellesley College, Tere comes to PYD with deep and wide experience at the intersection of disability rights, ADA, education, and the law, most recently from her own legal practice. At her firm, she focused her work on representing children with disabilities in education and civil rights. She is an expert on language access rights, especially regarding limited English proficient students with disabilities. Her life’s mission is to seek access to equal opportunities for families in underrepresented communities and those with limited English—people who are often underserved by established systems.
Prior to launching her own independent law practice, Tere had a highly impactful role as a Language Access Attorney at the Massachusetts Law Reform Institute (MLRI) which led to the Federation for Children with Special Needs awarding her the Patricia Blake Advocacy Award in 2020 for her efforts in ensuring access to education to all children, especially those who speak a language other than English at home.
She also was awarded the nationally competitive Equal Justice Works Fellowship at the Disability Law Center in Boston, where she designed her own legal service project and subsequently provided representation on disability and special education focused on low income, immigrant Hispanic children with disabilities. In addition to her career in disability law, Tere held student-facing roles at several institutions of higher education. She was the Interim Director of Student Accessibility Services at Brown, making sure that students have a positive university experience by helping them obtain the accommodations they needed to realize their full potential. She was also the Director of Internships and Service Learning at Wellesley College, the Latin America Director of the Creative and Innovative Economy Center at George Washington University Law School, and Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business Global Integrative Experience, Country Director in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Tere served for three years as the Co-Chair of the MA Department of Education’s Special Education Advisory Committee, as well as a member of the Massachusetts Autism Commission’s education sub-committee. Tere is a national speaker on issues related to children who are English Language Learns and also receive special education services. She is the recipient of several awards for her work on behalf of underserved communities, including an Equal Justice Works fellowship, Boston College Law School’s Dean’s Award for Diversity, BC Law’s Excellence in Pro Bono Service Award, and was a NALP/PSJD Pro Bono Publico Award finalist.
In her free time, Tere loves to travel, exercise, take long walks with her dogs, and help rescue animals in Puerto Rico. She is also a therapy dog handler to Cooper, a labradoodle.