Speaker Bio: Judith A. Gran
Professional Experience: Prior to joining Reisman Carolla Gran & Zuba, Ms. Gran practiced law at the Public Interest Law Center of Philadelphia from 1984 to 2009. She served as Director of Disability Projects from 1998 to 2009. She has conducted class action litigation to obtain community services for institutionalized persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities in Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Montana, California, Illinois and Tennessee. Her work as counsel for the Arc of Pennsylvania and the plaintiff class during the implementation phase of the consent decree in Halderman v. Pennhurst from 1986 through 1998 led to significant improvements in community service systems in Philadelphia and other counties. Ms. Gran represents special education students in administrative and judicial proceedings in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and other states (most recently West Virginia and Iowa). Those cases include the class action suit Gaskin v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, a case brought to enforce the least restrictive environment mandate of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act that resulted in a statewide settlement agreement.
Community Associations: Ms. Gran serves on the Board of Directors of the Pennhurst Memorial and Preservation Alliance, an organization dedicated to preserving the memory of the persons who lived at Pennhurst Center, a large institution for persons with developmental disabilities that closed in 1987. The organization is now working to establish a national museum of disability history in Washington DC. Ms.Gran served on the Board of Directors of the Arc of Philadelphia and as Chair of the Board's Systems Advocacy and Governmental Affairs (SAGA) Committee. She is active in the Church of St. Luke & The Epiphany in Philadelphia, where she served on the Vestry from 2002 to 2008 and as Rector’s Warden from 2005 to 2008.
Professional Activities: Ms. Gran is a founding member of the Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates ("COPAA"), a national independent, nonprofit, tax-exempt organization of attorneys, advocates and parents. COPAA's primary mission is to secure high quality educational services for children with disabilities. She served on the COPAA Board of Directors from 1999 to 2008, as chair of the Amicus Committee in 2001-2002 and as Chair of COPAA from 2002 to 2004. Ms. Gran speaks regularly to groups of parents, attorneys, educators, advocates and service providers on topics related to special education, civil rights, and disability rights. Ms. Gran has received awards for her legal advocacy from the Arc of Pennsylvania, the Arc of Connecticut, the City of Philadelphia and is scheduled to receive the TASH Outstanding Leadership in Disability Law award on October 7, 2020.
Admitted to Practice: Ms. Gran is admitted to practice in Pennsylvania and before the United States Courts of Appeals for the Third Circuit and the Sixth Circuit and the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
Education: Ms. Gran graduated from Wellesley College as a Wellesley College Scholar in 1964. She earned a master’s degree in 1969 from the University of Chicago, where she was a National Defense Fellow. She earned a J.D. degree (cum laude) from the School of Law at Temple University, where she served as an editor of the Temple Law Review.
Professional Experience: Prior to joining Reisman Carolla Gran & Zuba, Ms. Gran practiced law at the Public Interest Law Center of Philadelphia from 1984 to 2009. She served as Director of Disability Projects from 1998 to 2009. She has conducted class action litigation to obtain community services for institutionalized persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities in Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Montana, California, Illinois and Tennessee. Her work as counsel for the Arc of Pennsylvania and the plaintiff class during the implementation phase of the consent decree in Halderman v. Pennhurst from 1986 through 1998 led to significant improvements in community service systems in Philadelphia and other counties. Ms. Gran represents special education students in administrative and judicial proceedings in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and other states (most recently West Virginia and Iowa). Those cases include the class action suit Gaskin v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, a case brought to enforce the least restrictive environment mandate of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act that resulted in a statewide settlement agreement.
Community Associations: Ms. Gran serves on the Board of Directors of the Pennhurst Memorial and Preservation Alliance, an organization dedicated to preserving the memory of the persons who lived at Pennhurst Center, a large institution for persons with developmental disabilities that closed in 1987. The organization is now working to establish a national museum of disability history in Washington DC. Ms.Gran served on the Board of Directors of the Arc of Philadelphia and as Chair of the Board's Systems Advocacy and Governmental Affairs (SAGA) Committee. She is active in the Church of St. Luke & The Epiphany in Philadelphia, where she served on the Vestry from 2002 to 2008 and as Rector’s Warden from 2005 to 2008.
Professional Activities: Ms. Gran is a founding member of the Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates ("COPAA"), a national independent, nonprofit, tax-exempt organization of attorneys, advocates and parents. COPAA's primary mission is to secure high quality educational services for children with disabilities. She served on the COPAA Board of Directors from 1999 to 2008, as chair of the Amicus Committee in 2001-2002 and as Chair of COPAA from 2002 to 2004. Ms. Gran speaks regularly to groups of parents, attorneys, educators, advocates and service providers on topics related to special education, civil rights, and disability rights. Ms. Gran has received awards for her legal advocacy from the Arc of Pennsylvania, the Arc of Connecticut, the City of Philadelphia and is scheduled to receive the TASH Outstanding Leadership in Disability Law award on October 7, 2020.
Admitted to Practice: Ms. Gran is admitted to practice in Pennsylvania and before the United States Courts of Appeals for the Third Circuit and the Sixth Circuit and the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
Education: Ms. Gran graduated from Wellesley College as a Wellesley College Scholar in 1964. She earned a master’s degree in 1969 from the University of Chicago, where she was a National Defense Fellow. She earned a J.D. degree (cum laude) from the School of Law at Temple University, where she served as an editor of the Temple Law Review.