About EmpowerEd Consulting & Advocacy
EmpowerEd Consulting & Advocacy provides experienced special education advocacy and disability-related support for families navigating school systems, services, and next steps.
We help families understand documents, prepare for meetings, ask meaningful questions, and advocate for supports that are centered on the child’s individual needs.
Meet Ashley Traylor, M.Ed.
Non-Attorney Special Education Advocate
Ashley is a Non-Attorney Special Education Advocate, former special education teacher, and founder of EmpowerEd Consulting & Advocacy. She helps families navigate IEPs, 504 plans, evaluations, eligibility, behavior supports, transition planning, and the often-overwhelming systems that come with disability advocacy.
Ashley brings both professional experience and lived experience to her work. Before becoming a full-time advocate, she spent nearly two decades in special education as a teacher and education consultant. She is also the parent of a child with complex disabilities, which gives her a deeply personal understanding of what families face when trying to secure appropriate support.
Her approach is direct, compassionate, collaborative, and family-centered. Ashley believes the best outcomes happen when families, schools, providers, and agencies work together with a shared focus on the child. She supports parents in understanding their rights, organizing their concerns, asking stronger questions, and participating as informed, confident members of the team.
Why Families Choose EmpowerEd
Professional experience. Parent perspective. Practical advocacy support.
Meet Our Advocacy Team
EmpowerEd is growing to better support families navigating special education, disability services, and school-based concerns. Our advocates bring professional experience, compassion, and practical knowledge to their work with families.
Each advocate receives training and guidance through EmpowerEd’s process so families receive consistent, thoughtful, and individualized support.
Joy Barlean
Joy supports families through evaluations, IEPs, Section 504 plans, Medicaid eligibility, HCBS waiver services, CCO, and service planning.
Her background as an Independent Support Broker, along with her work with the Iowa Department of Public Health, ASK Resource Center, and Molina Healthcare, gives her a strong understanding of how education, healthcare, and disability service systems intersect.
Joy is passionate about helping families understand their rights, access meaningful supports, and advocate confidently for inclusive opportunities and positive outcomes.
Specialty Areas: Medicaid, Waivers, Community Resources, and cross-service coordination
Crystal Wright
Special Education Advocate
Crystal holds a master’s degree in special education with a specialization in autism. Her classroom background gives her valuable insight into how student needs, individualized instruction, and supports connect in everyday school settings. She recognizes the importance of building strong partnerships between families and school teams while keeping each child’s strengths and needs at the center of the conversation.
As a Latina who is fluent in Spanish, Crystal also brings a meaningful cultural and linguistic connection to her work with Latino families. She is committed to helping bridge communication barriers and creating a welcoming space where families can ask questions, share concerns, and take an active role in the special education process.
