Gleason Hope, Rebekah, received her B.A. from Vassar College, M.A. from Columbia University,  J.D. from George Washington University, and LLM from Georgetown University Law Center.  Professor Gleason began her tenure at Florida Coastal directing the FCSL Family and Child Advocacy Law Clinic and moved on to teach full time before heading back into private practice. Currently, she is an attorney with the Office of General Counsel for Jacksonville, where she primarily works on issues related to the Duval County Public Schools. Prior to her position with the Office of General Counsel she represented parents of children with disabilities in special education cases in all surrounding counties. Additionally, she handled family law matters, guardianships, and personal injury matters. Prior to Florida Coastal School of Law, she was the staff attorney at Good Shepherd Legal Services in Washington, D.C. As a fellow at Georgetown, she assisted in the supervision of the Georgetown University Law Center’s Family Advocacy Clinic and taught student externs at American University.  She has also testified as an expert on special education, having taught special education for over 10 years prior to entering the legal profession. She publishes and speaks on the Special Education Rights of Parents of students with disabilities and works with professionals both community and state-wide in training surrogate parents for students with special needs. She has served on several boards related to children’s needs.

Ms. Gleason Hope is interested in participating on the board of H.E.A.L. because it aligns with her personal and professional interest in working with children with special needs, and specifically, with families of children on the spectrum of autism. In  recent years, Rebekah noticed an increased resistance in providing appropriate services to students in the public school systems in Northeast Florida. She is looking forward to the opportunity to assist these families through their challenges by working with H.E.A.L.