Being a parent defines me.
It was from the moment I gazed into my son’s eyes and remains this way today. And I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Parenting isn’t for the faint of heart. You rise when your child succeeds and fall hard when difficulties emerge. No other role in life can be exhilarating one moment and devastating the next. Your heart soars with every positive step and your soul aches when your child struggles.
A child with academic and creative giftedness, my son found school and the social world akin to living in another universe. He didn’t understand them and they didn’t understand or appreciate him. And when his days became overwhelming and the spark in his eyes showed distress, my world became less about my business career and more about advocacy…for him and many hundreds of other children.
If your child is struggling, your life is upended in ways that few can understand. But I do. I’ll stand beside you and add my voice and expertise as you strive to secure what your child needs to succeed in school, for this leads to success in life. As the magnet on our refrigerator has always said, “We will never give up.” And we will not. Ever.
Credentials:
B.A., Journalism, Penn State University
Advanced training: special education, legal, autism, social thinking, behavioral interventions, diversity & inclusion, mental health,
at-risk and homeless students
College preparation coach, course developer, and instructor; college success coaching from admission through graduation
Organizational development, strategic planning, communications, work/life integration, diversity, nonprofits
Trainer, speaker, writer, researcher
Certified: Mental Health First Aid; QPR Suicide Prevention
Pro bono: West Chester University Food Pantry Committee; Valley Youth House; Pennies From Kevan Foundation; KidSave
Founder & CEO, Education Navigation, LLC
Former: Director, Human Resources Development, PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLP; Managing Director, Work/Family Management, Ltd.; Columnist - "Parents Express;" Pennsylvania Autism Taskforce; Host, WBEB-FM (101.1)
Recognized:
Cure Autism Now
Autism Speaks
WorldatWork Alliance for Work/Life Progress "Rising Star"
Business Philadelphia - "Innovator"
100 People To Watch
Pennsylvania Hospital Hospice Program
Presenter:
Working Mother WorkBeyond Summit & Working Mother Work Life Congress
Education Law Center
Philadelphia School District Special Education Conference
School districts & parent support groups
Human Resources & Employee Assistance conferences
Corporate Clients:
PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLP
West Pharmaceuticals
InterDigital
Credit Suisse
Cigna
Kraft General Foods
Media & Mentions:
National Flex Day, celebrated the third Tuesday of every October, is a chance for those of us who are deeply concerned with work flexibility for all to come together, assess the landscape of flexible and remote work...
Debra Isaacs Schafer is Founder and CEO of Education Navigation, LLC, a work/life and human resources consulting firm partnering with companies to support working parents and the education needs...
I can't say enough about all the recent attention regarding parental leave and the companies expanding opportunities for new mothers and fathers to spend critical time with their newborns...
On Work and Life, Stew Friedman spoke with Debra Schafer about what corporations can do to help their employees who need care for disabled dependents especially children with special needs or hidden differences...
When West Pharmaceutical Services, a medical device company headquartered in Exton, Pennsylvania, surveyed employees at its corporate head office, it found that roughly 8% of the 400 employees at that location were interested in...
Debra Schafer is CEO and founder of Education Navigation, LLC which provides employee benefits and work/life programming for parents of children with autism spectrum disorders, ADD/ADHD, and learning differences...
Debra Schafer is the Founder and CEO of Education Navigation, a provider of voluntary benefits and work/life solutions to organizations focusing on parent employees with children from kindergarten through college transition...
Debra Schafer founded Education Navigation in 2010 to help organizations support working parents whose children have been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders, attention deficit disorder/attention deficit hyperactivity disorder...