Karen S. Smith, Esq.

Karen Smith first became interested in advocating for children with disabilities when she attended an IEP meeting with a family member who was having difficulty obtaining an appropriate placement for her child with a rare and complex disability. At the time, she was working within the PTA to advocate for students at the local, state, and national level while raising her own children. Taking inspiration from strong local advocates for students with disabilities, she began working as a special education attorney in Montgomery County, Maryland in 2007. She has recently returned to an individual law practice based in Montgomery County, after working for 6 years in The Law Offices of Ellen A. Callegary, P.A., in Baltimore, Maryland.

Karen Smith began her legal career at a commercial litigation firm in Boston, MA, after obtaining her J.D. from Boston University, where she was on the Law Review. Prior to law school, she earned a B.A. in mathematics from Earlham College and worked as a software engineer.