Advocacy & Consulting for Education
Company: Advocacy & Consulting for Education, Wayne, PA, USA
Company Description: Melissa Bilash at ACFEinc is a federally trained special education and gifted advocate, who has been building her company over the past 8 years. Melissa has won numerous awards for her services.
Nomination Category: Individual Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Best Entrepreneur – Service Businesses - Up to 100 Employees
Nomination Title: Melissa Bilash, President
Describe for the judges the activities and accomplishments of the nominated entrepreneur during the eligibility period (up to 500 words):
Melissa Bilash, businesswoman and advocate for parents of gifted children and
children with special needs, has been recognized in the September issue of Main
Line Today Magazine as one of its "Women on the Move.” This award comes on the
heels of Bilash being appointed one of 51 educational delegates to the first
annual Mom Congress™ on Education and Learning Conference, presented by
Parenting Magazine and Georgetown University. The event took place in the
spring in Washington, D.C., where delegates discussed with top policymakers the
direction and future of the American education system. As a Mom Congress™
delegate, Bilash
has also been personally asked by Target Corporation to travel to New York City
for an early literacy-focused event sponsored by the Target. In celebration of
these achievements, Bilash will be presented on October 1st with a Congressional
Citation from Congressman Joe Sestak’s office. Upon receiving these most recent
acknowledgements, Bilash states, " I feel privileged to have a job that I love
that makes a difference in so many lives"
Through her business, Advocacy and Consulting for Education, based in Wayne,
Pa., Bilash partners with parents who need help navigating the maze of doctors,
therapists and educators involved when their children are classified as gifted
or having special needs. One of only 100 people in the United States to
complete a federal special education advocate training program, Bilash has grown
her practice over the past eight years to help hundreds of children - including
those from low-income households – to obtain the programming and services they
need to access their education. Earlier this year, Bilash was named the
Pennsylvania Association of Gifted Education’s Gifted Advocate of the Year.
Bilash is also founder of the soon-to-be launched Enrichment Center at the
Grayson School, which will be the region's only after-school and weekend
enrichment center to foster the curiosity of gifted learners. The Enrichment
Center will conduct an interest inventory for each student to ascertain the most
beneficial instruction for that child, keeping the offerings focused on student
interests. A wide range of classes will be offered for gifted learners from
kindergarten to the
eighth grade.
ACFE assists parents by reviewing students’ formal evaluations, assessing their
strengths and needs, attending Individualized Education Plan (IEP) and GIEP
meetings, where parents and school districts discuss which goals should be set
for children, and by navigating educational procedure.
List the URLs (web addresses) of any online news stories, press releases, or other documents that you would like the judges to see that support your nomination. IMPORTANT: List each URL on a separate line, begin each URL with http://, and enclose each URL in square brackets. For example, [http://www.yourcompany.com/pressrelease.html]:
http://www.acfeinc.com
http://www.thegraysonschool.com
http://www.parenting.com/gallery/Mom/Meet-the-51-Mom-Congress-Delegates
http://www2.ed.gov/news/pressreleases/2010/04/04292010.html
http://pagegoes2mars.blogspot.com/
http://www.giftedpage.org/
Provide a brief biography of the nominated entrepreneur (up to 100 words):
Melissa Bilash lives in Havertown, Pennsylvania with her husband, Kevin and her
two young children, Sebastian and Harper. In 2008, Melissa completed a Federal
Training through the Office of Special Education Programs and has since started
her business, Advocacy and Consulting for Education. Melissa is extremely
passionate about education and gives back to her community by giving
presentations to various audiences, guest teaching to local universities and
mentoring students who have an interest in Advocating for the educational rights
of children.