JUNE 2020
SPAN is proud to announce that Lauren Agoratus, M.A. has earned the prestigious honor of being named one of “50 for 50” by EP Magazine in their Golden Anniversary issue, as one of 50 Advocate Heroes.
As the magazine states, “EP is proud to honor 50 Advocate Heroes and showcase their extraordinary work and achievements…While it’s safe to say that every parent of a child with complex disabilities is indeed an advocate, many of them have also distinguished themselves in advocating in a larger arena.”
This is certainly the case for Lauren. As she states, “Having my daughter changed my career path: I became an advocate because I was struggling with both the medical and educational systems that were supposed to be helping our family, and I didn’t want other parents to have to go through the same struggles we faced.”
Lauren works as the State Coordinator for Family Voices, housed here at SPAN Parent Advocacy Network. She volunteers as New Jersey representative for the Caregiver Action Network for caregivers across the lifespan. She also serves locally on the Boards of both NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) Mercer, and the Progressive Center for Independent Living. She also currently serves on the Council on Children with Disabilities (American Academy of Pediatrics), the NJ Immunization Network (American Academy of Pediatrics), NJ Time to Care Coalition, PerformCare Parent Leader Workgroup, and SERV Behavioral Health.
The whole team at SPAN would like to congratulate Lauren on this well-deserved honor!
To read the “50 for 50” Advocate Heroes article in EP Magazine, click here.
