Season 1 Episode 9: Behavior, Belonging, and the Law: Leadership Lessons from Special Education Advocacy

In this powerful episode, Dr. Esther C. Bubb sits down with Gabrielle C. Sereni, Esquire, teacher turned school attorney, educational advocate, and founder of Sereni Law Group, LLC. Together, they explore the intersection of behavior, belonging, and the law, uncovering how legal systems, human behavior, and leadership practices shape the lived experiences of children, families, and educators. Drawing from her unique journey as a former public school teacher, education attorney, parent, and doctoral student in educational leadership, Gabrielle shares how keeping children at the center, leading with transparency, and addressing fear with empathy can transform systems from the inside out. In this episode, Gaby shares: Her journey from classroom to courtroom and why she never left her love for children and schools behind Why centering the child creates clarity in the most complex educational decisions How adult behavior—fear, stress, empathy, transparency—drives outcomes in special education Why systemic weaknesses must be addressed proactively, not reactively How behavior science supports conflict reduction, trust‑building, and culture change What meaningful collaboration between families, educators, and legal teams truly requires The real emotional experience of navigating special education law The leadership values she lives by as a woman founder in a high‑stakes field This conversation is honest, human, and deeply grounding. Whether you're a leader, educator, parent, or practitioner, Gaby’s insights offer a roadmap for compassionate, effective, and equitable leadership.   Gaby’s Bio: Gabrielle Sereni loves schools and kids. She started out as a public school teacher and became a school lawyer at a time when there were very few people who even knew that was a field of law. Since then, she has represented dozens of school entities, as well as parents, and continues to raise her own children. A lifelong learner, she is approaching her dissertation phase for her Ed. D. at Neumann university so that she can serve as a more informed voice in discussions around improving education. Perhaps her greatest talent is recognizing the talent in others, and she has created the conditions necessary to assemble a group of educational professionals of the absolute highest caliber to join her in her entrepreneurial mission. SLG's focus is to improve education through proactive identification of systemic weaknesses, and to plan and implement foundational fortification of our educational programs in Pennsylvania and New Jersey and beyond through a collaborative approach, looking to find long-term solutions which are fiscally responsible, achievable, and capable of harmonizing relationships between schools