Francesca Korbas is the Director of The Advocacy Circle, where she leads the design, delivery, and continuous improvement of TAC’s special education advocacy programs. A former special education attorney and long-time advocate, Francesca has built her career at the intersection of civil rights, child welfare, and education, focused on securing equity and access for students with disabilities and their families.
A trained mediator, Francesca is skilled at navigating difficult school-family dynamics and finding collaborative, student-centered solutions. Her background includes significant work in developing and scaling educational programs, giving her a deep understanding of how to design services that meet the needs of diverse learners while aligning with legal and policy frameworks. At TAC, she applies this expertise to build tools, workflows, and guidance that families can use in real IEP, 504, and placement discussions, not just in theory.
Before joining The Advocacy Circle, Francesca co-founded two educational consulting companies, where she led the development of special education advocacy services, managed compliance, and built partnerships across the education community. Earlier in her legal career, she served as a Special Education Attorney and as a Civil Rights and HIPAA Investigator with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, where she received the OCR Director’s Honor Award for her work on a university hospital settlement. She began her legal journey advocating for youth in care and protection cases with the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families.
Francesca holds a Juris Doctor from Suffolk University Law School and a Bachelor of Arts in Legal Studies and Italian from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She is also a frequent speaker on education, advocacy, and women’s leadership, having presented at events including the South Shore Conference for Women, Empower Women by Lexington Wealth Management, and the American Camp Association of New England, as well as on podcasts and community television.
At The Advocacy Circle, Francesca’s focus is on making special education advocacy more accessible, less overwhelming, and more effective for families.
