Carolyn is an attorney and education specialist with nearly 20 years’ experience in education reform/systems change, special education, disability law and policy, trauma and learning, best practices in teaching and learning, youth development programs and family engagement. Carolyn’s practice areas include special education law, estate planning, and probate.
An attorney since 1995, Carolyn began her career at the Federation for Children with Special Needs, the lead Parent Training and Information agency for Massachusetts. While there, she co-led efforts to secure funding for and directed key programs including: Parents PLACE, Parents Learning About Children’s Education, a federally funded, statewide education reform and family involvement project winning the highest scored grant in the nation and Parents Engaged in Education Reform (PEER) Project, a national education reform and literacy project for students with disabilities. During her time working on the Federation’s Technical Assistance for Parent Programs (TAPP) Project, Carolyn created the first computerized data collection program to assess the impact of all federally funded parent training and parent centers in the nation. It is still used today nearly 20 years later.
Carolyn then joined COMPASS Consulting for several years providing support to school systems through the Service Team Initiative for Massachusetts Schools, focusing on problem-solving for students at risk. While there, she became the lead consultant for trauma and learning, eventually securing funding from state and federal levels for a five-year initiative with the Ludlow Public Schools to create safe and supportive learning environments districtwide.
Carolyn also owns and operates BLISS Healing Arts in Maynard and is the host of Living on Purpose with Carolyn Romano, a twice monthly live radio program that is part of the Dreamvisions7Radio Network. Carolyn is President of the Frank J. Romano Foundation and the Theosophical Society in Boston; she sits on the Board of Directors for MayDOG, the Maynard Dog Owners’ Group.
Divorce support groups and other self-care strategies are also available through the firm’s collaboration with Bliss Healing Arts. New groups are forming now.
