U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige today announced that Stephanie Smith Lee will serve as director for the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP).

As director, Lee will serve as a chief advisor to Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative Services Robert Pasternack and administer programs and projects related to education, training, and services for individuals with disabilities. In addition, Lee will coordinate state formula and discretionary grant programs administered by OSEP.

Prior to joining the Education Department, Lee served as a government affairs representative for the National Down Syndrome Society where she worked directly with elected officials and grassroots organizations on policy issues relating to individuals with disabilities. From 2000 to 2002, Lee served as a member of the Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act Advisory Panel, which made recommendations to the president, members of Congress and the Social Security Commission on ways to empower individuals with disabilities to enter the workforce. Lee previously served as a senior staff member for the U.S. Senate Labor and Human Resources Committee and worked on employment and disability legislation for the chairman of the Subcommittee on Employment, Poverty and Migratory Labor.

Lee, a native of Salt Lake City, earned a bachelor of arts degree in political science from American University.

Top

Back to February 2002