About Us

Message From Our Self-Advocate Ambassador

Hello everyone. I am Theresa Brogan and I was lucky enough to grow up as part of the St. John the Evangelist community, in Silver Spring, MD. Some of you may know my family. And I am sure some of you remember Sr. Kathleen.

Well, even before there was a CCSE, Sr. Kathleen understood.

When I was born, she sent my mom a note. She said congratulations! When Theresa is ready for Kindergarten St. John’s is going to be ready for her. And they were!

Just like all of my siblings, I went from preschool to 8th grade at Saint John the Evangelist. Back in 2002 that didn’t really happen very often.

Sister Kathleen led the charge, but the whole parish community carried it out. I was in parish Girl Scout troops, CYO sports, and served at the altar. In fact, under Mr. Muldoon and Mr. Hathway I was even on a championship soccer team! This community loved me the way they love all of their children. What a gift!

Along with some of the girls from my class, I went from St. John’s, on to the Academy of the Holy Cross. CCSE was able to help Holy Cross restart their program that very year. Again I was welcomed into Holy Cross not just in the classroom, but in the theater program and the dance program as well. When I graduated from Holy Cross in 2018 there were no Catholic universities that had four year post-secondary programs for students with developmental disabilities. So – for the first time, after 6 children, my parents were going to pay tuition to a school that was not Catholic.

I went to Vanderbilt University in Nashville where I earned an apprenticeship certificate in early childhood education. I graduated from Vanderbilt in 2022 and I have been working for the past 2 ½ years in downtown Washington DC. I work at the National Children’s Museum on Pennsylvania Avenue.

So now – I know what it’s like to pay taxes!

I have had a great education – but not many of my friends with disabilities have had the chance to go to a Catholic school. But isn’t that what we are all about? Loving each other as God loves us? Supporting and learning from each other?