Meet the Advocate
Anna Thorsen is known as a champion for children, and a champion for public schools.
Last year, during the legislative session, she became a tireless advocate to help pass
much needed Dyslexia Legislation. She was recently appointed to serve on the Dyslexia
Council for the state of Tennessee by Commissioner of Education Candice McQueen.
The Journey from Diagnosis to Advocacy
I began my work career as a corporate
attorney at a big Nashville law firm.
Very soon after I began work, I began
to really struggle.
I had grown up never being a good
speller and being teased about it. In
college and law school I was graded
down for my poor spelling on the
essays and exams I wrote. Early on in
my life, I developed a sharp wit and
keen sense of humor to cover my
shame, but it never went away.
As an attorney, I spent my days reading,
writing and revising documents that
were 50 or more pages long and
legally binding. It was really hard. I
got things wrong. I mixed things up. It
was not until the attorney in the office
next to be gave me some tough-love
that I realized that I have a learning
disability.
I will never forget it. I was 27 years
old and I been practicing for about 3
years. I was under a huge deadline on
a big merger deal and I got stuck on
the word “with.” I think I was spelling
it “w-h-i-t-h-e”. Spell check couldn’t
recognize it and I was panicked under
my looming deadline. I ran to the next
office over and in a rushed voice asked
“how do you spell ‘with’”? She looked
up at me and said “you do know you’re
dyslexic, right?” I thought she was just
being mean, but as I got home that
night, I began thinking about it. The
next day I called to get tested. Turns
out she was right, I had dyslexia.
Once I was diagnosed, I quickly
realized that I had picked a terrible
profession for my skill set. I knew that
I needed to get out of the law. aWhen
I got pregnant with my first daughter,
I thought it was my ticket to exit
gracefully. I was so excited for my life
as a new mom. Then, tragedy struck
when my first born, Madeline, died. I
quit work and took time to grieve. I was
also having significant medical issues
at the time and knew that if I wanted
to get pregnant again, my window was
short. Seventeen months later, Ava
was born - typical and healthy. My life
took another devastating turn another
16 months later when Clara was born.
Right after birth, she crashed hard
and was in the hospital for 3 months
fighting for her life. It was absolute hell.
Turned out, she shares a rare medical
conditions with her oldest sister, B6
Dependent Epilepsy.
My life had suffered several huge
blows and I was left unmoored in my
own life for a couple of years. I suffered
so much grief and was stricken with
Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome from
Madeline’s death and all the times in
the hospital when Clara would code
and have to be resuscitated, and
times she would have seizures and we
would race her to the hospital in the
back of an ambulance.
Life was stressful for those years. I had
two toddlers at home, one of whom
was very medically fragile and prone
to seizures. What helped me the most
was connecting with other moms who
had suffered like me. In those dark
days of my life, I became painfully and
vividly aware of what it means to be a
mother and how hard it is. The loss. The
pain. The heartbreak. I knew I needed
help and I needed connection to other
women who had been through what I
had been through.
When I was emotionally able, when
Clara was about 2 years old, I began to
dip my toe into advocacy. I was invited
to be on the Family Advisory Council
at Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital.
We helped change policies to make
the hospital to improve families’
experiences. It was hard working in
the place that held so many of my
PTSD triggers, but I did it somehow.
Once my 3-year term there ended, I
searched for a new cause to take up.
A natural fit for me seemed to be
the Epilepsy Foundation of Middle
Tennessee. I worked there for a year
as an Education Coordinator getting
out into the community talking to
schools, students and organizations
about Epilepsy. I really enjoyed the
work, but for several reasons, I knew
I needed to move on. By this point,
both my girls had started elementary
school and I naturally was drawn to
that community. I gave up my work at
the Epilepsy Foundation and jumped
all-in to our school PTO. I served
there as Fundraiser and eventually
PTO President for two years. I loved
supporting teachers and students
and building community to help get
families engaged in our schools.
During my time serving our school as
PTO president, Clara was diagnosed
with dyslexia. Although I love our
school dearly, our journey to get the
school and the district to recognize
her diagnosis was not an easy one.
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