Addressing the Special Education Age-Out Crisis through Innovation and Policy

Talk Description:  DeAnna will share a personal story of the age-out crisis in special education. She will explore the history of special education policy, theories of change, common misconceptions in the world of disability, and offer lifelong educational policy solutions that can be force-multipliers for optimal community impact.

Bio:  DeAnna Pursai holds a Master’s in Education Policy Analysis from the School of Education from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and an undergraduate degree in Elementary and Special Education from Purdue University. DeAnna was named as a CNN Hero in April, 2022. She was the recipient of the 2023 Boy Scouts of America Silicon Valley Character Award, and she was named a 2023 Women Making Herstory recipient in March, 2023 by CA State Senator Dave Cortese. She was named a Golden State Warriors Impact Warrior in March of 2024. She has been named an Architect of Change on the Maria Shriver blog in 2015. DeAnna is active Rotarian in the Bay area with her founding club of Rotary Club of San Jose and her second club of the Saratoga Rotary Club who has welcomed her as a co-member. 

DeAnna is the Co-Chair of the Rotary Diversity Committee in San Jose. She served for 3 years as the Rotary District 5170 Rotary Climate Action Council Chair as well as the Vice Chair for the ESRAG (Environmental Sustainability Rotary Action Group) for the BigWest national region.  She proudly served 6 years as a board member of Christmas in the Park She is big sister to Angel Ellenberger, who happens to have Down syndrome and is an exquisite actress, entertainer and comedian. DeAnna gave her first TEDx in Helsinki, Finland in October 2025 on the theme of Amplifying Silent Voices. 

Sponsored by Matt Braker
Lynne Burley was raised outside of Chicago, Illinois. She attended the University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Microbiology and later obtained her Master of Science degree in Forensic Science from Michigan State University.

In 2000, Lynne moved to San Jose and began her forensic science degree at the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office Crime Laboratory. Since 2004, she has been working as a Supervising Criminalist in the DNA Unit and also serves as the Laboratory's DNA Technical Leader.

Outside of work, Lynne enjoys all things dog or bee related, cooking, baking, swimming, gardening, reading (new favorites are the Calamity Club and Theo of Golden), and NCAA basketball/football.

Lynne now lives in Mountain View, CA with her parter, Jon, and their German Shorthair Pointer pup, Ringo. Ringo marks Lynne's second foster failure since being a foster home with the Northern California German Shorthair Pointer Rescue. Good boy, Ringo!
 

Sponsored by Stephanie Ligsay

Hemant Desai is the CEO and Founder of Community Digital Media Group, Inc., which operates the Community Digital Channel Network (CDCN) — a hyper-local, place-based video advertising network serving small businesses across Santa Clara and Alameda Counties in Silicon Valley.
Hemant launched CDCN in 2013 after more than a decade of working directly alongside local business owners through a ITEX Silicon Valley barter exchange franchise, where he built relationships with over 680 small businesses. That hands-on experience gave him deep insight into the challenges neighborhood businesses face in reaching nearby customers — and inspired him to build a smarter, more affordable solution. Today, CDCN delivers 30–45 second multilingual video commercials on HD screens inside laundromats, connecting businesses with the renters and families who live within just a few miles of their doors.
Beyond his business, Hemant is the Founder of Local Community Heroes / Héroes De La Comunidad, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to investing in the next generation of Santa Clara County leaders. Each year, LCH awards scholarships to graduating high school and college students across the county. The organization recently held its 8th Annual Scholarship Ceremony in April 2026, honoring 16 deserving students — with San José City Council Member Michael Mulcahy as keynote speaker.
Hemant is deeply committed to the communities he serves. An avid traveler, he draws inspiration from experiencing different cultures and bringing those perspectives back to his work in Silicon Valley. He is proud to be a new member of the Rotary Club of San José.