Front-page article
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Biographical information, approved quotations, photographs, and a concise briefing for journalists, policymakers, organizations, and community partners.
Media coverage · The Daily Sentinel
Advocacy in action
· By Jace DiCola · Front page 1A, continued on page 4A.
The Daily Sentinel featured Isabelle and Rob Harris’s Washington, D.C. advocacy for disability rights, specialized education, accessible technology, and the support people need to participate in their communities.
The reporting highlights Isabelle’s self-advocacy and the importance of policymakers hearing directly from people affected by their decisions. It connects the family’s experiences to Braille, tactile learning, disability-specific instruction, workforce capacity, and community support.
Read the Daily Sentinel article: 19-year-old visits D.C. to advocate for disability rights, funding (publisher access requirements may apply).
The links below preserve the newspaper pages. This readable summary covers the advocacy article; the full pages also contain unrelated stories. Policy statements in the article reflect its publication date.
Article continuation
Page 4A, including the remainder of the article.
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Complete front page
Original page 1A with its full newspaper context.
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Source: The Daily Sentinel, October 8, 2026. Photography credited in the article to Larry Robinson/The Daily Sentinel and Rob Harris.
Press / Recognition
Featured in the Advance IDEA Coalition’s national response
· Rob Harris’s remarks as a Colorado parent advocate at the U.S. Department of Education Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) listening session were featured in the coalition’s response, highlighting Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) accountability, inconsistent implementation across states, and the burden placed on families.
Read “Advocates Respond to OSERS Listening Session” on COPAA
Published perspective · Peaces of Me Foundation
When the System Did Not Count My Daughter
Read Rob Harris’s contribution to the Peaces of Me Foundation.
Biographies
About Rob Harris
Short bio
Rob Harris is a Western Colorado father, caregiver, Certified Individualized Education Program (IEP) Facilitator, and systems advocate working across blindness, special education, Medicaid, and youth transition.
Standard bio
Rob Harris is a father, caregiver, Colorado Department of Education (CDE) Certified Individualized Education Program (IEP) Facilitator, and disability-systems advocate from Western Colorado. His work spans blindness and Braille literacy, special education, assistive technology, Medicaid and home- and community-based services (HCBS), and youth self-determination. He brings family experience and a systems background to state and national policy conversations.
Rob and Isabelle
Rob and Isabelle Harris bring complementary perspectives from Western Colorado. Rob connects federal policy and infrastructure to family, rural, and implementation realities. Isabelle is a blind young-adult self-advocate, Braille reader, assistive-technology user, and white-cane traveler who speaks from her own lived experience.
Approved quotations
In their own language.
“Systems should work for people—not require people to become experts just to survive them.”
Rob Harris · AdvocateDadCO
“If lived experience is missing from the room, the policy is missing the truth.”
Rob Harris · AdvocateDadCO
“Braille is not dead.”
Rob Harris · U.S. Department of Education Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) public remarks
“Stories show us where the system hurts people. Data show whether leaders are willing to see the pattern and fix it.”
Rob Harris · AdvocateDadCO
Photographs
Family and advocacy images
These photographs may be used in coverage or promotion directly related to Rob and Isabelle’s advocacy. Please credit “Courtesy of the Harris family” and preserve the supplied context.
White Cane Awareness family photo
The Harris family together; Isabelle holds her white cane.
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Rob and Isabelle in Vail
Rob and Isabelle Harris together in the mountains of Colorado.
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Social-sharing image
A 1200 × 630 crop suitable for websites and social platforms.
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Rob Harris headshot
For coverage directly related to Rob’s advocacy. Please credit “Courtesy of Rob Harris.”
Seated garden portrait.
Download full-resolution JPEGWashington, D.C. briefing
Two issues. Two asks. One page.
Download the printable overview of Rob and Isabelle, why low-incidence federal infrastructure matters, and the two Congressional asks. The same information is available in HTML on the D.C. Mission page.
Download the advocacy briefingSupport the mission
Follow the work. Help it travel farther.
Journalists and partners can use the materials above. Supporters can help carry the Washington advocacy work forward and connect it to practical access at home.
Follow the D.C. Mission Donate with Venmo Follow @AdvocateDadCO
Media and speaking contact
Start the conversation.
For interviews, speaking, or advocacy partnerships, contact Rob directly.
Email RobEmail: [email protected]