Someone You Should Know

Rose Stein - Intake Manager

As a traveler who has touched the far reaches of the globe – from Costa Rica to Sweden, Israel to Holland – attorney Rose Stein, Equip for Equality's Intake Manager, has developed a rich multi-cultural understanding of justice. She invests her compassionate mindset in her legal career, which she has been practicing now for 15 years.

Rose was raised in downstate Illinois, the only sister among four brothers. Her father, a physician who provided free medical services to those that could not afford them, instilled in her a fundamental belief in social responsibility. "He always talked about how medical care should not be something you have to afford," she recalls. "It should be something that you are entitled to."

Rose Stein, Intake Manager at Equip for Equality Perhaps the greatest inspiration for her civil rights work, although, has been seeing the barriers faced by her youngest brother Marc, who was born with arthrogryposis and uses a power wheelchair. "Having a brother that had to face so many obstacles – in school and elsewhere – places where he couldn't even get in the door gave me a deeply personal understanding of the issues facing people who are discriminated against." She explains, "We were lucky we have been able to support Marc, not everyone has that option and often the only alternative is to put your loved ones in institutions. It really wakes you up to the lack of resources available to individuals with disabilities and their families."

Rose received her Bachelor's degree from the University of Wisconsin in Madison in political science, which she felt would help prepare her for advancing social change. In her spare time, Rose was active in grassroots fundraising. "I have always felt driven by ideals and have a strong desire to serve the public."

She went on to receive her law degree from De Paul University in Chicago. Rose began her career at what is currently the Center for Disability & Elder Law. She started out as a law clerk, became a staff attorney, and eventually took the position as Director of Legal Services. After seven years at the Center, Rose decided to move into private practice, where she spent the next five years involved with general litigation and employment discrimination. "I really valued the mentoring experience I gained from working in private practice. I got to co-counsel on a few trials and learned a great deal from that experience. Up until then, I had really been teaching myself and relying on my instincts." Despite enjoying her work in the private sector, she found herself once again drawn to public interest work. Private practice is "just not the same as working for a public interest because you don't always get to do things that are as rewarding in terms of directly impacting a client's life. Equip for Equality had a reputation for impact work."

Rose came to Equip for Equality in 2003, accepting the position of Intake Manager, which oversees the organization's responses to callers seeking legal assistance and advocacy. Rose and Equip for Equality's team of advocates and attorneys review the issues of each caller and decide first whether the matter is disability related and then whether Equip for Equality has the resources to accept the matter. Equip for Equality does its best to refer callers, whose cases are not accepted, to qualified organizations for further assistance. Decisions on which cases to take on do not come easily. Equip for Equality, like other public interest organizations, have far too few resources to meet the demand for assistance that come its way.

"Our staff is passionate about helping as many people as possible," Rose says, "and there is a lot of discussion over whether to take on callers whose issues do not necessarily fall within our resource capabilities and how we can best provide them appropriate resources."

Each day, Rose reminds herself, "We are often the only ear for people who are otherwise not listened to. That may be a small thing, but, multiplied by the dozens of people who call each day, it becomes truly significant. That's one of the many things that individuals appreciate in us – that we truly listen and that we are advocates in a deeply human way."

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