Two Montgomery County moms profiled as "champions" on WhiteHouse.gov

Two moms' passion for making sure Montgomery County kids get along got them two seats at an anti-bullying roundtable hosted by the White House.

Longtime PTA leaders and anti-bullying activists Laurie Halverson and Susan Burkinshaw, who lives in Germantown, were profiled as "Champions of Change" — you can view their videos at  Whitehouse.gov — following an April 13 roundtable moderated by Russlynn Ali, assistant secretary for civil rights at the U.S. Department of Education, and policy advisor Zakiya Smith.

The event was held at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building. Burkinshaw described it as a meeting of minds.

"As we went around the room, Russlynn would say, 'Oh I need to talk to you more about that beause that’s something we’re taking very seriously,'" Burkinshaw said. "Hopefully she’ll be back in touch with us to see what we’re doing in Montgomery County."

Burkinshaw and Halverson launched a task force of law enforcement workers, lawmakers, school officials and parents and have been a pushing for an anti-bullying program that is more comprehensive than Montgomery County Public Schools System's current policy. They've also been advocates for making the reporting of bullying consistent across schools.  

"It happened to me, so it’s a rite of passage, Right? But it shouldn’t have to be," Burkinshaw said about bullying. "For some people, that rite of passage makes them take their lives, and that’s not OK."