What do you do and when did you join ABOARD?

I am the Family Support Director at ABOARD. I am also a Family Service Coordinator. I received my BA in Psychology from La Roche College. I was hired in March 2000. I can’t believe I've been here for 10+ years! Time flies when you’re having fun! I feel very fortunate to have the job that I do. I’m able to help people, and that is very rewarding.

Because of our small staff, our job duties can be extensive, but we all work together to get the tasks done. I help families affected by an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) diagnosis and the professionals who serve them. I provide them with information and resources about a variety of topics including therapies, services, support groups, and educational rights. I also manage our client database, as well as the support group network. We all work together on putting together conferences, workshops, and exhibits. The team also works on our annual Highmark Walk, other fundraisers, and mailings. By team, I mean Jennifer, Rebecca, Lu, and the parent board. I have great respect for all the volunteers that help ABOARD fulfill its mission.

Anything else you'd like to share about yourself?

The most enjoyable part of my job is that I can be myself...a parent of a child with autism. When I’m on the phone with a new parent, I understand how they feel. I am able to provide an equal amount of empathy and strength for what lies ahead because I remember the day my son was diagnosed and how overwhelmed I felt.

I’m a single parent of two children, one with and one without autism. Here’s a funny story... We were at a grocery store. Tony was little, maybe 7 or 8 years old. He was having a bit of a meltdown and a woman in a long fur coat stares at us with a mean look. I was just trying to get my son up and out of there. He looks over at her, points and says “Cruella.” Not bad for a young, severely autistic, nonverbal child!

Tony is 20 years old now. He’s come such a long way. I’m very proud of him. I’m also grateful to all the people who helped us. My goal is to continue to work hard to further make a place in this community for people with disabilities. Tony has a lot to offer, and I want to make sure he gets the chance.

When did you join ABOARD?

I started with ABOARD as a consultant, but shortly thereafter, I knew that I wanted to join ABOARD and its staff to help make a difference every day in the lives of families with children with autism. ABOARD was the first agency that helped me when my child was diagnosed in 2006 at the age of 2, and I wanted to work with an organization that was there to help families through information, support, and education! In 2007 I officially became part of the ABOARD team.

What do you do for ABOARD?

I am the Resource and Communications Director. ABOARD believes that families challenged by autism should have access to accurate and timely information. Although the entire office works as a team, my focus is on providing information to families. I produce the Weekly E-mail Blast, which collects news articles on current research and community opportunities into a concise document for families and professionals. I also produce the Quarterly Newsletter to keep families and professionals informed about what ABOARD is doing to help people with autism. I also manage the ABOARD website. I oversee our state-wide free Lending Library of autism-related publications, book, videos and DVDs.

ABOARD has a small staff but we make a big impact. The in-house team (Jennifer, Marie, Lu, and I) all work together on a daily basis to provide the best resources for the families. Along with the support of our parent board and volunteers, we help families every day who are affected by autism in the state of Pennsylvania.

Anything else you'd like to share about yourself?

My life before my son was diagnosed with autism helped prepare me for this role at ABOARD. I graduated from La Roche College with a BA in science with a major in Interior Design. I worked for some of the largest firms in the city of Pittsburgh and managed design projects and teams of various sizes. As my career continued. I was a teacher at La Roche College and served as the President of the La Roche College Advisory Board and the International Interior Design Association Pittsburgh City Center. I then went out on my own and started an interior design business. Through all of this work, I learned how to manage projects, assimilate and dispense information, put together events, conferences, galas, and golf outings while developing a strong understanding of the business community.

In 2004, I decided to take on my most important job by becoming a mom. Although I had enjoyed my interior design career very much, once my son was diagnosed in 2006, and I experienced first hand what a family goes through, I knew the new path I took would be one that would allow me to help families of children with autism. The knowledge I accrued from my past life gave me all the tools to help in this new one! I have seen first hand what support, understanding, and education can do to make a child’s life with autism improve, and I want to be part of the team that brings that to other families.

Today I live a very blessed life with my husband raising our 4 year old son with autism and our 2 year old daughter with sensory processing disorder, while having the opportunity every day to work with families and professionals to make the lives of children with autism better.