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Who are we?
We are volunteers. We are giving
our time, energy, love, and expertise to these children and young
adults.
We are educators. We work in the local public schools (Kyrene
School District). We are special education teachers, instructional
aides, physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech language
pathologists. We have each had an experience that opened our
eyes to individuals with special needs.
We are specialists in the field. We understand the need to
educate others about the rights, opportunities and resources needed
to help young people with disabilities succeed.
Volunteer Team Bios
Margie Barrows
Margie has been a special education para-professional for 10 years.
She has been a habilitation therapist for the past six years and has
had the pleasure of serving as a board member for Council for
Exceptional Children. Margie cares for children of all abilities and
is a certified respite care provider. Margie traveled to Greece in
2005 to work with the children at KEPEP.
Michele Ferber
Michele has been in the special education field for 14 years.
She graduated with her Elementary and Special Education teaching
certificates from Dakota State University in Madison, South Dakota.
She is a board member for the Council for Exceptional Children. She
has also worked as a home habilitation therapist for children with
disabilities. Michele traveled to Greece in 2005 to work with the
children at KEPEP.
Susan Forman
Susan graduated from from State University of New York (SUNY) at
Cortland with a degree in Physical Education and a Master's degree
in Elementary Education. She has worked with children and
adults with special needs since 1988. She has been a board
member with Arizona Adapted Physical Education for the past eight
years. She enjoys coaching three sports for Special Olympics
and is a Big Sister with Valley Big Brother/Big Sister. In
2001 Susan was honored as the Arizona Adapted PE Teacher of the Year
and was awarded the Southwest Adapted PE Teacher of the Year in
2002.
Michele McCuen
Michele graduated from the
University of Maryland with a
Bachelor's degree in Early Childhood Education. She also has a
Master's degree in Special Education from Southern Illinois
University at Edwardsville, and has done work toward a doctoral
degree at Arizona State University. She has taught in special
education in various states and with various intensities of student
needs. Her youngest daughter, who was adopted from Russia, has
Cerebral Palsy. Michele traveled to Greece as a volunteer in the
summer of 2005 to work with the residents at KEPEP.
Ann Pinkwasser
Ann graduated from New York University with a B.S. in physical
therapy in 1970. She has worked in general hospitals in NY and
Arizona, as well as in home health and worked for the NYC board of
Education in the public school system. She has worked with geriatric
patients and has most recently limited her practice to pediatric
physical therapy for the last 15 years. Ann traveled to Greece in
2005 to work with the children at KEPEP.
Karen Reiss
Karen Reiss received her B.A.
in Special Education from Arizona State University and a Masters in
Counseling from the University of Phoenix. She has taught children
with a variety of disabilities for 11 years. She grew up with a
sister who has a learning disability and watched her parents
struggle, here in the U.S., for special education services in 1970.
Karen traveled to Greece in the summer of 2005 to help open doors
for the citizens of KEPEP and Greece.
Charlotte Satterwaite
“Charli” is an Occupational Therapy Assistant and has worked in
the pediatric field since 2000. She provides occupational therapy
services in the home health setting. Charli also provides
occupational therapy services in the school system developing
materials to meet the needs of the most severely handicapped. Charli
was a recipient of the award for outstanding support personnel from
the Council For Exceptional Children in 2003. Charli has a 16 year
old son with Cerebral Palsy.
Melinda Sergeson
Melinda Segerson, MT-BC, is a Board-Certified Music Therapist.
She has worked with Geriatric and Developmentally Disabled
populations for the last 12 years. She is currently the
Owner/Director of Music Therapy & More, LLC which provides
community-based music therapy services to individuals with
developmental disabilities.
Danielle Smith
Danielle is studying
Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences at the University of Arizona
and will graduate in May of 2007. She has spent the past year as an
ABA therapist working for children with Autism in the Tucson
community. Danielle's twin sister was born with cerebral palsy and
profound mental retardation.
Karin Smith
Karin has been an administrator in the Kyrene School District for 8
years. She has graduated from University of Arizona, Arizona
State University, and Northern Arizona University. Her younger
sister, Courtney, was born with cerebral palsy and profound mental
retardation. Karin has provided care for individuals with
disabilities for over 20 years. Karin traveled to Greece in
2004 and 2005 to work with the children at KEPEP.
Joanne Thomas
Joanne has worked in special education for 28 years. She
graduated from Arizona State University and is certified in learning
disabilities, emotionally handicapped, mentally handicapped and has
an early childhood endorsement. She has served as a board
member for the Council for Exceptional Children for 24 years and has
had the joy to coach Special Olympics for the past six years. Joanne
traveled to Greece in 2005 to work with the children at KEPEP.
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