A lifelong advocate and visionary committed to meeting the needs of those students who simply learn differently. Kerry serves as the primary spokesperson for the foundation and she has successfully overseen its creation and development efforts, increased donor commitments, and acts as a liaison to the board of advisors.

Kerry holds a Bachelor of Arts in English and Elementary Education from Assumption College and served as an elementary school teacher in Brockton and Worcester communities.

Empathetic, compassionate, experienced and a skilled problem solver with over thirty years of experience in special education as an educator, evaluator and chairperson. Chris has presented teacher/parent workshops and developed curriculum and programs, tutored, consulted and advocated for children and families privately for over 15 years. She has worked extensively with attorneys who focus on children with special needs, neuropsychologists and psychiatrists to access support for students. For our foundation, she supports students and their families from both public and non-public schools and helps them fully understand the laws and regulations that guide the delivery of special education services.

Chris received her Master’s in Education from Lesley University and her Bachelor’s Degree in Child’s Study from St. Joseph University in CT. She also has extensive graduate credit in Counseling Psychology from Bridgewater University and a Certification in Muscular Therapy from the Muscular Therapy Institute, with a focus on autism and the special needs child.

Karen has worked extensively in the field of speech pathology where she served as a certified speech language pathologist in public schools for nearly 25 years. Her responsibilities included the provision of direct and inclusion services, collaborating with counseling and reading specialists, as well as teachers, parents and outside providers. She has been responsible for assessing student performance for special education eligibility and writing and implementing IEP goals and benchmarks. In addition, she is a national trainer for workshops on the foundation of reading successes and the implementation of explicit phonological, phonemic and phonetic strategies through systematic, rule-based instruction using the Reading with TLC program. Karen is also a Trainer of Trainers and author of Phonological Awareness Activities for Learning (P.A.A.L).

Karen received her Certificate in Advanced Graduate Studies in Reading at the American International College and her Master’s Degree in Education at Cambridge College. Her Bachelor of Science Degree is in Communication Disorders from Bridgewater State University.

Sandra has held multiple leadership positions, including Executive Director of Special Education and Student Services, Building Principal, Special Education Instructional Supervisor, Literacy Coach and School Mentoring and Instruction Coordinator. In addition, she coordinated the Mentoring and Induction program for the entire New Bedford School District.

One of Sandra’s current areas of responsibilities includes supporting teachers in our partner schools who are implementing the LexiaCore5 Supplemental Reading Program. She will draw on over thirty years of experience in education and will utilize her deep understanding of how to collaborate with regular education teachers and/or multiple teachers to plan and present lesson plans, create assessments, and differentiate instruction to meet student needs.

Sandra is a graduate of Salve Regina University with a Master’s in Education-Curriculum, Teaching and Research and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Special Education.

A special educator and pioneer who has dedicated over forty-five years to both teaching and administrative work to advance the education of children who learn differently. Katherine was the founder of the Sally Borden Program at Friends Academy for students with language-based learning differences and she served as the consultant for the Hope Graham Program at the Bancroft School.

She oversaw the creation and implementation of our special education program, the Pathways Approach Program, which has been certified in seven partner schools to date. Her current responsibilities include consulting with our partner schools, mentoring teachers, and providing training and professional development on a variety of topics, including neurodiversity.

Katherine received a Master of Special Education at Providence College and a Bachelor of Science in Education, with a Minor in English at the University of Maine at Orono.

Shirley provides services in two of our partner schools as a special education teacher. She brings with her valued experience from both the private and public sectors, but she has always been drawn back to the field of education. Shirley was a special education teacher in Danbury, Connecticut, and Newtown Public Schools, where she served all grade levels. She was also a tutor of individual students and small groups for Catapult Learning.

She received her Master of Special Education degree from Fairfield University and graduated from the University of Louisville in Elementary Education, with an endorsement in Special Education. In addition, Shirley holds an advanced certificate, beyond her masters, in Educational and Business Management.

A special education professional with over twelve years of experience who utilizes a strength-based, team-oriented approach in her work with students and families. Lauren has served as a special education director, special education teacher and consultant, with an emphasis on special education processes, school-based interventions, classroom management strategies, trauma informed case management and curriculum planning. She uses a variety of techniques, such as phonetics, multi-sensory learning, and repetition, to reinforce learning and to meet students' varying needs and interests.

Lauren received her Master of Education in Special Education – Moderate Disabilities, from Endicott College, as well as Master of Education in Curriculum and Instruction from Concordia University. Her Bachelor of Arts degree focused on Human Services – Youth Work from The University of Massachusetts, Boston. In addition, she attained a Certificate in School Management and Leadership from Harvard University.

Lynne spent over ten years as a medical software consultant where her technology background currently supports much of the nuts and bolts of the foundation. She assists in the daily operations of the organization and manages/troubleshoots technology issues for the S.E.A.L. Team. In addition, she is responsible for organizing meetings and events and creating/delivering communications related to such events through print and technology. She handles incoming requests for information from donors and attendees at events and utilizes various marketing tools to build customer and prospect lists. She reviews detailed analytics to determine the best strategies for building our donor base.

Lynne received her Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing from Bentley University.

With over 29 years of experience with the New Bedford Public Schools as a special education teacher in grades Prekindergarten through 5, Karen has taught in separate classrooms, inclusion classrooms and as a tutor. She has fervently advocated for her students to receive the services to which they are entitled to improve academically and strengthen their overall school performance.

She has designed and delivered developmentally motivating curriculum/programming as warranted by IEP goals and MA curriculum frameworks; guided classroom staff in implementing goals of children; provided direct and/or group instruction; conducted thorough educational evaluations necessary for trimester progress reports, annual assessments, and reevaluations; facilitated ongoing parent contact and encouraged family involvement; and worked with the social-emotional and behavioral needs of students.

In addition, Karen has worked in the Division of Adult/Continuing Education as an Adult Basic Education/English for Speakers of Other Languages Teacher where she has integrated technology utilized in instruction; developed a program of study that meets and accommodates individual needs, interests, and abilities; worked collaboratively with volunteer tutors to provide meaningful assignments that can be incorporated into the instructional setting for one-to one support; and implemented and career readiness standards for adult education for the English Language Proficiency Standards.

Karen's holds a Master’s Degree is in Special Education from Bridgewater State College, a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Sociology and Elementary Education from the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth and an Associate’s Degree in Mental Health. She is also certified as a Wilson Reading Teacher in Level 1.