Greetings!
We hope you and your family are doing well and off to a good start for 2021!
Milestones Autism Resources has an exciting year in store, with an all-virtual spring event and our second virtual autism conference in the works! More details on these events can be found at milestones.org.
Our professional staff continues to work daily to address the evolving needs of local families as they navigate the challenges that come with interrupted school routines, complex behaviors at home, preparation for the summer season and more.
Milestones is also proud to be providing virtual professional training this spring to local religious establishments and library systems, in an effort to foster more inclusive community spaces for individuals with developmental disabilities here in Northeast Ohio.
The Milestones team would like to extend our sincerest thanks to those of you who contributed to the 2020 Together We Can Campaign. Your continued dedication to our mission makes this work possible and has an immediate impact on our families.
We wish you and yours good health and happiness during the winter season. Please free to reach out to us with any questions or just to check in, we would love to hear from you. Thanks for reading!
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Maya Holtz Groys
Development Director
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Vanetta Perry
Special Events Director
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Conference Mentoring for Self-Advocates:
made possible by the Bennett & Donna Yanowitz Foundation
To offer a more inclusive Call for Proposals process this year, Milestones provided a conference mentoring service for self-advocates to ensure support was available for those in need of assistance with the submission process.
Milestones Early Childhood/School-Age Coordinator Nathan Morgan, MSSA, LSW, served as lead staff for this service, guiding potential speakers through what can be a challenging process for some.
One individual contacted us to describe his specific struggles with submitting a proposal. As someone who had never presented at our conference before, he was new to the process and shared a bit about himself with our staff. He is a father, a husband, and happens to also have a child on the spectrum. Nathan was able to work one-on-one with him to complete his conference proposal before the deadline.
More importantly, the presenter finished his proposal feeling supported and valued. Below is an excerpt from the thank you email which Nathan received:
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“I deeply appreciate the time you spent with me yesterday. Regardless of the outcome of the presentation proposals, the most important event from the process was the honor I have by making your acquaintance... I feel that we are kindred spirits for better acceptance of ASD individuals in society."
Hear from this year's impressive self-advocate speakers by joining us online,
June 16-17, for the 19th annual Milestones National Autism Conference.
Registration now open at milestones.org!
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Ohio Family Network (OFN).
Family Networks are being created across Ohio to help people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families access information and resources, as well as increase their community engagement.
Milestones is providing online, evidence-based workshops to help families stay connected and gain new strategies to help their loved ones succeed.
To date, Milestones has hosted workshops on topics such as resiliency, autism safety, managing behaviors, and more.
Virtual Family Workshops Now On-Demand:
SERIES: Charting the LifeCourse
Socially Distanced, Not Socially Isolated: Strategies for Maintaining Connections with Family & Friends
Your Vote Matters: Disability Rights and Voting
Presented by: Will Gallup, Cuyahoga County Board of DD Good Life Ambassador
SERIES: Families at the Center of a Connected Community
Presented by: Candice Jones-Peelman, Tim Vogt, and Bridget Vogt, from Starfire
Supports for Increasing Safety for Children and Adults with ASD
Presented by: Salina Miller and Beth Thompson, MSSA, LSW, from Milestones Autism Resources
Parenting with Success: The COVID Edition
SERIES: Growing Family Resilience
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Introducing Milestones' new Board Members: |
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Keri Ash has been in the construction industry since 2001 and joined Gilbane Building Company in 2016. Her vast portfolio includes K-12, higher education, residential, information technology and public safety projects delivered in a variety of methods. As senior project manager, Keri ensures the project is managed efficiently and that all schedule, budget, safety, programming and quality goals are achieved. Coupled with her technical abilities and critical knowledge, she brings confidence to clients that their project will be successfully and efficiently completed to exceed their expectations. A clear industry expert, Keri excels in preconstruction constructability, design management, and scheduling. Her focus on preparing and managing schedules throughout the preconstruction process results in lower costs for clients and efficient, timely completion. Keri has a niece with autism. |
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Timothy Goler, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor of Sociology and Urban Affairs at Norfolk State University. He specializes in Aging and the Life Course and Medical Sociology, with a specific focus on issues of stress and coping and its effects on minority communities and underserved populations. Timothy is co-founder of PolicyBridge, a public policy think tank. He has advised numerous organizations in the Greater Cleveland region including the Cleveland Metropolitan Zoo, Catalyst for Cleveland Schools Magazine, Special Education Services, the Hunger Network of Greater Cleveland and Case Western Reserve University’s Prevention Research Center for Healthy Neighborhoods. He also has served honorably in the United States Marine Corps. Timothy is a member of the Milestones Diversity Taskforce and has been a presenter at its annual conference. |
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Ronna S. Kaplan, MA, MT-BC has a long, admirable music therapy career focused on children’s needs. She currently serves as clinical supervisor/adjunct music therapy faculty at Cleveland State University. Having worked as a music therapist for children with developmental disabilities and as chair of the Center for Music Therapy for 15 years at The Music Settlement, Kaplan’s activities now center on music and childhood education and outreach. Kaplan is dedicated to many organizations including Anshe Chesed Fairmount Temple in Beachwood, National Council of Jewish Women, Suburban Symphony Orchestra and the American Music Therapy Association and is their 2020 Lifetime Achievement Award recipient. Ronna has been a member of the Milestones Annual Benefit Tribute Committee and the Annual Conference Committee. |
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Charlotte Kennerly, M.Ed., is an intervention specialist/itinerant teacher for the Cleveland Metropolitan School District and is a member of an interdisciplinary assessment team at the Preschool Assessment Clinic. Previously, she worked for the Cleveland Police Department in basic patrol receiving a distinguished service medal. Later she became a detective for Cleveland’s first multidisciplinary domestic violence team. She discovered the joy of teaching while working in community policing where she taught Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E and Gang Resistance Education And Training (G.R.E.A.T). She recently presented on trauma, race and COVID-19 and plans on pursuing additional opportunities to present on inclusion, diversity and race. Charlotte serves on the Diversity Taskforce and lives in Cleveland with her adult son who has autism. |
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Cynthia Port, JD, Of Counsel, Hahn Loeser & Parks LLP, focuses her practice on estate planning and probate law. Cynthia assists individuals in developing complex estate and corporate succession plans, represented fiduciaries in connection with estate and trust administration and taxation, and drafting a wide variety of trust documents. She currently serves as a Trustee on the Beachwood Schools Foundation and has served as a Co-Chair of the Mandel JCC, Festival of Jewish Books & Authors, Co-President of the Beachwood Elementary PTO and participated in the Mandel Leadership Symposium at the Jewish Federation of Cleveland. |
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Please join us in welcoming Mary Meister to the team |
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As Milestones' new Development Associate, Mary will support the development team in reaching annual goals, which include fundraising, donor cultivation and stewardship, event planning, and grant management.
Mary is inspired by Milestone’s mission as she has a sibling who is on the spectrum. Mary earned her bachelor’s degree from Kent State University and has a professional background in a corporate environment. She is excited to take what she has learned and apply it to a meaningful cause.
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Protect your health by shopping online.
Remember Milestones when using Amazon!
Visit smile.amazon.com and select Milestones Autism Resources as your charitable organization. The Amazon Smile Foundation will donate 0.5% of the price of eligible purchases to Milestones. It costs you nothing extra to give!
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