Our Team

Co-Founder & Director

Sara’s motivation in co-founding Families CCAN is to build connections and community and to provide a forum where the expertise, vision and strengths of individuals with disabilities and their families can be shared. She is dedicated to creating new models for adults with disabilities to live, work and play in our communities. Since Families CCAN’s founding she has helped develop unique opportunities for families and individuals to learn and take steps towards independence. Sara has over 25 years’ experience supporting and leading nonprofits in the Philadelphia area. She is the parent of 3 adult children; her middle son is autistic. His determination to become more independent and exercise choice and agency in his own life continues to inform and guide Sara’s efforts.

Program Director

Abby has over twenty years of experience in person-centered planning, and came to Families CCAN in early 2021 after working in the Supports Coordination world for many years. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Oberlin College and a Master’s Degree in Sociology with a concentration in Stratification and Inequality from Mississippi State University. In her work with Families CCAN, she promotes strengths-based solutions to ensure that people with disabilities are able to live their best lives. Dedicated to the promotion of radical inclusion, Abby works beside families and individuals as they move towards their own person-centered vision for independence.

Families CCAN Cook Instructor

Mary is a certified Family and Consumer Science instructor with 15 years’ experience teaching in area school districts. She designed and has led over 90 sessions of Families CCAN Cook since April 2020. Each session features easy recipes, balanced meals, cooking instruction tailored for adults with disabilities and their supports, and the promise of “dinner in one hour.” A consummate entertainer, Mary earned a degree in fashion design from Drexel University. She has spent the past 25 years actively volunteering with area boy scout troops. Mary is married to “Professor Bob” and mother of 3 sons, one of whom has cerebral palsy.

Peer to Peer Workshop Instructor

Aldyn is an excellent chef and also enjoys walking, yoga, and taking pictures. She has lived on her own in a studio apartment in Philadelphia for 4 years now. Aldyn works for Duane Morris three days per week, and has worked there for twenty years. She enjoys spending time with her family, including her sisters Emily and Norrell, her parents, and Norrell’s dog Lucy. As an instructor in our peer to peer workshop, Aldyn teaches participants about cooking, healthy eating, meal prep, and kitchen safety.

Peer to Peer Workshop Instructor

Trevor is an accomplished autism self advocate. He lives independently in a community in the Philadelphia region. In addition to his advocacy work, Trevor works in the prepared foods section at a local grocery store. As an instructor in our peer to peer workshop, Trevor teaches participants about how to manage their finances and how to find a healthy work-life balance once they’re living on their own.

Peer to Peer Workshop Instructor

Ellen has an infectious laugh and loving personality. She lives in her own apartment in the basement of her family home and has staff to assist her with activities and independent living. She loves volunteering at Meadowood, a senior retirement community, going to movies and museums, swimming, and walking in parks. Ellen takes horseback riding lessons twice a week, including cart driving. Ellen is non-speaking and uses a communication application and Spelling to Communicate to share her thoughts, wants and needs. She loves participating in Families CCAN presentations. Ellen teaches participants about how to manage their schedules and find a balance between household tasks, work or volunteer time, and leisure activities.

Bookkeeper

An active member of the Philadelphia theatre community, Bob was most recently on stage at Bristol Riverside Theater, the Media Theatre, Bucks County Center for the Performing Arts, and productions in the annual Philadelphia Fringe Festival.  When not performing, Bob serves as a bookkeeper and financial administrator for many businesses and nonprofits in the Philadelphia area. Through a role he stumbled into, his experience with finance has allowed him to serve as a managing director, office manager, AR/AP specialist, finance manager, and paralegal over the last 14 years. In addition to keeping Families CCAN’s finances in order, Bob works as a bookkeeper and administrator for Shakespeare in Clark Park, Delaware Shakespeare Festival, Simpatico Theatre Project, and Tiny Dynamite, along with a handful of local for-profit companies.  He holds a BFA in theatre arts with a focus in acting from the University of the Arts where he graduated with honors.