Archive
Stepping Forward on the El Camino de Santiago
On August 30 I joined a group of mostly strangers to walk the Portuguese route of the El Camino de Santiago. Unlike several of my fellow trekkers, I was not particularly well-versed on the history of the El Camino so it was not the history that drew me in. I’d signed on because I needed a…
Read MoreStarkey and Delta Zeta: Building Bears and Relationships
For Bill and Tani Austin and Starkey Hearing Foundation, it’s all about helping the world to hear. The Austins are among the hardest working people I’ve ever met. They travel the world to give the gift of hearing. I witnessed them in action last August when my daughter Julia and I went on a Starkey…
Read MoreSanneh Foundation: Empowering Haitian Girls
July 12, 2015 For nearly two decades Tony Sanneh made a name for himself on the professional soccer field. In his second career as founder and executive director of the Tony Sanneh Foundation, he uses soccer as a catalyst to fight poverty and racism and to create opportunities for youth who might otherwise find them elusive.…
Read MoreThe Tapestry of Our Lives
September 3, 2014 Our lives are punctuated by conversations. Some are life altering; others are comparatively unimportant. Taken together a lifetime of conversations weaves the tapestry that constitutes our lives. Some of the most defining life experiences begin or end with a conversation. A conversation might involve another individual or a group of people. It…
Read MoreCamphill Communities: Supported Living for Adults with ASD
November 2, 2011 A growing number of young people with Autism Spectrum Disorder are reaching adulthood. Families are searching for options and opportunities; for living arrangements that work and employment opportunities that are well designed and meaningful. In the coming weeks, I will highlight programs and opportunities that are in place. It’s a starting point…
Read MoreAutism and the Transition to Adulthood: It’s not a Sprint
My guest blog post that appeared on Laura Shumaker’s San Francisco Chronicle blog (SFgate.com) on October 20, 2011. I sat down at the table for our 2 p.m. meeting and looked up at the clock. We were about to design my son’s last IEP (Individualized Education Plan) – the roadmap for his final services from…
Read MoreGrab Life by the Horns…
I never met Major Chuck Creech and for that I am most sorry. I heard a lot about Chuck and his wife Sara from my sister Traci, who counts them among her most treasured friends. Chuck was a military man who served our country with great pride and distinction. He earned two Meritorious Service Medals for…
Read MoreEmpowering the Caregiver
For well over a decade I was the Sullivan family medical crisis manager. It seemed the waves kept rolling in, starting with my son’s autism diagnosis, followed by my late husband’s first heart attack and subsequent visits to the heart clinic, my cancer, and my daughter’s bone marrow transplant. Someone always needed me, in a…
Read MoreA Force to be Reckoned With
They can be quirky; they may not look you in the eye; they may resist a handshake. They may speak with an affect or not speak much at all. If you get them going on a topic near to their hearts, they may not stop talking. Someone dear to me has many of these tendencies…
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