Cohort+Members+Profiles

1) Click on the Edit Button so you can see the menu bar of tools.
===2) Place your cursor just below the horizontal line furthest down on the page. Type your introduction - tell us about yourself! Use the button above marked "File" to navigate through your computer to add a photo of yourself. ===

Please do not remove these instructions! Remember to go to the bottom of the page (But BEFORE the section for "visitors from previous cohorts" with your cursor before you start editing. Have fun!
Emily Graniero Hello, my name is Emily Graniero and I live in Old Saybrook, Connecticut. I recently graduated from Mitchell College in New London, Connecticut with a Bachelors Degree in Business. I myself have some disabilities and have used assistive technology throughout my schooling. I currently work at The New England Assistive Technology Center (NEAT) in Hartford, Connecticut helping the AT specialists prepare for events and training.

Hi Everyone! I am Brianna Giacoppe. I graduated from Fitchburg State University in 2012 with a degree in Special Education. I have been working at Tufts University for roughly two years now, and have been the Assistive Technology Specialist in the Student Accessibility Services office for a year. In the year that I have been the Assistive Technology Specialist at Tufts I have learned Braille, and began my certification to become a Braille transcriber. Before working at Tufts I was a bank teller, and the manager of a retail store. I grew up in central Massachusetts and moved to the Boston area when I accepted my position at Tufts. I am an avid football fan, enjoy shopping, and hot yoga. I also am a bartender part time at a local restaurant and enjoy vacationing at any beach where it is warm!

My name is Jen Delgado. I graduated from Rhode Island College in 2009 with a Bachelors Degree in Elementary Ed with a concentration in Severe/profound Special Ed. I have been working for the Providence School Department for almost six years. I have been working in a medically fragile classroom for 4 years. I want to make the most out of the time I have with my students. I love figuring how their minds work and adapting my teaching to fit their unique learning styles. I have lived in Providence, RI my entire life. I enjoy traveling, hockey, and spending time with my friends and family. I do freelance special-effects and bridal makeup as a part time job.


 * Hello Future Classmates! My name is Stephanie Lancellotti and I am excited to enter into a new adventure with all of you. I live in Rhode Island with my husband, two sons Nicholas (15) and Alexander (12) and my two Cavalier King Charles Spaniels Charlie and Lola. I am an occupational therapist and I direct the occupational therapy department for the Bradley Schools, Lifespan School Solutions. These are day schools for children with behavioral and Emotional Disturbances, Autism and Intellectual and developmental delays. I have been working for these schools for 16-years and I love my job. Approximately six-years ago I obtained my SIPT certification in sensory integration through the Ayers Clinic in California and I have spent those last several years helping children, teachers and parents develop sensory diets, sensory rooms, etc..... Over the last couple of years I have been involved with more students who have complex communication needs and have been exposed to many communication strategies such as PECS programs, Prologue2Go, ACORN and Dynovox I have explored many APPS to assist students with daily functional life skills, fine motor and writing. I am very new to this technology world as my main focus has been around sensory integration and Autism. It has been amazing to see how a communication device or APP can significantly change a students involvement in their academic programs. I am excited and nervous to learn more so that I can continue to assist my students and families achieve their highest level of functioning as possible. I am really looking forward to meeting all of you next week!! Sorry I couldn't upload a picture, it would not let me search my computer, I just got a bunch of other peoples photos!**

===

===

Hello Everyone,
===My Name is Sonia James I am originally from Long Beach, Long Island NY, but I currently reside in Pittsburgh, Pa with my Son and a few extended family members. have Bachelors of Science Degree in Communications Disorders and a Masters of Arts in Early Childhood Special Education/Specializing in Early Intervention. Professionally I have 20+ years experience in the field of Early Childhood Education and Development, Family Services and Maternal & Child Health. I am familiar with issues concerning Health and Safety, Nutrition, Mental Health and Disabilities; and because I have spent my career focusing on these issues and working in collaboration with many agencies and schools that provide services to children with special needs, I have realized the importance of utilizing technology and assistive technology to enhance education and services needed to ensure positive outcomes with this population. I am really looking forward to learning and exploring technology, devices, and becoming experienced and educated in this field. I have limited experience working with assistive technology, however I am eager to learn so that I can implement it into the services I provide.===



===

=
Hi all! My name is Danean Balestrieri, and I currently live in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts. I received a Bachelor's degree in Sociology from UMass Amherst 2011, and it's taken me a while to figure out what I wanted to go back to school for! I came across the AT program while checking out their Behavioral Analysis program, and I'm so glad I did. I currently work at a charter school in Dorchester as a teaching assistant in 7th and 8th grade classes. I provide one-on-one support to students with moderate disabilities as well as small group support to targeted students. I also work with the student support team. Their main focus is providing all students in the school with social and emotional support. Three days a week I run a girls group for 6th-8th grade girls. We discuss various social justice topics as well as experiences that they go through as adolescents! Prior to my current job, I volunteered full-time with City Year, a non-profit organization that sends teams of 18-24 year-old individuals into failing schools to provide mentoring and tutoring to children. Through my service, I gained a greater appreciation for the education I received growing up, and I developed a passion for working with underprivileged youth. I hope to become a special education teacher in the near future, and I know this program will bring me a wealth of knowledge!====

Visitors from Previous cohorts:
==== Hello, I am Lori Hippert. Apparently I still do not know what I want to be when I grow up. I graduated with a degree in Human Resources and spent 10 years working in the field with a focus on Compensation Analysis and Human Resources Information Systems. After starting a family I went back to school and obtained a Masters Degree in Education. I spent the next ten years teaching first and third grade all the while trying to figure out what the DESE required for a license as an Instructional Technology Specialist. Finally, two years ago I obtain my certification and a position as an ITS in Northbridge. I am excited to expand my role to include Assistive Technology. ====

==== On a personal note, I have been married for 23 years. We have two amazing girls, one dog, one cat and on occasion foster kittens. Our eldest just completed her first year of college at Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Science. She is actually not going for pharmacy but pre-med. We are now both attending a College of the Fens. I offered to be her roommate - she politely declined. My youngest is finishing her sophomore year in high school. She is very athletic. Her favorite sport is soccer closely followed by the hurdles in track. We enjoy vacationing in Maine. ====



Hi All!
====My name is Tara Sweetser. I earned my bachelor and master degrees in Speech-language Pathology from Northeastern University. For the past 13 years, I have primarily worked in the public schools, but I have also had the opportunity to work in early intervention, a pediatric outpatient clinic, a pediatric hospital, and skilled nursing facilities. Over the past eight years, I have focused my clinical skills and continuing education on autism spectrum disorders, complex communication disorders, a nd AAC. I currently work for Scituate PS and provide speech/language services for students in two substantially separate classrooms at the elementary level. I also have taken on a small additional role (1/2 day a week) as the AAC/AT Specialist for the district. I have enjoyed working with students across all grades and schools (even some out-of-district placements) and expanding their ability to communicate using both low and high-tech AAC supports. In that role, I have also been fortunate to meet and consult with an AT Consultant and a graduate from the Astech program. I'm excited to start this program and expand my knowledge in Assistive Technology! ====

====Personally, I'm married and have 3 amazing children, 2 girls and a boy, ages 9, 6, and 4. I keep busy carpooling to and attending cheerleading, gymnastics, brownies, figure skating, hockey, and baseball! In my spare time (which is almost nonexistent), I enjoy reading and have just started training for a 5K. ====

I'm looking forward to meeting and working with all of you soon!
Hello, Everyone! My name is Jessica Kahan, and I am thrilled to begin this program with all of you! I live in Sharon, Massachusetts with my family, which currently includes my two sons, one son's girlfriend, my fiancé, and two rambunctious little dogs with Napoleon complexes. Hundreds of moons ago, I graduated from Brandeis University with a BA in Economics and worked in retail management, although I had wanted to be a teacher since I was 5 years old. A few years later, I left my first career when New York City desperately needed teachers for its beleaguered public schools, replacing a young teacher who quit her job after one week of teaching rowdy, angry, and "underachieving" Inner City 9th graders. While learning my craft through "trial by fire," and starting a family, I earned an MA in English Education, Grades 7 through 12, from New York University’s Steinhardt School. Shortly thereafter, I took a hiatus from my full-time teaching career to raise my two sons, when my younger son was diagnosed with two unrelated, but extremely serious medical issues. After moving from New York to New Jersey to Georgia to Massachusetts, as my (now ex) husband climbed the corporate ladder to success, I became employed as a per-diem substitute teacher for three local public school systems here in Massachusetts, where I worked primarily in classrooms with students in Grades 7 through 12. Currently, I work part-time as an Internship Coordinator here at The Education Cooperative in Dedham. I am very proud to report that both of my sons are thriving; two weeks ago, my older son graduated Summa Cum Laude from Emerson College, with both a BA in Screenwriting for Film and Television and a paying JOB (a triumph, considering that, years earlier, he dropped out of ninth grade, mid-year, due to depression and I home-schooled him for a year, while also making sure that he received intensive counseling!), while my younger and, thankfully, now healthy, son, is an Honors student completing his sophomore year at Sharon High School, where he is also very involved in many extracurricular activities. Raising my sons and having the privilege of watching each of them evolve into healthy, compassionate, responsible, and competent young men are, unquestionably, my greatest accomplishments thus far. As an educator, I have always been aware that my students are other people’s sons and daughters, and I have been entrusted with a monumental responsibility to provide each and every one of them access to the best education possible. As a substitute teacher, I have worked with many students struggling with a wide range of disabilities, and I know that technology can be a powerful tool to help bridge obstacles to learning. By working toward an Ed. S. Degree in Assistive Technology, I hope to learn new ways to contribute to the vision that EVERY student, no matter what personal challenges he or she might face, is given every opportunity to reach his or her greatest potential. I don't know yet exactly what full-time career path I will take next, but I do know that it will be education-based. I look forward to getting to know all of you as we embark on this exciting and worthwhile educational journey together!