I grew up in Dallas, Texas, spent my Freshman year of college in Israel and got a Bachelor's degree in Speech & Hearing Sciences at the University of Texas at Austin. I started out in Education; I always thought I wanted to be a teacher but discovered working 1:1 with children with special needs was my gift and my passion. I received a Masers degree in Speech Language Pathology from the University of Washington in Seattle and spent over 25 years working with children with complex neurological conditions in interdisciplinary team settings. I worked in hospitals and clinics and was really frustrated by the lack of teamwork and collaboration to help children and families outside of hospital settings, and hospitals were so cold and unfriendly. So, I started a practice in my living room that grew into a thriving center in Encino called Hand in Hand Family & Child Development Center. At Hand in Hand we developed innovative treatment models to address the needs of the whole child within the context of a family and community. I went on to pursue a Masters of Business Administration in Non Profit Management from the American Jewish University, which led to a successful consulting practice focused on team building, program evaluation and strategic planning. I now put those skills to good use at the ALS Association, Golden West Chapter, where I serve as Vice President of Program services guiding the organization in developing and enhancing service delivery models to meet the growing need for people living with ALS throughout most of California and all of Hawaii.