MassFamilies Board of Directors
Please check the MassFamilies Calendar for scheduled board meetings.
Officers
Sandra Kinney,
Chair
I live in Fairhaven and am the proud mother of three grown children. Craig is 28 years old and was born with Down syndrome, Christina is 27 and Kathryn is 21. I have lived in Massachusetts for the past 29 years I am originally from Connecticut. I lived in Marion, MA and my children grew up and attended school in the Old Rochester Regional School District. All my children were fully included in our school system and were able to experience and grow up in a small town that valued and accepted everyone. I have also had the great experience of working for Nemasket Group Inc. located in Fairhaven for the last 23 years. I currently am the Associate Executive Director of Nemasket and am proud to say, the Director of Family Connections, the family support agency in the Greater New Bedford Area. I became involved with MFOFC 20 years ago, first as a parent that attended the Southeastern Family Leadership Series and then around 10 years ago became a Board member with MFOFC. Currently I am a board member and serve on the board development committee on this grass roots family organization.
Jaya Pandey,
Treasurer
She has a master’s in Chemistry and has worked as a high school teacher in India. Jaya lived in Singapore before moving to the United States.
She works as a Business Analyst in a finance firm. She has multiple interests and is passionate about writing, cooking, music, traveling and connecting people to one another . She writes about various issues on her two blogs and for various organizations . In 2015 she became a part of the 100SareePact and since then she has used Sarees as a medium to talk about social causes, disability and life as an immigrant woman and a Special Needs child’s mother. She is very involved in the Indian community in MA and has been working on raising awareness about special needs and Autism.
From personal experience and her own journey she has made it a mission to help Indian moms with Special Needs Children. She truly understands how isolated, confused and overwhelmed a mother can feel when her child gets diagnosed.
She founded “Desi Moms Network” a Global Community that connects Indian Moms with Special Needs Children to encourage them to be each other’s combined strength, support and resource.
Her blogs are MomLovesAnand.Blogspot.com and Jayapnadey.blogspot.com
Shanell Stewart,
Clerk
Board Members
Kathleen Amaral
When she’s not working, or spending time with her family, watching sports or other recreational activities; she enjoys serving her community and being a part of effecting positive change locally. For several years Kathleen has been a Dartmouth town meeting member, and held a seat on her local Disability Commission. She’s volunteered her time on school council boards, chaired the Special Education Parent Advisory Council (SEPAC). She currently holds a seat on the Dartmouth School Committee. Statewide, she was appointed as a citizen member of the Massachusetts Developmental Disabilities Council (MDDC) in 2015, where she’s able to contribute to addressing the most important issues affecting people with developmental disabilities.
Ann Berube
Alyssa Brady,
Central
I live with my two boys and my partner Brian. I am a Special Education Advocate and Parent Coach. I graduated in 2012 with my teaching degree, something I had dreamed about since I "helped" my mom in her 2nd grade classroom, as a middle schooler.
Once I graduated from my University, I found out I was pregnant and ended up opening a licensed daycare on the North Shore. This allowed me the opportunity to raise my son and still educate children in a more flexible way. During those three years my oldest son was diagnosed as autistic and we decided to move closer to family on the South Shore. In 2016 my oldest entered the Public School System and my eyes were opened wide, to the world that is Special Education. My son's journey did not start off well but that quickly changed. I stopped working full time and dedicated myself to my son's language acquisition because at the time he had no language. I simultaneously started trialing a speech generating device (SGD) with him as well as personally taking weekly ASL classes and then teaching him.
Over the next few years, I dedicated myself to learning advocacy, SPED law and everything i could about ASL and the Deaf Community. My son gravitated towards ASL and once he had that solid language model, he took off like a rocket. ASL is now his primary language and his language of instruction at school!
I have also had the honor of attending numerous trainings and events over the last few years, including -- the Family Leadership Series, Charting the Life Course Training, over 200hrs of ASL classes, the Federation's PTCI Training, and so many more. My professional passions included all things AAC, American Sign Language, language acquisition, autism and neurodiversity. I aim to be an ally to the disability community. I encourage families to seek their own path like we have and embrace neurodivergent humans for who they are."
Natalie Cintron,
Central
Sagrario Guerrero
When I had the experience of being a mother, it was a love of the first moment
I have two children with special needs which I define as my special gift of life for them
I am here for other mothers and fathers who today receive the news that their son has a Special condition
I currently live in the city of Lowell, a city that I love because of all the cultural and special Diversity the food from all over the world is very diverse.
Graduated from International Relations is a very interesting function because this academic has so much diversity in that you can work from diplomacy, political science, non-profit organizations. I worked for a period of 8 years in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Dominican Republic. I believe that this experience has helped me to see the world in a different way and always with the desire to meet people from different cultures and learn from them.
I really want my Latino community to be heard and have the necessary tools to be able to advocate for their rights.
After the training of this beautiful organization that has given me the tools and empowerment that every parent needs to be able to advocate for our rights and I have always thought that information is power thanks MFOFC.
Sandy Lebon
In addition to being the treasurer for MFOFC, I am also the secretary of Boston’s Special Education Parent Advisory Council (SpEdPAC). I am also involved with BPS Community Engagement Advisory Council and with my children’s School Parent Councils.
Jess Mendes,
Metro-Boston
The work of changing the world has a million frontlines and my experiences have empowered me to join MFOFC. I believe fighting for equality is lifelong work, and the most radical way to approach it is to cultivate collective agency.
“Freedom is what we do with what is done to us.” ― Jean-Paul Sartre
Kathy Healy Norton
Kathy is an independent Project Manager and Advocate who is unafraid to tackle challenging problems. Her clients appreciate her ability to provide a new approach and fresh perspective on the issues they are facing. She is a gifted community organizer who currently serves as an administrator of an online group of more than 600 regional parents who have children with Down syndrome. Kathy co-founded PAC-2-PAC and The Coalition for SEPAC Awareness and organized a Day on the Hill for the SEPACs in Westford and neighboring Chelmsford; she has her sights set on a statewide SEPAC Day on the Hill in 2020. In addition, she volunteers with the Massachusetts Down Syndrome Congress and Special Olympics Massachusetts.
In 2008, wanting to learn more about the IEP process and special education in her district, Kathy attended a Special Education Parent Advisory Council (SEPAC) meeting. Less than a year later, she was elected as SEPAC Chair and is now serving her 11th year in that role. She strives to foster collaboration and communication within her district and beyond.
Kathy has honed her knowledge and advocacy skills by attending leadership, advocacy, and special education workshops and conferences. She recently completed the Family Leadership Series, hosted by Massachusetts Families Organizing for Change. She is a frequent speaker and presenter, and in response to parent needs, she designed the workshop “Getting Your Sheet Together” to help parents prepare for IEP meetings. Kathy can be found on Facebook and Instagram at “The Megnificent Life,” where she writes about the ordinary life of her extraordinary daughter with Down syndrome.
Kathy lives in Westford with her husband and their teenaged son and daughter. In her “free” time, Kathy enjoys crocheting, knitting, reading, writing, and baking. Friends, near and far, crave her chocolate coconut macaroons. Her favorite times are spent exploring Cape Cod with her family.
Ida Shaker,
Northeast
MFOFC has opened so many doors for me that I didn't know existed and has strengthened my ability to advocate for my child along with others. I hold a BS in Psychology and have always sought ways of helping children and families. I am a single mother of one lovely, highly spirited child and after years of attempting to navigate what seemed like very scarce services for my family in the community, I was fortunate enough to be introduced to MFOFC.
I first attended the 2019 Advocacy Bootcamp and the Family Leadership Series thereafter. I also attended PCTI with the Federation for Children with Special Needs and volunteered in their call center prior to covid. I am passionate about ensuring fair and equitable opportunities for all. I am truly humbled to be a part of this organization and I look forward to helping others as they have helped me.
