About CPAC

Connecticut Parent Advocacy Center, Inc. (CPAC) is a statewide nonprofit organization that offers information and support to families of children with any disability or chronic illness, age birth through 26. The Center is committed to the idea that parents can be the most effective advocates for their children, given the confidence that knowledge and understanding of special education law and its procedures can bring.

Through outreach efforts and referrals from schools, social service agencies and other parents, the number of families that Connecticut Parent Advocacy Center serves has grown dramatically over the past 40 years. We continue to take pride in providing prompt and personal assistance to all who contact us. CPAC is staffed by parents of children with disabilities who have training in, and personal experience with, the law and disability issues.

In addition to speaking with parents on a daily basis, CPAC staff conduct workshops for parents as well as in-service presentations for schools, teachers-in-training and service providers throughout the state so that they may better understand and serve the parents with whom they work. Staff and Board members serve on numerous statewide committees and various organizations, representing issues that are of concern to parents and families in Connecticut.

CPAC Board Members

Claudia Bachmann-Bouchard, President
Jonathan Metcalf, Secretary
Grace Coombs, Treasurer
Jocelyne Braffith
David Goldblum
Margarita Vargas-Torres
Natasha Singer
Trisha Pytko
Nancy Hill

The Board of Directors is actively seeking new board members, if you are interested in becoming a member please email us at [email protected] to request an application package.

Co-Executive Director

Jane Hampton-Smith is the parent of two adult sons, one who has both autism and intellectual disability. She has been a trainer and parent consultant for the Connecticut Parent Advocacy Center since 2001. She has served on a variety of state level stakeholders groups during this time and is the coordinator of CPAC's Next STEPs Parent Leadership Training Series. She has participated in mediator training and IEP facilitation training as she works to help families and schools resolve their differences in an effort to improve outcomes for students with disabilities. Jane's areas of interest include challenging behaviors, discipline procedures, early dispute resolution, building relationships and accessing community resources.

Co-Executive Director

Beth Reel is the parent of two young adults. Her oldest is a young man with autism who recently transitioned from public school to adult services. Beth has been with CPAC since 2002, providing technical assistance and training related to postsecondary transition to students with disabilities and families throughout the state. Beth has served on the Transition Task Force for the Connecticut State Department of Education, Bureau of Special Education since 2007. She is also a CORE member of the Connecticut Transition Community of Practice (CoP) and has served as a member of the CT Bureau of Rehabilitation Services (BRS) Transition Committee since 2011. She is a Governor appointed member of the Connecticut BRS State Rehabilitation Advisory Council and the Bureau of Education and Services for the Blind (BESB) Advisory Board. The focus of Beth's work is helping students with disabilities and their families understand the significant changes that will come about when students leave mandated services and to support students in learning leadership skills so they have a voice at the table. Beth believes that with the right preparation, students can, and do, lead successful lives after they leave school.

Parent Consultants

Leona Adamczyk, Connecticut Family School Partnerships Coordinator, is the parent of three sons. Leona has worked with CPAC since 2018. She is a graduate of Next Steps, Partners in Policymaking, and the LEND program. Leona's areas of interest include family engagement and facilitating connections between families and districts.

Adriana Fontaine, Early Childhood Support Programs Manager and Bilingual Parent Consultant, is the mother of two children, a daughter in graduate school and a son who has Non-Verbal Learning Disability (NVLD) moving into college. Adriana has worked at CPAC since 2007, she serves as the Child Find Coordinator, Family Connections Coordinator and our newest program Pre-K Pathfinder Coordinator. She is also a parent consultant for Bilingual (Spanish families). Her areas of interest include Early Childhood, Child Find process, and building effective communication strategies between families and schools.

Robin Grondahl, Intake and Data Coordinator, is the parent of three adults, the youngest has both physical and cognitive disabilities. She has been a parent consultant with CPAC since 2011. Robin provides support and technical assistance to families. She has served on various stakeholder groups at the state level. She previously worked as a paraprofessional in the public schools and brings a unique perspective as both a parent and a service provider.

Emma Joseph, Multilingual Parent Consultant, is the mother of two young children, her oldest is receiving special education services. Emma has a long history of serving people with disabilities. Before joining CPAC, Emma worked as a residential advisor for young adults with autism, emotional disturbance and intellectual disabilities. Emma also worked as a paraprofessional in the public schools. Emma has been a CPAC parent consultant since 2019. Emma has experiences with autism, emotional disturbance, intellectual disabilities, blindness, anxiety and impulsivity. Emma works directly with parents who speak Haitian Creole, French, and English related to their children's needs.

Laura Knapp, Transition Coordinator, has five wonderful children, some with attentional and emotional health needs. Her youngest child had complex medical, physical, and cognitive disabilities. Laura has officially worked with CPAC since 2017, although she has worked with CPAC on special projects or events in the past. She has served on several stakeholder groups at the state level. Focus of her work is providing support and training to parents, this is important because it is difficult to navigate the special education system and build effective communication. Laura' s area of interest includes transition, medically complex students, and those with mental (emotional) health needs.

Jennifer Lussier, Family Engagement Coordinator and Special Education Advisory Council Program Coordinator, is the parent of two children, with one receiving special education services. She has been a CPAC Parent Consultant since 2016, providing technical assistance, support and training to families of children and youth with disabilities. Additionally, she supports CPAC's outreach efforts to families and the community, through social media. Jennifer serves on the Commissioner's Roundtable for Parent and Community Engagement, representing parents since October of 2016. She is also a member of the Design Team for the Full, Equal and Equitable Partnership with Families: Connecticut's Definition and Framework for Family Engagement. Jennifer is a Governor-appointed member of the Connecticut State Advisory Council for Special Education and serves on the Legislative Committee of the council. At the local district level, she has served a parent member of the PBIS Team and School Climate Team, as well as a special education parent leadership group. Jennifer has personal experience and special interests in the areas of related to Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC), School Climate and Bullying, autism, mental health, food allergies and parent-school partnership.

Goviana Morales, Bilingual Parent Consultant, is the parent of five children; two with disabilities. Goviana is currently enrolled in college in the speech and language assistant program. She is a Next Steps graduate, COPAA graduate, and LEND graduate. Goviana offers bilingual (Spanish) services, and her areas of interest include language access, transition to adult life, and family engagement. She loves read and craft.

Lisa Opert, Next Steps Coordinator, is the parent of four children. She has had two of her children participate in Birth to Three Services, and those same children currently have IEP's. Between her children, she has experience with speech and language differences, epilepsy, and autism. Prior to coming to CPAC Lisa was a general education classroom teacher working in New Haven, Connecticut and brings a unique perspective from a parent and a professional role. She is the coordinator of the Next STEPs Program through CPAC and loves sharing information to other parents to help them feel educated and confident in advocating for their children. She is also a parent mentor for the Family Connections Program and enjoys speaking with families of young children just starting the special education journey. She loves being creative and spending time with friends and family.

Vanessa Pollock, Multilingual Parent Consultant, is the parent of two children with special needs. She has worked with CPAC since 2017. She started her work at CPAC translating for families who speak Portuguese. Now Vanessa works directly with parents who speak Portuguese, Spanish and English related to their children's needs. She helps families to learn how to advocate for their children and it is important to her to give them accurate information to be successful. She understands how important it is for non-English speaking parents and really wants to help families that have hard time understanding the information in English by translating to Portuguese and Spanish. When she has free time, which is very rare, she likes to sit outside and relax or watch a funny movie.

Lynn Rule, Training Coordinator, works out of our satellite office in Stamford. She is the parent of three children - one girl and two boys. Her middle son, a young adult with autism and an Intellectual Disability, was the reason she came to CPAC in 2011. Lynn completed Next Steps training and became a workshop facilitator that fall. In January 2017, Lynn became a Parent Consultant with an office located at St. Joseph's Parenting Center; an organization whose mission is to stop the cycle of neglect and abuse. Families who are receiving services from SJPC now have a consultant on site to help with Special Education concerns. Lynn has been active in public education since her oldest began school in 2002. She was part of the Executive Board that reorganized the citywide Special Education Parent group and is currently the co-president of the citywide PTO. Lynn has also been the director of a religion program for children with special needs and continues to teach children weekly. When not attending various sporting events at her children's schools, Lynn's passion is the New York Yankees and she tries to attend as many games as possible.

Kiomary Sotillo, Bilingual Parent Consultant, is the parent of four sons. She has had two of her children receive services through Birth to Three. Currently, two of her children have IEP's and one is on a 504 plan. Between all of her children, she has experience with autism, ADHD, anxiety and impulsivity, mild hearing loss requiring hearing aids, specific learning disability in reading and auditory processing. She has worked with the Connecticut Parent Advocacy Center as a bilingual workshop facilitator and parent consultant since 2012. She facilitates training for Birth to Three Service Coordinators and has presented to families, pre-service teachers and other professionals, on various special education in both English and Spanish. Her focus is to help families and schools work as collaborating partners and to create an extension of support between home and school for students with special needs and their families.


Youth Team

Emily Ball, Youth Educator, has a Disability Specialist A.S. degree. Emily is a member of the CT State Department of Education Transition Symposium Planning Committee and the CT Community of Practice CORE Team. She has been a member of the CT Youth Advisory Board (YAB) and now helps facilitate the meetings. Emily is a member of CPAC's Youth Team and of the YAB Core planning team. Emily volunteered at CPAC before beginning to formally work for CPAC in March 2021. Emily loves to read and spend time with her pets.

Michael Scanlon, Youth Coordinator, is an advocate and project coordinator with a passion to make a positive difference in the lives of others. Joining CPAC in 2020, Michael draws upon his lived experiences from a brain injury as a child and mental health challenges. Michael's strong knowledge of the challenges and needs of individuals with disabilities gives him the unique insight and ability to create positive change by participating on individual and state level advocacy projects. Having experience in both human services and behavioral health organizations, Michael serves as a mentor and member of the Youth Advisory Board and is enthusiastic about ensuring young adults have the opportunity and support needed to thrive. Off the clock, Michael can be found either whipping up something in his kitchen, drawing, or reading from his vast number of books taking over his apartment.

Jake Shumbo, Youth Intern, sustained a traumatic brain injury at age 13. He has a passion for self-advocacy and public speaking and has spread his message of self-advocacy, youth voice and being DIFFERENTLY abled to audiences from around the country. Jake is currently studying Communications at Three Rivers Community College. He is a member of the CT Youth Advisory Board, CPAC's youth intern, a Member at Large on the State of CT State Advisory Council for Special Education, and a member of the National Youth as Self Advocates (YASA) board.


Bookkeeper

Kathy Whalen is responsible for implementing and maintaining the organization's accounting systems. Kathy also keeps records of assets and liabilities and assists with preparation of financial statements and reports. Kathy has been with CPAC since 1994.


Finance Manager / Human Resources

Patricia Glynn is responsible for implementing and maintaining the organization's accounting systems, human resources, and payroll. Pat joined CPAC in 2022.


Communications and Marketing Coordinator

Mairin Finnegan-Johnson has been with CPAC as Communications and Marketing Coordinator since 2016. Mairin's role involves creating public relations and marketing materials such as press releases, blog posts, and newsletters for CPAC and all its programs. Mairin is responsible for the branding and development efforts for CPAC. When Mairin isn't developing new materials, Mairin is busy maintaining CPACs records and working closely with the State and Federal Governments in the reporting process.


Administrative Assistant

Angela Erb has been CPACs Administrative Assistant since 2017. Angela is the mother of two adult daughters. In this position, Angela provides administrative assistance for the CPAC staff and families. She serves as the primary contact for all incoming calls. Angela supports all staff in the day to day operations of the office. Angela works closely with the Next Steps coordinator making sure all materials are prepared and maintained.


Operations Coordinator

Yoice Alvarado graduated in May 2022 with a bachelors in Public Health specializing in target populations. She plans to further her education with a Master of Public Health in Health Policy. Being trilingual, Yoice is able to connect with Spanish and Portuguese-speaking families. Yoice offers support in the many systems and day-to-day administrative and operational functions at CPAC. Yoice enjoys hiking new trails throughout New England with her two dogs.


CPAC Board of Directors

President, Claudia Bachmann-Bouchard, currently teaches Multilanguage Science at the secondary level at NFA. She has two young adult children and is the caregiver for her adult sister with Down Syndrome. She has been a board member since 2016. Her interest in education for children and young adults with different abilities has been a driving force to join the board membership to provide individuals with advocacy and opportunities.

Secretary, Jonathan Metcalf, has had a thirty-year career teaching kids confidence and prosocial skills through martial arts. He has two children both with Special Needs. He has a deep sense of gratitude for the work of CPAC and for the many times when they helped him navigate the maze of the Special Education world for his children. He is also a member of the Special Education Advisory Council for the CT Board Of Education and has served on the CPAC board since 2018.

Treasurer, Grace M. Coombs, is the parent of triplets who were born 3 months premature. Her children received early intervention services and special education and related services. Prior to having children of her own, she was a Foster parent. Five of her seven Foster children had special needs too. Grace is employed by TVCCA Head Start as the Disabilities Manager. She has enjoyed and embraced this role since 1994. In this role, she educates families about the referral processes to Birth to Three and the local education agencies; supports families through the special education process; collaborates with Birth to Three and LEAs to coordinate services to children enrolled in Head Start; attends PPT meetings; and creates, updates and secures signed Memorandums of Understanding between TVCCA Childcare and Preschool Programs and Birth to Three providers and the LEAs within New London county, as well as other responsibilities as they relate to Head Start Performance Standards. Grace is also a graduate of Next Steps. She has served on CPAC’s Board for several years as a regular member, as the Secretary and she’s currently the Treasurer.

Board Member, Margarita Vargas-Torres, currently works for Yale University/Yale Cancer Center as a Community Health Educator and has been working in the health field for over 20 years. She is a parent of two boys. Her oldest son, a young adult with autism, was the reason she became a CPAC Board member in 2017. She’s a big supporter of outreach efforts and referrals from health centers for CPAC to provide support to families of children with any disability or chronic illness.

Board Member, David Goldblum, after working in community redevelopment in Washington, DC, and commercial real estate development in Connecticut, David became a teacher and then principal in public high schools in New Haven and Hartford, Connecticut. Now he is back in real estate development and working with non-profits and other partners in the areas of basic needs, education, and economic development and is currently back in the classroom teaching math.

Board Member, Jocelyne Braffith

Board Member, Natasha Singer

Board Member, Trisha Pytko, currently teaches science at the Walter Fitzgerald Campus for Fairfield Public Schools. She is certified to teach general science, biology, chemistry, and special education. She teaches organic chemistry at Sacred Heart University. She is a board member of the Fairfield S.E.P.T.A Special Education Parent Teacher Association. She earned a 6th Year degree and 092 Administration certification from Sacred Heart University. She earned a Master's in Environmental Education and focused on Curriculum and Instruction. She is a parent of an elementary-aged child with medical issues and has an I.E.P. She Is an education consultant for all children.

Board Member, Nancy Hill, LMSW, was born and raised in Hamden, CT. Nancy received her formal education from Central Connecticut State University where she received a Bachelor of Arts degree. She completed her Master of Social Work Degree from the University of Connecticut School of Social Work and earned her Sixth Year Degree in Educational Leadership from Southern Connecticut State University. She is currently pursuing her doctoral degree at the University of Bridgeport. Nancy had worked for 18 years as a School Social Worker for the New Haven Public School System and now serves as a Supervisor of Special Education for the Waterbury Public School System. In addition, Nancy devotes her time to the John A. Edmonds Scholarship Fund which is a managed fund of The Prosperity Foundation. The JAE Scholarship Fund was created as a token of her father’s unwavering desire and countless efforts to assist students who attend and graduate from Hamden High School. It is Nancy’s goal to keep his legacy alive by continuing to assist those students whose graduation may not have been possible without mentorship and inspiration. Nancy is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc, The Waterbury, CT Chapter of the Links, Inc, and The Fairfield County Chapter of Chums, Inc. She is a devoted wife to Howard K. Hill and the proud mother of two young adults.