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.