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Robert
(Bob) Bourbon, President
My name is Bob Bourbon. I am 40 years old, a native of Maryland, and after
living in many locations throughout the country, settled down in Cherry Hill,
NJ, with my wife, Michelle, our son Joshua, two dogs, two frogs, and an
ever-changing menagerie of fish with no names.
Though I wear many hats in
life and juggle a lot of responsibilities, I know my most important
responsibility is to be a Dad to Joshua. Joshua has Autism, and the
journey that that simple statement has launched our family on, has
changed us and has softened my heart to the needs and interests of
special needs families.
My position as President of
CHSEPTA affords me the opportunity to serve in some productive capacity, where I
may provide benefit to local families and children with special needs.
I have energy, ideas, and a lifetime of experience addressing problems
and fashioning a means of overcoming them.
I am a career civil servant
and am involved on a daily basis with governmental and public policy
issues/problems. I have experience in obtaining positive results, and I
am committed to applying myself to the interests of the special needs
community.
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Naomi
Weiss, Vice President
As a
Charter member of CHSEPTA (Cherry Hill Special Education PTA) and current member
of the CHSEPTA Board, I am in a position to reflect on the goals and the gains
that CHSEPTA has made since it’s inception in this school district. PTA
organizations are poised to educate members and help prepare children for their
tomorrow. As board Vice President, I can help CHSEPTA do more and be more to our
community.
My vision
is for CHSEPTA to become an integral component, an essential thread in
the overall culture of the Cherry Hill School District. We
can share a common goal and be an organization where all parents, staff
and community members are welcomed with respect; treated with the utmost
dignity.
Special
needs children, parents and professionals deserve services, training and support
to promote appropriate IEP’s. Transitioning our students to healthy, quality,
and meaningful futures equals happiness. Isn’t that what we all want for our
children?
My
knowledge, experience and integrity will aid the special needs community in
creating a fundamental design useful to parents, students and educators as they
navigate the Special Education maze. This educational blueprint would allow the
students to attain appropriate rigorous high school courses, solid IEP
transition planning, goals and services, while, staff receive training and
support. The purposes of these
essential preparations, the goals of the IEP are the gateway to college
admission with accommodations or vocational training. New
Jersey expects school districts to ensure progress beyond high school for
special needs students.
Continuing
to serve CHSEPTA members in a greater capacity as board Vice President will
allow me to share all that I have learned through many years of advocating for
my own children. Networking with experts and professionals in varied fields of
disability, Special Education and Transition has given me much to contribute to
the special needs community.
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Nancy
Muldowney, Treasurer
I am honored to serve as the
Treasurer for Cherry Hill SEPTA because special education in
our district is my passion.
There are several
reasons that I am excited to be on the SEPTA Board in the position of
Treasurer. I am
thrilled to be a part of the team that works on behalf of our children
to give them the quality education and social development they deserve.
It is my goal to make SEPTA a more visible organization in the
Cherry Hill educational system and to create a high level of
communication and collaboration between the administration, parents of
classified students and the teachers and therapists.
Also, I am very interested in finding ways to educate our typical
students about children with disabilities and bring the typical student
into the educational and social development of our classified students.
The typical child would receive the invaluable gifts of empathy,
character development and unique friendships.
Finally, special education is feeling the financial crunch as
much if not more than any other aspect of the Cherry Hill Public School
system. I want to make sure
that we keep the needs of our students and teachers in the forefront of
the Board of Education’s minds.
My husband, Brian, and
I have been married for 9 years. We
moved to Cherry Hill from Manayunk in 2000.
We have two children currently receiving the benefit of an
education in Cherry Hill. My
daughter, Jillian, is in the Severe Learning Disabilities Kindergarten
class at Cooper. She has
many developmental problems and has received wonderful support and
services from her teachers and therapists at Cooper and previously at
Barclay. My son, Matthew, is
4 years old and a typical student at Barclay.
I have a degree in
Business Administration from Millersville University with concentrations
in marketing and management and an MBA in finance from St. Joseph
University. Most recently I
have worked in customer support and internal sales for a software
company in Mt. Laurel, NJ. Presently,
I am a homemaker. I am an
active member of the Barclay and Cooper PTAs and a room mother for both
of my children.
Finally, and most
importantly I am the parent of a child with special needs.
My vote as a member of the SEPTA board will reflect the interest
of all children with special needs.
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Roberta
Tanenbaum, Recording Secretary
CHSEPTA
is an organization that has always motivated me for the collaboration
between district staff and special needs families. As a longtime member
of CHSEPTA and an Occupational Therapist employed by the Cherry Hill
School District as well as owning a private practice, I will strive
to support the CHSEPTA board, its members and the school community.
Overall,
I have been an OT for over 20 years. I presently receive
ongoing training in Sensory Integration and DIR/Floortime, as well as
having been trained in positive behavioral strategies, social skills and
Handwriting without Tears. My roots in Occupational Therapy started in a
local Spinal Cord Rehabilitation Center where I was the Clinical and
Technology Specialist.
I
have devoted the last fifteen years to working with children, with
an emphasis on children on the Spectrum (Autism & PDD/NOS) using my
specialized training for improving regulation, relatedness, social, play
and motor planning skills. Gratification comes in collaborating with
teachers, while facilitating improved relatedness as well as functional
and educational performance.
I
am proud and look forward to serving as a member of the SEPTA Board. My
intent is to help to continue to collaborate, with the membership to
improve our understanding of special needs children to ensure an
appropriate education.
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Linda
Lance, Corresponding Secretary
It is with great
pleasure to serve on the Executive Board of CHSEPTA as the Corresponding
Secretary. I have been employed in the field of Special Education for
the last 23 years. I worked one year in Pennsylvania educating students
who had severe emotional needs. The last 22 years I have worked as a
teacher of the Handicapped, Supervisor/Director of Special Services in a
Comprehensive High School District in South Jersey.
Having been employed as
a teacher and administrator in Special Education, I believe it is very
important to establish positive interactions with parents, teachers,
administrators, and support staff in order to provide the best education
for special needs students in the Cherry Hill School District. If
everyone works together towards a common goal, educating students, then
many great strides can be achieved for these students.
I now have a daughter
who attends Cherry Hill West High School. In the early elementary
grades, we learned that she had a hearing problem and needed to access
services. The Cherry Hill School District was most accommodating to her
needs and she performed very well academically through her
elementary/middle school years.
It
is my goal to work with the Executive Board of CHSEPTA, teachers,
administrators, and parents to enhance the collaborative efforts in
providing services that all special needs students in the Cherry Hill
community deserve.
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Sheri
Klein, Membership Chairperson
I am excited to be a member of the
Cherry Hill Special Education PTA (CHSEPTA) and to serve on the CHSEPTA Board as
the Membership Chairperson. CHSEPTA
is an important organization that has and will continue to have very positive
impacts on the education of special needs children in
Cherry Hill
, as well as continue to provide support for parents, guardians and educators of
special needs children in our community.
Although we have lived
in Cherry Hill for the past 10 years, my husband, Scott, and I have only
been involved with
Cherry Hill
’s special education system for the past 4 years.
Our son, Harrison, is now 6 years old and will be entering first
grade in the fall at
J.F.
Cooper
School
.
Harrison
started out his education experience with a generic classification in
pre-school which was changed to ADHD before he started kindergarten.
A few months back his diagnosis was changed to Asperger’s
Syndrome. I have quickly
learned that, regardless of the diagnosis, it is a team effort between
the parents, teachers, therapists, administrators and even other
students that all contribute to the successful academic, emotional and
social development of special needs children.
As part of CHSEPTA I can help make that happen for other
children, as well as my own child.
After meeting the
bright, talented and passionate members of the CHSEPTA Board and hearing
about their energetic and aggressive plans with regard to the upcoming
year, I look forward to being a part of this team and helping to bring
these ideas to fruition. In
my roll as Membership Chairperson I will actively look to enlist others
in the community to be a part of our PTA.
It is true that there is strength in numbers and we need that
strength to ensure that the needs of
Cherry Hill
’s children are met by our special education system.
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Robert
Williams, Social Chairperson
Some say I am an extrovert;
others view me as someone who is always available to listen, and there
are those who would say I am so out there with my honest feelings that
if he is real what is left of him that I cannot see. Here’s
what I view myself as:
Woo!
I like to see people
communicate and enjoy themselves. I
get pleasure out of bringing Joy to others.
That starts with the children, mostly due to the fact that
children are less inhibited by the world! Special Needs Children
especially are open to the laughter and playfulness of life, when a
space is created that is safe and comfortable for them to express these
wonderful traits. That is
basis for my decision to be Social Chair of CHSEPTA.
As I grow in my role the ideal would be to get the parents and
educators into the same mental framework; allowing the open safety and
friendship to expand our creative minds and collaborate effortlessly,
benefiting the ones we so cherish!
Professionally I’m an advisor
by trade. Working with
families, non-profits and financial management firms in Legacy Planning
and Philanthropic Guidance.
A lifetime resident in
Southern NJ
(Cherry Hill since 1992). I graduated from
Haddonfield
Memorial
High School
and
West Virginia
Wesleyan
College
where I was a member and officer of Theta Chi Fraternity. Theta Chi’s
motto is to provide the “Helping Hand”.
We were involved in community outreach and social interaction.
My wife the three children and I live in the Barclay section.
We have a 4th grader and Kindergartner attending
Russell Knight Elementary, in addition to our older Son who attends a
special program out of district.
Some other affiliations I am
presently involved in are: Serving as executive board member to the
“Challenger Baseball League” (
Cherry Hill
,
NJ
) a non-profit organized in 2006, which gives Special Needs Children an
opportunity to enjoy fun and friendship on the diamond.
We strive to create an atmosphere of relaxation and social
equality.
Recently I have become a
Regional Associate with SPAN of NJ in the parent to parent program. We
are a resource for parents and caregivers to attain information and we
offer support personal to listen and guide those in need, in dealing
with the emotional aspects of parenting/caretaking of a special needs
children.
Call anytime and my Starbucks
couch is always available for us to sit and share a cup of coffee!
609-828-6767
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