Meet the Workshop Speakers!
Meet the presenters for the Abilities Expo workshops! They are people whose individual lives are as relevant to the Community as the issues they are addressing. Our speakers have years of experience and are highly knowledgeable in their fields. Many are recognized nationally and within their state for their ongoing work with people with disabilities. All our speakers have apparent and non-apparent disabilities, work in the disability field, or are the sibling or parent of a person with disabilities.
Jessica Alfonso, MS, OTR/L
Co-Owner, Inside Out Kids
Jessica Alfonso, together with Gisela Jorge, is a co-owner of Inside Out Kids. She is a bilingual pediatric Occupational Therapist who loves all things sensory processing, nature-based, fine motor, emotional regulation, and gross motor. At Inside Out Kids they use a child-led and play-based approach with DIR Floor time strategies to lead their practice. They have been licensed for two years in the state of Florida and offer occupational therapy services to their community. They also lead inclusive nature-based playgroups. The main goal at Inside Out Kids is to nurture the inside to bring full potential out.
Workshop: Introduction to Sensory Processing
Kelly L. Green
Executive Director, Help Hope Live
Kelly has been executive director of Help Hope Live since November 2017. The daughter of a transplant recipient, Kelly not only believes in the mission of Help Hope Live, but she once used the service and it "completely changed her life." She feels honored and proud to lead an organization that provided hope and help to her family during her mother's journey to transplant in 2007. Kelly describes herself as a mother, a daughter of her hero, a battle-tested unifier, and a thought leader. She has more than 20 years' experience working in and leading nonprofit organizations and has dedicated her life to civic engagement. Kelly has proudly served as the CEO of Variety – The Children's Charity; director of Montgomery County, PA Voters Services; and deputy director for the Institute for the Study of Civic Values in Philadelphia. In 2018, Kelly was recognized with Main Line Today's Women on the Move Award for redefining success around Philadelphia, PA's Main Line region and western suburbs. Kelly is a connector, a person who needs to infuse each day with a lesson and inspire others to be the one makes someone else's day just a little brighter. She places value in small acts of kindness. She is a self-proclaimed activist, but most people just see her as someone who believes everyone deserves dignity and respect. She knows firsthand how broken our healthcare system is and is determined to help place medical needs in reach to those in need!
Workshop: Discover How to Pay for Everything You See Today
Gisela Jorge, MS, OTR/L
Co-Owner, Inside Out Kids
Gisela Jorge, together with Jessica Alfonso, is a co-owner of Inside Out Kids. She is a bilingual pediatric Occupational Therapist who loves all things sensory processing, nature-based, fine motor, emotional regulation, and gross motor. At Inside Out Kids they use a child-led and play-based approach with DIR Floor time strategies to lead their practice. They have been licensed for two years in the state of Florida and offer occupational therapy services to their community. They also lead inclusive nature-based playgroups. The main goal at Inside Out Kids is to nurture the inside to bring full potential out.
Workshop: Introduction to Sensory Processing
Rachel Krishnan, AIA
Project Manager - Architecture, Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA)
Rachel Y. Krishnan, AIA, joined PVA Architecture in 2018. Mrs. Krishnan has over twenty-five years of architectural design and construction experience with project scope ranging from private homes to large defense, government, and healthcare contracts. Five years of experience in healthcare design brought accessibility needs to the forefront of her work. With her knowledge of accessible design guidelines, Mrs. Krishnan provides technical assistance to those who are planning home renovations specifically focused on improving accessibility. She also advocates to maximize accessibility for healthcare projects serving veterans throughout the United States. Mrs. Krishnan is a licensed architect in South Carolina, with NCARB certification. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Design and a Master of Architecture from Clemson University.
Workshop: Accessible Home Design: The Basics
Sylvia Longmire
Accessible Travel Writer and Disability Rights Activist, Spin the Globe
Spin the Globe creator Sylvia Longmire is a service-disabled veteran, mother, author, consultant, entrepreneur, world traveler, and Ms. Wheelchair USA 2016. She traveled extensively from an early age and during her time as an Air Force officer and Special Agent. After she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2005, her ability to walk started to deteriorate. Sylvia learned how to travel with a walker, and eventually with an electric scooter. Her work as a consultant has taken her across the United States, and her addiction to leisure travel has taken her (and her scooter) as far as the deserts of Dubai and the glaciers of Alaska. She often travels alone and is continually invigorated by the kindness and offers of help from strangers in every corner of this beautiful world. As long as her wallet allows, Sylvia is knocking both domestic and international destinations off her bucket list as quickly as she can! She chooses her destinations based on their levels of wheelchair accessibility, as well as whether she'll be able to travel there alone or need a companion. Her goals are twofold: to educate people at home and abroad about the needs - and capabilities - of disabled travelers, and to encourage people with disabilities to leave their fears behind and seek adventure!
Workshop: Accessible Travel Adventures with Sylvia Longmire
Sonny Mullen
Director of Outreach, Help Hope Live
Sonny Mullen is from the Philadelphia area and spent the first part of her career in New York City working in television. She joined Help Hope Live in 2016, first working in the Finance Department and now proudly serves as the Outreach Manager. In this role she has helped build the Outreach department with the goal of bringing Help Hope Live's mission to a wider audience. Growing up with a younger brother living with GRIN1 Disorder, Sonny has a personal connection to Help Hope Live's mission. She is happy to use her experiences, both at home and with Help Hope Live, to connect and speak with individuals in the disability community all over the country, with the goal of helping them safely fundraise for their medical and related expenses.
Workshop: Discover How to Pay for Everything You See Today
Heather R. Price, OTR/L, ATP/SMS
Central South Regional Manager, Stealth Products
Heather R. Price, OTR/L, ATP/SMS, is a Regional Manager at Stealth Products. She also provides clinical education to therapists and DME providers under the Quantum Rehab education team. Previously, in clinical practice, Heather gained experience in wheelchair seating, positioning, and mobility at two nationally ranked rehab hospitals, TIRR Memorial Hermann in Houston and Shirley Ryan AbilityLab in Chicago. At TIRR, Heather was an Occupational Therapist on the inpatient spinal cord injury team. She gained extensive experience in custom wheelchair prescription, training, and seating and positioning. As the Wheelchair Skills and Management Specialist at SRALab, Heather helped develop a new program for inpatient clients of all ages with a variety of diagnoses. The program featured extensive wheelchair trials, evaluations, and instruction on advanced wheelchair skills.
Workshop: Maximizing Function in Joystick Driving
Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation
The Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation is dedicated to curing spinal cord injury by advancing innovative research and improving the quality of life for individuals and families impacted by paralysis. "Today's Care. Tomorrow's Cure." reflects the dual purpose set forth by Christopher and Dana to provide a continuum of hope for individuals living with paralysis worldwide. Christopher Reeve put a human face on spinal cord injury and was unrelenting in his drive to pursue the best research in the world. It was his vision, his passion, and his brilliance that attracted young scientists to take on the cause and advance the field of spinal cord research. Dana Reeve was universally known as the model for caregiving, and her legacy is the creation of our National Paralysis Resource Center, which provides free and comprehensive life-changing resources to those living with paralysis and their families.
Workshops: Self-Care in 10 Easy Doses, Tell Your Story, Let the National Paralysis Resource Center Hear Your Voice - Caregiving Listening Sessions
Andre Sam
Disability & Special Needs Project
Andre Sam is a comprehensive Disability and Special Needs Planner with SilverTree Special Needs Planning. Upon earning a bachelor's degree in economics from the University of Arizona, Andre began a career in comprehensive disability and special needs planning. Andre has been in the industry for seven years working with individuals and families with special needs and disabilities. Andre is currently part of a non-profit organization called the Special Needs Education & Advocacy Project. Through this non-profit organization, Andre gives back by donating his time during evenings and on the weekends sharing his knowledge by providing complimentary educational presentations to organizations and groups who have loved ones that are part of the special needs and disability community. Learn more about the Disability & Special Needs Project.
Workshop: Disability and Special Needs Planning Made Easy
Dr. Jason Sonners, DC, DIBAK, DCBCN, CCWP, CHP
Certified Hyperbaric Practitioner, Clinic Director, HBOT USA and NJ HBOT
Dr. Jason Sonners is the Clinic Director of NJ HBOT and HBOT USA and is a Certified Hyperbaric Practitioner. He supports patients with a variety of autoimmune and neurological conditions, allergies, autism, cancer and many others. He combines hyperbaric oxygen therapy, nutrition, exercise, detoxification programs and much more to help naturally support patients and guide them through their health challenges. Dr. Jason originally tried hyperbaric oxygen therapy for himself at a conference to work on a neuropathy that wasn't responding to chiropractic, nutrition, physical therapy, and other methods. He was amazed by the results. He bought his first chamber then and there and brought it home to help his step dad who has Multiple Sclerosis. He continued to be impressed by the power and effectiveness of HBOT. This set him on a mission to help lead the way in the field of Hyperbaric Oxygen, disseminating education and facilitating access to this incredible therapy.
Workshop: What is HBOT and How Does It Work?