Recognizing the Ability in Every Child

KIT Staff

Jan Giacinti | Torrie Dunlap | Mary Shea | Sara Couron | Alicia J. Cook |
Alissa Lavelle | Nili Matthews | Cheryl Fortson

Jan Giacinti
Chief Executive Officer
jan@kitonline.org

CEO, Janice Giacinti. Ms. Giacinti has been involved in the non-profit sector in San Diego County for the past 17 years. She spent eight years dedicated to development work and nine years at the Executive level. Her previous experience includes work with the Boys & Girls Clubs of America at both the National and local levels, Fresh Start Surgical Gifts, Inc. and Special Olympics. Ms. Giacinti's expertise lies in increasing the organizational capacity of a non-profit to insure manageable sustained growth. Ms. Giacinti received regional recognition from the Boys & Girls Clubs of America in 1998 and was a 2001 Women Who Mean Business Award recipient sponsored by the San Diego Business Journal. Most recently, in 2005 Ms. Giacinti was awarded a Fellowship for Nonprofit Leadership by the Harvard Business School (HBS) Alumni Club of San Diego and the San Diego Foundation and attended a six-day executive education seminar at HBS entitled "Strategic Perspectives in Nonprofit Management."

Torrie Dunlap
Director, National Training Center on Inclusion
torrie@kitonline.org

Torrie’s experience in theatre education led her to a career supporting the inclusion of children with disabilities. It is also Torrie’s experience in theatre that makes her a powerful public speaker and dynamic teacher. Torrie holds a degree in theatre from San Diego State University and has won national awards for her arts education programs. Since coming to KIT Torrie has given presentations at many national and regional conferences, has trained people all over the country, sits on a variety of committees dedicated to improving access for people with disabilities, has written several inclusion manuals and contributed to a textbook called Inclusive Recreation, to be published in the fall of 2009. She has extensive experience developing curriculum for both children and adults and has led the creation of KIT’s new eLearning programs. Torrie has held leadership positions with the American Alliance for Theatre and Education, chairing their national conference in 2001. Torrie is currently a member of the California Afterschool Network Leadership Team, the California School-Age Consortium and the American Society for Training and Development (ASTD).

 

Sara Couron
Director of Operations
sara@kitonline.org

Sara N. Couron brings 21 years of experience working with individuals with developmental disabilities to her responsibilities as KIT’s Director of Operations. Before joining the KIT staff in 2000, Sara was the co-Executive Director of Area Board XIII, a state advocacy agency which monitors the rights and services of individuals with developmental disabilities. Sara has a strong understanding of the service delivery system for individuals with disabilities from working as a case manager for the San Diego Regional Center, and at an employment program for adults with developmental disabilities. While at KIT, Sara has successfully written, administered and monitored 10 government grants totaling over $1.3 million in funding. She holds a Master’s degree in Public Administration from San Diego State University.

Alicia Cook
Events & Marketing Associate

Alicia Cook received her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Pitzer College in Claremont, California. She worked as a behavioral therapist at the Claremont Autism Center and as a Child and Family Specialist for the Sycamores, using Wraparound techniques to assist and empower children with special needs and their families. Alicia was active in psychological research during her time in college, co-authoring a presentation on Mexican American Acculturation at the Western Psychological Association Conference in Maui, Hawaii and studying eating disorders and their impact on Italian culture in Parma, Italy. While working at Pitzer College and the Food Art Group, Alicia developed her event planning and marketing techniques to organize and implement nationwide programs to excite and engage donors and constituents.

Alissa Lavelle, MS
Program Coordinator
alissa@kitonline.org

Alissa Lavelle received her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts.  She completed her Master of Science degree in Child Development at San Diego State University in August of 2007, with her thesis: “Inclusive After-School Programs: Examining Parent Perceptions of Program Quality and Child Experience”.  Alissa is from western Massachusetts, where she gained experience working as a dance instructor, a swim instructor for a summer camp that embraced inclusion, a preschool teacher, and a research assistant focusing on projects related to early childhood and autism.  Here in San Diego, Alissa has served as a child care counselor for children with social emotional disorders, a graduate teaching and research assistant, a behavioral tutor for children with autism, and a Pre-K teacher.  Alissa serves on the Board of Directors for the San Diego Association for the Education of Young Children (SDAEYC) and is the co-chair of the SDAEYC Special Needs Committee.   

Nili Mathews, CTRS
Project Coordinator
nili@kitonline.org

Nili is a Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist with 19 years of experience working with people with special needs.  She has a degree in Recreation and Leisure Studies with an emphasis in Therapy from San Francisco State University.  Nili has worked with clients of all ages with various disabilities in many different settings including physical rehabilitation, mental health, residential camping and community recreation.  Nili has presented at numerous national and regional conferences and has trained thousands of program staff as a KIT trainer. Nili’s experience includes 6 years with the San Diego YMCA Youth and Family Services as Inclusion Specialist. Nili was also the Project Coordinator for KIT’s Navy Training-of-Trainer project, funded by First 5.

Cheryl Fortson
Administrative Assistant
Cheryl@kitonline.org

Cheryl comes to KIT from the San Diego School District, spending most of her professional life in the Nonprofit sector with the YMCA's.  Cheryl finds working with Nonprofits rewarding and fulfilling stating "opportunities and experiences should be closed to no one - it is our responsibility to help open doors to full inclusion."

 

Mary Shea, Ed.D.
Consultant
mary@kitonline.org

After having served in nearly every capacity at KIT over the past ten years,  Mary will be donning a new hat for KIT; that of consultant.  She will be using her 32 years of experience to ensure that all children have opportunities to be included and supported in their neighborhoods and in community programs, not just in San Diego, but across the country.  Mary has a Bachelor’s degree in Occupational Therapy, a Master’s degree in Public Health and a Doctoral degree in Education with an emphasis in Leadership Studies at the University of San Diego. She has served as a keynote speaker and has presented at national and regional conferences.  As an organizational consultant, Mary frequently leads nonprofits through a strategic planning process for inclusion.   KIT is honored to have Mary representing KIT at conferences, sharing her expertise on special projects, and conducting evaluations to continually monitor the impact inclusion has on both children with and without disabilities.

 

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