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General Questions & CommentsEmail: This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it This email should be used for online profile help or general questions, comments or suggestions regarding the Adaptations program. Allison Kleinman--Director, AdaptationsAllison Kleinman, Director of Adaptations at the JCC in Manhattan, worked at United Jewish Communities for five years. After two years as Manager of Client Services in UJC Consulting, Allison joined the UJC Mandel Center team as the Senior Manager, HRD Consulting. In this capacity, she helped to recruit and retain early career level professionals in the Jewish federation system as well as to create professional and volunteer training and development. Allison graduated from the University of Florida with a B.S. in Psychology and received her Clinical MSW from Fordham University in Spring 2009. Email:
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Latha Soorya--Social Skills Group SupervisorLatha Soorya, PhD, BCBA is the Chief Psychologist and an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the Seaver and New York Autism Center of Excellence, Mount Sinai School of Medicine Dr. Soorya’s expertise is in the assessment and treatment of individuals with ASD. Her research interests include the use of behavioral and neuropsychological assessments to understand the variability in treatment response commonly observed in individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). Dr. Soorya and oversees clinical assessment, staff training, community outreach, and collaborations with community agencies. Over the last several years, she and Seaver Center staff developed and empirically evaluated a comprehensive, cognitive behavioral social skills therapy program for high functioning children with ASDs, which is now in a manual form being utilized by local community agencies and undergoing a clinical trial funded by Autism Speaks. Rachel Schmitt--Social Skills Group FacilitatorRachel Schmitt, PhD, is a Postdoctoral Fellow at Mount Sinai School of Medicine. She conducts the Adaptations Social Skills group, Chat and Chew, and Lounge. She also conducts social skills groups for children age 3 and up. Rachel earned her B.A. in Psychology from Bates College in Lewiston, Maine. She then earned her MA and PhD in School Psychology from Indiana University in Bloomington, IN. She graduated in Summer 2009 and then moved to NYC. Spotlight Adaptations staff: Want to know more about Rachel Schmitt? 1. What's your involvement with Adaptations? I've been working with Adaptations since August. I run the social skills groups on Tuesday and Thursday evenings. We have had an amazing year. I also help run Chat N Chew on Thursday nights and Lounge every Sunday. I also have office hours on Tuesdays and Thursdays for 30 minute increments. It has been a wonderful experience getting to know everyone and I am looking forward to the future!2. Tell us about someone or something special in your life. Some special "people" in my life are my husband, Brandon, and our dog, Clementine, who is far too adorable and fun for her own good. She walks around our neighborhood breaking hearts wherever she goes. Our friends are all smitten.3. Tell us an Adaptations memory that you remember. While also working on flexibility, I have been trying to encourage the Adaptations members to exchange phone numbers and get together outside or Adaptations more often. In fact, the group work from our most recent Social Skills group was to spend time with someone new from Adaptations. Members were exchanging numbers left and right. Then, recently, at an Adaptations event, I heard two women talking quietly about how much fun they had when they hung out and how they were looking forward to doing it again. I couldn't help but eavesdrop and tell them how fun what they were doing sounded!4. If you were on a desert island, what three things would you bring? I would bring Brandon, a Sirius satellite radio and chocolate :)Beth Rosenberg--Special Needs Consultant to AdaptationsBeth Rosenberg is an educational consultant with a specialty in culture, special needs and technology. She is the content editor for Adaptationsonline.org. Beth has spent over 18 years in the not-for-profit world working in education departments in major cultural institutions in NYC. She is an advocate for parents with children with special needs and is a parent of a child with special needs. Her website is: http://edubeth.net She can be reached at This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it Hannah Kaplan-Cohen--Parents Support GroupHannah Kaplan-Cohen is the Coordinator for Special Needs Parenting Programs, Support Groups and Disability Films at the JCC in Manhattan. She has been a staff member for over 10 years. She developed and facilitates the support groups for parents of young children, school age children, teens, young adults grandparents and adult siblings who have a family member with special needs. Along with her work at the JCC, Hannah works privately with young adults and families, where a special need exists, as a life-coach. Katrina Reese--Employment Project CoordinatorKatrina Reese, M.S. received her master’s degree in Rehabilitation Counseling from SUNY Albany in 2008. She has worked in the vocational rehabilitation field for 2 ½ years and has worked with individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders, of all ages and in many different settings, for over seven years. Katrina started her rehabilitation career as a vocational counselor in a school for adolescents and young adults with developmental disabilities. She then worked as a vocational counselor with disabled veterans at the Veterans Benefits Administration in Albany, NY. Recently she has been working as a training consultant at Job Path performing community based work assessments, networking with employers for job development, providing support on the job for participants once they are hired, and teaching participants about resumes, cover letters, interviewing, etc. Spotlight Adaptations staff: Want to know more about Katrina Reese? 1. What's your involvement with Adaptations? I've been working with Adaptations for 1 year already!! I am the "Job Counselor" for the members helping them to shape up their resumes and cover letters, perform job searches, apply to jobs, etc. I also provide Job Support Groups and now a Job Club for the members. So far so good!2. Tell us about someone or something special in your life. Hmmm...I have to list just one?! I like to write poetry in my spare time. I write about the world, my work, family, friends, feelings and anything else that comes to my mind. It really helps me to put a perspective on things and then to clear my head and move forward. J3. Tell us an Adaptations memory that you remember. I work with Simone to find her employment and a few months ago was able to connect her to a volunteer job with Irene Yager in her cooking classes. Simone was working with Irene for about two weeks and I went to visit her. Her face lit right up, her confidence level had boosted and she seemed more independent! I asked her how she felt about it and she said: "I love this. It gives me something to do. Makes me feel good about myself. Thank you!" and I thought..."this is why I do this!" Thanks to Allison too on this one!4. If you were on a desert island, what three things would you bring? Neil (my amazing boyfriend), my Ipod, and my Blistex.Kristina Dumas--InternKristina came to the US three years ago from Russia. At that time, she had a bachelor's and a master's degree in psychology. While learning English, she volunteered with a little girl who had severe autism and a seizure disorder. From that experience, she became interested in the autism spectrum. Kristina moved to New York in 2008 and volunteered at JBFCS at their Child Development Center with children with different learning and developmental challenges. In the spring of 2009, she volunteered for Adaptations at the JCC and got hooked. In the fall of 2009, she began a master's program in mental health counseling at Yeshiva University. Kristina can be reached This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it or (646)505-5645. She is leading the Lounge with Dr. Rachel Schmitt and also helping with the Healthy Living Group. Spotlight Adaptations staff: Want to know more about Kristina Dumas? 1. What's your involvement with Adaptations? I've been with Adaptations for a little bit more that a year. I started here as a volunteer and then moved up as an intern! I organize and facilitate Lounge, along with Rachel Schmitt, and assist at Social Skills Group and facilitate Healthy Living Group.2. Tell us about someone or something special in your life. The very special person in my life is my husband, Graham. He has been extremely supportive all these years after I immigrated from Russia. I also have two great people at the JCC, Allison Kleinman and Rachel Schmitt, who help me tremendously as I go through the path of becoming a mental health professional.3. Tell us an Adaptations memory that you remember. I remember how much fun we had last year during the Achilles Walk. Even though we did not run, we had a great two-hour walk around Central Park and talked about various fascinating things. I hope that this year the event will be as successful as last year! I invite all of you to walk with us on Sunday, June 27th! I also remember our overnight trip to Philadelphia which was a huge success! Two days of non-stop walking and gaining historical knowledge about this fascinating city flew by very quickly! I was very proud of our members who tolerated long distances and long hours during this trip. We will continue this tradition of out-of-town Adaptations trips: DC Overnight is coming up in the Fall!4. If you were on a desert island, what three things would you bring? No doubt - Graham, a dog that I would adopt from a shelter, and a big bottle of water.Dania Lauer--Intern-Fall 2010Dania is getting a social work degree from the Fordham University Graduate School of Social Work. Previously, Dania worked as the Human Resources Coordinator at MRM Worldwide, an interactive marketing company. Dania has been volunteering for Emunah of America for the past three years and has organized and hosted many events on the Upper West Side. She holds a BA from Queens College in Psychology and Business. 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