Meet Our 2019 CLASE Community of Practice Members
Clara Garcia
CLASE Community of Practice
Facilitator
Clara Garcia is the Director of Programs for the Autism Society Inland Empire. She has been active in the field of social services for the past 21 years in the areas of mental health and drug treatment counseling, gang prevention/intervention programs and has spent the last 9 years serving those in the disability community by promoting inclusion, advocating and educating.
Clara has created and implemented inclusive programs for special needs children and their typical peers which include a Summer camp, play dates, outings in the community. Clara has appeared on PSA’s promoting inclusion and advocacy for the disability community.
Beth Burt
CLASE Community of Practice
Project Manager
Beth Burt is the Executive Director of the Autism Society Inland Empire. She is a parent of two young adults, one of which has Autism. She has co-authored of two books on inclusion and has been working to improve the lives of all affected by Autism for the last 16 years. She has served on a number of State and Local Task Forces, Collaborations on Housing, Employment, and Public Policy issues related to Autism.
She currently serves as the President of the Autism Society of California.
Alejandra Rivera
EPU Children’s Center
Contact: 909-890-3388
Alejandra is the Manager-Southern California EPU Children’s Center, a Non-Profit Organization serving 13 Counties in California as a Parent Training and Information (PTI) Center. EPU serves San Bernardino County, and provides training, IEP consultations, telephone assistance and guidance at no cost for families and professionals. EPU is also now doing in-home or community visits to offer parent education to Regional Center families in San Bernardino County.
Alma Rodriguez
Fiesta Educativa
I was born in the Edo.de Guanajuato Mexico, study a bachelor’s degree with the specialty of Technician in Construction, work as a teacher of Basic Education in Culinary Missions for 4 years, take the higher Normal until the 3rd grade, leave the career when I get married and migrate to this country in 1993. I worked in: a maquiladora company (Electronics) and a company manufacturing hospital goods. I quit my job when my young daughter (8 Months) began presenting health problems and at age 3 and a half she was diagnosed with Autism and intellectual disability. I started to instruct myself to be able to help my daughter, attending any informational talks I found regarding autism, it was there that I met Fiesta Educativa, little time for this organization to welcome me giving me the opportunity not only to follow learning but to help other parents who were in the same or worse situation as me, since then I have taken several trainings all related to disability. I have currently been chairing the organizing committee of the annual Conference that is presented in Riverside County for 13 years, I also worked on family party programs, and the Parent Educational Program autism better known as APEP. I help parents in counseling or referral on resources and sometimes referring them for mental health supports and whatever is available to me and knowledge.
Aracely Monroy
Broad Spectrum, Broader Minds
My beautiful gift, my family, is made up of myself as primary caregiver/advocate; my husband as the primary income earner, works as a manager in the HVAC industry; and our son who has dilated cardiomyopathy autism and other co-existing conditions.
The Broad Spectrum, Broader Minds parent group was started to help provide a safe place for Latinx families of Spanish language origin to come together to learn from each other and provide social/emotional support in an understanding way and without judgment. The group meets every Tuesday at the St. Christopher Church off Perris Blvd. & Cottonwood Ave. in Moreno Valley.
Blanca Loria
Angeles con Futuro
Facilitator for the Spanish support group Angeles con Futuro in the city of San Bernardino and Parent Representative for Early Start Family Resource Network.
Blanca has 3 children, two boys and a girl. Her youngest, Ashley, has Down Syndrome. She was diagnosed in utero and her pregnancy was a bit stressful, filled with ultrasounds and stress tests to ensure Ashley was developing okay. When Ashley was born, she had cardiac arrest and spent 5 days in the NICU. Blanca feels blessed to have Ashley in her life because of all she has learned. Ashley is now 20 years. Blanca has learned how to advocate in the school, the community, and the Regional Center system. Blanca is always willing to share what she has learned and finds it a privilege to be a helpful resource to you.
Catalina Castillo
San Bernardino District English
Learner Advisory Communittee
(DELAC)
Contact: 909-891-1013
Catalina has been a resident of San Bernardino for over 30 years and is a mother of 3. She has a son on the autism spectrum who is attending college at San Bernardino Valley College to obtain a degree in graphic design. Recognizing the adversities faced by individuals within the special needs community, she has dedicated herself to being an active source of support and change for others. She is a founding member of Parents in Action, San Bernardino branch and also a member of SB Community Coalitions for CHANGE. The goal is to help create safe and healthy environments for youth through community actions, which helps reduce underage drinking, smoking, and other drug use. Catalina has also been a community volunteer in San Bernardino City Unified School District (SBCUSD) for over 13 years and is an SBCUSD District English Learner Advisory Committee (DELAC) parliamentarian. The SBCUSD DELAC is a parent governance council that is focused on working collaboratively with all education stakeholders in order to best meet the needs of English Learner students. The committee is focused on the seven tasks as dictated by the state, where DELAC works collaboratively with other district departments to ensure students have access to necessary support. In particular, DELAC has been active in advocating for special needs students and has greatly supported all teacher training and staff development to help build education stakeholders’ capacity in working with English Learner special needs students. In all her years of enacting change for the community, at the heart of Catalina’s endeavors is creating equity for all. Catalina is passionate about making changes that will support success for all students, not only for the present-day but for their individual futures.
Elvia Tamayo
Padres con Poder
Evangelina Macias
Ãngeles Especiales Parent
Support Group
Contact: 909-699-3614
Spanish support group to empower parents to advocate for themselves and their children. Serves San Bernardino and Riverside Counties – all disabilities. A Spanish-speaking support group for parents of children with special needs. Meets the second Wednesday 9-11:30 a.m. at St. Joseph Catholic Church, 17080 Arrow Blvd., Fontana, CA 92335. The focus of the group is to teach parents how to access resources related to special education, grants and scholarships, children’s and adult’s rights, recreation and adaptive sports. We welcome all disabilities in the Inland Empire.
Flora Martinez
Inland Empire Latino Coalition
Flora Martinez currently represents the Fourth District by serving on the San Bernardino County Committee on School District Organization and was recently appointed to the San Bernardino IHSS Advisory Committee. Her major is in Sociology-Political Science. Throughout her journey as a parent of children with special needs, she found herself joining and volunteering in various non-profit organizations, serving on school board advisory committees, and various political forums. She’s assisted the school district in the development of programs, such as but not limited to the Social Skills Summer Program. She helps lead organizations like the Inland Empire Latino Coalition in advocating and educating our community with resources to guide families and individuals towards a better quality of life. The coalition has organized many workshops that have empowered many parents, teachers, and students to work collaboratively in finding innovating ways to ensure successful outcomes for students.
Gabriela Ayala-Reyes
United Cerebral Palsy Inland
Empire (UCPIE)
Website: ucpie.org
UCPIE provides programs and services in both Riverside and San Bernardino counties for individuals diagnosed with cerebral palsy, autism, down syndrome, epilepsy, intellectual delay and other disabilities. Programs include respite, resource and referral, and an adaptive bike program.
Gabriela Ibarra
Padres con Poder
Contact: 951-737-0951
The group was born with parents of children with Down Syndrome, but they serve parents with children of different physical and cognitive abilities of all ages, we all bring a little of the experiences, challenges, and successes of our children. Serve Corona Riverside area, all disabilities.
Giselle Salinas
UCR SEARCH Center
Giselle Salinas, B.A., is a second-year doctoral student in the Special Education program at the University of California, Riverside. Giselle previously earned her B.A. in Psychology at California State University, Dominguez Hills where she worked on a research project focused on the support and family involvement of university students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Her research interests include the college experience, support systems, transition to adulthood, and family involvement of college students with ASD. Giselle is a SEARCH Fellow at the SEARCH Center, which is the University of California’s first family ASD resource center focused exclusively on family needs, such as educational access. Housed in the UCR Graduate School of Education, the mission of SEARCH is to provide support, education, advocacy, resources, community and hope to families who have loved ones on the autism spectrum. SEARCH provides free autism screening to children aged 3 to 10 years.
Gloria Perez
Padres con Poder
Contact: 951-737-0951
The group was born with parents of children with Down Syndrome, but they serve parents with children of different physical and cognitive abilities of all ages, we all bring a little of the experiences, challenges, and successes of our children. Serve Corona Riverside area, all disabilities.
Haydee Maynes
Ãngeles Especiales Parent
Support Group
Contact: 909-699-3614
A Spanish-speaking support group for parents of children with special needs
Second Wednesday 9-11:30 a.m. at St. Joseph Catholic Church, 17080 Arrow Blvd., Fontana, CA 92335. The focus of the group is to teach parents how to access resources related to special education, grants and scholarships, children’s and adult’s rights, recreation and adaptive sports. We welcome all disabilities in the Inland Empire.
Helen Neri
Ãngeles Especiales Parent
Support Group
Contact: 909-699-3614
A Spanish-speaking support group for parents of children with special needs
Second Wednesday 9-11:30 a.m. at St. Joseph Catholic Church, 17080 Arrow Blvd., Fontana, CA 92335. The focus of the group is to teach parents how to access resources related to special education, grants and scholarships, children’s and adult’s rights, recreation and adaptive sports.
Isabel Torres
Padres con Poder
Contact: 951-733-2489
Jessica Munoz
Broad Spectrum
Broader Minds
My family dynamic is made up of my husband, myself, a 15-year-old daughter and a 10-year-old son. I am a stay-at-home mom and the primary caregiver/advocate for our son who has a primary diagnosis of autism and other conditions such as a learning disability and speech impairment. My daughter is a smart young lady with a passion for helping her little brother. We four integrate as a team and we are trying our best to cover all the needs of my son’s conditions.
The Broad Spectrum Broader Minds parent group in Moreno Valley was started to help provide a safe place for Latinx families of Spanish language origin to come together to learn from each other and provide social/emotional support in an understanding way and without judgment. The group meets every Tuesday at the St. Christopher Church off Perris Blvd. & Cottonwood Ave. in Moreno Valley. The Broader Sprectrum, Broader Minds parent group was started to help provide a safe place for Latinx families of Spanish language origin to come together to learn from each other and provide social/emotional support in an understanding way and without judgment. The group meets every Tuesday at the St. Christopher Church off Perris Blvd. & Cottonwood Ave. in Moreno Valley.
Lilia Ulloa
Capacidades Diferentes
Lilia Ulloa, better known as Lily, is the Executive Director of Capacidades Diferentes (Different Capabilities). Part of Capacidades Diferentes mission and promise is to share resources with communities in effort to promote self-advocacy and nourishing local leadership. Lily is a mother of four who attended Guadalajara Universidad and migrated to the US and has been active for over 12 years in various social justice movements, such as advocating for Immigrant Rights and Environmental Justice. Through her years in activism, Lily has collaborated with Learning Rights- bringing TIGER to Riverside- and has been part of the organizing committee of Fiesta Educativa Riverside. Additionally, she has served as a motivational public speaker and presented on other topics centered on identifying added skills in order to better navigate the special education system. During her free time, Lily enjoys sharing meals with friends, reading on the latest news and spending time with her family. She is recognized for her charisma and ease of creating connections with different abled families.
Lilia Ulloa, mejor conocida como Lily, es la Directora Ejecutiva de Capacidades Diferentes. Parte de la misión y promesa de Capacidades Diferentes, es compartir recursos con la comunidad en un esfuerzo para promover la autoabogacía y liderazgo comunitario. Lily es una madre de cuatro, que attendio la Universidad de Guadalajara, migró a los Estados Unidos en y ha estado activa durante más de 12 años en diversos movimientos de justicia social, como la abogacia por los derechos de los inmigrantes y su imvolucramiento con la justicia ambiental. A través de sus años de activism, Lily ha logrado colaborar con Derechos de Aprendizaje para traer el programa TIGER a Riverside, y ha sido parte del comité organizador de Fiesta Educativa Riverside. Ademas, ella ha servido como oradora pública motivocional y presentado en temas centricos en el tema de cómo saber navegar por el sistema de educación especial. En su tiempo libre, Lily disfruta de compartir comidas con amigos, leer las últimas noticias y pasar el tiempo con su familia. Ella es reconocida por su carisma y facilidad para crear conexiones con diferentes familias capaces.
Liliana Alvarado
Autism Society Inland Empire
Contact: 951-220-6922
Serves the Inland Empire. Bilingual Resource specialist provides support, information, and resources for all ages of individuals and families with a loved one with autism. Offers Charla, Autismo y Café meets once a month in Rancho Cucamonga. This group has several fun social events and workshops throughout the year.
Liliana Valenzuela
San Bernardino USD
Community Advisory Committee
Contact: 951-220-6922
Luisa Domenak
San Bernardino USD
Luisa Domenack is currently a Paraprofessional for English Learners Department in the San Bernardino Unified School District. With a career in special education for over fifteen years, she has always been passionate about helping all students and especially students on the spectrum. One day she was invited to attend an Autism Society meeting by her friend and coworker Olivia Finley. The first meeting was all it took for her passion to be fueled and participation in the Autism Society of Inland Empire guaranteed. Luisa is a Peruvian dedicated to the education, growth, and development of each and every family with a child on the Spectrum.
Mariza Hernandez
Early Start Family Resource Network
Contact: 909-890-4788
Melissa Cardona
Autism Society Inland Empire
Contact: 951-220-6922
Serves the Inland Empire. Bilingual Resource specialist provide support, information, and resources for all ages of individuals and families with a loved one with autism. Offers Charla, Autismo y Café meets once a month in Rancho Cucamonga. This group has several fun social events and workshops throughout the year.
Nancy Espinal
EPU Children’s Center
Contact: 909-890-3388
EPU serves San Bernardino County, and provides training, IEP consultations, telephone assistance and guidance at no cost for families and professionals. EPU is also now doing in-home or community visits to offer parent education to Regional Center families in San Bernardino County.
Olivia Finley
San Bernardino USD
I was born and raised in San Bernardino. I had my whole life planned out…I was going to finish high school, join the Air Force to become a pilot and eventually get married and have a little girl, but God had other plans for me. I had already signed up to join the Air Force, but I found myself pregnant. I had my first son and became a stay at home mom. Four years later , I had my twins. Yes, I had 3 boys. As my children were growing we noticed the twins were different from their brother, but we thought it was a twin thing. I started working with the San Bernardino City Unified School District in their Special Education Department. When my twins started school they were having a very difficult time, so eventually their behavior earned them a time of being tested. They were then placed in Special Ed as RSP students and I was requested that they be placed somewhere for “kids like them” at that time that would have meant somewhere for kids with behavior problems. Working in the district, I got to see the good the bad and the ugly and I was unwilling to let them go. We all worked very hard and they are a success. I continue to work in Special Education and help the students and families that I work with see the potential in their students and encourage them to work hard and see the great outcomes in their futures. As I said God had His own plans for my life.
Reyna Galindo
Broad Spectrum
Broader Minds
My small family dynamic is made up of myself as primary Caregiver, my Husband as Primary Income Earner/US Army Veteran; parenting, learning and advocating for our (elementary-aged) child with a primary diagnosis of Autism and other co-existing conditions. The Broad Spectrum Broader Minds parent group in Moreno Valley was started to help provide a safe place for Latinx families of Spanish language origin to come together to learn from each other and provide social/emotional support in an understanding way and without judgment. The group meets every Tuesday at the St. Christopher Church off Perris Blvd. & Cottonwood Ave. in Moreno Valley.
Susana Maciel
Fiesta Educativa
Contact: 323-221-6696
Provides resources to parents to advocate, ask for services and guide them on special education, regional center services, social security, etc. in Spanish and English. Covers all developmental disabilities.
Susie Villalobos
TASK
Contact: 866-828-8275
Veronica Ascencio
Capacidades Diferentes
Mi nombre es Verónica Ascencio García, Soy egresada de la Licenciatura de Nutrición en México, mi país natal. Como hermana de un niño con necesidades especiales, nos hemos enfrentado a grandes retos y desafíos y hemos conocido el verdadero significado del amor puro e incondicional.
A lo largo de estos 13 años que hemos tenido altas y bajas, pero gracias a esto, nos hemos dado a la tarea de capacitarnos para poder abogar mejor por él y poder ayudar a más padres a que su lucha no sea tan dura. En lo personal he tomado clases por 2 años para conocer mejor los programas y servicios que ofrece el distrito escolar y sobretodo, para saber cómo pedir lo que se ofrece. Así mismo, a saber abogar correctamente por mi hermano y por los niños que servimos en nuestra página.
El grupo de Capacidades Diferentes, nos da las herramientas para poder compartir recursos e informar a otros padres de eventos y servicios que se ofrecen en nuestra comunidad y a sus alrededores, darnos apoyo y recordarles a todos los padres que estamos en la misma lucha, aunque cada uno, peleamos nuestras propias batallas.
