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Ron Blair
Renco Properties Inc.
Ron Blair attended Santa Clara University, where he received his bachelor of science in management. After graduation, Ron worked for a market research firm for several years before returning to Santa Clara for his law degree and his master of business administration with concentrations in finance and international business. He was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa as a graduate student for his outstanding scholarship. After working in education a few years, Ron joined a fellow college alumnus as a partner in a venture capital firm in the Silicon Valley.
For the last five years, Ron has been a partner and chief financial officer for Renco Properties Inc., a commercial real estate firm that owns property in Colorado and California. He is the managing member for Blair Family Investments, LLC, and serves as an officer for a non-profit foundation that focuses on education and children's causes. Ron is married and the father of two daughters. He lives in Parker, Colorado. Ron joined the Sensory Processing Disorder Foundation board of directors after learning about how many children are affected by this disorder and about the progress the SPD Foundation is making in increasing knowledge through research and raising awareness of Sensory Processing Disorder.
Rob Dahlager, MBA, PMP
ProBuild Holdings, LLC.
Rob is a program manager who directs multiple project activities from concept to delivery in the homebuilding supply industry. In this capacity, Rob maintains IT relationships, defines business needs, and handles risk management, project prioritization, and program management reporting. The father of a "sensational kid" himself, Rob was graduated from Colorado State University in business administration with a finance emphasis and received the masters in business administration in information systems from the University of Denver. Rob's extensive business and financial background make him especially equipped to advise the SPDF on operational matters.
Gregory A. Eurich, Esq.
Holland & Hart
Greg is a partner in the law firm of Holland & Hart LLP in Denver, Colorado, where he has been chair of the firm's Litigation Department and Labor Practice groups. Over the years, Greg has donated his time pro bono to many health and human services issues, most notably as lead trial lawyer for the team that successfully challenged Colorado's Amendment 2, the anti-gay rights initiative that was ultimately heard by the U.S. Supreme Court. Greg has served as general counsel for the SPD Foundation since 1990 on a pro bono basis. He negotiates all contracts and attends to other legal matters for the Foundation.
Edward Goldson, M.D., FAACP
The Children's Hospital of Denver
Dr. Goldson is a professor in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center in Denver. A practicing pediatrician involved in the care of children with special needs, he serves as a specialist in the Child Development Unit, works in the area of child maltreatment, and currently serves as the coordinator for the child development rotation of the pediatric residents. In the past, Ed served on the governor's Interagency Coordinating Council for IDEA (the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) and on the Colorado Developmental Disabilities Council. Ed currently serves on the Committee on the Psychosocial Aspects of Child and Family Health as well as on one of the panels developing the Bright Beginnings documents of the American Academy of Pediatrics. He assists the SPD Foundation on conceptual issues related to the diagnosis of Sensory Processing Disorder and volunteers as the physician expert on the physician pages of the SPD Foundation web site.
Carol Stock Kranowitz, MA
Editor-in-Chief, SI Focus magazine
A preschool teacher for 25 years, Carol Kranowitz observed many young children with SPD. Today she teaches parents, educators, and other professionals how sensory issues play out and suggests activities for addressing them at home and school. Carol's books and DVDs, published by Perigee Books and Sensory Resources, include The Out-of-Sync Child and The Out-of-Sync Child Has Fun; The Out-of-Sync Child video; a children's book, The Goodenoughs Get in Sync; and Preschool SENsory Scan for Educators (Preschool SENSE), a tool for therapists working with teachers. She is editor-in-chief of S.I. Focus, the magazine devoted to sensory processing issues. Carol received her bachelor of arts from Barnard College and her master of arts in education and human development from George Washington University. She lives in Maryland.
Lucy Jane Miller, PhD, OTR
SPD Foundation Executive Director
Dr. Lucy Miller is the founder and has been the executive director of the SPD Foundation since 1979. She also directs the work of the Foundation's clinical research partner, the Sensory Therapies And Research (STAR) Center.
An occupational therapist and research scientist, Dr. Miller was awarded an NIH career award to investigate sensory processing disorders in children. She developed the SPD Scientific Work Group, which is composed of researchers from Harvard, Yale, Duke, and twelve other research institutions. She is a professor of Pediatrics at Rocky Mountain University and an associate clinical professor in the departments of Rehabilitation Medicine and Pediatrics at the University of Colorado Denver.
Dr. Miller has authored nine nationally standardized assessments for children with special needs and more than fifty peer-reviewed articles and chapters on SPD. Her groundbreaking book on SPD for parents and professionals, Sensational Kids: Help and Hope for Children with Sensory Processing Disorder (New York: GP Putnam's Sons), was published in 2006 and released in paperback in 2007.
Dr. Miller obtained her bachelor of science degree in psychology from Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Oregon, her master's in occupational therapy from Boston University, and her doctorate in special education (educational research emphasis) from the University of Denver. In 2005, she received the Award of Merit from the American Occupational Therapy Association, the highest award in the OT profession. In 2006, she received the Martin Luther King Jr. Humanitarian Award from the state of Colorado.
Dr. Miller's work has been featured on 20-20 (ABC), The Today Show (NBC), and The Early Show (CBS), and in the New York Times, TIME Magazine, and numerous other national and regional publications.
Marla Roth-Fisch
Marla Fisch's professional background includes positions in marketing and operations for Los Angeles-based Westfield Corporation, one of the world's top owners and managers of major regional shopping centers. Prior to her experience at Westfield, Fisch founded and ran Raiders' Benefit Basketball, a California-based organization that recruited professional athletes for charity basketball and softball fundraisers. Raiders' Benefit organized more than 500 sporting events with proceeds benefiting schools and other causes promoting the health and well-being of children and teenagers.
Marla, a happily married mother of two children, lives in Highland Ranch, Colorado. She wrote and illustrated the book Sensitive Sam as a read-together book for parents and children with SPD. The book, written from a child's perspective, is told in rhyme and illustrated with bright colors and empathetic scenes designed to hold attention and foster better understanding of kids with SPD and their parents.
The mother of a son with SPD, Marla Fisch is committed to making an active and positive personal contribution in her future involvement as an SPDF board member.
María L. Sepúlveda, Esq.
Attorney at law
María has lived in Colorado for more than 20 years. After graduating from the University of Colorado at Boulder, she attended the Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law in Washington, D.C. Since her admittance to the Colorado Bar in 1995, she has practiced law in both the public and private sectors, where she specialized in complex commercial matters, real estate transactions, and securities litigation and investigations. María is a member of the Colorado Hispanic Bar Association, Colorado Bar Association, Denver Bar Association, Autism Society of Colorado, and Cherry Hills Village Elementary Cultural Enrichment Committee. She is married with two children who keep the family involved in local school and community activities.
Steven Slaughter
Senior Vice President, Key Bank
Steve graduated from the University of Colorado at Denver with a degree in accounting and has worked in banking and finance since 1980. After serving as a private banker with Wells Fargo Bank for 14 years, Steve joined Key Bank as a senior vice president and private banker in 2006. He is an officer at the Beacon Center, a residential treatment center for teenagers 12-18, and a member of the steering committee for the Early Childhood Partnership of Adams County. A father of two, Steve developed a special interest in SPD after his premature son was born with sensory challenges in 2003.
Ryan Stille, CLU
Northwestern Mutual
Ryan Stille is a nationally recognized financial representative with Northwestern Mutual, a 150-year-old financial network. Since 1995, Ryan has been assisting individuals and businesses in addressing their risk management and financial needs. He first became interested in Sensory Processing Disorder after his toddler son was diagnosed with the condition in 2006. As his son has been treated, Ryan's determination to raise awareness of SPD and its treatment has grown. Ryan joined the SPDF board with a commitment to advance the Foundation's efforts to teach the world about SPD. |