The People Behind First Place®
Board of Directors (Click for bios)
Howard Sobelman
Board Chair
Snell & Wilmer Partner & Tyler's Dad
Joyce Millard Hoie
Vice Chair
Former Raising Special Kids Executive Director & Matt's Mom
Kathy Hancock
Board Secretary
Vertex Advisors Group Consultant
Bruce Schwartz
Board Treasurer
Former Jerith Manufacturing Co., Inc. Owner & President & Emily’s Dad
Tess Burleson, CPA, MBA
Board Member
TGen Chief Operating Officer
& TGen Health Ventures President
Jack Henry
Board Member
Founder & Managing Director
of Sierra Blanca Ventures, LLC
&
Clarke’s Grandfather
Tom Ortega
Board Member
RIESTER Chief Creative Officer & Partner
Amy Pawlowski
Board Member
UnitedHealthcare Community Plan Executive Director, Complex Care
Denise D. Resnik
Board Member
First Place Founder, President/CEO
SARRC Co-Founder & Emeritus Board Member
DRA Collective Founder & CEO
& Matt's Mom
Juan Salgado
Board Member
Phoenix IDA CEO
Phoenix Community
Development & Investment Corp. CEO
Michael Trailor
Board Member
Trellis President/CEO
Greg Wells
Board Member
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona
Senior Vice President & Chief People Officer
Leadership
Denise D. Resnik
President/CEO & Matt's Mom
Chuck Heimerdinger
Chief Financial Officer
Nancy Ottmann
Chief Operating Officer
Mitch Barr
Finance, Planning & Analysis Director
Mary Ann Bashaw
Communication Specialist
Maureen Casey
Global Leadership Institute Center for Public Policy & Applied Research Director and Creighton Elective Coordinator
Lexie Egerer, CTRS
Community Life & Wellness Director
Natasha Grant, MNLM
Inclusion & Vocation Director
Renée Greene
Executive Coordinator
brad herron-valenzuela
Global Leadership Institute Center for Education, Training & Employment Director
Alyssa Land
Digital Marketing & Creative Coordinator
Jessica Luna MMHW
Director of Supports & Mental Health Coordinator
Sarah Marchese M.Sc., SHRM-CP
Human Resources Manager
Kim Monette
Property Manager
Advisors
Steven A. Betts
Betts Real Estate Advisors Founder & President
Peter Bell
Ascendigo Autism Services
President & CEO and Tyler's Dad
Joe Blackbourn
Everest Holdings
President & CEO
George Braddock
Creative Housing Solutions, LLC Director
David C. Brown
Valley Leadership CEO
Catherine Camp Boyle
Autism Housing Pathways, Inc.
Founder & President
Mother of a young man
with autism
Ellis Carter
Caritas Law Group, P.C.
Legal Counsel
Joseph Cooper
NuvOx Pharma Chief Business Officer
James D. Howard, Jr.
Dudley Ventures Founder & Principal Shareholder
Anna Hundley, M.Ed.
Autism Treatment Center (ATC)
Texas Executive Director
Bill Karny
Col. Harland Sanders Foundation President (USA)
& Charlotte's Grandfather
The Late Natalie S. Lang
Lang Associates
Business Consultant
Raun D. Melmed, M.D.
SARRC Co-founder & Medical Director; Melmed Center Director & Developmental Pediatrician
Daniel Openden, Ph.D., BCBA-D
SARRC President & CEO
Wellington "Duke" Reiter, FAIA
Solutions Initiative at the
ASU Foundation
Senior Vice President & Managing Director
Paige Rogers, M.S.W., C.P.R.P.
Community Connections Consulting Services Founder Former SARRC VLSA Director
Jeff Ross, M.A.
First Place Adult Transition Specialist
Paul Shattuck, Ph.D.
AJ Drexel Autism Institute
Drexel University Associate Professor & Life Course Outcomes Research Program Leader
Michael Sklar
Sonata Properties
Broker & Managing Member
Christopher Smith, Ph.D.
SARRC Vice President & Research Director
Michael Trailor
Native American Connections Chief Strategy Officer
Linda J. Walder, Esq.
The Daniel Jordan Fiddle Foundation (DJF) Founder & Executive Director