The People Behind First Place®
Board of Directors (Click for bios)
Sara Dial
Board Chair
Sara Dial & Associates President and CEO
Joyce Millard Hoie
Vice Chair
Former Raising Special Kids Executive Director
Tess Burleson, CPA, MBA
Board Secretary
TGen Chief Operating Officer &
TGen Health Ventures President
Jack Henry
Board Treasurer
Founder & Managing Director
of Sierra Blanca Ventures, LLC
&
Clarke’s Grandfather
Denise D. Resnik
Board Member
First Place Founder, President/CEO
DRA Collective Founder & CEO
SARRC Co-Founder & Emeritus
Board Member & Matt's Mom
Doug Eaton
Board Member
Former Vantage Mobility International (VMI) CEO
Nancy L. White, J.D.
Vice Chair
Steptoe & Johnson Partner
& Molly's Mom
Howard Sobelman
Board Member
Snell & Wilmer Partner
Susan I. Smith
Board Member
Director of IT Frontline Services
Salt River Project & Aaron's Mom
Kathy Hancock
Board Member
Hancock Strategic Consulting, LLC Principal
Leadership
Denise D. Resnik
President/CEO & Matt's Mom
Nancy Ottmann
Executive Director
Marci Muhlestein
First Place Global Leadership Institute Center for Education, Training & Employment Director; Transition Academy Managing Director
Global Leadership Institute Faculty
George Braddock
Creative Housing Solutions, LLC Director
Catherine Camp Boyle
Autism Housing Pathways, Inc. Founder & President
Mother of a young man with autism
Peter Gerhardt, Ed.D.
EPIC School Executive Director
Anna Hundley, M.Ed.
Autism Treatment Center (ATC)
Texas Executive Director
Raun D. Melmed, M.D.
SARRC Co-Founder & Medical Director
Melmed Center Director & Developmental Pediatrician
Marci Muhlestein
First Place Global Leadership Institute Center for Education, Training & Employment Director; Transition Academy Managing Director
Daniel Openden, Ph.D., BCBA-D
SARRC President & CEO
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
Christopher Smith, Ph.D.
SARRC Vice President & Research Director
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
David C. Brown
Home Matters® CEO & National NeighborWorks® Association (NNA) Executive Director
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
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
Ian Paregol
DC Coalition for
Disability Service Providers
Executive Director
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
Michael Sklar
Sonata Properties
Broker & Managing Member
Michael Trailor
Arizona Department of
Economic Security
Director
Linda J. Walder, Esq.
The Daniel Jordan Fiddle Foundation (DJF) Founder & Executive Director
Capital Campaign Cabinet
Melissa Ahearn Lange
Northwestern Mutual
Financial Advisor
Susan Drescher-Mulzet
Philanthropist &
Community Volunteer
Keith Earnest
Van Trust Executive Vice President & Market Leader
Danielle Feroleto, M.A., CPSM
Small Giants, LLC
Owner & Founder
Jim Fijan
CBRE Executive Vice President
Lorena Garcia
Bloguettes & Esto es Púrpura Co-Founder
Adam Goodman
Goodmans Interior Structures President
John W. Graham
Sunbelt Holdings
President & CEO
The Late Natalie S. Lang
Lang Associates
Business Consultant
Lisa Pavelka McAlister, CPA
Mother & Autism Advocate
Thomas W. Roberts
VEREIT, Inc.
Executive Vice President &
Chief Investment Officer
Judy Schubert
Philanthropist &
Community Activist
