March, 2025

We want to inform and connect with the entire Job Path community

 so we are all on this path together.

Art group visit leaves wishes behind

Job Path’s art group went to the Park Avenue Armory in February for the Yoko Ono installation Wish Trees, a grove of 92 trees honoring the artist’s 92nd birthday where attendees write and leave behind their own wishes. Jake W.'s is seen here. Photo by Michele Borg.

Every week, we're sharing more stories like these

on our social media platforms.

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Sue McMillan, Office Manager

Time at JP: 20 years.

Favorite thing about JP: The participants. Their accomplishments often amaze and always inspire me.

Memorable moment at JP: The day after we moved from 22 W. 38th Street to 256 W. 38th Street, I sat in the lobby waiting for our archives company to pick up the boxes that we were sending to storage, and I thought about how empty the place looked without people; how eerily quiet it was. 

I think we'd been in that location for around 30 years, and I started thinking about all the participants and staff who'd come through that door; the melting pot of faces and names. After a while, I could imagine meetings happening all around me and people taking their first steps to the future they've only dreamed about. And I didn't feel so alone. 

Hobby, skill or knowledge that helped you while working at JP: 

The knowledge that's helped me the most is the 22 years I had as an aunt of a sports-crazy nephew with DD before coming here. Andrew opened up my eyes to a world of people with different abilities and alternative ways of doing things, and it's given me more patience than I ever would have had. 

One thing no one knows about you: I am a history geek. It started when I was 4 years old and watched a TV program about Abraham Lincoln on his birthday. It ended with his assassination, which stunned me. It was the first story I heard that didn't end with "And they all live happily ever after." 

Sue in 2011. From the caption: "A scurvy band of pirates attempted a takeover of Job Path on Monday."

One truly special part of the Spring Benefit is when we recognize a staff member with the Daniel P. Cunningham Award for Living the Job Path Mission.

Dan was the president of the Job Path Board of Trustees for 20 years. An attorney who graduated magna cum laude from Harvard Law School, he was remembered by his undergraduate Princeton classmates for his "his brilliance, warmth, humor, and kindness.” Honoring a Job Path staff member in Dan’s name echoes his heartfelt belief that the excellence of our work is directly connected to the excellence of our staff.

Here are some recollections from previous honorees.

2024: Frantz Gaspard

"There is a saying in my Buddhist practice, that we are all interconnected; everything that we do affects the next person. See when I look at this award I will remember that." 

From his nomination: “Frantz has demonstrated patience, generosity, steadiness, and gratitude while holding space, recognizing, and celebrating the small but extremely significant victories of the people he works with.”

2023: Karina Alvarez

“I look forward to seeing the participants put these new skills and experiences to use in their everyday lives as they continue to grow and accomplish their goals.”

From her nomination: “Her vibrant personality, but professional demeanor makes for an excellent staff but also a great advocate and support for the people we serve.”

(Here with CEO Carly Teichman, and Dan's widow, Alice Cunningham.)

2022: Rob Sheridan

“The honor is a recognition of my own dedication and perseverance, but it also reflects the commitment to advocacy and service that we all make, every day.”

From his nomination: “He works outside of the ‘black and white’ and takes a truly holistic approach to those he supports, understanding that we live and work in the gray area and not everything is as simple as it seems.” 

(seen with Carlos V.)

We’re excited to announce that for this year’s Benefit, you can celebrate our Honorees and Job Path’s work with Digital and Print ads.

Digital ads start at just $100 and will run on the large video screens during the Benefit and will be presented as a commemorative gift to our honorees. Deadline: March 25.

Print ads start at $250 and will be included in the programs available for all our guests on Benefit night. Deadline: March 11.

Sponsorships, ads, and tickets can be purchased here or by mailing a check to Job Path (Attention Benefit), 256 West 38th Street, 2nd Floor New York, NY 10018.

Thank you to everyone who has joined so far!

Career milestone achieved

CUIMC leader to be recognized

for his help laying the path

Next month, the Consortium and the Mayor's Office for People with Disabilities will present three honorees with their Customized Employment Award, recognizing leadership in disability inclusion as well as career growth and development.

One of the honorees will be Dr. Keith Diaz, Director of Project PossABILITY at Columbia University Irving Medical Center.

Dr. Diaz ensured that Jeffrey - seen here with his certificate - was able to earn certification from Research Ethics for All, which will allow him to work on research projects that involve human subjects. These types of jobs might include tasks like inter-departmental transportation of specimens or clerical work that includes protected private health information.

With support from The Consortium and AHRC NYC EBS, Jeffrey became the first person at Columbia to complete this certification. This curriculum, created by and for people with developmental disabilities, widens the pool of people who can meet the strict certification standards and do this valuable work.

"I was proud of myself. I'm smart and handsome man and the whole world knows about it. I am lucky to have my parents and I am lucky to have my wife."

-Jeffrey

Medicaid and the potential for cuts have been in the news lately, and the New York Alliance for Inclusion & Innovation has a great set of resources on steps that can be taken to preserve and protect Medicaid.

This video has an excellent overview, and the Alliance shares this resource to find your representative. There’s a lot of uncertainty right now, and things are constantly changing, making this a critical time for advocacy and ensuring our voices are heard.

As part of our efforts to highlight and celebrate the great diversity within our Job Path community, we will be featuring racial, ethnic, cultural, and identity pride commemorations here each month.

March

Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month

Greek American History Month

Irish American History Month 

Women’s History Month and March 8 International Women's Day

Transgender Day of Visibility 

In case you missed it ...

OPWDD released its annual report for 2024. From Acting Commissioner Willow Baer: "Updates included in the Annual Report reflect implementation of our shared goals to stabilize the direct support workforce, increase employment opportunities, improve transparency through data, and broaden participation of diverse voices in our conversations about the future."

Click here to learn more.

Staff Anniversaries

Special recognition to staff who celebrated their anniversary at Job Path in February. Thank you for all of the contributions that you have made over the years in making Job Path successful.

Carolann Granata - 30 years

Sue McMillan - 20 years

Richard Hammerstein - 8 years

Dismary Hernandez Acosta - 2 years

Raven Lopez - 2 years

Amanda Winchester - 2 years

Christopher Brown - 1 year

Frank Zagottis - 1 year

Job Path supports people with autism and other developmental disabilities as they find jobs, live in their own homes, and become involved in community life. To learn more, visit our website.

We created this video for our 2024 Benefit, but it's a perfect celebration of what we do!

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