Board Awards

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Board Awards

The board awards recognize people who embody the mission and values of Connecting for Kids. Each fall, our board of directors recognizes one parent, one educator and one professional from nominations made by the community.

Parent of the Year: A caregiver who has gone above and beyond to provide resources, support or community to other families.

Professional of the Year: A professional (therapist, camp/recreation provider, advocate, etc.) who has gone above and beyond to provide resources, support or community to families.

Educator of the Year: An educator (teacher, administrator, paraprofessional, etc.) who has gone above and beyond to provide resources, support or community to families.

Kathleen Louise Nash Board Member of the Year: Named for the founding board president, this award recognizes a member of the Connecting for Kids board of directors who has been selected by their peers for exemplary service.

Past Award Winners

2026

Parent of the Year
Jennifer Layton

Professional of the Year
Tom Heines
Empower Sports

Educator of the Year
Patricia Wagner
Beach School
Rocky River

The Kathleen Louise Nash Board
Julia Pritchard

2025

Parent of the Year
Ashley Kingsboro

Professional of the Year
Bradley Wyner, NADD-DDS
Milestones Autism Resources

Educator of the Year
Christina Barta, MEd
Cleveland Clinic Children’s
Lerner School for Autism

The Kathleen Louise Nash Board
Kristi Stolarski

2024

Parent of the Year
Yin Mei Lim

Professional of the Year
Dr. Katelyn Colborn
Cleveland Clinic

Educator of the Year
Amy McElwain
The Bridge Avenue School

The Kathleen Louise Nash Board
Member of the Year
Dr. Alaka Chandurkar

2023

Parent of the Year
Patricia Parker

Professional of the Year
Lisa Ruman, LISW, CHt
The Child & Family Counseling Center
of Westlake

Educator of the Year
Heather Lahoski, MEd
Keystone Schools

The Kathleen Louise Nash Board
Member of the Year
Stephanie McNamara, JD

2022

Parent of the Year
Salina Miller

Professionals of the Year
Jeremy Meduri, BCBA & Sara Rausch, MA
Insight Academy

Educator of the Year
David Schindler
Avon Lake City Schools

The Kathleen Louise Nash Board
Member of the Year
Christine Chambers, MEd, OTR/L

2021

The Kathleen Louise Nash Board
Member of the Year
Tish Henry, MEd

2020

Parent of the Year
Jean Dombrosky

Professional/Educator of the Year
Robert Wohleber
Albert Einstein Academy

The Kathleen Louise Nash Board
Member of the Year
Kathryn Bryan, PhD

2019

Parent of the Year
Paula Nwankwo

Professional/Educator of the Year
Christina Meecha, MEd
Westlake City Schools

Board Member of the Year
Rebecca Baker, CPA

2018

Parents of the Year
Chris & Maureen Box

Professional/Educator of the Year
Natalie Tesar, MA Ed
Avon Lake City Schools

Board Member of the Year
Kimberly V. Riley, Esq.

2017

Parent of the Year
Mariel Krakowiak

Professional/Educator of the Year
Ellen Spear, MA, CCC-SLP
Lakeshore Speech Therapy, LLC.

Board Member of the Year
Meghan Barlow, PhD

2016

Parent of the Year
Stacy Miner

Professional/Educator of the Year
Amy Lee, PhD
Cleveland Clinic

Media Person of the Year
Kevin Kelley
West Life

Board Member of the Year
Andrew Mangels

2015

Parent of the Year
Julie Norris

Professional/Educator of the Year
Natalie Matthews, MA
Avon Lake City Schools

Media Person of the Year
Todd Meany
FOX 8 Cleveland

Board Member of the Year
Niccole McEwen