Our Staff

Joyce Millard Hoie

Executive Director

Before joining Raising Special Kids as Executive Director in 2000, Joyce had served as both a parent leader and a member of the Board of Directors.  Joyce holds a graduate degree in public administration and began her career in higher education administration.  She has 20 years of nonprofit leadership experience serving on boards and organizations involved in domestic violence, food banking, early childhood, developmental disabilities, rehabilitation services, and nonprofit management.

Vickie French

Assistant Executive Director

Vickie and her husband, Steve, have 4 children. Their oldest son was in the newborn intensive care the first month of his life because of pneumonia of undetermined cause which resulted in chronic asthma. Their youngest son has had 2 heart surgeries; the first at one week old to save his life and another at 6 months old. He was later diagnosed with autism at the age of 2.

Vickie first became involved with Raising Special Kids in 1997 because she contacted them to request information about autism. She later became a parent to parent volunteer in 1998 and joined the board of directors in 2002. Vickie is excited to be involved in Raising Special Kids now as an employee helping other parents in the same ways she has been helped.

Vickie is an active volunteer in the disability community and won the Arizona Disability Expo’s 2008 Brandy Liston Disability Advocacy Award. She has an Associate Arts degree from Mesa Community College and has attended Arizona State University. Vickie is a volunteer for Joni and Friends International Disability Ministry on their Disability Ministry Conference planning team that teaches churches how to include and minister to individuals and families who are affected by disability. She also volunteers in the faith community speaking at churches and conferences telling her family’s story and the importance of including people who have disabilities in their church families. Vickie and her husband Steve regularly speak at Golden Gate Theological Seminary to future pastors and church leaders telling them their story and emphasizing the need for churches to have an Intentional Disability Ministry, explaining that people with disabilities are a valuable part of their congregation and have something to contribute. 

Peggy Storrs

Director of Operations

Peggy has been on the front lines helping parents of children since 1979 when she and her husband, Don were in our second graduating class of Volunteer Parents. Since she joined the staff more than 22 years ago, Peggy was for many years the virtual "voice" of our organization as the first point of contact for thousands of callers. She has introduced many parents and professionals to our programs and continues to serve as Director of Operations and Information Systems Manager. She and Don are parents of a young adult who has Cerebral Palsy. 

 
Janna Murrell

Director of Family Support

Janna Murrell became a volunteer with Raising Special Kids six years ago, after experiencing first hand the value of Parent to Parent support when her son was diagnosed with cerebral palsy. Janna now is excited to be working with families, coordinating parent to parent connections and assisting in training parents to become volunteers themselves.
Janna is married, with three children and has worked in the non profit arena for 12 years. 

Anna Burgman

Administrative Assistant

Kathleen Collins

Family Support Specialist

Kathleen started as a volunteer with Raising Special Kids in 2003, then moved on to join the Parent Support team and the Education and Training team in 2006. She works with families and professionals in Northern Arizona. Kathleen has had a passion for supporting parents for more than a decade. She believes that with so many parents out there no one should have to travel the road of raising a child with special needs alone. She is dedicated to helping collaboration between parents and professionals.

Kathleen is a mother of two children — one with autism, and one with specific learning disabilities. Kathleen also sits on several boards in Northern Arizona that deal with special needs and is very active in the Autism Society of America.

Dolores Herrera 

Family Support Specialist - Habla Español

Dolores has been advocating for Spanish speaking families for six years. She has been a member of the Developmental Disabilities Advisory Council (DDAC) for four years and a member of the Arizona Spina Bifida Associations Board of Directors for two years. She has served on The Division of Developmental Disabilities' Support Coordinator Core Training Parent Panel and is a past-president of Grupo de Apoyo Ninos Especiales (GANE).
Dolores began working with Raising Special Kids as a volunteer and is the mother of 4 children including a son who has Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus.

Wendi Howe

Family Support Specialist

Wendi first connected with Raising Special Kids while volunteering with her son's school as a member of the district’s Special Education Parent Council. She helped mentor parents through the IEP process and coordinated workshops and trainings for parents. Before she became a mom, Wendi managed customer service departments in the biomedical, healthcare and high tech industries. She joined the staff with a wealth of knowledge in working with parents with kids with special needs, and she is excited for the opportunity to expand her service for the community. Wendi is married with three kids, two of which have special needs.

Marissa Huth

Communications Coordinator and Newsletter Editor

Marissa implements communications to public audiences from Raising Special Kids through various media including print newsletters, electronic social media, email notices, website, an annual Report to the Community, video presentations and other publications. She has worked in communications, photography, writing and editing for more than 20 years, including six years at a nonprofit, before teaming with Raising Special Kids in 2004. She is passionate about "getting the word out" to families and believes firmly in the power of a well-informed parent. Marissa is the parent of two children with unique needs, one is diagnosed with autism.

Maureen Mills

Family Support Specialist

Prior to joining the staff at Raising Special Kids, Maureen worked with several Phoenix area organizations supporting individuals with disabilities and their families including volunteering for Raising Special Kids. She is a founding member of Down Syndrome Network, spent several years as a Program Manager for Best Buddies Arizona and worked for the Arizona Department of Education as a Parent Information Network Specialist helping families understand their educational rights. She is excited to be joining an organization whose mission she’s had a passion for since her arrival in what she affectionately refers to as ‘disability land.’

Originally from Buffalo, New York, Maureen and her husband John decided to trade the cold and snow for heat and desert mountains in 1997. They have three children, the youngest of whom has DS, AUT, ADHD, ODD and, as she likes to point out, LOVE. Throughout the year she and her husband take pleasure in watching him compete and grow while participating in various sports through Special Olympics. Having received her Bachelor’s in Marketing from the UA, Maureen also enjoys visiting her daughter in Tucson who is following in her footsteps as a Wildcat. During football season you will find the Mills cheering for their middle son at Tempe High football games—home of yet another meaningful mascot for the family—the Buffaloes!

Genevieve Remus

Conference/Events Coordinator

Genevieve and her husband have been involved in the disabilities field for many years. They raised 4 children, 2 of whom were diagnosed with cognitive disabilities. Life experiences include many meetings, therapies, struggles and celebrations. Grown children are now living in Nebraska, Kansas and Maryland. Genevieve comes to Raising Special Kids with experience and a passion for planning and facilitating workshops, conferences and events. She first studied Family and Child Development and completed a Masters in Adult Education after a number of years work in hospital education. Work experience over the years has included work in university extension, state departments, senior center, Head Start and most recently Healthy Families and early child assessment. She looks forward to providing quality programs for parents and families in Arizona.

Kat Rivera

Senior Administrative Assistant

With an extensive background as a mom, a legal secretary, and a realtor, Kat Rivera’s hands-on experience is matched only by her enthusiasm to help families and to make a difference in Arizona, the state she has always called home. Kat and her husband are raising three children, one of which has autism. After her son was diagnosed at age four, Kat found how helpful it was to have the support of an organization whose first priority is families. Now she is thrilled to be on staff at the same organization. “Working at Raising Special Kids I’m able to help others, AND I continue to learn how to help my son!”

Vicky Rozich

Family Support Specialist, Education & Training

Vicky Rozich joined the Parent Training and Information team in the summer of 2008. Her journey with Raising Special Kids began in 2003 as a Parent to Parent volunteer. She has participated in many Parent Panels for Raising Special Kids presenting a family perspective on raising a child with a disability to students and post graduate professionals in special education and medicine. She enjoys helping parents and professionals understand the physical and emotional demands of raising a child with severe multiple disabilities. Prior to joining the staff of Raising Special Kids, Vicky had an extensive history of leading adult education, classes at her church and the Area Agency on Aging. She deeply values her new role in educating, training and supporting parents through the special education process.

Vicky and her husband Jim have two children, a teenage boy and a middle school age daughter who has cerebral palsy, seizures, feeding and orthopedic issues and medical fragility. Vicky enjoys hiking, playing with her children and pets, and supporting the art and music community in the valley.

Nannette Salasek

Parent Leadership Facilitator- Habla Español

In 1998 Nannette graduated from the Franciscan University of Steubenville in Ohio, with a bachelor's degree in Social Work.

Nannette Salasek became a volunteer for Raising Special Kids in 2004 after experiencing the amazing help of Parent to Parent support with her daughter that was born with Spina Bifida. Nannette is now excited to be working at Raising Special Kids to help recruit and train parent volunteers, coordinate Parent to Parent Connections, and train medical residents on the principles of Family Centered Care and best practices in serving families that have children with special healthcare needs. She recognizes the great value of working with a staff made up of parents that know firsthand the amazing journey of raising a child with special needs. In addition to her work at Raising Special Kids, Nannette also serves on the Family Advisory Council at Phoenix Children’s Hospital.

Nannette and her husband, Ched, have 6 beautiful children named Andrew, Monica, Annie, Lillian, Matthew, and Julianna. She has enjoyed staying at home with their children, and volunteering regularly for Raising Special Kids, their school, and parish community. After having two healthy children, their third child was born with Spina Bifida. Annie is a happy and loving young girl who bravely takes on the many challenges of living with Spina Bifida. Their next daughter would later be diagnosed with ADHD and Sensory Integration Issues. Just when they thought they had seen it all, their youngest daughter was born with Intestinal Mal Rotation that required emergency surgery and also produced feeding issues. Nannette is passionate about providing support to families, and letting them know they are not alone in the journey of advocacy for their children with special needs. 

Heather Snider

Financial Analyst

Heather has been helping with the finances at Raising Special Kids since 2005 and has stayed with us as a telecommuter through several out-of-state moves. She manages Monthly Financial Statements, audit preparation & special projects. Heather holds a 4-year degree in Accounting from Binghamton University and has worked in the industry from 1994 to the present.

Christopher Tiffany

Family Support Specialist- Habla Español

Chris came to Raising Special Kids from the public school system in central Phoenix where he was a dedicated Special Education teacher and facilitator. Chris and his wife, Paulina, are parents to their only son who was diagnosed with Autism at the age of 2. Bringing his knowledge of Special Education as an educator and as a parent, Chris is dedicated to the mission of supporting and helping families who are raising children, of all ages, with special needs.

Alice Villarreal

Family Support Specialist- Habla Español

Alice’s journey began in 1999 with the Department of Education/Exceptional Student Services. She worked with the Parent Information Network Specialist (PINS) and Child Find Coordinator to support and provide information to families of children with disabilities in English and Spanish. In 2003 she was presented with the award of Employee of the Quarter by the Department of Education.

She is involved with community service in her church. Her heart has always been open to helping others. As a member of Raising Special Kids, she is looking forward to expanding outreach to the  Hispanic community to provide training in Spanish and helping support families of children with disabilities and special health care needs. Alice has a family member who was diagnosed with Autism at age 18 months.

Robert Snyder

Parent Training and Information Center Project Staff
Pilot Parents of Southern Arizona (southern Arizona)

Robert covers the 9 southern counties of Arizona by providing information, consultation, and workshops to the families with special needs children. Robert has been with Pilot Parents since moving to Arizona 7 years ago.
Robert began his career in special ed with the inception of PL 94-142, now know as IDEA. Robert has been a classroom teacher, principal, supervisor of Sp Ed programs, regional consultant for two of Ohio’s regional special ed centers, as well as visiting instructor at 2 universities.
Robert’s passion has always been for the children and their families, seeing that the students are provided an appropriate education.