 Jo Ann Simons
Executive Director
Jo Ann Simons has almost 30 years of experience in the developmental disabilities field. When she joined The Arc of East Middlesex as its Executive Director in 1993, she brought with her the experience she gained in previous positions including Deputy Facility Director of the Fernald State School in Waltham; Director of Policy Initiatives and Acting Director of Family Support Services for the Massachusetts Department of Mental Retardation; Director of the Community Division of the North Shore Arc; and mother of Jon, an independent young man with Down syndrome.
Jo Ann is known as a champion of providing children and adults with developmental disabilities with the supports they need to be as independent as possible in the community. Since joining The Arc of East Middlesex, she has led the way in: shifting the organization's vocational focus from sheltered employment to community job placement; creating a school to work initiative to prepare special education students for the transition from high school to the world of work; expanding residential services to include support for individuals living independently in the community; creating a family-driven Family Resource Center; opening an innovative, award winning Center for Emerging Artists; and crafting integrated Recreation Services with existing community programs.
Also, Footprints for the Future a personal planning tool that provides a place for you to record specific and personal information about your loved one may be downloaded here. Additional forms may be downloaded off our Resources page. (Download this Word Form here. Please save document to your hard drive and then open to fill in the fields. When it is time to update, open your copy saved on your hard drive to make updates.)
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Jo Ann is active in her field on the state, national and international levels. Jo Ann is currently on the Board of the National Down Syndrome Society. She is a past member of the Board of Directors of the Association of Developmental Disabilities Providers; Past President of the National Down Syndrome Congress; past member of the Board of Directors of Special Olympics International and current advisor to the Healthy Athletes program. She lectures on transition, employment, housing, parenting and programmatic issues regarding people with developmental disabilities. An essay she wrote about letting her son Jon become independent was included in the published collection, You Will Dream New Dreams.
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Jo Ann has a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Wheaton College of Massachusetts and a Masters in Social Work from the University of Connecticut. Her recent speaking engagements include presentations to professionals and parents and siblings of children with developmental disabilities throughout the United States, Dublin, Ireland; Belfast, Northern Ireland; and Guatemala City, Guatemala and the 2005 Special Olympics in Japan. Please email Jo Ann Simons regarding speaking engagements.
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