An Inter v ie w w ith Dana Fencero y Ha v e Dreams O u treach Director
HOW DID YOU START YOUR CAREER WITH HAVE DREAMS?
That’s a great question! I actually started my journey with Have Dreams before we “opened our doors,” working with Kris Johnsen - founder and Executive Director of Have Dreams - as one of her assistant teachers in a preschool autism summer program in Park Ridge, which for the most part was comprised of the organization’s founding families whose children had the recent diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder. I was a senior in high school at that time and knew nothing about autism but loved children and always had babysitting jobs lined up, so I was excited for this opportunity and change.
WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR JOURNEY AT HAVE DREAMS?
After this experience, I built close relationships with these families and started doing respite care which included setting-up home programs, tutoring, helping with family travel needs, working as a 1:1 in camp programs which I continued for several years. I went away to college and when I returned home from Illinois State University, Have Dreams was formed and now officially recognized as a 501(c)3 nonprofit. It was and still is today a one-of-a-kind autism resource agency in the Midwest that exclusively focuses on supporting individuals with autism spectrum disorder. When the agency started, Have Dreams didn’t have full-time job opportunities, so I worked for a local private therapeutic day school and would then work at Have Dreams in their after-school programs. This led to various part-time roles in the agency throughout the years which included volunteering, working as a one-to-one aide, Program Facilitator, Program Leader, and Outreach Coordinator. I did this for well over 12 years and was then offered a full-time position as the Program Director after I received my masters in nonprofit administration (MNA) at Northpark University here in Chicago. I stayed in my role as Program Director for over six years and helped with the agency’s expansion to Evanston. I am currently the Outreach Director at Have Dreams and enjoy being able to network with other service providers and support various agency needs and projects.
HOW HAS YOUR ROLE AS OUTREACH DIRECTOR EXPANDED AWARENESS OF HAVE DREAMS?
Have Dreams values collaborations and partnerships, and I’ve been privileged as Outreach Director for the agency, to be able to pursue more partnerships, foster collaborations and create formal networking groups with other area agencies, professionals and academic institutions, such as the North Suburban Autism Professionals (NSAP) a networking group for autism professionals within the Chicagoland area. I have also been fortunate to host international visitors, such as the clinicians from Hong Kong’s Fu Hong Society, who have reached out to Have Dreams to learn about our organization and exchange resources and information. Increasing support and involvement from the local community has also been a priority for Have Dreams, allowing me to engage and serve as the Have Dreams liaison for volunteer groups such as our Young Professionals Board, as well as our 25th Anniversary Task Force comprised of active civic leaders, business owners and citizens within the community. These two groups, along with our other partners, have been valued ambassadors for Have Dreams, greatly expanding awareness of our agency within the community.
WHAT HAS HAVE DREAMS MEANT TO YOU PERSONALLY AND PROFESSIONALLY?
I am still at Have Dreams today because of its solid leadership and dedication towards the autism community. The staff are exceptionally committed to the participants and families. I admire how Have Dreams thinks out of the box and is not afraid to grow and change with our evolving young adult population. I have grown up with Have Dreams and am grateful for all of the opportunities that I have experienced, especially the chance to see so many of our longtime participants as they’ve grown from childhood into capable adults surrounded by their friends and peers at Have Dreams. I look forward to a continued bright future for all of our participants at Have Dreams!
Made with FlippingBook - professional solution for displaying marketing and sales documents online