OUR STAFF

Board President & Treasurer 

Chief Executive Officer

nancyc@azpathwaytowork.org

Nancy has an MS in Aeronautics and worked in the airline industry for many years prior to working for Federal Aviation Administration Headquarters in Washington, DC. There she developed regulations, policy, and guidance for air carrier operations. For over 20 years, she served as the FAA’s technical expert regarding the use of child restraint and restraint systems used by people with disabilities on aircraft. During that time, she was also the FAA’s liaison to the Department of Transportation regarding DOT regulations that addressed nondiscrimination on the basis of disability in air travel.

 Nancy lives in Phoenix, AZ with her husband and her two sons. Both of her sons are bright, engaged, and talented individuals, one of whom has autism. 

Board Secretary 

Shanan is a Speech-Language Pathologist and co-owner of Arizona Advanced Therapy, LLC. Shanan attended Arizona State University, graduating with a BS in Speech and Hearing Sciences. She then continued her education at ASU and earned her master’s in Communication Disorders with an emphasis in Speech-Language Pathology. Throughout her college years Shanan worked with children with special needs, specifically children with autism. She helped to develop and implement home programs containing Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA), Floortime, and other treatment techniques. As her career progressed she chose feeding therapy as her primary focus. Throughout Shanan’s career she has had the opportunity to attend training seminars related to feeding, teletherapy, Autism, Apraxia, oral placement and many other areas related to her field.

Board Member

Susan has her BA In Human Development Family Studies from Indiana University and her master’s in Social Work from Arizona State University. She has gained experience in working with individuals who have disabilities in a variety of roles, including her current role at Diverse Ability Incorporated, and past roles for the University of AZ/Sonoran UCEDD, the Arizona Department of Education, Tempe Union HS District, Vocational Rehabilitation, and a local provider agency. She has studied, lectured and trained locally, statewide and nationally on a variety of topics related to disabilities, with a focus on youth in transition. She also has extensive experience in state systems and legislation. She is pleased and willing to be part of any and all efforts focused on improving successful outcomes for people who have disabilities

Board Member

John currently makes his living as a Cloud Data Architect for the Data & Analytics division of Eversana Life Sciences. He has a diverse IT background having done database and analytics work for several years at the United Nations, Tickets.com (major league baseball teams), and financial industry companies. For the last 10 years he has worked in the healthcare industry. 

John has a BS in Accounting from Fordham University and MS in Healthcare Decision Analysis from USC School of Pharmacy. He also has a PMP project management certification and numerous technical certifications. 

In his spare time, he can usually be found training for a marathon, coaching his youngest son's Special Olympics teams, or cheering for the Buffalo Bills.

Board Member & Director of Stewardship

richardf@azpathwaytowork.org

Richard P. Fernandez is a new valley resident, having come from Southern California. His last assignment was as Major Gifts Officer for Charles R. Drew University of Science and Medicine in Los Angeles (CDU).

Richard is a visionary executive with proven leadership and fundraising experience with CDU, Special Needs Network (SNN) and Special Olympics Southern California (SOSC).

Expertise in development including major gifts, naming campaigns, sponsorship and special event execution and design. He established, cultivated key relationships, and maximized existing relationships.

Richard also brings experience having worked in the educational, corporate and nonprofit sectors in Southern California.

He holds degrees from Northern Arizona University (NAU) and California State University, Long Beach (CSULB). Additional certification from University of Southern California (USC) and University of California Los Angeles (UCLA).

Richard resides in Chandler and serves on the Board of Directors for LAPD 77th Division Police Activities League (PAL) program. Past Board affiliation include Sunburst Youth Academy, International Law Enforcement Torch Run Executive Council, NAU Alumni, CSULB Sport Management Alumni and others.