Letter from the Executive Director,

As Tavon Center gets ready to celebrate its 9th year of program operation, I have taken a moment to look back at the growth of our membership and programs. September 8, 2008, Tavon Center opened with three members, Leah, Matt and Sabah and two staff. Leah and Sabah are still members of Tavon Center, and Matt was able to get a full-time job at Microsoft after spending three years at Tavon Center polishing up his vocational skills.

Today Tavon Center serves 85 members and 13 staff. Our programs have gone from being mostly on site to both onsite and community-based programs. Our programs take advantage of our gardens, our home center, and our community. With the help of 4 vans through Metro, we can learn and explore not only onsite but in our community as well.

This year I realized a personal dream and became a full-time Executive Director at Tavon Center. This change has allowed me the time to evaluate our programs, where we are and where we are going. I am excited that we are collaborating with Candace Styer, one of the authors of the Styer-Fitzgerald curriculum and will begin implementing this curriculum in the fall. This curriculum will allow our members the opportunity to continue to learn and practice practical skills to become as independent as possible. We had Terry Johnson, an expert in systematic instruction, teach our staff the basics of this method of teaching and we recently had a BCBA from Frameworks give an in-service on positive behavioral support. One of my goals is to keep improving the programs to provide the best service to our members.

We have hired our first full-time Vice President of Development and Business Strategy, Krista Newberry. Krista is an expert in the field of development and business strategy and also a parent of a young lady who attends Tavon Center.  Together Krista and I are working toward keeping the programs at Tavon Center at the forefront of the industry and making Tavon Center financially sustainable into the future so our daughters and sons will always have a program where they can discover, learn and apply new skills.

The need for Tavon Center continues to grow. There are an increasing number of young people with intellectual and developmental disabilities who are graduating from their transition programs. They too need a place to continue to learn and grow.

As I look toward the future I see a unique program that continues to offer adults with IDD the opportunity to learn, grow, make friends all in order to live a better life.

I sincerely thank you for all your support over the years!

Therese Vafaeezadeh