After earning my Masters degree in Education Psychology at the University of Virginia, I worked in a variety of settings with children on the fringe of their social and academic group. I counseled and developed curricula for gifted children whose advanced intellect and accompanying emotional issues prevented them from learning in traditional school settings. I also worked to provide homeless people with transitional housing, case management, and ESL education in a non-profit organization in Virginia.

I am also a fiber artist. I have made and sold quilts, fabric sculptures, and painted canvas floor coverings. When my first child was born, I left full-time work and created a business designing and sewing quilted and embroidered Jewish wedding canopies. I created memory quilts for 9-11 children and widows.

With art, teaching, and community housing issues in my background, two events occurred in my life to set me on my present mission.

First, I went to an art show featuring the work of disabled artists who were supported by a non-profit organization that provides education and studio space for the disabled. I was amazed by the work that I saw and uplifted by their joy in expression, creative vision, and drive to do meaningful work. I began to follow the life and work of Judith Scott, a fiber artist with Down's Syndrome. I learned that the organization had done more for her than simply provide materials. It gave Judith an escape from thirty-five years of institutional living, excruciating boredom, and loneliness. No longer was this person a throw-away member of society. Despite being without speech, hearing, and average intelligence, she became internationally renown for her cocoon-like fiber sculptures, financially independent, and joyful, and productive. Now she enriches the international art community. Artists like Judith Scott changed my perception of people with disabilities, helping me to realize and appreciate their creative vision, powerful spirit and irrepressible need to create.

Secondly, during my third pregnancy, I discovered that my baby had a rare chromosomal defect that could result in profound retardation. Although I delivered a healthy baby, I continued to wonder "what if?" If my child had been born with disabilities, what kind of quality of life would she have as an adult? Remembering the powerful experience I had at Creative Growth, I searched for similar programs in New Jersey, hoping to volunteer in some way. I discovered that there are plenty of programs in New Jersey for the disabled that teach practical skills, provide factory and assembly jobs, offer art classes in borrowed temporary spaces, and sponsor traveling art shows. There was no space, however, that offered permanent access to materials or opportunities to exhibit and sell work. Consequently, my present mission invests in untapped human potential. I created Arts Unbound, to legitimize the artistic ability and expand vocational opportunities of the disabled.

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