JACKIE MCNAIR
JESSYKA COULTER and her husband are parents of a 29-year-old daughter living with autism and an intellectual disability, and a 31-year-old son in Gwinnett County, GA. As an experiential consultant, she helps parents create meaningful life plans and establish successful transition plans for school-aged children with disabilities into adulthood. As a parent mentor in the Dept. of Special Ed. for Gwinnett County Public School Sys., she helps families understand the Individual Education Program for special education students navigate support and services in their homes, schools, and communities. A 2000 Partners in Policymaking Program graduate of the Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities, she served as their Regional Advisory Council board member and with the Autism Society of America. A 2016 Gwinnett County Citizens Academy graduate, she was recognized by County Commissioner Charlotte Nash. Jackie is a 2017 Phil Pickens Georgia Parent Mentor Leadership Award recipient. She is on the Sangha Unity Network and Shine Community boards, agencies supporting adults with disabilities, and Travel Light Network. She authors a Substack newsletter, Jackie Mcnair @ BeyondTheIEP. Jackie returns to share a personal journey as a daughter, wife, and mother of a daughter with disabilities, highlighting that a father’ s role is extremely important to a family ' s success as a team, a role that sometimes does not receive the recognition it deserves, in her heartwarming story,“ Dads Are Special, Too,” in our Empowering Families and Individuals with Disabilities section. had a dream since 4th grade to graduate as valedictorian when she finished high school. It might seem silly to a lot of people; however, she was determined, and since then, every homework assignment she completed or test she studied for in middle school and high school was done in the hopes of earning a 4.0 and being at the top of her class, the valedictorian. Today, besides accomplishing her dream, Jessyka founded Ace Cookie Tutoring to help students of all ages excel in their learning journey by offering them her 12 study skills that are personalized to their learning habits and personalities through her Love to Learn study skills program. When students discover“ How to Learn” at their own pace and understanding, this makes it easier for them and their parents. She works with tweens, teens, and college students to help them achieve their maximum learning potential. Since learning is part of our human DNA, I am sure we can all benefit from these study skills as adults. Jessyka returns to share a very interesting and insightful perspective on today’ s teaching and learning methodologies that keep pace with technological advancements; however, to what extent is it supporting our children’ s educational development, and our own mental health, with her personal experiential story,“ Computer Learning- Who Actually Benefits?” in our Cultivating the Love for Learning section.
CATHI CUREN is a Family Astrologer, Lifestyle Design Consultant, Career Coach, Adjunct Professor of Psychology at Pepperdine GSEP, and Gallup Certified Strengths Coach. She has spent over 30 years researching family dynamics and how our early relationships and environments influence our lives. She specializes in Public and Corporate Education and Training in Career / Work-Life Balance and Relationships. As the“ Holistic Children Radio” podcaster, Cathi provides techniques and tools to support families’ emotional, spiritual, physical, financial, and environmental health. She is also the author of the original“ Me + U” Interactive Journal Series, which helps parents, children, couples, and colleagues crack open communication in their unique way. As our Kitchen Table Conversations host, Cathi, who is a college and transitional coach, returns to share a very insightful and empowering message about the expectations and real-life journey of today’ s graduates entering into the next phase of their life, their career journey, which is actually a new stepping
stone towards the pursuit of personal success in her inspiring story,“ Graduation Celebration: The Reality of Evolving Dreams.”
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