JACKIE MCNAIR
ANN PAPAYOTI 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 wonderful tips on using the Fall season to create new plans and carry out new ideas and activities, with the intention of facilitating the transition process for family and loved ones, in her insightful and empowering story,“ Fall Intentionally into Fall,” in our Empowering Families and Individuals with Disabilities section. is the founder of SkyView Coaching and hosts a weekly podcast, Soul CPR Healing Out Loud, on the Bold Brave TV Network. She is also an international life, leadership, and relationship coach, speaker, writer, educator, and co-author of The Gift of Shift, an intimate self-help book. Ann is an Expert Contributor for YourTango Media and has been featured in MSN, Google, Yahoo, and Apple News. She has spoken at conferences, summits, and commemorations, both live and online, throughout North America. Ann captivates, educates, and inspires thousands by sharing her personal experiences of loss, transition, and triumph, and she helps them attain their personal and professional goals. Known among her friends as the go-to girl if you are experiencing problems, Ann could have started her own‘ Dear Annie’ column decades ago. Little did she know then that listening with empathy was an invaluable, innate skill that would become the foundation of her life’ s work. Ann’ s remarkable life journey and passion for family love are hallmark examples. Ann returns with excellent, insightful advice to help“ Missing the Noise” rediscover herself during this new season of life in her family lifestyle, and to help“ Married to a Future Couch Potato” prepare to embrace the transition with her soon-toretire husband with much love and confidence, in her advice column,“ Dear Annie.”
InspirationsForBetterLiving. com | 7