The Special Needs Planning Guide: How to Prepare for Every Stage in Your Child's Life

As a result of her own experience with an adult brother with special needs, Cynthia has dedicated her financial planning practice to helping other families address their unique financial planning needs. She is currently a member of the Board of Directors for The Arc of Massachusetts and serves on the subcommittee for the upcoming capital campaign. She was honored to co-chair, along with her husband Mark, the 50th anniversary gala celebration for The Arc of Massachusetts in September 2005.

She is a contributing author to A Special Needs Planning Guide for Families (Jewish Family & Children's Service, n.d.), a collaborative publication between colleagues to aid families with special needs in the planning process.

Cynthia has served on the Central Middlesex Area Advisory Board for the Massachusetts Department of Mental Retardation and was a member of the committee for residential quality control. She is past chair of the Family-to-Family steering committee and has served as an advisor to the MARC Trust, Inc. (currently Planned Lifetime Assistance Network of Massachusetts, Inc.).

Cynthia has earned a bachelor of arts in finance and economics from Simmons College in Boston. Cynthia lives in Massachusetts with her husband and their children, Anthony and Lydia.

As a parent and professional, John has served on the Governor's Commission on Mental Retardation for three terms. He is currently the chair of the subcommittee on transitioning to adult services. He helped draft the Qualified Disabilities Savings Program proposal that has recently been submitted to President George W. Bush by the President's Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities. In his second term on the Governor's Commission, John was the co-chair of the subcommittee on developing an overall plan for private-public housing partnerships between families and the Massachusetts Department of Mental Retardation. He also served on the Family-to-Family Advisory Board. John is a past member of the Board of Directors of The Arc of East Middlesex.

John and his wife, Susan, received Distinguished Citizen Awards from The Arc of Massachusetts in 1995 and 1999. They are an active family in Massachusetts Families Organizing for Change. John completed the Ironman USA Triathlon in 1999 to raise funds to help endow the Family-to-Family project, which was established to address Massachusetts's waiting list for residential services.

John has earned a master of business administration from Babson College, a master of science from Bentley College, and a bachelor of science from Bridgewater State College. He lives in Massachusetts with his wife and their children, Alexandria, Bennett, and James.