ANNOUNCING: NEW DOCUMENTARY

OCTOBER, 2020 — Specialized Housing, Inc. has released a 30-minute documentary, directed by Monica Cohen and produced by The Boom House, about the history of Specialized Housing and its roots in the Self-Advocacy movement. You can view it in its entirety here:

Administration

david wizansky

President and Co-Founder

David Wizansky established the first self-advocacy group for people with developmental disabilities in the United States. He has created residential programs and treatment programs for at-risk youth and adults with disabilities. He and his wife, Margot, co-founded Specialized Housing, Inc., one of the first home ownership opportunities for disabled individuals in the nation. He has been the president and chairman of the board of PLAN Of MA And RI, a nonprofit pooled trust serving the needs of people with disabilities, for many years. A graduate of Harvard College and Boston University School of Social Work, David holds a Master’s degree in Social Service and is licensed as an Independent Clinical Social Worker in Massachusetts.

Chuck Silsby

Director

Chuck has worked at Specialized Housing for over 20 years in various clinical and administrative roles. Chuck also serves as Vice President on the Board of PLAN of Massachusetts and Rhode Island, a nonprofit special needs pooled trust. He is also on the Board of the Massachusetts Association of Community Residences for Independent Living. Chuck's extensive experience includes work with Massachusetts's and Maine’s disabled and at-risk youth populations. A graduate of the University of Maine in Psychology, Chuck also holds a Master’s degree in Social Work from the University of Maine.

michael caballero

Clinical Director

Michael has been fortunate to work in a variety of roles within Specialized Housing. In 2006, Michael joined Specialized Housing as a live-in staff member in one of the Brookline houses. During his time as a live-in, Michael was in graduate school at Lesley University and also worked full-time as an administrator in the provost’s office. While at Lesley, Michael earned his master’s degree in mental health counseling and also obtained his Massachusetts school adjustment counselor license. After finishing work and school at Lesley, Michael switched roles within Specialized Housing and became a program manager for the same house where he was a live-in staff member. A few years later, Michael again transitioned into a new position within Specialized Housing, using his administrative and clinical experience to help support the broader Specialized Housing community as a clinical director and administrator in the main office in Brookline. One of Michael’s favorite parts of working at Specialized Housing is seeing Specialized Housing community members walking out the front door of their homes into their neighborhood with confidence and a true sense of belonging.  

ted cassely

Clinical Director

Ted has had multiple roles at Specialized Housing since he started as a program manager in 1996. Ted and his wife were also live-in staff members supporting one of the Brookline houses during its early years. Now, as a clinical director, he oversees four residences and relishes daily contact with residents and enjoys working with his team implementing the Specialized Housing philosophy. Ted is a Summa Cum Laude graduate of UMass Boston, where he was a member of the Golden Key and Psi Chi Honor Societies. He lives in New Hampshire with his wife, Katy, and two children, Lilly and Oliver, and spends his free time restoring a 19th century farmhouse.

Belkisa Selman

Controller/Bookkeeper

Belkisa joined Specialized Housing as a controller/bookkeeper in 2017. Her responsibilities are spanning audit, tax, financial reporting, and business management. When she became a member of the Specialized Housing staff, Belkisa brought 11 years of experience in the field. Most recently, she worked for Commonwealth Care Alliance as a senior accountant and had a lead role in the preparation of monthly closing, audits and grant related reports and schedules to support financial reports to the board. Belkisa holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Management and Accounting from the University of Massachusetts. Belkisa lives in Saugus with her husband and two young children. In her free time, she enjoys cooking, hiking, walking and gardening.

Program Managers

Christine Burke

Christine is a program manager in Newton, Mass. Prior to her manager role with Specialized Housing, she got to know her group of residents in her role as a health and wellness coordinator at an employment program. Christine had always felt connected to these folks and wanted to also help them thrive in their living and social community. Christine has a passion for what she does and feels very fortunate to say she enjoys going to work each day.  The 10 residents at her program have become like her family. Her favorite part about her job is being creative and figuring out how to best support an individual in becoming more confident and independent. Christine grew up in Foxboro, so she naturally is a big Patriots fan. She now lives in Boston and enjoys going to Fenway to watch the Red Sox play. Christine also has a passion for traveling and exploring new places.

Alexae Connor

Alexae is the program manager of one of the Brookline homes. She began her work with Specialized Housing as live-in staff at that same house 7 years prior. Growing up with a brother with developmental disabilities, Alexae quickly found a passion for the population. She has spent the past decade exploring different paths to enrich the lives of people with special needs, including individual supports, day programming, and music therapy. Working with Specialized Housing, the 10 residents of Alexae's home enrich her life as much as she enriches theirs. The residents have almost all lived together for 30 years and her favorite part of the job is being reminded of how much that makes them all a family. Alexae grew up on the south shore of Massachusetts and has spent her entire adult life in Boston. Outside of work, Alexae is a professional singer, active member of her synagogue, and proud mom to two furballs commonly called cats.

Sarra Cookson

Sarra is a program manager in South Portland, Maine. She sees helping others as her calling and has found joy working with children and adolescents as well as in mental health and social services. Sarra loves to make connections and build relationships with those around her both in her personal and professional lives. She particularly enjoys supporting SHI house members in finding activities that foster a feeling of community and belonging. Sarra lives in Limerick with her husband and daughter. When she's not at work you might find her connecting with other moms at story time, enjoying a scenic walk or hike with her family in their neighborhood, or spending time with her family and friends.

Lauren Garrett

Lauren is a program manager in Brookline, Massachusetts, and has over 10 years of professional experience working with people with disabilities. She has worked as a direct care staff, paraprofessional, ABA tech, job coach, teacher, and more. After receiving her Bachelors in Human Services from Lesley University, she began working for an adult education and re-entry nonprofit located in one of Boston’s many underserved communities. She gained extensive case management skills and familiarity with navigating systems that are not made easy for people to navigate. After a couple years, Lauren was anxious to return to working with her desired population and that’s when she was introduced to Specialized Housing. She quickly bonded with the 10 residents at her program and finds joy in building personal connections with each one. Lauren grew up in Kansas and is a fan of the Kansas City Chiefs. She also has a passion for travel and exploring world history.

Maribeth McTernan

Maribeth has been working as the program manager of Specialized Housing’s newest Newton house since its opening in September 2018.  Before starting at Specialized Housing, Maribeth spent 6 years living and working in Oakland, California at an agency that supported adults with disabilities in a variety of ways.  She began her career at that agency doing direct support in their community day program. She was promoted to an assistant director position after 3 years and by the time she left the agency, she was working as the director of the day program she was hired into.  She ran the one-to-one community-based day program with a goal of helping the ten participants to access their community fully in a way that was tailored to their individual interests and needs. In 2018, Maribeth and her partner moved back to Massachusetts, where they were both born and raised, to be closer to their parents and families.  She found Specialized Housing’s mission and goals of independence, self-determination, and community integration to be closely aligned with the values she had developed in her career in the field. She feels very lucky to have found an agency at which she can commit her skills and passion and continue to do the work that she loves. She looks forward to coming into work every day and has built strong relationships with the house members as well as with their support networks.  She finds it incredibly rewarding to work at a place that provides the quality of support that Specialized Housing does.

Faithful Nowak

Faithful has been a Program Manager at a Specialized Housing home in Newton, Massachusetts since summer, 2021. She particularly enjoys encouraging the house members to be independent every day. Her connection to the house members at the program dates back to 2016 when she worked at a day program in Newton. There, she had a lot of fun working with the whole group and appreciated their positive energy. Faithful is from Nigeria, where she studied nutrition and dietetics at the University of Ibadan. When she is not at work, she enjoys watching movies at home. Her favorite activities are adventurous, like zip lining, skydiving, and riding roller coasters.

Ann Picarella

Ann is a program manager in Brookline. She began her work with Specialized Housing as a relief staff person, before eventually becoming more involved as an Assistant Manager and then Manager. Ann believes the best part of her job — and the Specialized Housing community as a whole — is the unique bond that she is able to witness on a daily basis between the residents. Although they have different needs and come from different backgrounds, they are able to always come together as a family to provide love and support to one another. Her position as program manager is most fulfilling for Ann as she helps residents to foster not only their independence but this sense of community with each other. In her free time, Ann likes to read, spend time with her granddaughter, Cecilia, and watch baseball. A New Yorker at heart, she is an avid New York Yankees fan!

Felix Rust

Felix is the house manager and live-in staff at the Porter Square, Cambridge house. He is also the weekend relief staff at three houses in Newton, and he life coaches one-on-one with several of the residents in various other houses. In 1998 he became the guardian for his sister with Down Syndrome, found Specialized Housing, and moved her into the Arlington house. She lived there happily for five years then unfortunately passed away in 2002. Felix then immediately began working for Specialized Housing. He realized that caring for people with disabilities was always his life’s work. It was just hiding beneath the surface of all his other endeavors. He is married to Sara, who also works for Specialized Housing. Together they have three children who have all grown up in the house with special needs residents as surrogate brothers and sisters. His route to social work was a circuitous one through George Washington University and the Berklee College of Music. He is an avid musician, photographer, sculptor, calligrapher, kayaker, and marathon runner.