The staff of SDSA are all highly trained and experienced in autism spectrum disorders and applied behavior analysis.  All staff members have at least two years experience working in ABA based classroom settings with students with autism and the teachers of SDSA will complete 20 hours per semester of continuing education hours in topics related to autism education.  Additionally, both classroom teachers are pursuing M.A. in special education.  

 

 

Corinna Ndolo, Director/Special Education Teacher: Corinna graduated with her degree in special education and has worked with children with autism for the past 8 years. After several years of teaching children with autism, Corinna decided to pursue her dream of opening a school. For years, Corinna saw a need in the community for a program that would meet the complex needs of students with autism, while giving them the skills they need to be independent, in a traditional school environment.  Three years later, St. Dominic Savio Academy was born.  She is pursuing her M.A. in special education and board certification in behavior analysis.  She enjoys music, travel, and spending time with her new husband!

 

 

Sarah Korfonta, Special Education teacher: Sarah graduated with a dual degree in Special Education and Regular Education from Franciscan University of Steubenville.  After hearing about the vision for St. Dominic Savio Academy in it's planning stages, Sarah felt so passionately about the mission that she relocated to Phoenix from Virginia to teach at SDSA. Sarah is certified to teach Lindamood-Bell reading curriculum, which is implemented at St. Dominic Savio Academy.  She has worked as an ABA therapist serving many children with autism for the past 6 years.  She is an enthusiastic teacher and excited for the year to start! In her spare time, Sarah spends time with friends and family and volunteers as a leader in a high school youth group at her church.

 

 

Ethan Siegler, Lead ABA Therapist: Ethan was born in Arizona and has lived in the Phoenix area for the past 15 years.  He graduated from Saguaro High School in 2007 and has worked for the past 3 years as an ABA therapist for children with autism in both school and home-based settings.  He has completed multiple ABA trainings in various subjects, and demonstrates and applies his incredible knowledge in the classroom everyday.  As an instructor, Ethan makes every session fun and reinforcing for the students he works with.  Ethan organizes the Singapore Math program at St. Dom's.  In his spare time, Ethan enjoys spending time with his friends, and music, especially drumming.

 

Kirklyn Zilke, Lead ABA Therapist: Although Kirklyn was born in Connecticut, she has lived in the Phoenix area for the past 17 years.  She graduated from Desert Mountain High School and has spent the past 6 years working with children with autism in both school and home based settings.  Kirklyn is trained in the "Handwriting Without Tears" curriculum and enjoys organizing and running the writing classes at St. Dom's.  In her spare time, Kirklyn enjoys spending time with family and friends, working out, and traveling. 

 

Brooke Gauvin, Instructional Assistant: Brooke was born in Missouri and has lived in Arizona for the passed 16 years. Currently, she is working towards an undergraduate degree in Art Education at ASU. Brooke became interested in studying autism in high school and began picking up books in the library to read during her free time. Last year, Brooke met the St. Dominic's director, Corinna, and found out about St. Dominic's. Soon after hearing about the school, she began volunteering and was eventually hired on staff as a classroom aide alongside her twin sister, Erin. Brooke feels thoroughly blessed to have been given such a great opportunity to be able to work with children with autism in such a loving environment where the children's needs come first. Brooke is also interested in illustrating children's books, enjoys watercoloring, creating things, reading, and being with friends. 

 

Erin Gauvin, Instructional Assistant: Erin was born in St. Louis, Missouri but has lived in Arizona for the majority of her life. She is currently attending ASU, working toward a B.S. in Social Work and a B.S. in Non-Profit Leadership Management. She will soon begin working toward a Masters in Social Work. Erin started out as a volunteer for St. Dom's and, after a year, joined the staff with her twin sister, Brooke. Erin loves working with children with autism and feels privileged to be associated with such talented and passionate staff! In her spare time, Erin reads, plays guitar, and works with the homeless around Tempe.

 

Ann Goodrich - Speech/Language Pathologist   Ann was born and raised in Iowa, but moved out to Arizona after graduating from Iowa State University where she received her B.S. in Elementary Education and a B.S. in Psychology.  Ann spent two years at the Arizona School for the Deaf and Blind in Tucson working with children with multiple severe sensory impairments before moving to Chandler and attending ASU.  There she received her Masters of Science degree in Communication Disorders and has been working in the valley as a certified/licensed speech-language pathologist for the past 14 years.  Ann has focused her attention on working with children on the autism spectrum and has worked with several doctors in the area doing research and advocating for better medical practices for children diagnosed on the spectrum.  She has worked with children privately as well as in the public school system and understands their special learning needs.  When Ann is not working with children, she loves being with her own 2 children, 3 cats, travelling, reading, volunteering at St. Tim's School, and spending time with friends.

 

Anna Blocher-Rubin, Yoga Instructor: When Anna is not at SDSA, she teaches P.E. at the Awakening Seed School.  In addition to teaching PE, her teaching career has consisted of working as a special education teacher in both a regular school setting and virtually, and she has been a children’s yoga instructor for both regular and special needs children, for two years. She graduated from ASU in 2004 with a Bachelors in Special Education, and then completed her yoga certification through Southwest Institute of Healing Arts in 2007. She completed her Masters through Grand Canyon University in Education and Technology. Anna is married and has two children, ages 3 and 5. She has always loved working with children and enjoys sports, yoga, Tai Chi, hiking, dance, traveling, music, movies and exploring other cultures. Her goal is to expose children to a healthy lifestyle through being physically active in team collaboration, yoga, creative movement, techniques to decrease everyday stress, and learn about healthy choices when eating.

 

Jay Cleveland, Music Therapist: Jay Cleveland has been providing music therapy services throughout the state of Arizona since 1992. He graduated from Maryville University in St. Louis with a degrees in Music Therapy and Secondary Education. Jay completed his internship at the Children's Center for Neurodevelopmental Studies in Glendale, AZ. Jay's agency, Music on the Move, was established in 1998. When not providing music therapy services in the classroom or in-home setting, or teaching music two days a week at the Awakening Seed school in Phoenix, he enjoys reading and spending time with his family.