Meet Our New Staff
We are thrilled to introduce our newest staff members! Check out below to learn what departments they are joining and fun facts about them!
Front Row (kneeling from R to L)
Valencia Taylor
Student Engagement Specialist
When she was a child, she attended Steel Pan camp each summer and learned new skills by playing as a part of a steel pan ensemble. Until she moved upstate from Brooklyn, she had never seen a cow in person. She admits she’s never been on a roller coaster and has no desire to!
Elizabeth Valerio
Behavior Specialist
She loves making crafts and is a self titled circuit feign! She also loves to read and cook.
Si Blue Htoo
Behavior Specialist
Born in Thailand and came to America when she was six, Si Blue is hoping to go back to visit Thailand next year. Her goal for the future is to establish a school in Thailand to teach children and provide aid to those who need it. In her free time, she enjoys singing, playing soccer and volleyball.
Julia Aponte
Student Engagement Specialist
Julia participated in the Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) program, where she collaborated with a school in Brazil to complete a project together. She loves playing Sims and says its like her second job (!). For 12 years she was a ballet, jazz and tap dancer.
Jacqueline Rodriguez
Student Engagement Specialist
Jacqueline loves to travel with her son. She’s an avid racer and finishes a book in about a week and she is also a big soccer fan.
2nd Row (Standing from R to L)
Christie Crossman
Student Engagement Specialist
Christie is absolutely terrified of clowns. She is a huge fan of football and loves to attend games - she even has season tickets for both the Buffalo Bills and Syracuse Orange. Attending the Olympics (winter or summer games) is on her bucket list!
Gabrielle Walker
Student Engagement Specialist
Gabrielle is not scared of heights, but the thought of climbing ladders and steps terrifies her. She has been to five major league baseball parks and has a goal to visit all of them in the U.S. Something she loves to do is go antique shopping and source great vintage pieces.
Anondai Loadholt
Student Engagement Specialist
Anondai has been an ICAN employee since early 2022 and recently moved to a new position - you can read fun facts about her here: https://ican.family/news/welcome-to-our-new-staff-members-1
Catherine Holt
Student Engagement Specialist
She is a huge Boston Red Sox fan and has four tattoos. You won’t catch her eating chocolate ice cream though, as she strongly dislikes it!
Jenny Woods
Behavior Specialist
Jenny enjoys going to comedy shows, concerts and 90s com. Of the celebrities she's met, Christopher Lloyd has been her favorite. She is married and has two children, she describes her house as ‘the fun house’ for many neighborhood kids. In her spare time, she loves to read.
Chevel Carroll
Behavior Specialist
She finished her first year of law school in May 2023. Her immediate family members' names rhyme: Chanel, Chantel, Chevel, Kenyel. She currently has twelve tattoos!
Kalisha Lockhart
Student Engagement Specialist
Kalisha has been to six music festivals and four concerts, seeing over 34 different artists. She is a mom and something she enjoys doing in the evenings is going for a nice walk.
Samantha Atkyns
Facilitation Specialist
Samantha has been an ICAN employee since November 2021 working with the TORCH program and recently made the move to a school-based position - you can read fun facts about her here: https://ican.family/news/welcome-to-our-new-staff-members
Back Row (Standing from R to L)
Kim Steates
Behavior Specialist
Kim is an avid walker, logging up to 10 miles per day. She also loves quotes, finding meaning and inspiration from them.
Katie Eaton
Peer Support Specialist
For the past 13 years, Katie has been a CNA. She learned how to drive a boat and enjoys doing so BUT she doesn't know how to swim.
Karyn Russo
Behavior Specialist
Since 1998, she has been to 97 Dave Matthew concerts and now her kids join her in going! She owns her own business where she makes colored spark plug wires for Harley Davidson called Sumax. She and her daughters volunteer twice a month feeding the homeless at The Hope House.
Paul Kiefer
School Based Trainer
Paul has collected an impressive amount of Magic The Gathering cards - over 20,000! A project he took on and completed was building his own custom storage shed for his home. To date, he has run over 20 races for a total of just over 200 kilometers.
Cody Keeler
School Based Trainer
Cody has completed running a marathon. He is ordained in two ‘religions’ and officiated his best friend's wedding. You can see him in a viral video fielding a punt to end conditioning.
Nazaria DeLoach
Facilitation Specialist
Outside of his role at ICAN, Naz owns and operates a recording studio. So far he has dropped two albums on streaming platforms. He learned to juggle at the age of eight and has been honing that skill since! Also… before he began working at ICAN, he was one of our Mental Health Ambassadors for a campaign funded by the NYS Department of Mental Health. Read about that here!
https://ican.family/news/meet-our-mental-health-ambassador-naz-deloach-mental-health-through-music
Courtney Herkel
Behavior Specialist
Courtney loves hiking and at six months pregnant, hiked Kane Mountain in the Adirondacks. She enjoys working with honey bees – her family has over 2,100 hives! She loves taking pictures and capturing memories, especially of her children.
Adriana Salatino
School Based Trainer
In the past, she was a federal agent. She has three sisters and used to live in Maine!
Max Coe
Behavioral Supports Program Manager
He has refereed high school soccer for the past eight years. In middle school he traveled to Okinawa, Japan for vacation. In college, he won a 3 point contest competing against players on the college team.