Meet the Board
Ken Cabral M.Ed.
Board President
Ken Cabral is the President and CEO at Benhaven, Inc., a private not-for-profit agency located in south central Connecticut. Benhaven’s mission is to enable people with autism and pervasive developmental disorders to participate in community life, exercise productive control over their own lives, have meaningful relationships and associations, be gainfully employed and experience happiness and personal satisfaction.
Ken returned to the provider after a 25-year career in state government, including Connecticut and Washington, DC. His career has focused on person centered and family center service in the field of Intellectual Developmental Disabilities and Child Welfare. He has a passion and commitment to supporting people with intellectual disability and their families.
While in Washington Ken worked at the Development Disability Administration (DDA) where he served as the Director of Operations providing leadership and oversight of the provider community in DC, the Home and Community Based Waivers, Intake, and the DDA budget. Prior to his return to Connecticut, Mr. Cabral’s professional career was focused on working with children, families, and adults with intellectual disabilities. Since returning to Connecticut, Ken has served as the Regional Administrator for both Region 5 and Region 1 at the Department of Children and Families and the Director of Family Services Strategy at the Department of Developmental Services.
Ken’s focus and priority remains with individual and family centered services, and to ensure quality, inclusion, and dignity. Ensuring high quality services is only accomplished through strong partnerships, creativity, and flexibility.
Julia Boisvert
Vice President and Treasurer
Attorney at Murtha Cullina LLP in the health care and nonprofit organizations practice areas
Julia advises a variety of for-profit and nonprofit health care providers on health care regulatory, employment and corporate issues. She also assists nonprofit organizations on matters including governance, tax exempt questions and operational issues.
Prior to joining Murtha Cullina LLP, Julia taught legal research and writing to first year law students as a teaching fellow at American University Washington College of Law, where she had graduated with her Juris Doctor degree.
Julia is also a graduate of Cornell University with a Bachelor of Science degree in human development.
Jeana Bracey, Ph.D.
Secretary
Jeana Bracey is Associate Vice President of School and Community Initiatives at the Child Health and Development Institute (CHDI). She oversees several school and community-based systems, development activities and programs in school-based mental health, juvenile justice diversion, health equity, and program implementation and evaluation. Jeana’s work focuses on developing effective systems, policies, and best practices to improve behavioral health outcomes for children, youth, and families through school-family-community partnerships. Currently, she coordinates several statewide initiatives, including the CT School-Based Diversion Initiative (SBDI), the Connecticut Network of Care Transformation (CONNECT) Initiative, and Project AWARE (Advancing Wellness and Resilience in Education).
While Jeana officially joined the CHDI staff in July 2011, has worked with CHDI since 2008 through her predoctoral internship and postdoctoral fellowship at The Consultation Center at Yale University. She earned her PhD in Clinical/Community Psychology in 2010 from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Jeana lives in Waterbury with her husband and three children, including one with special medical needs.
Erin Cornell, MPH
Associate Director, Help Me Grow National Center at Connecticut Children’s Medical Center
Erin is a public health practitioner whose work focuses on strategies to improve the health and developmental outcomes of children through systems innovation. Currently, she oversees the design and implementation of strategic initiatives within the Help Me Grow National Center, an organization that supports national replication of a model designed to facilitate developmental promotion, early identification, and linkage to services for young children and their families. Before joining Help Me Grow, Erin contributed to the implementation and evaluation of innovations in child health services, including Co-Management and Mid-Level Developmental Assessment, both programs of the Office for Community Child Health at Connecticut Children’s Medical Center.
While a graduate student, Erin completed a year-long assistantship as a LEND (Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities) Fellow through the University of Connecticut University Center of Excellence in Developmental Disabilities.
Erin holds a BA from Boston University, an MPH from the University of Connecticut, and is currently pursuing a doctorate in public health from the University of Connecticut.
Dawn DeMatteo
Senior Account Executive in the Corporate Benefits Division of NFP
Dawn has over 30 years of experience in employee benefits working for insurance and consulting firms. Dawn has experience working with various-sized companies in the private and nonprofit sectors, both fully insured and self-funded. She has collaborated diligently with clients in assisting in Health Care Reform and compliance. Her recent position at NFP allows her to focus on strategies for nonprofit organizations in developing attractive employee benefit programs under restricted budgets.
Dawn has a special bond with nonprofit organizations providing services to those with I/DD. As a mother of a 32-year-old, disabled child receiving services from DDS, she serves on many boards and works closely with Legislators and DDS in advocating for benefits to serve those with intellectual disabilities. She served two consecutive terms as Co-Chairperson for DDS’s Regional Advisory Committee (RAC) and continues to be part of the RAC’s monthly meetings, as well as serving on various DDS committees, including the most recent ARPA committee in charge of communication within DDS and agencies. Additionally, Dawn has been extremely involved in parent support groups.
Dr. Robert Keder
Physician- Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics at Connecticut Children’s
Rob Keder grew up in Connecticut, attended the Loyola University of Chicago Stritch School of Medicine, and then completed his residency in pediatrics through the University of Connecticut. He completed a three-year fellowship in Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics at Boston Medical Center / Boston University and a one-year LEND (Leadership Education for Neurodevelopmental and related Disabilities) fellowship through the University of Massachusetts Shriver Center. He returned home to Connecticut Children’s in 2016 where he is involved in several aspects of medical education working with students, residents, and colleagues. His clinical interests relate to autism, ADHD, learning disabilities, developmental delays, and bullying.
Cindy Jackson
Pediatric Physical Therapist and Director of Children’s Therapy Services
Cindy has several years of experience as a pediatric physical therapist and director of Children’s Therapy Services. She received her degrees in Physical Therapy and Allied Health Administration from the University of Connecticut. Cindy established Children’s Therapy Services in 1987. CTS provides services to children with special needs in the Greater Waterbury and Greater Danbury areas. Cindy also established LARC ( Lefty and Righty of CT ) – a constraint-induced movement therapy camp in 2002. Cindy participates in many councils that support system improvement for children with special needs and their families. She was recently appointed by the Governor to chair the CT Birth To Three Interagency Coordinating Council. Cindy has three children and resides in Cheshire with her husband.