Adrianna Ramirez
Executive Director
Bilingual ~ Spanish Speaking
(203) 699-6123
aramirez@ctfsn.org
Adrianna Ramirez joined CTFSN in 2021. She is a mother and advocate. She has always served as an advocate for family members with intellectual disabilities and special healthcare needs. She also has experience being a caregiver and supporting disabled aging family members and family with intellectual and developmental disabilities with special healthcare needs. As a bilingual individual she has supported her family and members of her community with researching various services to meet their needs and has experience in mentoring through her coaching background. Adrianna has years of experience championing for her family member’s medical needs and researching community resources. Adrianna is passionate about arming families with resources, skills and tools to empower them as advocates for their loved ones as well as parent leaders in their communities.
Rachel Keesler
Family Support Coordinator – Northeast/Southeast Region
(860) 419-5715
rkeesler@ctfsn.org
Rachel Keesler joined CTFSN in 2021. She has two children; her 9 year old son was diagnosed with a rare neuro-metabolic disorder when he was 2 ½ years old. Rachel understands how important advocacy is and enjoys supporting other parents. Rachel also has experience supporting families through the PPT process as well as helping support families seek early intervention for their children. She was also a Parent Mentor for CPAC. Rachel earned a bachelor’s in psychology where she focused on families and children.
Melissa Mills
Family Support Coordinator – North Central Region
(959) 888-2848
mmills@ctfsn.org
Melissa Mills joined CTFSN in 2022. Born and raised in Connecticut Melissa is a married mother of two adult children with special needs. She is a fierce advocate in the disability community. During her tenure as a Volunteer Advocacy
Advocate she worked effectively with community members and elected officials to enact positive policy change on both the state and federal level. She also holds a Connecticut Real Estate license and prides herself on advocating and negotiating for her clients while navigating the home buying and selling process.
Lena Esposito
Family Support Coordinator – South Central Region
Bilingual ~ Spanish Speaking
(860) 398-9091
lesposito@ctfsn.org
Lena Esposito joined CTFSN in 2022. Her journey started 17 years ago when her lovely daughter was diagnosed with Autism. Throughout the years, she has learned so much from her. Her daughter is her inspiration to learn, educate herself and deal with all the challenges that the system has brought them. Her daughter is nonverbal and has multiple disabilities. Lena worked in New York for 15 years. She relocated from New York to Connecticut in 2013.Transition was a big struggle looking for services and programs for her child. She started participating at Connecticut Parent Advocacy Center during the pandemic and later became a facilitator for Next Steps and SIT. During the past years, she has been dedicating her life to help families to make sure everybody can understand all the information, processes and guide them to different community resources. As a native Spanish speaker she wants to serve as a bridge between her community and the system by helping them navigate through the process. She is part of several advisory councils, committees and represents Connecticut in different groups as a parent leader. Advocating is her passion and to help is her vocation. She wants to continue dedicating her life to empower families all around her region and Connecticut to always do the impossible until it is done.
Yury Cruz
Family Support Coordinator – Northwest Region
Bilingual ~ Spanish Speaking
(860) 631-7552
ycruz@ctfsn.org
Yury Cruz joined CTFSN in 2022 as our Spanish Speaking Family Support Coordinator supporting the Northwest Region. She is a mother of 2 boys, ages 9 and 6. Her 9 year old was diagnosed with autism at the age of 3, at the time, she knew nothing about autism. Ever since her child’s diagnosis her professional life spiraled after news of the diagnosis because she understood how important it would be to educate herself and equip herself with the tools that she needed as a mother to help in the process of raising her child with any difficult challenges that may arise. Her passion is to help other parents that are, just like her, starting this journey in an unknown world, a path on Neurodiversity.
Yury has previously been a facilitator of the Spanish support group of Sun Moon and Stars and Padres Unidos de Danbury. She is a current board member of SpedCT, and a recent 2022 PLTI graduate. Yury earned her bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of San Buenaventura in Colombia, South America, her country of origin.