I came to Aspire in 2019 drawn by the clarity of the mission and the caliber of the people doing the work. Having spent my career in mission-driven healthcare and human services settings, I have had the privilege of seeing what organizations look like when they focus on service and build systems that are meant to support excellence.

When I stepped into the CEO role in July 2025, I inherited an organization that was already challenging itself to improve services for the children and adults we serve and innovate on how to best support the employees and home care providers directly providing those supports. Aspire had the great potential to amplify its impact by scaling our services across and beyond our footprint, investing in our incredible workforce and heralding the good work we do.

To that end, I am proud to share our 2026-2028 Strategic Plan, a roadmap shaped by the voices of employees, stakeholders, board members, and the communities we serve. It reflects both our pride in what we’ve built and our clear-eyed understanding of what we must do next.

The tagline we’ve chosen for this plan says it simply: Strengthening Our Foundation, Expanding Our Impact.

That is exactly what we intend to do.

Aspire has long been recognized for clinical excellence. Funding agencies describe our practices as “second to none,” particularly in supporting individuals with the most complex needs. That reputation is the foundation upon which everything in this plan is built.

Our mission, serving neurodiverse children and adults who are discovering their passions, unlocking potential, and thriving, is the lens through which every strategic decision has been made.

And yet, we also know that clinical excellence alone is not enough to ensure we can keep doing this work. The environment we operate in is changing rapidly. Proposed federal Medicaid cuts, an intensifying workforce crisis, changing regulatory requirements, and increasing complexity of the people in need of services present opportunities that demand a set of proactive and person-centered strategies.

Uncertainty often triggers an impulse for organizations to contract. To pull back from hard cases, narrow scope and play it safe. I think that is exactly the wrong response. When the environment gets harder the people who need us need us more, not less.

Aspire is not pulling back. This plan is how we grow. Our 2026–2028 strategic plan centers on four interconnected pillars:

• Workforce Enhancement — The people who work at Aspire are our greatest strength, and they deserve to be treated that way. We are committed to reimagining frontline supervisory roles, building transparent career pathways, and implementing a comprehensive compensation framework that better reflects the skill and dedication our teams bring every day.

• Growth and Revenue Diversification — With over 90% of our revenue tied to government funding, we must build greater financial resilience. That means growing intentionally — deepening our presence in the communities where we already serve, exploring strategic affiliations with like-minded organizations, and meaningfully diversifying our revenue so that shifts in federal or state policy do not threaten our ability to serve the people who depend on us.

• Culture of Quality — Excellence should be measurable, not just felt. We are establishing Quality Assurance Teams, implementing standardized metrics, expanding adaptive and enabling technologies and embedding a Positive Behavior Support framework across our person-centered care plans. We are also investing in the physical spaces where we deliver services, because the people we support deserve environments that reflect our values and so do our staff.

• External Engagement — This is perhaps our most significant shift. Aspire has done remarkable work quietly for too long. Over the next three years, we will build our philanthropic capacity, grow our visibility as a sector leader, and amplify our advocacy voice at both the local and national level. The people we serve deserve an organization that tells their story — and fights for their future.

None of this will happen overnight, and none of it will happen without all of us. I am grateful to Aspire’s Board of Directors, leadership team, and the hundreds of employees who shaped this plan. Most of all, I am grateful to the people and families we serve, many of whom shared their experiences during the strategic planning process. You are the reason we keep raising the bar.

With gratitude and optimism,