about us
Our Executive Director, Nancy Litteken, has worked in Special Education with the Los Angeles Unified School District for over 30 years both in the classroom and in the field. Her introduction to a life with special needs began as a newborn hearing child of deaf parents. Much of who she is today has been shaped by her unique family life. She has a Master’s in Special Education/Deaf Studies. For 18 years she coordinated the program for Secondary Deaf and Hard of Hearing students Career and Planning program with LAUSD. Most recently she has worked as an Infant/Preschool Specialist, providing early intervention services for special needs infants (0-3) and their families. As a parent of an 11 year old daughter with Down syndrome, she has experienced the other side of special education – being an advocate, community builder, teacher and networker. Her passion is to bring individuals together, discover people’s talents, gifts and interests and then to help them use those gifts to transform their communities. With the birth of Molly, that passion has shaped their entire family to work toward and promote the full potential of individuals with Down syndrome. Her daily inspiration comes from Mike, her incredible husband, her amazing son, Matt and the wondrous joy of Molly.
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Mother to Matt and Molly
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Our Outreach Director, Kathy McDaniel, has thirty-three years of experience as a teacher. She left Barnhart School in Arcadia in June 2009 after teaching there for twenty-three years. While there she started the middle school student council and acted as its advisor. As an eighth grade teacher for fourteen years, she developed close connections with the private high schools in the area as she helped place her students. With many of her eighth-grade alumni still attending those schools, she has a continuing connection to the volunteers on whom Club 21 relies. Also, she knows the commitment needed to be a volunteer because of the six years she served on the Board of Directors of Sierra Madre Community Nursery School, even serving as President. Kathy brings to Club 21 her enthusiasm for bettering the education of all children. At Club 21, she is responsible for recruiting volunteers and raising awareness of the volunteer opportunities that are available, like the Mod Pod, the Walk-a-thon, and other fundraising activities.
