Unacceptable Stops Here
Global research states that the healthier we are as caregivers, the better the outcomes will be for the people we care for. However, we live with the reality that over 60% are under so much emotional, financial, communal, and educational stress, that we ourselves are diagnosed as "at risk" by healthcare professionals.
This is unacceptable to us, hence:
Unacceptable STOPS HERE
UNACCAPTABLE STOPS HERE
Today, the team has grown to include the passionate and purposed people you see below, all of whom have their own caregiving story to tell. Together with the members of myHana, they are shaping the future of caregiving in a way that gives us our lives back, on our terms.
Nick and Diane Garofolo have been caregivers for decades, Nick himself requires his own care because he is legally blind. When they saw the stresses that often accompany caregiving, and the waitlists for services that people are often on for years, they decided to do something about it.
They found others who were also caregivers and felt the same way, so along with Heather Sachs, Scott Badesch, and Ven Sequenzia they founded myHana.
Our Story
where we started
nodding your head right now?
Enough about us, we're here to help you...
Become a part of an effort to engage, reshape, and empower the special needs community like never before.
with connection and collaboration with other parents and caregivers to share experiences and learn from one another.
with a solution to the emotional, financial, educational, and communal challenges of caregiving.
After a highly successful career in the financial services industry, Nick and his family were clearly impacted by his debilitating eye disease. But Nick and his wife Diane chose a path to fulfill their needs to create an impactful initiative that would help thousands of other families who were also affected by certain disabilities.
For over seven years, Nick and Diane have committed a substantial amount of their family wealth, and with the help of other friends and family, they have created my Hana, A unique and first of its kind transformational caregiver platform. Nick and Diane recognize the unmet needs of tens of thousands of families who have little or no access the best in class care management tools, as well as other services and products Needed to support the caregiver journey.
founder, ceo
Scott Badesch is the President of Badesch and Associates LLC, with offices in Silver Spring, Maryland, Chapel Hill, North Carolina and Chicago, Illinois. As President, Scott oversees a global consulting business assisting both not for profit as well as profit making companies advance their work in helping enhance the quality of life of individuals impacted by autism.
Prior to serving as President of his consulting company, Scott served for ten years as President/CEO of the Autism Society of America, the nation’s oldest and largest grassroots autism organization. As President/CEO, Scott directed a national network of over 70 local and state affiliates that collectively served and supported close to 625,000 people a year. During his tenure, Scott, worked with an active and involved board of directors, transformed the organization and its national system of caring affiliates to what today is one of the most respected autism organizational systems in the nation and a national organization that is highly responsive, accountable, inclusive, transparent and effective. Upon his retirement from the Autism Society of America in January 2020, Scott was recognized for not only successfully positioning the Autism Society of America as the nation’s most effective autism grassroots organization, but also for how he transitioned the organization from having a large deficit in 2010 to his leaving the organization with a sizable and healthy fund balance. Scott has testified before Congress and before the Illinois, Texas, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Florida legislatures. Scott also has a very strong working understanding of establishing as well as evaluating autism ABA Centers and programs and how best to fund and operate such centers. He also regularly advises people of wealth as well as corporations on the best ways to address the needs of individuals and families impacted by autism Scott was also recognized by two members of Congress in 2020 for his leadership in helping with the passage of the Autism Care Act and was provided a framed copy of the actual bill which was signed by President Trump. Scott also was invited to the Oval Office in 2014 to discuss with President Obama the needs of the autism community and was present when President Obama signed an early version of the Autism Care Act bill.
Scott came to the Autism Society of America after serving as CEO of the Autism Society of North Carolina. Prior to serving with the Autism Society, Scott had a 24 year career with United Way, having served as President/CEO of the United Way of South Carolina as well as the United Way of Palm Beach County and having served as the Director of Services for the United Way of Suburban Chicago. Prior to his work with United Way, Scott served as the President/CEO of the Northwest Services Coordination, an organization in the northwest suburbs of Chicago and before that he was the Director of Programs for the Area Agency of Suburban Cook County.
Scott is an internationally recognized leader in visioning, strategic planning, organizational development, fundraising and funding, transformation of organizations, program development, outcome measurement and partnership development. As President/CEO of the Autism Society of America, Scott led a major transformation of the organization to its current standing as a very strong, focused and effective measurable outcome based organization helping individuals with autism each day to maximize their quality of life. Scott also is regularly asked to speak at national and international conferences and meetings on transformation of organizations, strategic planning, program development, funding options for program development, fundraising and outcome measurements.
Scott’s consulting work with Badesch and Associates LLC includes, but is not limited to helping NGOs and corporations transform into ongoing relevant and supportive entities, assisting NGOs with development and implementation of capital fundraising and general fund raising campaigns, program development and funding, assisting NGOs and corporations in their efforts to advance employment opportunities for adults with autism as well as advancing the use of technology for training individuals impacted by autism, and working with investors and well as philanthropists examining investment opportunities benefiting the autism community as well as helping private companies develop and place needed products within the autism community. Scott is also well respected as having a full understanding of post secondary options for autistic students, financing of post secondary educational options and has a complete understanding on how to successfully apply for government income supplement programs for individuals with a disability. Scott’s work with Badesch and Associates LLC also includes public advocacy on behalf of the firm’s clients and helping NGO organizations conduct a search for a new CEO.
Scott has been the recipient of numerous local, state and national awards and recognition. He holds a Masters Degree from the University of Chicago School of Social Services Administration and has a Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Illinois. He is the past chairman of the CPSD (Collaboration for Self Determination), Caring Foundation and currently serves as a board member of the Autism Science Foundation, Scot has been married for 38 years to Phyllis Badesch (Upshaw) and has four amazing adult children, a wonderful son in law, and two very beautiful and much loved grandchildren. Scott is a lifelong volunteer and currently volunteers with programs that provide meals to the homeless as well as older adults confined to their home. Scott and his wife reside in Silver Spring, Maryland.
Scott is also the proud father of one of his now adult children who graduated from Marshall University and greatly benefited from their autism support program.
Scott Badesch can be reached by email at scottbadesch@gmail.com.
Programming Director, co-founder
Heather Sachs serves as the myHana Faculty Director and is responsible for the review, selection, development, and, in some cases, creation of, disability-related materials throughout the myHana platform, including curricula, written resources, webinars, and workshops. Heather most recently served as the Policy & Advocacy Director for the National Down Syndrome Congress (NDSC), where she spearheaded NDSC’s policy agenda in the areas of education, employment, financial empowerment, healthcare, housing, and Medicaid. She has over a decade of experience as an advocate in the disability community on the local, state, and national levels, where she has spoken at a multitude of conferences, written numerous policy briefs and articles on disability-related issues, and has won multiple awards for her advocacy efforts and policy expertise. Heather also previously served as the Vice President of Public Policy for the National Down Syndrome Society, the Senior ABLE Advisor for the National Disability Institute, and has held leadership positions in cross-disability coalitions such as the Consortium for Constituents with Disabilities and the Collaboration to Promote Self-Determination. She has done extensive grassroots advocacy work, founding both NDSC’s National Down Syndrome Advocacy Coalition and the Maryland Down Syndrome Advocacy Coalition. Heather received her B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania and her J.D. from Columbia University School of Law and is a member of the D.C. Bar. She lives in the Washington D.C. area with her husband and three children, one of whom has a significant disability for whom she serves as the primary caregiver.
Faculty Director, co-founder
Currently, Ven is a board member of the Autism Society of Florida, Inc. (ASF) and also served as its president for 18 years. He was a member of the Governor’s Task Force on Autism Spectrum Disorders from 2009 - 2010; He was instrumental in helping to expand the number of the Centers for Autism and Related Disabilities (CARD) throughout state; Ven is on the board of OCA (OPPORTUNITY, COMMUNITY, ABILITY) in Orlando, Florida that provides the opportunity to maximize their abilities through functional, behavioral, social, recreational, and vocational programs to live within the community.
For over 35 years, Ven has been a staunch advocate for families and has been a speaker at many conferences, schools, and universities on the subject of autism, advocacy and legislative issues that affect families who have children and adults with various disabilities.
Ven is currently an account executive for Smart Source LLC, a document management and information solutions provider. Ven is the father of Amy and step-father to Jose, Eleana, Isabel. Ven is married to Sarah Sequenzia and resides in Sanford, Florida.
Partnership Director, co-founder
Stuart is a pioneer of (1993 co-creator of the platform called “Making A Profit While Making a Difference” - for which he has been granted a Trademark), and a global leader in, the Leadership and Management strategy known as Profit for Purpose.
He is the creator of Impact Economics, which is the future of how edited forms of Business & Capitalism will create resilient, sustainable, and inclusive Communities. After a rigorous 9-year pilot in Charleston, SC, Impact Economics is now being scaled across the world.
During his career, he has created almost $1B in realized shareholder value for the companies he started and sold, and or was an executive at.
He is a renowned “Impact Ecosystems Architect”, advising Governments, Corporations, Families of Wealth, Community Leaders, and Foundations on how to embed Leadership & Management Through the Lens of Profit for Purpose into their organizations.
He designed and still helps teach the award-winning, 6 credit ImpactX Class at the College of Charleston, plus Charleston’s free community class focused on inclusive Impact Entrepreneurship. Both classes allow people to participate in and personally benefit from the creation of a sustainable future. He is also the founder of the Stuart Williams Impact Scholars program at The College of Charleston.
Stuart is a Founder, CEO, Chairman, Speaker, Author, Mentor, and Board Member, and believes that:
"What is in our heads makes us marginally dangerous to the status quo, but what is in our hearts makes us a global force to be reckoned with".
