Debbie’s character, love, and servant heart became the model we hire around, train on, and laid the foundation for the culture we work so hard to maintain.

This month, Debbie, one of our founding members, will retire after 14 years of service to SDSA. We are so grateful for her legacy and wish her all the adventures in retirement! Below is a tribute to Debbie written by our CEO and Founder, Corinna Ndolo.

“I’ll never forget where I was when I answered Debbie’s call that summer in 2009. She shared with me that she was coming out of a long corporate career and didn’t know much about ABA or autism, but was eager to become involved and get trained if we would have her as a volunteer. I was stunned. The idea that someone had seen the article in the newspaper, and was interested in what we were doing and wanted to volunteer with us? That put so much wind in my sails and gave me so much encouragement to keep moving. Her support has always given me the encouragement I need to keep going in the direction of SDSA’s mission. In fourteen years, never once has Debbie had a harsh or critical word. She truly desires only to serve SDSA‘s mission and its people. 

Debbie began her career with SDSA in August of 2009, as a classroom ABA therapist. We worked alongside each other as teachers in our one classroom with our first four students at Desert Palm Church. From the beginning, Debbie would come in on weekends with her husband Tom to repair toys and equipment. Many Fridays, Debbie could be seen loading an eight-foot-long stuffed alligator into her little red car. The alligator was a favorite of our students, and its seam was perpetually coming undone. She’d take the enormous alligator home, sew him closed, and bring him back on Monday. Debbie quickly became not just a skilled ABA therapist, but a trusted friend and mentor.

As SDSA grew and our teacher’s families grew, Debbie laid the groundwork for what became, in 2017, a full-fledged company-operated childcare program. The love she has shown every child in this building and the care she put into our staff and our mission is something that cannot be replaced. 

 In 2012, after my first child, Evie, was born, I was naive enough to think I could bring her to work with me and everything would be as it had been. Boy, was I wrong! As every parent knows, becoming a parent changes you in every possible way and presents a million joys and a million challenges that you never could have anticipated. Those challenges are magnified for working parents, and when Debbie offered to watch Evie during the day as a means of serving SDSA’s mission, I could not have been more grateful. Those early years of SDSA and my early years as a mom are some of the sweetest memories of my life. Being able to continue to work and pour myself into building SDSA while knowing Evie and later Imogen were happily in the next room, having the time of their life with Miss Debbie, was a blessing that I’ve never taken for granted. It had always been our dream that all our employees would be able to continue to further their careers by offering a nurturing environment for their babies to spend the day on campus where their parents were working. As SDSA grew and our teacher’s families grew, Debbie laid the groundwork for what became, in 2017, a full-fledged company-operated childcare program. The love she has shown every child in this building and the care she put into our staff and our mission is something that cannot be replaced. 

(Pictured above on the left: Debbie with Evie, Corinna’s daughter. Pictured on the right: Debbie at a preschool graduation with a few of our first childcare students.)

In 2016, our team participated in an offsite leadership training. There was a group of six of us, and we were asked to privately jot down the names of a staff member or two that we would duplicate if we could. Who would we clone? And then, what qualities does that person have that are so valuable? After a few minutes of writing, we shared our responses. Every single one of us had written down “Debbie.” Debbie’s character, love, and servant heart became the model we hire around, train on, and laid the foundation for the culture we work so hard to maintain.

 Debbie, you are irreplaceable. There are no words to thank you for your kindness and service to SDSA. All of us and this place have been made so much better for having had the opportunity to know you and work alongside you for the past fourteen and a half years. Thank you for everything, Debbie! I know this isn’t the end, and I am grateful we will still have your special presence in this place. I wish you all the fun, adventure, and rest in retirement that you so deserve!”

-Written By: Corinna Ndolo