I am Kelli I am 29 years old from Long Island, NY. Growing up I was very shy and quiet and didn’t have many friends. I was also diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome / PDD at age 13.
I struggled with a lot of things growing up, but I eventually got my driver’s license and also went away to college and got an Associate’s degree in culinary arts and a Bachelor’s degree in food service entrepreneurship.
Since then I’ve become a lot more outgoing due to my love of going to concerts, going to work-out classes and working jobs based on customer service. I love cooking and nutrition and have developed a very broad palate and love veggies (which I didn’t like as a kid) and now am a vegan!
I have had varying types of jobs and I also understand the struggle of getting a job itself, it took me a while and job interviews are extremely challenging. Besides working retail one of the jobs I have right now is mentoring an autistic young woman. I also work at Athleta and help out at a hot yoga studio.
I decided I wanted to help at Yes She Can because mentoring the autistic woman I work with is extremely rewarding and I love being a positive influence on girls and women on the spectrum and showing them that anything is possible if you work hard and never give up and surround yourself with positive people which is exactly the environment that Yes She Can offers!
If I didn’t have my supportive parents, family and friends, especially my mom I would not be where I am today.
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Kelli was referred to Yes She Can by our board member, Debra Solomon, who is life coach for women with ASD. Learn more at Spectrum Strategies
Come meet Kelli at Girl AGain where she is a volunteer peer mentor to our trainees on Friday mornings.
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