Our Team

Amanda Ready LMHC, LPC

Founder and President
Board Member

Co-Chair, Program Committee, & Co- Chair, Revenue & Governance Committee Member

A licensed mental health counselor, licensed professional counselor, entrepreneur, advocate, and motivational speaker, Amanda Ready

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works to inspire, motivate, and equip others to empower and heal themselves.

She offers mental health wellness, educational support, and job training stateside and globally through her private practice Ready Therapy Practice and nonprofit work. In addition to Ready Therapy Practice, she has founded two nonprofits: Ready to Empower, a US-based foundation, and Árbol de Esperanza, a Costa Rica–based association that provides support to at-risk women. Ready donates a portion of this practice’s proceeds to helping others in need access mental health support. Ready has been honored in 2018; Humanitarian of the Year Award, bestowed by the I’m Here For the Ladies And You for advocating women’s empowerment, 2015; Amway Hero Award in the Generosity Category, recognizing the commitment one person makes to improving the world through extraordinary volunteerism or philanthropy, 2014; Unsung Hero Award, given by the Westchester Task Force on Child Abuse and Neglect, for outstanding achievement in protecting the safety and well-being of Westchester’s children, 2014; Rising Star Award given by The Business Council of Westchester, recognizing Westchester County’s best young talents.

Olivia Skiffington

Vice President
Board Member

Marketing Committee & Revenue Committee Member

Olivia Skiffington is a marketing and demand generation executive with over 18+ years experience as a marketing professional.

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Olivia has both her undergrad and graduate degrees in marketing and it is her passion along with her extensive work with non-profits. She currently heads up demand generation teams for tech start-ups. Before her work with RTE,  Olivia volunteered and then managed the Norwalk Special Olympics team for 11 years.  Olivia was born and raised in Costa Rica. Costa Rica is where her heart is, which is one of the reasons she is so passionate about Ready to Empower.

Joseph Kwasniewski

Treasurer
Board Member

Chair, Governance Committee & Co-Chair, Revenue Committee

Joseph is the Executive Vice President, Chief Commercial Officer of Cadilus Inc. Joseph has more than 10 years of experience as

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a C-Suite leader within the management consulting, non-profit, and construction industries. His leadership experience spans the areas of business development, fundraising, strategic planning, finance and change management. Joe has driven significant top-line & bottom line growth with expertise in business analytics, performance measurement and quality control testing. He embraces continuous improvement, organizational learning and a customer centered approach. Joseph holds a Bachelor Degree in Business Administration, Finance from Eastern Connecticut State University, has done graduate studies at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government and holds a Master of Business Administration from Yale School of Management.

Samantha Clark

Secretary
Board Member

Co-Chair, Program Committee, & Revenue Committee Member

Samantha Clark is a volunteer Board Member of

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Ready to Empower (RTE).

Samantha is experienced in the non-profit world, as professionally she works in quality assessment for Westport, CT based non-profit that provides camp experiences for children with serious illnesses. Previously, she has worked in the camp industry, youth development, as well for the YMCA. Samantha has earned both her Masters in Community Development and Planning and her Bachelors in Sociology with a concentration in Urban Development from Clark University in Worcester, MA. Samantha’s Masters work revolved around female participation in a male dominant youth development atmosphere, so empowering women is a cause near and dear to her heart.

Daniel Coto

Board Member

Program & Revenue Committee Member

Born and raised in Costa Rica, Dan Coto is a seasoned operations leader with 20 years of experience in a variety of high tech services

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companies like Hewlett Packard, Akamai Technologies and Carlson Wagonlit Travel.

He has spent the last two decades working with the professional services and support organizations of a handful of multinational companies that have decided to invest in the Costa Rican talent pool. He has a demonstrated history of delivering positive business impact in a global corporate environment by developing results-focused team environments, a never ending pursuit towards improvement and a strong focus on clear communication to ensure direction and awareness. His leadership strengths are in strategic planning, customer experience, continuous improvement, leadership development and performance management. Having started in the frontline roles and risen through the ranks, his most recent roles have been as the country leader for Akamai and most recently CWT, and in both cases demonstrated commitment and passion for corporate social responsibility efforts. He has been involved in volunteering activities that give back to the communities since he first became a volunteer leader in 2006 when he joined HP’s volunteering committee. Since then he has always made it a point to remain active in volunteering activities focusing on environmental protection, education and community efforts. Dan is fluent in both English and Spanish.

Catherine Aprile

Board Member

Program & Revenue Committee Member

Catherine Aprile began her career as an

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AmeriCorps VISTA member in Washington DC where she used data to improve program outcomes and help clients get jobs, housing, and education.

It was there that she discovered her passion for using data to solve the world’s problems. She has performed program evaluations for public health programs in Chile, ESL programs in New York, and parent education programs in various school districts across the east coast. As a Program Manager for the nonprofits LIFT in Washington DC and Neighbors Link in New York, Catherine customized client management systems to ensure consistency of program indices and recording across regions, designed training materials for staff, and used data to improve management impact. Currently Catherine works as Manager of Customer Relationship Management Systems at the Connecticut-based tech company Datto, where she designs client management solutions to solve business challenges. She holds a Masters Degree in Data Analytics and Policy from Johns Hopkins University and an undergraduate degree in Public Policy from Hamilton College.

Suelynn Bunn

Board Member

Marketing & Revenue Committee Member

Sue Bunn has a background in health and wellness, having attended Bastyr Naturopathic University in Washington State.

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She is active in the clinical nonprofit sector in Orange County California and has close to 10 years of experience in nonprofit outreach, marketing, funding, and talent acquisition.

Tanya Shankar

Co-Chair, Marketing Committee

Tanya attended the University of Connecticut where she obtained her B.A. in Psychology and Sociology and her MBA in Marketing and

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International Business.

Additionally, she holds her Management Certification from Yale University and her Digital Marketing Certification from Northwestern University. She is a seasoned individual who has an array of experience in the Non-Profit sector, Legal field, Education, Investment Banking, Asset Management, and Digital Marketing field. She actively volunteers in her community and is affiliated with the following organizations: United Way, the Stamford Public Education Foundation (SPEF), and SoundWaters. Tanya is very passionate about helping others and making a difference in her community.

Thais Silva

General Counsel & Governance Committee Member

Thai­s is an attorney admitted to practice law in the State of New York and licensed by the Brazilian BAR.

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She graduated from UFPR Law School and holds a Master’s Degree in Human Rights and Humanitarian Law from Sorbonne Universities (Panthéon-Assas – Paris II). Thais also holds an LL.M. Degree in International Business and Trade Law from Fordham Law School. Thais has extensive legal experience, working for private law firms, representing clients in civil litigation and previously as a judicial clerk. Thais worked for the United Nations supporting UNDEF, a trust fund that promotes democracy related projects around the globe. She is fluent in Portuguese, French and English.

Matthew Fitzpatrick

Program & Revenue Committee Member

Matt is an operational and people leader in the green industry who currently oversees several

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agronomic and nursery sites in CT and NY for a large national corporation.

He earned his BS in Justice and Law Administration from Western Connecticut State University and an MA in International Studies with a focus on human rights from the University of Denver. Previously Matt has worked in urban non-profits in Denver, Colorado developing and implementing programs offering mental health and housing assistance to the growing homeless population. He is interested in improving end user results through operational excellence and the development of strong interpersonal relationships.

Trystan Rodriguez

Program Committee Member

Trystan is an LMSW working as a Bilingual Mental Health Clinician at Family Centers.

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Trystan works with elementary aged students and their families providing counseling and case management. Most of the clients she works with are Spanish-speaking or have recently moved to the U.S. Trystan enjoys serving her community and being able to connect people to resources. She has always made it a personal goal to give back to those less fortunate and be a voice for others in need. RTE is important to Trystan because we are making strides to eliminate barriers for women and families so that they can succeed. She enjoys being part of a team that is driven and working hard to support others abroad.

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