About Our Staff

Sometimes it is hard to believe in the effectiveness of nonvisual skills if you have never observed them in action. For this reason, we believe that role modeling is a key part of our training program. Thus, all employees (no matter the department) go through basic immersion training. This training allows staff to not only gain nonvisual skills but also to gain a deeper understanding of a positive philosophy of blindness. As a result, all staff are able to support the students in their training in a variety of ways through demonstration, positive attitude about blindness, and problem-solving! We truly do believe that it is not what you can see; it is what you can do!

A staff member prepares something on the stove while wearing learning shades

Saavi Board of Directors

Bob Kresmer
President

Ryan Thomas
Treasurer

Ed House
Vice President

Misael Marquez
Secretary

Bryan Bashin
Member

Syed Rizvi
Member

Rauel Gallegos
Member

Executive Staff

Michael Gordon
Chief Executive Officer
mgordon@saavi.us

Amy Porterfield
President
aporterfield@saavi.us

Marti Kurtz-Aniba
Chief Financial Officer
ekurtz-aniba@saavi.us

Jaime Trausch
Chief Technology Officer
jtrausch@saavi.us

Joanne Williams
Chief People Officer
jwilliams@saavi.us

Emily Papenfus
Chief of Staff
epapenfus@saavi.us

Statewide Staff

Jordan Moon
Director of Strategic Initiatives
jmoon@saavi.us

Reginald Laister
Community Development Manager
rlaister@saavi.us

Desiree Romero
Statewide Case Manager
dromero@saavi.us

Christine Griffin
Statewide Children and Youth Services Manager
cgriffin@saavi.us

Tarik Williams
Recruitment and Training Manager
twilliams@saavi.us

Melanie Mellady
Independent Living Older Blind Services Manager
mkondzi@saavi.us

Oscar Corella
Facilities Manager
ocorella@saavi.us

Sharonda Goode
Student Relations and Alumni Manager
sgoode@saavi.us

Phoenix Site Managers

Kristopher Crawley
Phoenix Center Director
kcrawley@saavi.us

Pam Lander
Phoenix Operations Manager
plander@saavi.us

Jeff Rector
Phoenix Facilities Coordinator
jrector@saavi.us

Tucson Site Managers

Stephanie Goudinoff
Tucson Center Director
sdekker@saavi.us

Mary Silvino
Tucson Center Assistant Director
msilvino@saavi.us

Roxanne Torres
Children and Youth Coordinator
rtorres@saavi.us

Gabe Gordon
Transportation Coordinator
ggordon@saavi.us

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