Jane Ford Salzano
FOUNDER / honorary board member (non-voting)
Jane Ford Salzano is the Founder of CSAAC. A retired educator from Montgomery County Public Schools of Maryland – with a son and grandson severely impacted by autism. She has devoted her life to enabling individuals with autism to live and work in their community. As a stalwart community activist, Ms. Salzano remains involved in the organization, tirelessly advocating for funding to ensure CSAAC’s future. She is available to speak about the importance of community-based supports as well as the development of CSAAC as national model for programming for children and adults impacted by autism.
Nivea Cordova Berrios
Board President
Nivea has dedicated her life to helping those with special needs reach their full potential. Her advocacy leadership has helped change the way the world views those with disabilities. Nivea is a retired administrator for Montgomery County Public Schools in Maryland.
Nivea’s work began in Puerto Rico, where she won a landmark case in Superior Court benefiting all special needs school children by granting them the right to receive uninterrupted education all year long to avoid regression and loss of skills learned during the year. She is one of the founders of The Parents Place of Maryland, a training and information center for parents and special needs children. She was appointed by the United States Department of Education as co-chair for the Select Committee of Underserved Group of Parents, a group of eleven parents who served nationally to help parents and special needs children. She is one of the founders and co-chair of the Montgomery County National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Multicultural Community Partnership and one of the founders of Montgomery County Collaboration Council for Children and Families. Served two County Executives on the Latin American Advisory Group. Made presentations on national and local television and radio stations regarding autism and special needs children and adults.
Some of her awards and recognitions include: Proclamation in her honor by the Montgomery County Council (2011), Official Citations From the Maryland General Assembly (2006 and 2011), City of Gaithersburg Proclamation Day in her honor (2011), Award from Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett for her Outstanding Service (2009), Leadership Montgomery Unsung Leader Award (2008), NAACP Awards for Her Outstanding Service to the Community (2007 and 2011), Montgomery County Public Schools Distinguished Service to Public Education as Administrator of the Year (2005) and many others.
Nilda Colgrove
Board Vice President
Nilda is the current Vice President of the CSAAC Board of Directors. Nilda holds a Doctor’s degree in Veterinary Medicine from the Autonomous University of Santo Domingo and a Doctor D’Universite de Sciences from the University of Paris VII. She served as the Director of the Division of Immunology and Biologics Production in the Dominican Republic’s Central Veterinary Laboratory and taught bacteriology in the University Pedro Henriquez Ureña Veterinary School, until she moved to the United States in 1981.
When her son Michael was diagnosed with autism at the age of two, Nilda interrupted her career to become Michael’s full time educational advocate. This led to Nilda’s second career working with Montgomery County Public Schools as a Parent Community Coordinator, initially in the Special Education Parent Information and Training Center. Among other things, she conducted workshops in Spanish and English on the special education process. She served as a resource for families, assisting them in understanding the special education process, getting engaged in their children’s education, and becoming effective advocates for their children. She received training from the Maryland State Department of Education, Division of Special Education, and the Parent Educational Advocacy Training Center of Virginia. Nilda retired from the MCPS Office of Community Engagement and Partnerships in 2015.
Nilda has been volunteering in CSAAC for 30 years, serving in various capacities including more than 20 years as a Board member. Her son Michael has received residential and supported employment services from CSAAC for many years.
Glenda Rose
Board Secretary
Glenda has been a member of the CSAAC Board for several years and presently serves as the Secretary of the CSAAC Board of Directors. She is the Chairman of the Evaluation Committee and a member of the Admissions Committee. She is retired from the Montgomery County Board of Education where she worked as the Administrative Secretary. Her son is supported at CSAAC.
Deborah Seils
Deborah has a Master’s degree in social work and is licensed in Pennsylvania. Currently, she works with a managed care organization in assessing medical necessity criteria for children with mental health and behavioral issues who receive medical assistance in Pennsylvania. She has also worked as a psychotherapist in a residential treatment facility for children with mental health and behavioral issues and has worked as an outpatient therapist in various agencies and in private practice. Early in her career, she worked with children in the autism program at Sandberg Elementary School. Deborah’s brother is in the residential and vocational programs and receives day rehabilitation at CSAAC.
James M. Williams, Jr
James is one of CSAAC’s newest board members. He is the Director of Federal Affairs for Wayne State University, located in Detroit, Michigan. A resident of Greenbelt, Maryland, James is a veteran of over 30 local, state and national campaigns and worked on Capitol Hill for over 20 years for six different members of Congress, including a term as Chief of Staff to Congressman John Lewis (D-GA). James has been active in the autism community in Prince George’s County for more than 20 years, working with other parents to help lobby for the adoption of the autism waiver law, and spent countless hours as a volunteer and concerned parent at the Kennedy Krieger LEAP program. James’ son is a resident at CSAAC.
Senator Karen S. Montgomery
Karen S. Montgomery served 13 years in the Maryland Legislature, 8 years in the House of Delegates and 5 years in the Senate, serving on the Health, Education and Environment Committee in the Senate. Senator Montgomery retired in 2016.
Prior to that, she had been a public-school teacher, an adjunct professor of Sculpture and Design at George Washington University for 12 years, the Associate Director of Development at the National Rehabilitation Hospital and Director of Development on two separate occasions, at the Olney Theatre Center in Olney, MD.
Senator Montgomery and her husband Harry, who is truly a rocket scientist with a PhD. in related fields, are forever grateful to Jane Salzano, the founder of CSAAC.
Scott Salzano
Scott Salzano is Vice President of Contracts at ASRC Federal, a major provider of services to the federal government. He leads a team of professionals providing full-lifecycle contractual support to include opportunity and strategy review, proposal support, contract formation, negotiation, administration, management and closeout services. Scott has an uncle and cousin who are served by CSAAC and he has been involved with supporting CSAAC’s mission in various ways for much of his life. Scott currently serves on CSAAC’s finance committee and holds a Bachelor’s degree from Northern Arizona University’s College of Business Administration.
