Emerging Leaders Set the Bar for Easterseals Employee Engagement

Christina Hopkins, Michelle Bucalos and Deanna McGrath

Easterseals Northeast Central Florida has created a new category for recognizing outstanding staff members as part of its “Emerging Leaders” awards.
 
Recently at Easterseals' annual meeting, board member Melissa Burt DeVriese recognized three staff members recognized by their supervisors for overall initiative and growth mindset for the Easterseals organization. The honorees -- Deanna McGrath, Michelle Bucalos and Christina Hopkins -- are listed below. Read more about them and join us in recognizing their incredible effort, top-notch professionalism and investment in Easterseals mission!
 
Deanna McGrath, School Therapy Coordinator and Autism Case Manager – Deanna stepped into a new position at Easterseals as a school therapy coordinator last year and hit the ground running. She has assisted in scheduling, paperwork, is known for her consistent friendliness and upbeat attitude. She’s also an impressive seeker of new opportunities for the organization as a whole.
 
Michelle Bucalos, Programs Manager – Michelle is a lifelong learner and has jumped at opportunities that have presented themselves. She was one of the first staff members to fully engage in the training and use of Easterseals' donor relations management system, and she recently began writing grants as well. (Notably, Michelle found two grants that may be a good fit for Easterseals, researched them, wrote the narratives and secured funding for Easterseals through both opportunities!)
 
Christina Hopkins, Assistant Principal, Charter Schools – Christina has worked tirelessly building her team and building relationships in DeLand to increase quality and improve our students and families’ pre-school experiences at the Charter School there. She has done an outstanding job advancing the school, surpassing all expectations with performance. Christina is dedicated to her job and her team and families and demonstrates it daily. Most recently, she oversaw a complete renovation of the DeLand location as she acted as project manager, cheerleader, a hands-on "worker bee" and role model. Christina and her team did an incredible job to transform the Deland Charter School into a charming, inviting community school.
 
We are thankful for Deanna, Michelle and Christina and their ongoing efforts to help Easterseals fulfill its mission: to provide exceptional services to ensure that all people with disabilities and their families have equal opportunities to live, learn, work and play in their communities.

Learn more about Easterseals programs and how our incredible team brings them to life at www.eastersealsnecfl.org.

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