Board Member

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Recruiting Organization: Urban Autism Solutions

BOARD MEMBER WANTED

Urban Autism Solutions is seeking a new member to join our board of directors. UAS is dedicated to improving outcomes for young adults with autism through supported immersion in the community and by providing social and vocational programming.

While UAS has had an important impact on over 500 youth and has helped dozens more young adults with autism and related disabilities secure jobs, we are just getting started. We need an innovative, creative thinker who can help us strategically grow, and help us to position the organization as an innovative leader who produces measurable outcomes for our clients.

HOW YOU CAN HELP

We are looking for a dynamic, visionary professional to join our board of directors who can help propel UAS into the future. We seek someone who believes that people with disabilities are valuable members of society and deserve the same resources and opportunities available to their non-disabled peers. Someone who is passionate about the important role non-profit organizations like UAS play in providing needed resources to disadvantaged youth from the West Side of Chicago. Whether your passion is autism, social justice, disability rights, mental health or boosting employment opportunities for young people on Chicago’s West Side, you have a role to play with UAS.

You will be an active participant in helping to secure additional donations and funding to help UAS grow through your extensive professional and personal networks, associations and organizations.

You will be joining a board whose members have extensive professional experience in health care, government, education, business and finance, and whose generous support has helped put UAS on the map as one of the fastest-growing non-profits in the Chicagoland area. Board members are expected to support the organization and have connections that can help UAS achieve its mission.

Board members are required to attend quarterly board and UAS fundraising events. You will play a vital role in the governance and shaping of the strategic direction of UAS. Participation in board subcommittees (fundraising, events, strategic planning, etc.) is expected. This is an unpaid position.

If interested, please email a letter of interest and your resume to info@urbanautismsolutions.com with "Board Member" in the subject line.

ABOUT URBAN AUTISM SOLUTIONS

Urban Autism Solutions was founded in 2012 by Julie and Mike Tracy, as a result of their search for appropriate programs for their son John, who has autism, as he aged out of high school. Dissatisfied with what they saw, they founded UAS to help improve outcomes for young adults with autism and related disabilities through supported immersion in the community and social and vocational programs.

Urban Autism Solutions provides these services at its UAS West Side Transition Academy, Growing Solutions Farm, a 1.2-acre produce farm in the Illinois Medical District, and through various social programs via Network 1212. While some programs are open, the UAS West Side Transition Academy was established primarily to serve young adults with autism from West Side Chicago public high schools.

Ninety-five percent of students at these CPS schools come from households with incomes at or below the federal poverty level. They and their families experience significant food insecurity and community violence, as the West Side is home to some of the most violent neighborhoods in Chicago. Their schools, while mandated to provide appropriate education tailored to their unique needs, simply do not have the resources available to provide many necessary services. Young adults with autism are more than twice as likely to remain unemployed in the two years after high school compared to young adults with other disabilities, including intellectual disabilities.

Students who attend the UAS West Side Transition Academy have access to licensed speech-language pathologists, social workers and occupational therapists. They participate in job shadows, internships, public transportation, social-emotional learning, and many other skills needed to function in the community. Applicable students who are job-ready will work with our team on interviewing skills, resume development, employment and receive job coaching.

Stipend ProvidedFalse

Training ProvidedFalse

Housing AvailableFalse

Language/Cultral Support AvailableFalse

Wheelchair AccessibleFalse

Fee RequiredFalse

Fee Amount: None

This opportunity is recurring