Impact Report
Empowering Adults on the Autism Spectrum to Live Meaningful Lives, Throughout Their Lifespan
Letter from the Director
We are excited to share our Impact Report for our last fiscal year. I really enjoy the opportunity to reflect on where we were last year at this time and share the impact we’ve made. The work on our threeyear strategic plan began with a focus on three specific areas: Service Delivery, Talent and Culture and Financial Sustainability. We also focused on how Itineris can benefit the neurodiverse community beyond our walls with some exciting new projects. Service Delivery was the top priority of our entire Program Team. We created an ambitious list of action steps to improve every facet of Itineris services. We completed 15 of these 19 action steps, with a focus on program quality, effectiveness, team communication, leadership development, and process standardization. We added a Training and Engagement Team that increased our focus on community-based opportunities for our Meaningful Day and Community Service clients. These activities range from fitness and wellness opportunities, cooking classes, social engagement events, free activities in local establishments and museums and so many others that our clients are happily taking advantage of.
Talent and Culture had visionary plans for recruitment and retention, and we have finally brought our staffing back to baseline numbers. We created a neurodiversity hiring program, dedicated to increasing the number of neurodiverse team members. Studies have shown that peer engagement can be a significant asset enhancing the lives of our Itineris clients. Working with team members who share their lived experience can be very inspiring. We started the year with 119 total employees and now have over 150.
Financial Sustainability is a core component of our strategic plan, as we can’t do this meaningful work without it. In addition to our day-to-day program revenue, we also commit to onboarding 30 new clients by 2026. To do this, we identified a dedicated intake and admissions coordinator
and transitioned to a rolling admissions process by program. This is a huge step, as we have not had the capacity to increase admissions since the pandemic. Itineris has also worked with two Baltimore City Schools this year to provide transition services and pre-vocational training using our original curriculum. This pilot program was successful and in the upcoming year we plan to take on 2-3 more partnerships. We were even a Changemaker Challenge finalist, which granted us $6,500 towards the project. Lastly, our Behavior Support Services (BSS) has continued to grow its outreach department and now serves and additional 40 clients throughout the State of Maryland. In the upcoming year, we will be working towards expanding our BSS Department and developing a Behavioral Health Program to meet the mental and behavioral healthcare needs of adults on the autism spectrum.
Our team is 100% client focused and mission driven. Every year brings new ideas as we continue to grow, innovate, and explore the best ways to support our amazing clients and their families. We remain laser-focused on the pinnacles laid out in our Strategic Plan and take this living document very seriously. How can we improve, what new goals can be achieved, how more community members can we help and how? This is what drives us!
Dreams and possibilities for continued evolution and growth are endless when we are lucky enough to have your support- starting with our clients, friends, families, supporters, donors, our local community, and the philanthropic community. None of these accomplishments can happen without you. Thank you for believing us. Stay tuned for what’s coming next!!!
Gratefully,
Ami Taubenfeld Executive Director
Strategic Plan Update
PROGRAM EXCELLENCE
This year focused on improving the quality of our services and our client’s experience at Itineris. We revised our Person-Centered Planning process and reintroduced program monitoring to effectively track each client’s goals. We added an engagement team to develop recreational and therapeutic programming for our clients during the days, evenings, and weekends.
NEW CLIENT ADMISSIONS
This year we re-opened admissions for the first time since 2018! We revised the admissions process and moved from an annual cycle to ongoing rolling admissions. We welcomed four new clients this year and gave them the best first day ever at Itineris. Our goal is to intake 30 new clients over the next two years.
LEADERSHIP
Our leadership team spent the last year engaged in professional development in the areas of performance management, organizational culture, and creating a high-functioning team. In practice, we tackled objectives related to improving communication, interdepartmental collaboration, and high-quality supervision.
DEIA INITIATIVE
We successfully created, aligned, implemented, and embraced our formal Mission, Vision, and Anti-Racism Stat em ent:
Mission: To honor the vision of our Founding Families by providing a safe, enriching culture for individuals on the spectrum while creating a welcoming environment for all regardless of biases to include race, religion, gender, orientation.
Vision: To be the neurodiverse agency brand for individuals on the spectrum with a rich culture of champions for Diversity who support Equity, embrace Inclusion, and enable Accessibility while expanding our reach and strengthening community. Anti-Racism Statement: We are aware that biases exist and have made a conscious decision to make sustainable changes to abolish individual, interpersonal, institutional, and structural forms of racism.
As we wound down our 2019 Strategic with much success, the Directer’s Team collaborated with our Board to work on our next three-year plan from 2023-2026. We are thrilled to share our roadmap for you.
ITINERIS AND BEYOND
FINANCIAL SUSTAINABILITY
While progressing toward program excellence, we also extended our influence beyond the walls of Itineris! This year we served 75 clients in our Behavior Support Services Outreach program. The MADE by Itineris Creative Arts Program participated in countless shows and festivals. And last but certainly not least we attended over 10 public speaking engagements as hired consultants and speakers at local and national conferences.
TALENT AND CULTURE
We rebranded the HR Department to be a preferred human resource and relationship-building focused team. Now named our Talent & Culture Department, it maintains an organizational pulse with inclusive events, regular data collection, enhanced benefits packages, and increased external partnership. Creating an equitable organizational culture of belonging, innovation, and learning that intentionally attracts competent talent resulted in building confident ambassadors. This approach has favorably impacted our community.
RETENTION
As the initial contact, our Talent & Acquisition Specialists serve as liaisons welcoming new staff, leading the tour, and will follow these team members on their journey with us. Our Talent & Acquisition Specalists proactively participate in hiring events, have hosted a successful, internal hiring fair, while consistently seeking opportunities to welcome neurodiverse staff.
We recognize that it is imperative to diversify our revenue to be truly financially sustainable. Leveraging our expertise, we looked at ways we can help the larger autism community outside of our walls and worked with two Baltimore City Public Schools on transition services using our signature Pre-Vocational Curriculum. We are launching our Itineris training and consulting services to address the needs of the non-profit community, providers, families, educators and employers.
Outreach and Consulting in the Greater Autism Community
Itineris frequently shares our expertise through training, consulting, and outreach, and two of the locations we have been concentrating on this past year are the Claremont and William S. Baer Schools. Visiting these two local public schools allows Itineris to engage with the community while serving the needs of students with disabilities. We utilize the pre-vocational and career development curriculum of Itineris and apply it to students in city schools with training, modeling, and support so they will exit the school system career ready. We’re so excited to be working with Baltimore City Public Schools to provide federally mandated transition services.
This program is being implemented successfully within the Baer and Claremont Schools. We collect data at both school campuses, and these data not only support the individual students, but the school program as a whole to ensure they are providing federally mandated transition services to their students. We hope in the future to expand our outreach to support more schools in our community.
We look forward to continuing to take the curriculum we’ve honed and use it to benefit autistic students and adults both here and beyond Itineris!
The Itineris team also performs outreach by providing lectures and presentations about autism. Itineris Meaningful Day Program Director Katelyn Szymanski and Senior Operations Director Lauren Eaton had the chance to give a lecture at the University of Maryland School of Dentistry. UMD has a Special Care Clinic that provides dental care to a range of patients, including individuals on the autism spectrum! In addition to this amazing opportunity to connect, we are excited about collaborating and working together to increase access to dental care for our clients and other autistic adults.
Executive Director Ami Taubenfeld and Workforce Development Program Director Katie Klatko gave a presentation for over 600 Defense Information System Agency employees around the globe on Best Strategies for Successfully Supporting your Neurodiverse Employee.
Our consulting covers a wide range of topics, and if you’d like to read more about the types of trainings we offer, please visit the Professional Services Tab on our website or contact us to talk about your specific training needs.
We plan to continue our outreach and consulting in any way we can to benefit the community at large, by implementing our curriculum to schools and providing interactive trainings for agencies and businesses looking to learn more about autism, neurodiversity, and other topics. From the start, Itineris has been focused on a vision of a world where adults on the autism spectrum can fully share in the life of their communities, with the dignity to choose their own path as they strive to achieve their dreams and goals. The more outreach we do in the community beyond Itineris, the closer we get to bringing our vision to life.
Itineris Community Grows and Excels
This was an impactful year for our Itineris team. Our HR team hosted its first Hiring Fair at the Pointe, which was a huge success.
Our Behavior Support Services Director Marley Swisher, M.A., BCBA, LBA attended the Master Trainer program for Life Space Crisis Intervention (LSCI) at the end of April. This program allows us to have an in-house LSCI trainer! The whole BSS Team attended VABA conference (and pre-conference workshops). This team is also presenting a poster at the conference!
Our Community Services Program Director, Ariyanna Anderson, LSW, completed the Professional Leadership Program for Women at Towson University Dr. Nancy Grasmick Leadership Institute. The program is designed for women who are committed to increasing their capacity for leadership and influence, and she is the 3rd Itineris team member to complete the program.
Much deserved congratulations to Amani, Arielle, and Shawn, who were recognized for their exemplary achievements in their work at the Maryland Association of Community Services (MACS) Direct Support Professional & Supervision Conference. We are thankful to them for their skills, creativity, and above-andbeyond dedication to Itineris!
Renovating The Pointe
This year was a year of growth and change for Itineris, and that included updating our physical space! We updated our Jill Fox Memorial Fund Sensory Room with the generous donation from the Lyn Stacie Getz Foundation, Inc. We had a ribbon-cutting ceremony at The Pointe to show off some of the new features, such as cozy beanbags, soft furry rugs, interactive wall art, a trampoline, and a peaceful sound machine! Our clients love relaxing in the peaceful space.
Our bathrooms were completely redone using eco-friendly lighting, sinks, and toilets along with beautiful new flooring, countertops, furnishings and fresh paint courtesy of the Kenneth S. Battye Charitable Trust. Clients, staff, and visitors have noted how beautiful and green they are.
We also want to spotlight a donor who found a unique and meaningful way of giving: Tim Harris, from Ultimate Installation. Ultimate Installation is a quality provider of office installation, with quality installers. Tim and Ultimate Installation provided several truckloads of furniture for us to completely refurbish The Pointe, and we are loving our new look! From tables and chairs, to shelves and desks to cozy couches and ottomans, this was a massive upgrade to our building. What a way to get our space looking fresh, clean, and updated for the spring! Thanks, Tim!
Welcome, Zoe’s Just Dezzerts!
In November of 2023, we had the chance to welcome Zoe’s Just Dezzerts to Federal Hil! Zoe’s is a bakery that focuses on coffee and desserts, started by the Goldzsmidts, Jennifer and Adrian and their daughter Zoe, who is autistic. They wanted to open the bakery to increase employment opportunities for Zoe and other autistic individuals.
Itineris Executive Director Ami was invited to attend the grand opening of the bakery and personally congratulate three Itineris clients who were working there! We can’t wait to watch them grow and succeed in their new roles. Future ambitions for the bakery include turning the lower level into a meeting spot for autism-supporting organizations in the area. They also opened a second location in Mount Vernon! Zoe’s hosts karaoke every second Friday of the month, trivia nights and promotions, and many other themed events.
We’re so excited to see more employers creating opportunities for a neurodiverse workforce!
If you’d like to stop by to eat a sweet treat, drink a coffee, or meet the vibrant employees, Zoe’s is open Wednesday to Sunday from 11 am to 8 pm. They also sell snazzy merch like mugs, hats, and multicolored T-shirts! We’re so excited to have Zoe’s as an employer partner, and we can’t wait for what the future holds.
Activity Snapshots
Enjoy some pictures of our fitness classes with the talented Spirit Fitness instructors, community outings like museums and farms, and skill-building classes like cooking and nutrition!
Meaningful employment, community engagement and dignity of choice for adults on the autism spectrum.
Our Donors
$50,000+
Benno and Elayne Hurwitz
Family Foundation
The Orokawa Foundation
The Kenneth S. Battye
Charitable Trust
$25,000 – 49,999
PwC Charitable Foundation, Inc
The Samuel G. & Margaret A. Gorn Foundation, Inc.
J G and A S Zimmerman Foundation
Renegade Communications
The Jack Wilen Foundation
The Marion I. & Henry J. Knott Foundation
$10,000 – 24,999
Baltimore Civic Fund
Mary Zaks
David and Barbara B. Hirschhorn Foundation
Chris and Ellen Feifarek
Frank E. & Miriam Loveman Foundation
Schafer Center
Mr. and Mrs. Stappler
The Dodson Foundation, Inc.
Zaks Autism Consulting
$5,000 – 9,999
Baltimore Floor Works, Inc
Stuart and Hinda Dankner
Mr. Charles Hammerman
Mr. George Jones
Dr. and Mrs. Ginnie Kass
Mr. Kirchgraber and Ms. Logan
Kramer Family Foundation, Inc.
Mr. and Mrs. Lilley
Michael and Jennifer Myers
Mr. and Mrs. Yehuda and Anne Neuberger
Mr. and Mrs. Niesslein
Mr. and Mrs. Paul
Jim and Judith Smith
Ms. Amy Sussman
Mr. and Mrs. Taubenfeld
The David & Lucile Packard Foundation
The V&S Foundation
Mr. and Mrs. Wilen
$2,500 – 4,999
Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth Hatter
Mr. and Mrs. Lewis
Peter and Dawn Andresen
Charlie Franco
Mrs. Rebekah Kass
Ms. Charlotte King
Kevin and Donna Kollman
Mr. & Mrs. Janet and Richard Livingston
Ms. Diane Maistros
Dr. Denise Markoff
Mr. and Mrs. Morrison
Richard Opfer
Mark and Paige Pape
Pathfinders for Autism
Mr. and Mrs. Art Putzel
Alisa Rock
T. Rowe Price
Dr. Martin Taubenfeld
The Bryn Mawr School
The Edwin J. & Jeanne C. Trexler Foundation, Inc.
The Israel and Mollie Myers Foundation
Mr. Samuel Weingram
Dr. and Mrs. Williams
Patty Mochel & Gerry Willse
$500 – 2,499
A & G Management Company
Harry and Faye Adler
Alco Pharmacy
Lans and Sandra Alexis
William Appold
Atlas Concrete Paving and Asphalt Corporation
Baltimore POWER Group
Ms. Cynthia Baskin
Belair Main Limited Partnership, LLLP
Mr. Thomas Berge
Ted Blankenship
Mr. and Mrs. Mark and Amy Bond
Mr. Tracy and Ms. Bowyer
Fran Brandes
Mr. and Mrs. Bronstein
Ms. Frona Brown
Irina Brusilovsky
Hilary Campodonico
Ms. Penny Chang
Paul and Dorothea Chiamulera
CMAG Health Solutions, LLC
Kathleen Cocks
Mr. and Mrs. Cohen
Mr. and Mrs. Cole
Barbara Cox
Vincent Culotta
Judith Dack
Dr. and Mrs. Dankner
Scott and Lynn Daube
Harold and Lynn Davidov
Ms. Linda DiNenno
Dugan Babij Tolley and Kohler
Ms. Stephanie Eckhart
Sheldon Epstein
Mr. Jon Falck
Denise Feldman
Mr. & Mrs. Finkelstein
Floors Etc.
Mr. Dennis Flynn
Mr. & Mrs. Michael Ford
Michael Friedman
Mr. and Mrs. Gilligan
Mr. and Mrs. Howard and Susan
Goldberg
Melissa and Matthew Green
Mr. Halle & Ms. Linkoff
Mr. & Mrs. Hallock
Mrs. Amy Harlan
Mr. and Mrs. Michael and Rebecca Hartnett
Elissa Hellman
Mr. & Mrs. Himeles
Daniel and Gina Hirschhorn
Mr. Benjamin Hoffman
Mr. Andy Bloom
Deborah Hood
Mr. and Mrs. Jack and Patricia
Kane
Manav Kapoor
Kelly Integral Solutions
Kennedy Krieger Schools
Program
Mr. Norval King
Ms. Kelly Kinzle
Ms. Linda Kirschner
Dr. Klag & Ms. Meoni
Nancy Rabin
Debbie Koman
Doug and Leslie Kornreich
Mr. & Mrs. Lamb
Mr. & Mrs. Levine
Sam Livingston
Steve Luray
Mr. & Ms. Gerald and Marsha Lutes
M & T Bank
Dr. & Mrs. Magat
Mr. and Mrs. Mansberger Jr.
Mary Beth Marsden
Ms. Lucille McCarthy
McCormick and Company
Dr. Deepa Menon
Steven Motzno
Barry Narlines
Mr. Slade and Ms. Stephanie Neukum
North American Electric, Inc.
Novick Corporation
Mr. and Mrs. Obrecht
Dr. & Mrs. Papel
Ms. Patz
Tamra Perkins
Lisa and Joseph Pizza
Pledgeling Foundation
Mr. Potter and Ms. Kollman
Mr. and Mrs. John and Marsha
Ramsay
Lawrence Regan
Mr. and Mrs. Robinson
Ms. Marla Romash
Mr. and Mrs. Sachs
Ms. Kirsten Schlenger
Ms. Martha Schlenger and Ms. Tvaronas
Schoenfeld Insurance Associates, Inc.
Alan and Linda Schafer
PJ and Helen Schafer
Mr. and Mrs. Shea
Mr. & Mrs. Andy and Nancy Siegel
Mr. Eric Siegel
Ms. Susan Simon
Brian and Jane Sims
Trudy and Laird Slade
Mr. and Mrs. Smelkinson
Henry Sostman
Stanley & Lania Ullman
Foundation and Fedder and Garten Professional Assoc.
Mr. and Mrs. Stradtner
Mrs. Barbara Sussman
Joseph Sussman
The Fulton Bank
The Sinsky Kresser Racusin
Memorial Foundation
The William and Mildred Kaplan
Charitable Foundation
Mr. and Mrs. Tsouvalos
Mr. Waldron
Harry and Joan Walen
Tim and Susan Watkins
Mr. and Mrs. James Watkins
Debbi and Glenn Weinberg
Dr. Elaine Weiner
Isaac Weingram
Mr. and Mrs. Whalen
Dolores White
Ms. Lois Wolf
Henry and Jenny Wolfe
Ben and Jennifer Yeagle
Our Staff Financial Statement
ITINERIS DIRECTORS TEAM
Ami Taubenfeld - Executive Director
Ariyanna Anderson, BSWCommunity Services Program Director
Lauren Eaton, M.A., BCBA, LBASenior Director of Operations
Katie Klatko, CESPWorkforce Development Director
Tori Thorne Stokes
Director of Talent & Culture
Marley Swisher, M.A., BCBA, LBABehavior Support Services Director
Katelyn Szymanski, MSW, LMSWMeaningful Day Services Program Director
ITINERIS BOARD OF DIRECTORS
P.J. Shafer, Esq., President
Mindy Kramer, Esq. Vice President
George F. Jones, Esq., Treasurer
Julie Lewis, Secretary
Yvonne Alleyne
Ted Andrew Blankenship
Andrew Bramhall
Jodie E. Buchman
Denise Feldman
Dr. Angela Gustus
Erica Hobby
Peter Kirchgraber, Esq.
Janet Livingston
Diane Maistros
Eugenia Matthews
Dr. Deepa Menon
Michael Myers
Art Putzel
Brandt Rider
Devan Southerland
Carole Taylor
Connie Yarborough
CURRENT ASSETS: Cash and ca sh equivalents
Investments
Accounts receivable
Pledges receivable, net
Prepaid expense
Total Current Assets
NONCURRENT ASSETS:
Pledges receivable, net
Security deposits
Property and equipment, net Total Noncurrent Assets
TOTA L ASSETS
CURRENT LIAB ILITIES:
Accounts payable Accrued expenses
Deferred revenue 35,154 771,843
Current portion of long-term debt - net of - unamortized costs of $-0- in 2023 and $69 in 2022 Total Current Liabilities
LONG-TERM DEBT: Loans payable
$1,938,052
$1,082,159 $612,278 $54,590
$28,576
2022
$83,045 $1,098,243 $52,908 $25,276 $4,785,335 $2,263 $2,000.00 $2,878,181 $2,882,444 $7,667,779.00
$5,662,142 $189,529 $5,851,671 $6,553,906
$1,139,624
$4,259,409 $94,163
$440,000 $1,579,624 $5,984,597 $103,558 $6,088,155 $7,667,779 $819,061 $2,739,466 ($25,332) $5,080,456 $3,844,865 $1,235,591 $4,852,564 $6,088,155
