About
My Story
Wildflower & Rose was born from my daughters, Amara and Ava, and shaped by nearly two decades spent walking alongside adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Different people.
Stronger systems.
A kinder tomorrow.
Amara
our wildflower
Amara is our wildflower—untamed and radiant, her heart forever turning toward wonder. She is curious, fearless, mischievous, tender, and gloriously alive. She moves through the world as though possibility is scattered everywhere, waiting to be found, and she is often the one who reminds us to look.
Ava
our rose
Ava is our rose—quietly powerful, deeply determined, and impossible to overlook. She carries a strength that never needs to raise its voice, a resilience woven through the way she meets each day, and a beauty that reaches far beyond what the eye can see. She has taught us that growth is not always loud or easy; sometimes it is the brave, steady unfolding of a life that refuses to be shaped by anyone else’s expectations.
The Heart Behind It All
They are beautifully different, yet my love for them is equal and complete.
Amara does not see Ava’s disability first. She sees her little sister, to make laugh, play with, protect, annoy, and love. Ava knows that love completely.
Watching their innocence and connection, watching love move so freely between them, reinforces something I believe deeply: we are born knowing how to love. Judgment, fear, and separation are learned and what is learned can be changed.
A Deeper Why
Then I became Ava’s mom.
For nearly twenty years, I advocated for people with I/DD who were not my family, but whom I carried in my heart.
The work became personal.
The question became closer.
The hope became deeper.
The responsibility became my own.
Wildflower & Rose was created from one question:
If my daughter ever needs these services, would I want this organization caring for her?
My goal is to help organizations examine what may be standing between people and dignity, compassion, and belonging—and to build systems and cultures where the answer is unquestionably yes.
Why Wildflower & Rose?
Wildflowers and roses do not grow the same way. They ask for different things from the soil. They follow different rhythms, reach toward the light in different ways, and carry their own particular strengths.
Neither needs to become the other to be beautiful. Together, they make the garden richer, more varied, and more alive.
That is how I see people, Different does not mean less, Difference is part of what makes the world beautiful,
Our Mission
To build stronger systems and more compassionate cultures.
Wildflower & Rose helps organizations serving people with intellectual and developmental disabilities build stronger systems and more compassionate cultures rooted in dignity, independence, kindness, accountability, and respect.
We believe quality should never depend on one exceptional person who happens to care deeply. Compassion should not be a rare bloom; it should be part of the soil, the structure, and the foundation.
Our mission is to help create services we would trust for our own families. Places where people are not defined by diagnoses or support needs, but are known, valued, respected, and given every opportunity to grow in their own way.
See the person,
Honor the difference,
Build with care