Janis Connallon: Director

Janis comes with decades of experience galvanizing families of CYSHN in advocacy and policy work, including in positions at Family Voices National, Childrens Defense Fund-CA, Lucile Packard Foundation for Children’s Health, and most recently at Safe & Sound in San Francisco where she has been focused on both the FRC Alliance and the Early Childhood Educators Network.  Janis lives in the East Bay and is also the parent of two children with complex orthopedic medical needs.

JConnallon@familyvoicesofca.org

Nick Lutton: Family Engagement Program Manager

Nick got involved in advocacy nine years ago when his firstborn was diagnosed with Autism and an Intellectual Disability. He also has a three-year-old with Autism and special health care needs. After changing careers from hotel management in Las Vegas , Nick started rigorously searching for resources and information for the betterment of his family and the community.

After serving thousands of families with children who have complex medical needs, and intellectual disabilities he became the lead trainer for EPU Children’s Center‘s Parent Training and Information Center grant servicing 12 counties (the largest in the state of California).    This allowed him to speak publicly and put on informational and educational trainings including symposium‘s for parents and professionals on a variety of important topics related to children with special health care needs.

This passion has led to him serving on multiple local, county, state, and federal advisory committees as well as being the Chair of the Fresno County Behavioral Health Board. His dedication to diligently providing information to families in the state comes from a deep understanding of the personal difficulties and hardships that one faces when a family needs to support and advocate for a child with special health care needs.