Staff

Our People

Everyone at DSAMn has a personal, profound commitment to the families we serve, and are here to connect, to listen, and to find answers for any question or need you have.

Sarah Curfman

President & CEO

Sarah leads program and organizational strategy; engage with families; raise funds; and manage day-to-day operations. She joined the DSAMn team in 2019. Since then, the organization has grown staff and capacity to triple the amount of programming offered and double its annual budget. Prior to joining DSAMn, Sarah was a nonprofit consultant with Bridge Interim LLC, a nonprofit consulting firm offering capacity building and interim leadership to nonprofits and associations; and CLA, one of the nation's leading professional services firms.

At a national level, she is a member of the Global Down Syndrome Foundation Member Advisory Committee, the National Down Syndrome Society Advocacy Committee, and the National Down Syndrome Congress Advocacy Coalition.

In addition to her work in the disability space, Sarah is engaged in the Twin Cities community. She is a member of the Minnesota Women's Economic Roundtable and serves on the boards of the Northside Achievement Zone, a place-based nonprofit that exists to permanently close the achievement gap and end generational poverty in North Minneapolis, and World Savvy, a national education nonprofit. She also serves as a consultant an advisor to the CLA Foundation, a national philanthropic organization she helped start while she was at CLA.

Sarah lives in Shakopee with her husband and three children. Her youngest child, Felix, was born with Down syndrome.

Ashley Azar

Director, Office Administration

Ashley manages the office and is here to assist you with donation or program registration questions. She joined DSAMn at the end of 2021. She has a background in business communications, focusing on project management and enjoys helping nonprofits meet their goals by handling the details. When she is not at DSAMn, she volunteers with a number of other groups and causes that are near to her heart. Ashley lives in St. Paul with her husband and two children.

Breanna Baker

Family Connector

Breanna joined DSAMn after graduating from Rasmussen College with a degree in health and wellness. She lives in Minneapolis with her elementary school aged son who has Down syndrome.

Kelly Fulton

Family Connector

Kelly holds a Masters degree in Elementary Education and is a licensed K-8 teacher. Before joining the Family Connector team at DSAMn, she taught fifth grade for twelve years in the Minneapolis Public Schools. Kelly lives in Minneapolis with her husband and two daughters. Her youngest daughter, Nola, has Down syndrome.

Heidi Gage

Southeastern Regional Coordinator

Heidi serves as one of DSAMn's Regional Coordinators as well as the Rochester Area Parent Group Facilitator. In addition to her role at DSAMn, Heidi is a Senior Loan Officer with Mayo's Employee Credit Union and the leader of the Rochester Area Parent Group. She and her husband live in Rochester and have two children. Their youngest, Josie, has Down syndrome.

Tracy Hafeman

Director, New Parent & Medical Outreach Programs

Tracy provides ongoing support for new and expectant parents and leads our medical outreach programs. Prior to joining DSAMn, Tracy spent 14 years teaching special education and was involved with the start-up and facilitation of the Roseville Area Parent Group. Tracy and her husband, Steve, have four children; their second child, Will, has Down syndrome.

Danyel Hinson

Family Connector & Coordinator, Transition To Adulthood Program

Danyel joins DSAMn with the background and passion to serve as a Family Connector with a specialty in serving families with loved ones with Down syndrome between the ages of 16 and 22 as they transition to adulthood. She has been both a volunteer and staff member in various roles in service to multiple populations through advocacy, counseling, education and support. She is the mom to three adult children, including Tony who has Down syndrome.

Lauren Kaplan

Family Connector & Associate Director, Family Connector Program

Lauren comes to DSAMn with a background in education. She has a Master of Arts in Teaching and is licensed to teach Spanish and ESL. She has played a vital role in shaping the Family Connector Program at DSAMn since it began in 2020. She is passionate about helping families navigate complex systems and access supports and services. She is also focused on connecting with Spanish speaking families within the Ds community. Lauren has three children and her youngest daughter, Hollis, has Down syndrome.

Jennifer Lewis

Program Facilitator

Jennifer facilitates DSAMn's self-advocate cooking class and coordinates our iCan Bike program each summer. She hold a Bachelors of Science in Family and Consumer Sciences Education & Masters of Arts in Special Education and is the culinary instructor at Richfield High School.

Ashley Olthoff

Director, Family Connector Program

Ashley is here to provide ongoing support for individuals with Down syndrome and their families as build connections with providers and community partners as DSAMn’s Family Connector Program. Prior to joining DSAMn, Ashley was a long time volunteer as the Minneapolis/West Metro Parent Group facilitator and was the founding program manager of GiGi’s Playhouse – Twin Cities. She is a licensed early childhood and elementary school teacher. Ashley lives with her husband and two boys in Minneapolis. Her oldest, Oliver, was born with Down syndrome.

Shelby Richardson

Program Facilitator

Shelby facilitates DSAMn's Improvaneer program and supports Lizz with the Saturday Performing Arts Group program. As a facilitator Shelby listens to students' interests and passions and helps facilitate their unique voices being at full volume on stage. Shelby is a trans non-binary artist and theater maker who has been living and working in the Twin Cities for the last decade. They are the co-founder of WeAreMarried performance group; a pro-labor art business that strives to create sustainable employment and build thriving communities for and with artists in the Twin Cities.

Hana Rogers

Family Connector & Northern Minnesota Regional Coordinator

Hana is joining DSAMn as a transplant from Wyoming. She has a degree in Speech Language and Hearing Sciences and has worked as a SLPA and as a DD Waiver Case Manager. Hana is excited to explore Minnesota and enjoy all of the outdoor recreation the state has to offer. She lives in Duluth with her husband and three young children. Her middle child, Etta, has Down syndrome.

Kassi Schimek

Associate Director, New Parent Program

Kassi provides support to our new families and manages our early intervention outreach work. Kassi also helps lead DSAMn's DEI initiatives as a member of our employee-led DEI Council as well as leads Multicultural Group Events. Prior to joining DSAMn, Kassi worked as an Early Childhood Special Education Birth-2 Teacher for 11 years. She has experience with home visiting, caregiver coaching, service coordination, special education paperwork, and evaluation and assessment. Kassi is an advocate for individuals with disabilities, mental health, and antiracism work.

Erin To

Director, Parent Groups

Erin helps manage and coordinate our statewide parent groups. Prior to joining DSAMn's staff, Erin was a long time volunteer as a facilitator of our South of the River Parent Group. In addition to her work with parent groups, she runs DSAMn's social media and helps lead DSAMn's DEI initiatives as a member of our employee-led DEI Council. She lives in Lakeville with her three sons. Her youngest son, Ronin, was born with Down syndrome.

Lizz Windnagel

Director, Performing Arts Programs

Lizz coordinates all of DSAMn's teen and adult programs including physical comedy, puppetry, movement, and devised theater. Lizz is a theater-maker, director, musician, and educator based in the Twin Cities. As a truly multi-disciplinary artist, they have experience performing and directing opera, puppetry, experimental theater and more. When working with self-advocates at DSAMn, Lizz encourages as many artist-led creation classes and performances as possible.