Hear Our Stories

Karen DuBois-Walton, Ph.D., President, Elm City Communities/Housing Authority of the City of New Haven. Karen DuBois-Walton currently serves as the President of the Elm City Communities/Housing Authority of the City of New Haven and is responsible for providing quality affordable housing opportunities for 14,000 low income individuals in the City of New Haven. A clinical psychologist by training, Dr. DuBois-Walton is committed to creating communities that are supportive of the development of its members and to providing opportunities for others to thrive. She is committed to closing the gap between our children’s aspirations and parents’ and society’s ability to meet those. Dr. DuBois-Walton earned her BA from Yale University and MA and Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Boston University. Dr. DuBois-Walton resides in New Haven. She is the wife of Kevin Walton, Sr. (an ACES employee) and the mother of two boys, Kevin age 23 and Kaleb age 19. She is a proud supporter of ACES and has collaborated in many roles. Both of her sons attended Wintergreen Interdistrict Magnet School, one son attended the Educational Center for Arts (ECA); she’s served on the Parent committees at both schools and currently serves as a Board Member for the ACES Education Foundation.

Carol started her career with ACES in 1983 as a teacher assistant as she completed her teaching course work. She then moved on to be a special education teacher for twenty-two years in various ACES programs. She was ACES teacher of the year in 2000. Bunk went on to ACES Village School in North Haven where she served as both Assistant Principal and Principal until 2016 when she accepted the position as Human Resource Director for the agency. Carol’s experiences within the agency in various roles gave her the advantage of working with dedicated professionals across the agency and allows her to understand the many roles they serve in. Working with students and families from various communities that ACES serves has been the most rewarding experiences of her career. She was drawn to special education due to seeing first hand her special needs sibling’s exclusion from typical education.

Madeline is a secretary with ACES, and the first smiling face you see when you come to the main ACES building at 350 State Street. Additionally, Madeline is the parent of a special needs student and ACES graduate – her son attended ACES Village School and graduated from ACES Whitney High School West (now, ACES Whitney Academy) as well as the grandparent of an ACES student – her grandson Caleb attends ACES Wintergreen Interdistrict Magnet School.

Barbara’s daughter attended ACES Whitney High School North for grades 8-9. Prior to this, school had been a struggle, but ACES empowered Barbara’s daughter to make decisions regarding her education, which Barbara believes was vital to her daughter’s success. Now back at her district’s school, Barbara’s daughter is thriving. Barbara says ACES is an excellent choice!

Robyn Handy has been with ACES for 29 years, holding several titles in Behavior Services at ACES Mill Elementary School including: Study hall monitor, Behavior Trainer, Behavior Technician and presently Registered Behavior Technician 2. Robyn is committed to helping her students feel loved and safe. She assists in building their self-esteem and managing their behavior with the hope that they can return back to their home district and be successful. Transformation has been a two way street; Robyn's students have transformed her in many ways, making her a resilient person and a better Behavior Technician.

Casey Camire attended an ACES magnet school in Meriden that specialized in STEM fields, from 2004-2006. Since then, he went on to earn a degree in Chemistry, and currently works for the Henkel Corporation, where he designs and scales up household cleaning products. According to Casey, while it was his experience with ACES that set him on his current career path in the STEM fields, it was the rigorous curriculum and excellent teachers that ACES provided which gave him both the tools to succeed, and a love of learning that he hopes to carry the rest of his life.

Steve is a Teacher Assistant and Driver for ACES Village School. He has been with ACES for 16 years and enjoys working with the students individually in the classroom as well as in groups. Steve says that the ACES staff works together as a team, ensuring that all students get the support and attention that they need. Over the years, this teamwork has continued to strengthen, with the progress of the students always as the top priority.

Vin attended ACES Wintergreen Interdistrict Magnet School from 4th through 8th grade. During this time, Vin admits that he was a difficult student and credits his teachers for placing him on a better path, by turning his classroom into a family. Vin went on to become a high school math teacher and currently is the Math Instructional Coach at Eastern Senior High School, in the Washington D.C. area. Vin has also taken on significant leadership roles in organizations that serve the LGBTQ community.

Johanna Bresnick is an alumni of ACES Educational Center for the Arts and now serves as Chair of the Visual Arts Department at the school. Johanna is dedicated to creating an authentic and supportive environment for students to become lifelong learners through their passion for the arts.

Caitlin is an ACES Physical Therapist working with ACES Extension Therapy Services division. Caitlin works closely with special education students. She appreciates working with an entire team of teachers, paraprofessionals and other therapists to serve her students, and strongly believes in collaborations with other therapists, teachers and school staff. Recently, Caitlin started a running club at an elementary school for children with autistic spectrum disorders.