Our Team

Minna Kim

Founder

Minna is dedicated to advocating for inclusivity and empowering families to seek fulfilling educational environments for their children. Minna co-founded Square Peg Union, a community group committed to supporting families of neurodiverse children. Throughout her career, she has held key roles on school boards and nonprofits and excels at identifying and addressing complex challenges. Minna takes great pride in being a mother to two bright, creative, neurodiverse, and dyslexic children who bring her immense joy. She is passionate about community building, educational advocacy, and making a difference.

Areas of Expertise

Expertise lies in navigating the complex educational landscape, understanding and working with diverse educational systems, supporting parents, and ensuring students receive the appropriate services to meet their needs. Being able to bridge the gap between parents and educational professionals and facilitating positive outcomes for students.

  • Advocate for students in public, charter, private, and non-public schools.

  • Expertise in connecting with local professionals to stay informed about available services and resources.

  • Provide valuable input on next steps for parents based on their child's needs.

  • Proficiency in reading and interpreting neurological assessments, allowing you to understand the cognitive and behavioral aspects of a child's learning profile.

  • Development and implementation of IEPs, demonstrating a deep understanding of the special education process.

  • Ability to communicate effectively with school teams utilizing the appropriate educational terminology to ensure that students receive the necessary and appropriate services.

  • Offer compassion, engage in attentive listening, and provide comforting reassurance in difficult circumstances.

Jennifer Poon

Areas of Expertise

  • Home / school observations

  • Communication between parents and school

  • Team meetings, coordinating with child’s various therapists and sharing information and communications with parents/ school

  • Parent coaching

  • Nutrition

  • Alternative therapies

  • Child aide, helping to facilitate positive peer dynamics and scaffold interactions in school or home

Any guidance, suggestions, or referrals are solely for informational purposes. They are not a substitute for professional, individualized advice in areas such as legal, medical, or financial matters. The use of this information is at the sole discretion of the user. We do not assume any liability for decisions made or actions taken based on the information provided. For personalized guidance or professional assistance, consulting with qualified professionals in their respective fields is advisable.

Denise Lesicka

Areas of Expertise

  • FAPE: A child's right to a Free & Appropriate Public Education (understanding if their current placement is appropriate, data taking, requesting an Independent Education Evaluation to uncover whether the placement meets FAPE)

  • Navigating the Public School System: What evaluations, services and supports parents can ask for from their public school district or county, and when/ timing (things like FBAs, IEEs, SCAs)

  • Evaluation Process: How to start the evaluation process if there's a suspected disability or challenge, even before the child is in elementary school or public school (GGRC evaluations, MCOE evaluations, School District evaluations, private evaluations (developmental, OT, etc). This includes evaluation at the preschool level, where Marindale early-intervention might be secured.

  • Navigating GGRC for supports such as respite, Medi-Cal (which can secure things like free diapers, potentially pick up costs that private insurance doesn't cover), securing In-Home Supportive Services/IHSS (whether looking for an outside respite worker to help with your child, or having the parent serve as the respite worker in the home), financial help for special needs camps, etc.

  • Strong knowledge of Non-Public School (NPS) offerings in both Marin & Sonoma County (MCOE & Marin Districts often look at Sonoma County NPS placements as well).

  • Strong knowledge of out-of-pocket (often private insurance) supports in Marin County (and some in SF as well) for OT, ABA, Social Skills, etc.

  • Strong knowledge of Autism Spectrum Disorder red flags (often missed by pediatricians and teachers)

  • Great parenting & autism podcasts that have worked for me!