Amy Woodard, MSW

Research Manager & Grant Writer

Ms. Woodard began her involvement in the empowerment of individuals with developmental disabilities over twelve years ago as a peer mentor. She utilized this passion to successfully teach independent living, and self-determination skills to college aged youth with developmental disabilities as a piloting Housing Assistant. Amy was part of the research, curriculum, and program design team at Project 10: STING RAY and the Florida Consortium for Post- Secondary Education at the University of South Florida at the St. Petersburg campus, creating and evaluating new programs and project initiatives such as the Community Based Independent Living Program and Social Skills Program. Ms. Woodard has also worked for the Center for Autism and Related Disabilities and The Interdisciplinary Center for Evaluation and Intervention and is skilled at providing technical assistance to individuals with disabilities and their families. At Arts In Action, Amy establishes methodology for conducting research by assisting in the production of quantitative and qualitative research plans and assists in developing all assessments. Amy evaluates data and assesses limitations in research to create deliverables such as reports, curriculum and trainings and presents research findings and trainings at seminars and conferences across the country.

To connect with Amy, please write her at:
amywoodard.artsinaction
@gmail.com
or call her at (904)-415-6748.

Stacey Efaw, MBA

Grant Writer

One of Stacey’s greatest joys in life is utilizing her twenty years of management and business experience to improve and grow tax- exempt businesses. For the past eleven years, Stacey Efaw, MBA, has served as the Executive Director of ECHO, a social service agency located in Tampa, Florida. During her tenure, Stacey successfully transformed a struggling charity into a thriving and growing pillar in the community. Under her leadership, ECHO has won numerous awards. By incorporating her business improvements and fundraising strategies, ECHO was able to quadruple their cash reserves while facing increasing client demand.

Stacey has experience in developing and implementing strategies for sound business and marketing plans. Her creative ideas involve:

o Developing social enterprise endeavors
o Increasing revenue streams
o Insuring financial stability
o Increasing media exposure

In 2012, Stacey developed and implemented a grass roots point of sale program that achieved better than expected results for both brand awareness and for the business’s bottom line.

Stacey is active in her community and involved in numerous civic and professional groups. A graduate of the Community Foundation of Tampa Bay’s CEO Executive Think Tank, Stacey is also a member of The Presidents Council for Hillsborough Community College (HCC), Brandon Campus. In addition she serves on the Advisory Committee of HCC’s Human Services Program. Stacey is active in The Tampa Bay Network To End Hunger, The Blue Ridge Institute for Southern Community Service Executives as well as the Suncoast Social Enterprise Alliance.

To contact Stacey, you can email her at:
Stacey.artsinaction@gmail.com

Kathy Iwanowkski, RN, MFA

Grant Writer

A former oncology and hospice nurse and professional artist, Kathy began combining her scientific education and artistic practice in 1994, after she received a BA in Art from the University of South Florida in Tampa, FL. She says that she finds the arts to be an excellent vehicle for opening lines of communication about health and well-being between diverse populations. From 2005-2011, she worked as an artist-in-residence and regional program coordinator for VSA FL, promoting inclusion of children and adults with disabilities in schools, juvenile detention centers, day care centers, and other nonprofit settings. While a member of the Partners in Transition Interagency Councils in both Collier and Lee counties, Kathy helped lead initiatives intended to assist students with disabilities on self-determination, healthcare, and further education. In 2011, she co-wrote a grant with the Collier county council which was successfully awarded through Project 10 of the Florida Department of Education.

In 2010, Kathy graduated from Goddard College with an MFA in Interdisciplinary Arts where she explored concepts of Self, perceptions of wholeness, healing, and the role of hope in transformative events through visual art, music, creative writing, and performances. She wrote a series of three audience-interactive plays about current health care issues and the ways society participates with either compassion or disregard. They have been performed in a variety of venues including the art museum at Hillsborough Community College in Tampa, FL to public acclaim.

Kathy continues to work diligently using her expertise to further the health and welfare of all people especially those with disabilities. She can be found grant writing, teaching and assisting tax exempt businesses with program development!