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Executive Board

Flex for Access’ Executive Board functions to make all Non-Profit Organization decisions. These include the policies that coincide with our mandate and those related to stakeholder engagement and outreach for partnerships and events.

Jess Silver

Jess Silver

Executive Director

Jess Silver is a Medical Writer, Motivational speaker, Adaptive Fitness Personal Trainer, and Founder of Flex for Access Inc. She is also a 2x Amazon Bestselling Author of Run: An Uncharted Direction (2020) and Life’s Lava: Quotes, Values and Reflections That Light Our Souls and Colour Our Days With Reason (2021).

She has an MA in Creative Writing, A PGD, in Medical Writing and Editing, and is a Certified TPCS 2.0 Researcher on Human Subjects.

She founded Flex for Access Inc. because of her own lived experience with Cerebral Palsy and passion for exercise and sport. Through engaging in daily rigorous exercise, Jess saw first-hand the difference that exercise made in managing CP and she has always endeavored to redefine the awareness of disability. Through Flex for Access this is done, by creating actionable opportunity for adaptive fitness and sport within mainstream settings.

Julia Silver

Julia Silver

Treasurer

Julia Silver has an extensive background in Civil Structural Engineering. She’s passionate about design and has a broad understanding of built environment requirements. This makes her an asset to Flex for Access’ Board because she has first-hand experience with accessibility and childhood disability. She is an advocate for changing the way that physical disability is understood, and how practices and policies and procedures are implemented to enforce actionable change. She has a keen eye, and an impeccable attention to detail. This informs her expertise as it relates to Engineering and structural design, as well as the policies that govern Flex for Access as an organization. On the Executive Board Julia is a Director, and Treasurer.  Her knowledge of business financials proves to be valuable to the Non-Profit Organization.

Maurizio Belmonte

Maurizio Belmonte

Director

Maurizio Belmonte has serviced the multi-disciplinary, Interior design and preconstruction industry for 20 years and has grown multilaterally during this time to better understand the needs of clients and their prospective spaces. He uses current trends and a progressive approach to keep the client current in not only the aesthetic but in the functionality as most successful designers must do fundamentally. His company MBDCI Design, is geared towards the general sectors of design with some on demand specialization, each client from residential to commercial is unique and therefore must have their own identity and be distinct, home to home and Brand to Brand. Through his entrepreneurial work he developed strong fundamental understanding on how to improve the quality of his own personal life. Maurizio believes firmly in giving back as often as one can, he is active in various charities, and Non-Profits including Flex for Access, which focuses on creating awareness advocacy for cerebral palsy through adaptive fitness and education. His passion for universal design, architecture, and fitness; make him an integral director of Flex for Access’ Executive Board.

Advisory Board

The Advisory Board is integral to creating and supporting Flex for Access’ fundraising initiatives, campaigns for awareness and projects focused on adaptive fitness and sport education. Each of the members bring thorough expertise related to education and community engagement which allows the organization to have an ever increasing impact.

Maureen Connolly

Maureen Connolly

Advisor

Maureen Connolly is a Professor of Physical Education and Kinesiology, in the Faculty of Applied Health Sciences at Brock University. She has a lifelong commitment to inclusive and adaptive activity and how to prepare professionals to engage authentically with unconventional bodies. She is a university and national teaching award winner, a YWCA Woman of Distinction, and an unapologetic advocate for diversity. Her teaching and research include curriculum, stressed embodiment, dance & movement education, and Freirean approaches to teaching and learning. Her dispositions are semiotic, phenomenological, inclusive, irreverent, and quixotic. She enjoys training, reading, writing, laughing, and authentic interpersonal engagement.

Jason D’Rocha

Jason D’Rocha

Advisor

Jason is an accomplished author and the founder of Jr. Storytellers, a company dedicated to helping children develop their imagination and creativity through engaging storytelling experiences. With over two decades of experience in the field of children’s education, Jason has honed his skills in capturing the imagination of young minds and creating opportunities for learning and growth.

In addition to his work as an author and storyteller, Jason is also a highly sought-after trainer and speaker, traveling across North America to share his expertise with educators, coaches, parents, and caregivers. He is deeply committed to helping people understand the best ways to communicate and interact with children in a safe, meaningful way.

He’s truly thankful for the opportunity to serve on the Advisory Board of Flex For Access. With over two decades of experience in the private service industry for children’s fitness, my deep-seated passion lies in facilitating access to physical activity and engagement for all.

Lakshmi Jayanthi

Lakshmi Jayanthi

Advisor

Lakshmi Jayanthi is the Founder & CEO of Pickup Sports (www.pickupsports.co) and also the mom of two active young boys. Lakshmi’s mission is to inspire kids to live a long-term active lifestyle by bringing the fun back into youth sports and making it more accessible for all kids. Pickup Sports is a mobile app that facilitates kids playing neighborhood sports which makes sports easier for parents and a lot less intense for kids. We help parents organize their own local play groups, invite friends to join, challenge other neighborhoods to a game and provide educational videos so parents have a plan for what their kids can play.