Upcoming Webinar

Join us at our next Community Collective on March 27!

You’re invited to our first Community Collective of 2025. Register today and be there on March 27 when we explore empowerment of the Down syndrome community with Robin Lea-Amos, executive director, and Christel Baker, board member,
with GiGi’s Playhouse Phoenix, a Down syndrome achievement center.

Robin Lea-Amos is the inaugural executive director of GiGi’s Playhouse Phoenix. A nonprofit professional with more than 10 years of experience in grant administration, board governance and communication, management, public speaking, meeting and event planning, development, fundraising, and community engagement, she is also the proud grandparent of Jackson, who was born in 2015 with the incredible gift of Down syndrome.

GiGi’s Playhouse Board Member Christel Baker is a wife and mother of four wonderful adult children. She is a former substitute public school teacher who found her calling when teaching children with special needs. In 2017, she became a literacy tutor as an entrance into the GiGi’s Playhouse community. One year later, she was named the director of GiGi’s career development program. Her team brought GiGi Prep and GiGi University to the Phoenix community. In doing so, Christel developed and executed a curriculum that is now used network wide by other Playhouses with adult education programs.

Beyond Awareness: Embracing Acceptance and Empowerment for Individuals with Down Syndrome will consider “why awareness matters” and look at the impact of inclusion in schools, workplaces, and communities, as well as the financial benefits of early and consistent therapies.