Illinois Life Span Program

Rocio is Director of the Illinois Life Span Program. She is married and has two adult children. Her oldest is an adult with Autism.  Her background in Social Work complements her lifelong goal for her son Tony to have as many choices as possible. Prior to joining, The Arc of Illinois, Rocio worked at well-known not for profits such as Metropolitan Family Services, Community Support Services, and Community Alternatives Unlimited.  She has worked for the Arc of IL since December 2018.  She started out working for both The Illinois Life Span Program and The Family to Family Information Center where she was mentored by Deb Fornoff and Faye Manaster.   She moved over full time to The Illinois Life Span Program in 2019 and was promoted to Assistant Director in 2020.    Today, she is the Director of the Life Span Program and looks forward to continuing the legacy of Ms. Fornoff and her co-workers.

La Sra Perez es casada y tiene dos hijos adultos. Su mayor es un adulto con autismo.  Su experiencia en el campo de Servicio Social complementa su objetivo de toda la vida de que su hijo Tony tenga tantas opciones como sea posible. Antes de unirse al Arc of Illinois, Rocío trabajó en conocidas empresas sin fines de lucro como Metropolitan Family Services, Community Support Services y Community Alternatives Unlimited. Ella ha trabajado para el Arc of Illinois desde diciembre de 2018.  Comenzó a trabajando para the Illinois Life Span Program  y El Centro de Información de Salud. Sus mentores han sido Las Sras. Deb Fornoff y Faye Manaster.   En 2019, se dedico tiempo completo al Programa Life Span de Illinois y fue promovida a directora asistente en 2020.    Hoy en día, es la Directora del Programa Life Span y espera continuar el legado de la Sra. Fornoff y sus compañeros de trabajo.

Suzanne is an Information and Outreach Specialist for the Illinois Life Span program for the Chicago area. She has worked and volunteered in the areas of disability advocacy and family support since 2008. She and her husband are the proud parents of a young adult with I/DD and Autism. Her passion is helping families access and understand services that are available to them so they are empowered to build an included and meaningful life with their loved one with disabilities. She is a 2018 graduate of Illinois Partners in Policymaking and has navigated disability services in the states of Illinois, Ohio and Indiana. 

Erica Stearns resides in Southern Illinois and joined The Arc of Illinois in 2021 as an Information and Outreach Specialist for the Illinois Life Span Program. Erica has a career history in healthcare management, a passion for helping others, and life-long personal experiences in advocating for those who identify with the community of rare disease, disabilities, and complex medical conditions. Growing up disabled and now as the proud mother of two children with disabilities and complex medical conditions, Erica has a unique and multi-dimensional perspective of navigating life with disabilities. Erica is a summa cum laude graduate of Southern Illinois University Carbondale.

Faye has been with The Arc of Illinois for over 13 years. Her unique qualifications include over forty years of professional experience in the areas of special education, family support, early intervention, and public health. Faye is the parent of an adult daughter who is deafblind, and has cerebral palsy. She became involved as a volunteer with Family Voices, Inc., our national umbrella organization, in 1992 based on her experiences as the parent of an uninsured child with multiple special healthcare needs.

Sabrina Wyman is the Information and Outreach Specialist covering Central Illinois for the Illinois Life Span Program. She has a passion for advocating and volunteering, ignited at a young age when she became the older sibling to Rachel, who has Down syndrome as an attribute. Professionally, Sabrina has diverse experience in community outreach and public affairs — from working on health and education legislative policy, planning outreach events in Illinois communities, and serving in a variety of fashions for Springfield Public Schools. Paired with discovering her own mental health and learning disabilities as an adult, Sabrina has a well-rounded understanding of navigating disability services and real-life inclusion.