Group 25: Alyssa Gladstone  

My name is Alyssa Gladstone. I am the mother of two children, a daughter with developmental delays, and a son in the talented and gifted program. In the summer of 2002, my husband and I moved our family from the suburbs of Chicago to Sun Prairie. When my eldest child was about to enter kindergarten, it became evident that I would need to devote a lot of time advocating for her with the school district. So I started my “career break” and became a mostly stay-at-home mom – I took a part time job at Shopko. As my son entered kindergarten, I discovered that he would need just as much advocacy as his sister for different reasons. As a result, I have volunteered in class rooms, and helped out with Market Day. Besides helping out at the schools, I have volunteered at a small non-equity theater company, as stage manager, lighting & sound engineer, house manager, and assistant director. While the company was not specifically a youth company, there were a number of teenagers and early 20’s actors in each production. I was often tasked with herding them in the correct direction and keeping them on focus. I currently sit on my Temple’s Outreach Committee. Our mission is to find ways to make people and families with varied backgrounds welcome and included in our community. I have always been active in crafts, from knitting, needle point, sewing to building a 1 inch to 1 foot scale replica of a 1904 Victorian period home. I began scrapbooking about 10 years ago, which has led me to an interest in photography, especially trying to capture fast moving, uncooperative children on film. I have an MBA from Lake Forest Graduate School of Management and a BA in Biochemistry and Applied Mathematics from Northwestern University. Before taking my “career break,” I managed the Quality function of a small manufacturing firm. Prior to this, I was a Technical Customer Support Chemist, Quality Control Chemist, and all around lab rat in a University research laboratory. I am looking forward to participating in the College for Kids program. I hope to learn new skills, and help children grow by passing along my skills and experience.