Teresa Angela Punzi
Executive Director and Founder
The Smart Place Adult and Children Services Inc.
As executive director and visionary of The Smart Place Adult and Children Services, Teresa Punzi realized the intellectually and developmentally disabled population were greatly underserved and underappreciated. She utilized her background in education to found a nonprofit organization that provides viable day support services to disabled individuals.
Years ago, after witnessing other day habilitation locations that were performing inadequately, she decided that something had to change and her vision started to take root. Teresa’s determination to provide quality services to those in need is at the forefront of her motivation to create change. Being a change agent also contributes to a woman being powerful.
Punzi believes as an entrepreneur, you mirror your mentors and it is important to continuously challenge yourself, stretch out of your comfort zone, and surround yourself with people who will raise your expectations. She says her mother motivates her by believing in her ability to create change.
When looking provided people with the needed services, she is inspired by a quote from Haim G. Ginott, “I’ve come to a frightening conclusion that I am the decisive element in the classroom. It’s my personal approach that creates the climate. It’s my daily mood that makes the weather. As a teacher, I possess a tremendous power to make a child’s life miserable or joyous. I can be a tool or torture or an instrument of inspiration. I can humiliate or heal. In all situations, it is my response that decides whether a crisis will be escalated or de-escalated and the child humanized or dehumanized.”
She is affiliated with of Department of Behavioral Health and Development Disabilities, CARF, Delmarva, DeKalb County Chamber of Commerce, and is currently pursuing her master’s degree in applied behavior analysis.
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