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Della is the Preschool Director and a teacher with Palominas School District in Hereford, AZ.  Della graduated from the University of Arizona and has been an educator for 20 years. Over the years, she has been extensively trained in working with students with autism and creating successful, inclusive classrooms.  Della has three outstanding grown children. Her son, John, was diagnosed with autism at the age of three.

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Jennifer graduated from the University of Arizona earning a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree.  She was employed as a Registered Nurse for two years in New Mexico prior to attending the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston Texas to earn her Pediatric Nurse Practitioner Certification in 1982.

Jennifer was employed as a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner for more than twenty years, first in New Mexico then in Sierra Vista Arizona for Arizona Family Care Associates. Jennifer then returned to school earning a Master of Science in Nursing with an emphasis on administration and education in 2000.  She began her career in education at Cochise College first as the Director of Nursing and Allied Health from 2006 until 2015. She then was promoted to the positon of Dean of Nursing and Allied Health in 2015 until her recent retirement in March 2020. Jennifer enjoys hiking, cooking, reading and volunteering for indigent, vulnerable families in Aqua Prieta and Naco Sonora, Mexico.  She has served on the Southeastern Arizona Area Education Center (SEAHEC) Board for eleven years, the Arizona State Board of Nursing (AzBN) Education committee for four years and has also volunteered as a site visitor for Accrediting Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN) since 2010. She is also on the Board of the Copper Queen Foundation Board since 2019. Jennifer served on the Echoing Hope Ranch Board from 2013 until 2015 and is excited to be part of this dynamic community dedicated to improving the lives of adults with disabilities.

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Leslie Ann Sansone is a retired attorney and former Justice of the Peace Pro Tempore who has served on the Echoing Hope Ranch Board for 3 years. 

She attended West Virginia University and Brown University and graduated with a BA in French. She graduated from Washington University Law School in 1985. She is a member of the Missouri Bar and the Arizona Bar. She represented low-income individuals at legal services, worked in private practice, represented the Cochise County Public Fiduciary and served as the Justice of the Peace Pro Tempore for Precinct Five for the last 14 years of her career. Her youngest brother had spinal meningitis when he was three months old which led to him having an intellectual disability. She loves to hike, read and play board games, particularly Mahjongg. She is a long-time member of the Sierra Vista United Methodist Church and is interested in spirituality. She tutors grade school children in reading and math. She has been married to Bruce Houston for 36 years and they have two sons and a lovely granddaughter.

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Lane lives in the Las Vegas, NV, area where he teaches at the US Air Force Weapons School as a member of the United States Space Force. He originally enlisted in the Air Force as a Space Systems Operator in 2007, then transferred to the Space Force in 2020 to continue his service.

Lane has an extensive history volunteering with philanthropic organizations that help different populations including the blind and homeless demographics. Lane is a graduate of Northern Arizona University with a Master of Administration degree and an emphasis in Project Management. He enjoys education and is currently pursuing his Doctorate of Business Administration. When he is not working or studying for a degree, certification, or language, Lane and his family spend their time with their animals. Lane has been married for four years to his wife, Grace, who is an occupational therapist that has worked with the school-based population and many children with ASD. Lane and Grace have two young children, two dogs, four cats, four horses, and five chickens.

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Mark Fister is a father, executive, snowboarder, technologist, trail runner, speaker, canyoneer, author, investor, and terrible chess player.

Mark loves to see business and technology from as many perspectives as possible. To wit, he has held 20 different roles in the software industry at companies like Dell, IBM, eBay, PayPal, and even his own company, making him a jack of a trade and a master of none. He has even tried his hand at product management, sales engineering, straight up sales, and unfortunately, Dad jokes. When not geeking out on tech, Mark is geeking out on something. Recently, it has been learning the ways of the servant leader. Having interviewed more than 100 people on the topic of servant leadership, Mark was researching mindsets for a series of books when he learned that he was on the autism spectrum. What a relief it was, for Mark’s entire life suddenly made sense to him! While soul searching (stay in tech? write books?), he was serendipitously introduced to auticon, where he works as a Practice Director.   At auticon, his mission is to do his part to end joblessness and inappropriate jobfulness for autistic people with a proclivity for tech.

Melanie Crider moved from New York to Arizona in 2005. She has been working in the insurance industry for over twenty years, first on the carrier side and now on the agency side.

She holds a BA in Criminology from John Jay College of Criminal Justice in NYC. She is an Authorized OSHA Outlook Trainer in both General Industry and Construction. She utilizes a proactive, rather than reactive, approach to partner with Insureds to control exposures and ultimately reduce their losses. Melanie specializes in creating tailored Safety Programs that have been proven to reduce frequency & severity of claims, ultimately reducing the Insured’s Experience Modification Rating (EMOD). In addition, she has been successful in helping clients form Safety Committees and implement Safety Initiatives. With a history of working for a Workers’ Compensation carrier, Melanie knows what Underwriters are looking for and consistently drafts effective Loss Control Surveys to ensure the best overall pricing and rating factors for her clients. Melanie resides in Oro Valley with her husband of fifteen years, and fourteen-year-old son.

Harlie has been in Tucson, AZ since she was five years old and happily married to her husband Jose for almost 20 years. Between the two of them they have three children and two grandchildren. Harlie’s son Jonathan has lived at Echoing Hope Ranch over 10 years. Jonathan was diagnosed with autism at 27 months old. Harlie served as board President of Echoing Hope Ranch for several years before taking some time off and is now happy to be back serving again as a board member. Harlie graduated from the University of Arizona with a Bachelor of Science and has worked in the financial services industry for over 30 years.