Summer 2026

When a group of Lifeworks participants recently visited Upham House Assisted Living in Medfield, there was music, laughter, and plenty of singing. Once a month, Lifeworks participants travel to Upham House to join the residents for karaoke, accompanied by case managers Artie Webber and Lynne Anderson.

Before joining Lifeworks, Artie had spent 30 years in the workforce and brought with him a lifelong love of music and community.

Artie plays keyboard, harmonica and sings, and his musical talents have become a wonderful part of his work. He has helped with Lifeworks theater productions, including Grease and Mamma Mia!, and enjoys performing karaoke with individuals at nursing homes. His favorite song? “Sweet Caroline” – a song that never fails to get everyone involved.

The award recognizes outstanding work with the autism community, and Artie was honored with a $500 award to donate to a charity of his choosing. He selected the Lifeworks musical program.

In their nomination, Patrick’s parents wrote, “We are proud to nominate Artie Webber, Substitute Job Coach from Lifeworks Arc, for the Doug Flutie, Jr. Foundation for Autism 2026 ‘Dougie Award.’”

They described the many activities Artie shares with Patrick, including singing at nursing homes, performing with theater groups, and volunteering with Meals on Wheels. But what stood out most was the relationship Artie has built with their son.

“Artie is kind, compassionate, cheerful, and always makes me feel included and valued,” they wrote. Patrick has even called Artie his favorite staff member and his “best buddy.”

That may be the best description of Artie’s impact. Whether he is singing “Sweet Caroline” at a nursing home, helping someone discover a love of theater, volunteering alongside a Meals on Wheels participant, coaching softball or joining a group for karaoke at Upham House, Artie has a gift for helping people feel that they belong.

And sometimes, all it takes is a song, a little encouragement, and someone who believes everyone should have a chance to join in.

The Jane Smith Community Room in Westwood transforms into a dojo every Friday morning when groups of Lifeworks Day Hab participants practice their moves at Karate Club, led by Assistant Director Pauline Seremetis.

“A lot of them are happy to come on Fridays and talk about it all week,” Pauline explained. With about 20 to 30 participants, Karate Club has quickly become a favorite. Pauline shared that she sees a big change in the participants since the start of Karate Club, giving them another activity to look forward to each week.

Karate Club will continue to meet every Friday, allowing participants to build their skills, try something new, and, of course, break a few more boards along the way.

Friends and neighbors recently gathered at Lifeworks’ Foxboro residence to celebrate the Powder House Neighborhood Community Garden with a garden party.

The garden party gave everyone an opportunity to tour the space, enjoy pizza and fresh salads made with ingredients grown right in the garden, and celebrate the people who helped bring the project to life.

We were joined by Commissioner Sarah Peterson of the Massachusetts Department of Developmental Services (DDS), Vice Chair of the Foxborough Board of Selectmen Amy LaBrache and Foxborough Town Manager Paige Duncan. We are grateful to have members of the town join us in recognizing and celebrating this special community.

The Powder House Neighborhood Community Garden is a wonderful example of what can grow when people come together. We’re proud to celebrate the residents, neighbors, staff, and community members whose time and effort have helped make this garden a place for connection, inclusion, and growth.

The Powder House Community Garden was featured in the Sun Chronicle! Read the story here.

Lifeworks has been busy this summer with exciting activities and outings across our programs. Take a look at some of the fun we’ve had this summer!

Day Habilitation kicked off the summer by celebrating the 250th anniversary of the United States with red, white, and blue artwork. Christmas in July brought a visit from Santa and a soft-serve ice cream machine, while participants got out their best leis for Hawaiian Shirt Day, with piña coladas and pineapple dump cake.

Our residents have also been enjoying a busy summer. Joel and Julie attended a Patriots preseason game against the Colts, while Andrea traveled to Alabama to visit her brother. Residents from Norwood attended the Grace Spring Formal at Grace Church in a limousine, where they danced the night away. The Residential Leadership Club has also regrouped and meets regularly.

Soc & Rec participants attended a WooSox game, where they were invited onto the field by player John Brebbia and had baseballs signed. Lifeworks cornhole athletes wrapped up their season with a pizza party, and the softball season and chess club began. A BBQ craft night was complete with decorating frames and mugs with temporary tattoos, while Girls’ Night showed off their creativity with DIY tote bags.

A group from LES Norwood visited Battleship Cove in Fall River, while the fishing group reeled in some big catches! The Explorers Group enjoyed a summer of adventure, visiting the Fuller Craft Museum in Brockton for a day of exploration and taking a Charles River boat tour in Cambridge and enjoying lunch at the food court at CambridgeSide Mall.

This has been a summer full of fun, connection, and great memories. And there’s still more to come!

Athletes, coaches, friends, family, and staff gathered at the Four Points Sheraton in Norwood to celebrate the achievements of our Lifeworks Athletes at the 2026 Social and Recreation Banquet. The annual event is a chance to recognize the dedication, hard work, and team spirit that make our sports programs so special.

Coach Kevin Murphy received the Ben Kiester Award for his dedication to coaching, while the Erhard family was honored with the Recognition of Continuous Support Award.

We are so grateful for the dedication of our coaches and athletes who make these teams great. The banquet was a wonderful celebration of the teamwork, dedication, and community that makes Lifeworks so special.

Please join us in congratulating the 2026 Social and Recreation Award winners:

Lifeworks was proud to celebrate the recipients of its 2026 Scholarship Awards at a reception on July 22 in the Jane Smith Community Room. This year, seven scholarships of $500 each were awarded to students and professionals pursuing careers in fields that reflect Lifeworks’ commitment to supporting individuals and families in our communities.

The scholarship recipients bring a wide range of experiences and aspirations to their studies, with many already making a difference through their work at Lifeworks and in other human service settings.

Elizabeth “Gracie” Bergen, recipient of the Kathleen Joy Carroll Scholarship, serves as Associate Director of Lifeworks Employment and Day Services in West Roxbury. A graduate of Saint Joseph’s University, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in Psychology summa cum laude, Gracie is currently pursuing a graduate degree in School Counseling at UMass Boston.

Yemi Oladunni, recipient of the Richard Bier Scholarship, works as a Teacher Counselor at a Lifeworks community residence in Sharon. She is studying Health Sciences at Massasoit Community College and has been accepted into the college’s Nurse Education program, beginning this fall.

Astrid Gomes, recipient of the Natalie Thomas Woodward Schmatzler Walsh Scholarship, has worked at Lifeworks since 2024 and currently serves as a Case Manager and Teacher/Counselor at one of our community residences in Foxborough. With degrees in Illustration and General Studies, Astrid is now pursuing a graduate degree in Art Therapy/Counseling at Springfield College.

Robert “Bo” Canfield, recipient of the Carole Keegan Scholarship, has served Lifeworks as a Substitute Job Coach with LES-Norwood since 2024. A recent graduate of Washington University in St. Louis with degrees in Psychological and Brain Sciences and Music, Bo is now pursuing a Master of Arts in Social Work at the University of Chicago.

The Mary Walsh Scholarship was awarded to Caroline Vallarelli, who is studying Public Health at UMass Amherst. A 2025 graduate of Taunton High School, Caroline was also involved in athletics as a coach for soccer, lacrosse and field hockey.

Patrick Dwinnells, recipient of the Mary Barry Scholarship, is studying Psychology at UMass Boston. His experience in human services includes employment with Riverside Community Care and volunteer work with Best Buddies and Reverse Inclusion Programs during middle and high school.

The Ruth Doorly Scholarship was awarded to Jack Flanagan, a former Lifeworks Autism Support Center coordinator and residential case manager. Jack has continued his education in Clinical Mental Health Counseling after moving to Vermont. His professional experience also includes providing in-home and center-based care to children with autism through Applied Behavioral Analysis programs.

“We are honored to provide these scholarships to individuals who are preparing for careers dedicated to serving others,” said Dan Burke, President and CEO of Lifeworks. “Their commitment to fields that directly relate to the work we do every day at Lifeworks is inspiring. We are proud to support their educational journeys and invest in the future of human services.”

The Lifeworks scholarship program is an investment in the future of our field and in the individuals and families we serve. Each $500 scholarship helps a student take another step toward a career in human services, healthcare, counseling, education or another profession that can make a meaningful difference in the lives of others.

Congratulations to all of our 2026 scholarship recipients, and thank you to the donors whose generosity makes these awards possible.

By Dan Burke & Leo Sarkissian 

In organizations like ours, you can often look back over the 70-plus years of our existence and identify someone who was incredibly important, who was the driving force of the agency, whose passion and belief in the mission and purpose of the agency was what carried it forward every day. Bill Abel was that person for our agency.

Bill dedicated his life and career to persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities. He began his career in the late 1960s, while a graduate student at the B.U. School of Theology. Bill and his first wife, Paula, served as “house parents” of the first community-based residence in Massachusetts for men who were being moved out of Fernald State School. Many of us were fortunate to hear Bill’s great stories from those days. The fondness he felt and the connection he had with those men was evident throughout his career and life. It was Bill’s ability to share that enthusiasm for those relationships and those success stories that left a big impact on so many.

Bill’s focus on relationships and his modesty throughout his life remind us of the way he conducted his research at a community residence while working on his doctoral dissertation in organizational psychology, also at B.U. The people in the home and the agency where he was observing and studying the importance of individual relationships to the success of programs like ours had no idea he was a CEO of a nonprofit agency with many constituents and programs. His dissertation argued that the quality of the relationships in direct care programs is essential to the level of self-confidence, skill development, and sense of home that can result for the adults with disabilities living there. As far as they knew, he was simply a graduate student interested in direct care work.

Bill’s story at SNCArc and Lifeworks was also compelling. In 1975, when he was hired by the board of parents who oversaw our organization at that time, he became their first paid staff member. Bill’s leadership set the organization on a tremendous path that we continue to follow today. He combined the values of community inclusion and fairness with his superlative management skills. He took a small organization, which had one house in Sharon, one employment center in Norwood, and one day activity center, and grew it into an organization that today serves 685 people on a daily basis and touch the lives of 2,400 more annually.

The focus on the role of families in the agency continued to expand in 1992 when Bill began working with a committee of families and leaders from our agency to form the first Autism Support Center in the state. It began with private money raised by those families to augment the funds provided by our agency. Today, that vision now serves over 1,400 people and their families within our agency alone.

Bill always led the organization with a deep sense of fairness. Despite the fact that funding from the state in the 1970s and 1980s was primarily targeted to people affected by deinstitutionalization, he advocated for others waiting in the community for access to services as well. In our early homes, 60% of the residents had come from a state school and 40% from local communities.

Bill also firmly believed that inclusion was best achieved by ensuring dignity for everyone we served, which started with the dignity of where they lived. Bill led the Board of Directors to become the first agency in our area to buy a community residence, initiating a tradition that continues to this day. We were able to ensure the home was maintained in the same way as every other home in the neighborhood. Bill also made sure that our employment and day programs were located in commercial, industrial work areas, which helped to formulate employment partnerships with the companies located near our programs. Bill’s belief in the people we serve continues to be foundational to our agency, a path he set for us that we deeply value.

Bill always held a vision for the path ahead. For instance, in the late 1990s, he brought to Leo’s attention a successful Florida legal case regarding disability waiting lists. At the time, Massachusetts had a long waiting list for services at what is now the Department of Developmental Services. The Arc had done well working with the state to obtain initial funding, but it wouldn’t be enough for the thousands in need. Bill argued that delaying services for the families on the waiting list was unnecessary. Leo proposed exploring the possibility of filing a similar legal case in Massachusetts to the successful one in Florida to The Arc of Massachusetts Board, which approved the idea. A committee was established that included Bill and a mix of chief staff officers and volunteer leaders from The Arc.

Leo and Bill visited two law firms to recruit a trial attorney and, fortunately, Attorney Neil McKittrick agreed to take the case. Neil studied the Florida lawsuit and used Medicaid law to obtain a settlement from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, resulting in services for 2,444 adults in our state. That legal decision, Boulet vs. Cellucci, became life-changing for many people. Bill’s role on the committee, volunteering SNCArc to host interviews of potential adult/family plaintiffs and having SNCArc pay the non-legal expenses, was essential to the success of the case. He spent many nights working with Leo and committee members to review developments in the court case, providing details on services to Attorney McKittrick, and educating the legislature. But as was always Bill’s way, he wanted little attention paid to his involvement in the case, although he took great pride in its success. Boulet vs. Cellucci has continued to benefit hundreds of people annually because it led to the creation of annualized funding in the state budget for people with developmental disabilities who graduate from school programs every year.

Bill was a man inspired and motivated by his family, by nature, and by his tremendous motivation to help others. He believed that all persons deserved to be treated with dignity, and every person, no matter their challenge, should have opportunities to work and live peacefully in their community. He deeply believed that the true heroes behind Lifeworks are the people we serve and their families. That belief still resonates throughout our organization today.

Our deepest sympathies go out to his wife, Jane, Bill’s stepdaughters, Lilah and Clara, their families, and Bill’s siblings, Rick Abel, Kathy McLaughlin, Gary Abel, and their families. In retirement, Bill and Jane used their passion for helping others in many ways, including supporting the Vermont Land Trust to demonstrate their fondness for their new home in Vermont.

As new individuals and families have joined us, please take a moment today to reflect on the fact that it was the vision, skillful dedication, and kindness of Bill Abel that inspired so much of what we do today. Our hope is to continue to carry his vision forward, which I believe we do each and every day.

Lifeworks’ Autism and Law Enforcement Education Coalition (ALEC) has continued to expand its impact, helping first responders and other professionals better understand and support individuals with autism and intellectual and developmental disabilities.

So far this year, ALEC has trained more than 1,100 people across Massachusetts, including police officers and firefighters at both the recruit and in-service levels. Training has also reached nurses, caregivers and hospital security personnel, professionals who may encounter someone with a disability during an emergency medical situation. The program has also provided specialized training to 136 supervisory and management personnel with the Hampden County Sheriff’s Office, helping ensure that appropriate accommodations can be made if an individual with a disability enters the criminal justice system.

ALEC’s reach is also expanding within the Massachusetts court system. The program has been brought on as a consultant to help the Massachusetts Trial Court implement “The Blue Card Initiative,” an online training program designed to educate court personnel statewide about interacting with and supporting individuals with disabilities. ALEC Instructor Rita Curley has played an important role in developing recommendations for the initiative.

“The spectrum concerns with first responders is a nationwide issue that we hope to address with both professionalism and compassion if and when an encounter does occur,” says Ryan Roettger, ALEC Program Director.

ALEC’s work has also reached first responders from neighboring states. This continued growth would not be possible without the support of Bailey’s Team for Autism, whose commitment recognizes the importance of preparing first responders for these potentially life-changing encounters.

Through training, education, and collaboration, ALEC helps ensure that individuals with disabilities are met with understanding, appropriate accommodations, and compassion when it matters most.

Lifeworks has been at our family’s side for 45 years. Before my brother Tom was even born, they were there, walking alongside us. They have continued to be a stable and reassuring resource through both good times and challenging ones.

I give back every year to continue to honor my mom and in gratitude for all the people who have helped us along the way. Lifeworks needs to know that the families it serves are standing behind it. Every gift, regardless of amount, says: We believe in this mission, and we’re in.

There is a family out there right now, just like mine was 45 years ago, reaching out and hoping someone will be there.

I give to pay it forward for future generations. I hope you’ll join me.

-Sue Ramsey

Interested in including Lifeworks in your future plans? Visit our Planned Giving page to learn more.

The Forsberg Beautification Program is a special way to make a meaningful difference in the places Lifeworks residents call home. Established in 2019 in partnership with the Forsberg family in memory of Jane Forsberg, the program provides funding for gardens, plantings, seasonal decorations, creative activities, and other improvements at our 19 community residences and Westwood Day Habilitation Program.

Please take a moment to read our 2026 Forsberg Beautification Program brochure and consider making a gift today.