Staff
Chairman
Thomas A. Bloom, Ph.D., has served as President of Apollo College since December, 2003. In his role, Dr. Bloom is responsible for directing operations of ten campuses and a regional office. Most recently, Apollo College was sold to DeVry, and is now a publicly traded company.
Previously, Dr. Bloom co-founded and served as the Chief Operations Officer of The Well Fed Baby, Inc., a frozen food and nutraceutical manufacturing company in San Diego, California. During this period, he co-wrote The Well Fed Baby TV Show, which was picked up by Fox Health Network and authored two books; The Well Fed Baby Cookbook; (MACMILLAN 1998) and The Well Fed Baby (WILLIAM MORROW 2000).
Earlier, in his career Dr. Bloom served as President and CEO of the California Culinary Academy (CCA) in San Francisco, where he conceived and wrote 26 television shows for KQED, a public broadcasting network in San Francisco, California. He also wrote the accompanying book Cooking at The Academy (KQED 1993) and completed a successful IPO. Prior to the CCA, he served as Vice President of The Culinary Institute of America in New York.
During his career Dr. Bloom has served as Chairman of The Country School in San Marcos, California, a K-12th private day school for children with High Functioning Autism and co-founded Gateway Academy, the first school in the state of Arizona specializing in K-12 students with Asperger’s Syndrome, High Functioning Autism and PDD-NOS. Dr. Bloom is the parent of a son with Asperger's Syndrome. He is the co-founder of Spectrum Transition Program, which is the first residential college transition program for students 17-24 years, and serves a pure population of students with Asperger’s Syndrome, High Functioning Autism, and PDD-nos.
Dr. Bloom has served on the faculty at the University of Wisconsin, Florida State University, and the University of Minnesota. He holds a Ph.D. in Business Education from the University of North Dakota, a Masters of Science Degree in Education, and Bachelor of Science Degree in Management from the University of Wisconsin.
Executive Director
O. Robin Sweet inspired the development of Gateway Academy, the first school in the State of Arizona specializing in students with Asperger’s Syndrome, High Functioning Autism and PDD-nos, and is the co-founder of the first residential transition program solely for this same population. She is the mother of three children, a nurse, a writer, and an entrepreneur. She graduated from Hartford Hospital School of Nursing. She started her career as a pediatric surgical nurse and worked in hospitals throughout the East Coast for over ten years. She attended Yale School of Management in New Haven, Connecticut. She was the owner and founder of The Nanny Connection, a nanny placement agency in New Haven, Connecticut where she placed nannies nationwide in couple’s homes on a live-in or out basis. She was the President and co-founder of The Well Fed Baby, Inc., a frozen food and nutraceutical manufacturing company in San Diego, California, which had nationwide retail distribution. She is a member in good standing with the International Documentary Association.
In 2002, The Well Fed Baby Show was developed as an offshoot of the company and its philosophy. Robin co-wrote and participated in The Well Fed Baby Show, which was picked up by Fox Health Network. She was also the President and co-owner of The Country School, Inc., a special education private day school, based in San Marcos, California. Ms. Sweet and Dr. Bloom grew the School tenfold, and increased revenues exponentially. The Academy was sold to a large academic conglomerate.
She is the author of numerous books on families, health and nutrition: The Nanny Connection (Atheneum 1987); The Working Woman’s Lamaze Handbook (Hyperion 1992); Adopt International (Farrar, Straus & Giroux 1996); The Well Fed Baby Cookbook (Macmillan 1998); and The Well Fed Baby (William Morrow 2000). In 2005, she wrote a documentary film about Asperger’s Syndrome, Two Worlds - One Planet, which was released in February 2008, and has won the Accolade Award for Award of Excellence and has been nominated for an award at the Hot Springs Film Festival (Oct. 08). Most importantly, she is the parent of a sixteen-year-old son with Asperger’s Syndrome.
Resident Program Director
Riley Darveaux earned his Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Saint John’s University in Minnesota; and a Master of Arts in Sport/Exercise Psychology from Argosy University in Arizona. His experience includes working as a Recreation Assistant at the Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch; Skills Trainer for Catholic Charities working with students on the autism spectrum; Behavior Coach at the Austin Centers for Exceptional Students; and Guidance Counselor for high school students. His interests include golf, swimming, music, sporting activities, and good coffee.
Resident Evening Director
Brittany DeBoer - has her Bachelor of Science Degree in Psychology from the University of Wisconsin – Green Bay; her Master of Science Degree in General Psychology from Eastern Kentucky University. Brittany has worked at the Wisconsin Early Autism Project as a Senior Therapist; the Eastern Kentucky University Psychology Clinic as a student clinician; and the Sexual Assault Clinic in Green Bay, WI providing crisis intervention, support counseling, and follow up services. We are thrilled to have Brittany as part of our team!
Resident Weekend Director
Linda Hayes - Linda joins our team with a Bachelors Degree in Society and Justice from the University of Washington and a Masters Degree in Criminal Justice from Andrew Jackson University. Linda is also a Licensed Social Worker. Her work experience includes working in residential treatment centers for youth and adolescents; she was the Director of the Youth Advocate Programs in Maricopa County; she was the Community Program Representative for the Bureau of Substance Abuse Treatment and Prevention; she was the Team Leader at Comcare-Alternative Behavioral Services at Jewish Family and Children Services; she was a Case Manager for Community Care Network – Maricopa Clinical Management; and a House Parent for Devereux Foundation, supervising severely emotionally handicapped adolescents. Linda is our outstanding social director at Spectrum!
Social Communication Program Coordinator Lynn Carahaly, M.A., CCC-SLP is the owner and director of Foundations Developmental House in Chandler, Arizona. Lynn received her Bachelor's and Master's degree from Ohio State University and is pursuing her Ph.D. in the field of Speech Language Pathology. Lynn is a member of the American Speech and Hearing Association, the National Coalition on Auditory Processing Disorders, and the Learning Disabilities Association of America. She has worked with students with Asperger’s Syndrome and High Functioning Autism specifically focusing on pragmatic language. We have developed a very unique integrated Social Communication Program using Lynn’s years of expertise in this field.
Fitness and Toning Coach
Geoffrey Rubin is a graduate
of Arizona State University with a degree in Recreation Program
Management and Sports Management. He has been a recreation specialist
and site manager for the City of Scottsdale Recreation Department and
Scottsdale Unified School District, and is currently the Get Fit: Mind
and Body Coach for Gateway Academy. Geoff’s interests are all sports,
health, nutrition, hiking.
Neurology/Psychiatry Consultant
Dr. Kenneth Zwier is a Child and Adolescent Neuro-Psychiatrist practicing in Scottsdale, Arizona. He is a graduate of the University of Michigan Medical School. He has expertise in working with children, adolescents, and families who have children with Asperger's Syndrome, High Functioning Autism, PDD-nos, and other mental health disorders. He is a member of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, and has authored publications in the Journal of American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.
Thomas A. Bloom, Ph.D., has served as President of Apollo College since December, 2003. In his role, Dr. Bloom is responsible for directing operations of ten campuses and a regional office. Most recently, Apollo College was sold to DeVry, and is now a publicly traded company.
Previously, Dr. Bloom co-founded and served as the Chief Operations Officer of The Well Fed Baby, Inc., a frozen food and nutraceutical manufacturing company in San Diego, California. During this period, he co-wrote The Well Fed Baby TV Show, which was picked up by Fox Health Network and authored two books; The Well Fed Baby Cookbook; (MACMILLAN 1998) and The Well Fed Baby (WILLIAM MORROW 2000).
Earlier, in his career Dr. Bloom served as President and CEO of the California Culinary Academy (CCA) in San Francisco, where he conceived and wrote 26 television shows for KQED, a public broadcasting network in San Francisco, California. He also wrote the accompanying book Cooking at The Academy (KQED 1993) and completed a successful IPO. Prior to the CCA, he served as Vice President of The Culinary Institute of America in New York.
During his career Dr. Bloom has served as Chairman of The Country School in San Marcos, California, a K-12th private day school for children with High Functioning Autism and co-founded Gateway Academy, the first school in the state of Arizona specializing in K-12 students with Asperger’s Syndrome, High Functioning Autism and PDD-NOS. Dr. Bloom is the parent of a son with Asperger's Syndrome. He is the co-founder of Spectrum Transition Program, which is the first residential college transition program for students 17-24 years, and serves a pure population of students with Asperger’s Syndrome, High Functioning Autism, and PDD-nos.
Dr. Bloom has served on the faculty at the University of Wisconsin, Florida State University, and the University of Minnesota. He holds a Ph.D. in Business Education from the University of North Dakota, a Masters of Science Degree in Education, and Bachelor of Science Degree in Management from the University of Wisconsin.
Executive DirectorO. Robin Sweet inspired the development of Gateway Academy, the first school in the State of Arizona specializing in students with Asperger’s Syndrome, High Functioning Autism and PDD-nos, and is the co-founder of the first residential transition program solely for this same population. She is the mother of three children, a nurse, a writer, and an entrepreneur. She graduated from Hartford Hospital School of Nursing. She started her career as a pediatric surgical nurse and worked in hospitals throughout the East Coast for over ten years. She attended Yale School of Management in New Haven, Connecticut. She was the owner and founder of The Nanny Connection, a nanny placement agency in New Haven, Connecticut where she placed nannies nationwide in couple’s homes on a live-in or out basis. She was the President and co-founder of The Well Fed Baby, Inc., a frozen food and nutraceutical manufacturing company in San Diego, California, which had nationwide retail distribution. She is a member in good standing with the International Documentary Association.
In 2002, The Well Fed Baby Show was developed as an offshoot of the company and its philosophy. Robin co-wrote and participated in The Well Fed Baby Show, which was picked up by Fox Health Network. She was also the President and co-owner of The Country School, Inc., a special education private day school, based in San Marcos, California. Ms. Sweet and Dr. Bloom grew the School tenfold, and increased revenues exponentially. The Academy was sold to a large academic conglomerate.
She is the author of numerous books on families, health and nutrition: The Nanny Connection (Atheneum 1987); The Working Woman’s Lamaze Handbook (Hyperion 1992); Adopt International (Farrar, Straus & Giroux 1996); The Well Fed Baby Cookbook (Macmillan 1998); and The Well Fed Baby (William Morrow 2000). In 2005, she wrote a documentary film about Asperger’s Syndrome, Two Worlds - One Planet, which was released in February 2008, and has won the Accolade Award for Award of Excellence and has been nominated for an award at the Hot Springs Film Festival (Oct. 08). Most importantly, she is the parent of a sixteen-year-old son with Asperger’s Syndrome.
Resident Program DirectorRiley Darveaux earned his Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Saint John’s University in Minnesota; and a Master of Arts in Sport/Exercise Psychology from Argosy University in Arizona. His experience includes working as a Recreation Assistant at the Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch; Skills Trainer for Catholic Charities working with students on the autism spectrum; Behavior Coach at the Austin Centers for Exceptional Students; and Guidance Counselor for high school students. His interests include golf, swimming, music, sporting activities, and good coffee.
Resident Evening DirectorBrittany DeBoer - has her Bachelor of Science Degree in Psychology from the University of Wisconsin – Green Bay; her Master of Science Degree in General Psychology from Eastern Kentucky University. Brittany has worked at the Wisconsin Early Autism Project as a Senior Therapist; the Eastern Kentucky University Psychology Clinic as a student clinician; and the Sexual Assault Clinic in Green Bay, WI providing crisis intervention, support counseling, and follow up services. We are thrilled to have Brittany as part of our team!
Resident Weekend Director
Linda Hayes - Linda joins our team with a Bachelors Degree in Society and Justice from the University of Washington and a Masters Degree in Criminal Justice from Andrew Jackson University. Linda is also a Licensed Social Worker. Her work experience includes working in residential treatment centers for youth and adolescents; she was the Director of the Youth Advocate Programs in Maricopa County; she was the Community Program Representative for the Bureau of Substance Abuse Treatment and Prevention; she was the Team Leader at Comcare-Alternative Behavioral Services at Jewish Family and Children Services; she was a Case Manager for Community Care Network – Maricopa Clinical Management; and a House Parent for Devereux Foundation, supervising severely emotionally handicapped adolescents. Linda is our outstanding social director at Spectrum!
Social Communication Program Coordinator Lynn Carahaly, M.A., CCC-SLP is the owner and director of Foundations Developmental House in Chandler, Arizona. Lynn received her Bachelor's and Master's degree from Ohio State University and is pursuing her Ph.D. in the field of Speech Language Pathology. Lynn is a member of the American Speech and Hearing Association, the National Coalition on Auditory Processing Disorders, and the Learning Disabilities Association of America. She has worked with students with Asperger’s Syndrome and High Functioning Autism specifically focusing on pragmatic language. We have developed a very unique integrated Social Communication Program using Lynn’s years of expertise in this field.Fitness and Toning Coach
Geoffrey Rubin is a graduate
of Arizona State University with a degree in Recreation Program
Management and Sports Management. He has been a recreation specialist
and site manager for the City of Scottsdale Recreation Department and
Scottsdale Unified School District, and is currently the Get Fit: Mind
and Body Coach for Gateway Academy. Geoff’s interests are all sports,
health, nutrition, hiking.Neurology/Psychiatry ConsultantDr. Kenneth Zwier is a Child and Adolescent Neuro-Psychiatrist practicing in Scottsdale, Arizona. He is a graduate of the University of Michigan Medical School. He has expertise in working with children, adolescents, and families who have children with Asperger's Syndrome, High Functioning Autism, PDD-nos, and other mental health disorders. He is a member of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, and has authored publications in the Journal of American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.