Tag: education

Kerry Magro Awards Grants to Three Special Educators Supporting Students with Disabilities

Posted on by kfmmakingadifference348

KFM Making a Difference Launches New Grant Program to Support Special Education Teachers, Therapists, and Aides

(February 10, 2025) – Dr. Kerry Magro, Ed.D., an award-winning professional speaker, author, autistic adult and Founder/President of KFM Making a Difference, a New Jersey-based nonprofit, is proud to announce the first-ever recipients of the 2025 Kerry Magro Special Education Teacher, Therapist, and Aide Grant. This new grant program was created to recognize and support the dedication of professionals in special education who go above and beyond to foster inclusive learning environments.

The inaugural recipients of the 2025 Kerry Magro Special Education Grant are:

  • Nancy Altshuler, Clinical Coordinator of Physical Therapy at P.G. Chambers School (Cedar Knolls, NJ)
  • Kimberly Karcz, Special Education Teacher at Massapequa School District (Massapequa, NY)
  • Alexis Carroll, Special Education Teacher at Wurtland Elementary School (Wurtland, KY)

Through their unwavering commitment, these educators and therapists have demonstrated an extraordinary ability to create supportive, accessible, and inclusive learning environments for students with disabilities. The grant will provide financial support to enhance their classrooms, implement innovative teaching strategies, and further their impact in the field of special education.

“As someone who faced many obstacles as a child with autism, I understand the profound impact that dedicated educators, therapists, and aides can have on students with special needs,” said Dr. Kerry Magro, Ed.D., Founder and CEO of KFM Making a Difference. “With this being the first year of our special education grant program, I’m beyond thrilled to honor these incredible professionals who are making a real difference in the lives of their students. We hope to continue expanding this initiative in the future to support even more educators.”

About the Kerry Magro Special Education Grant

Launched in 2025, this grant program was created to provide direct support to special education teachers, therapists, and aides who are making an impact in their schools and communities. It builds upon KFM Making a Difference’s long-standing mission to provide scholarships and financial resources to the disability community, including previous programs focused on autistic students pursuing higher education.

Dr. Kerry Magro, a best-selling author, professional speaker, and consultant, has been a leading voice in the autism and disability communities. Diagnosed with autism at age four, Kerry was nonspeaking until the age of 2.5 and faced many challenges growing up. Today, he travels the country sharing his experiences and advocating for inclusion in education and the workplace. He frequently speaks with schools and companies on topics of neurodiversity and inclusion and has been invited to student assemblies, educator staff developments, and professional development sessions for businesses. Over the past 13 years, he has given more than 1,350 presentations at schools, Fortune 500 companies, and nonprofit organizations.

Support the Mission

KFM Making a Difference continues to provide grants, scholarships, and resources to the disability community. Those interested in supporting future grants for special education teachers, therapists, and aides can donate to KFM Making a Difference here.

For media inquiries, interviews, or speaker requests, please contact Kerry Magro at www.kerrymagro.com/contact

Follow Dr. Kerry Magro on Instagram (@autisticprofessionalspeaker) for updates on his work and advocacy.

20 Autistic Students Receive College Scholarships; 150 Recipients in 11 Years

Posted on by kfmmakingadifference348

(December 21, 2023) – Dr. Kerry Magro Ed.D., an autistic adult and Founder/President of KFM Making a Difference (a New Jersey-based nonprofit corporation), announced his organization’s award of college scholarships to twenty autistic adults, including:

Aaron Rhodes (Booneville, AR), Addyson Soderquist (Lufkin, TX), Alexander Passoni-Torres (Broken Arrow, OK), Andrew O’Donnell (Morresville, NC), Christopher Lewis Lacey, WA), Connor Tang (Weston, FL), Emilia Keane (Downingtown, PA), Erika Ekblaw (Chesterton, IN), Fiona Garner (Dahlonega, GA), Jacob Cheatham (San Diego, CA), Jinn Janpathompong (Amherst, MA), Jordan Hernandez (Las Vegas, NV), Josef Marlow (Tallahassee, FL), Lola (Bo) Green (San Antonio, TX), Luke Friedel (St. Peters, MO), Maxwell Goodridge (Jacksonville, FL), Mckenna Chada (Indianola, IA), Noah Labrie (Manchester, NH), Veronica (Phoenix) Pederson (Davis, CA)

With this latest round of scholarship awards, Kerry Magro and KFM have now awarded one-hundred and fifty (150) scholarships to autistic students in the last 11 years.

Support our Nonprofit and our initiatives like our Autism Scholarship Program here.

This year KFM Making a Difference was able to give out twenty (20) scholarships for autistic students for college thanks in part to proceeds received from the nonprofit’s book Autistics on Autism: Stories You Need to Hear About What Helped Them While Growing Up and Pursuing Their Dreams which reached several Amazon best-seller lists in 2022. So with that, they could give twenty scholarships to some bright students on the autism spectrum. This was the most scholarships the nonprofit has ever announced in one year. Autistics on Autism was released on March 29, 2022, and featured the stories of 100 autistic adults, many of whom were previous KFM Making a Difference for Autism Scholarship Recipients.

“As an autistic child who dealt with many obstacles, I’m honored to be able to give back to our community in this way. When I started this scholarship program, I never imagined we’d get to the point of giving 150 scholarships to autistic students for college. Over 130 young autistic adults applied.” says Dr. Kerry Magro Ed.D., founder and CEO of KFM Making a Difference. “I always wish we could give even more scholarships each year, which is why our nonprofit needs to continue to receive donations to support these students.”

The twenty scholarship winners were accepted into the following colleges…

College of Liberal Arts at the University of Texas Austin, College of Southern Nevada, CSN College Station CSU Sacramento, Flagler College, High Point University, Florida International University Iowa State University, Ivy Tech Community College, San Diego State University, Texas A&M University, University of North Florida Pacific Lutheran University (PLU), Reinhard University, University of Central Arkansas University of Central Florida, University of Delaware, University of Massachusetts Amherst and University of Tulsa

In Fall 2012, KFM Making a Difference launched its scholarship program. Thus far, KFM has given out one-hundred and fifty (150) scholarships to help autistic students attend college. Kerry Magro, the founder of KFM, is a professional speaker, best-selling author, and movie consultant. Kerry was nonspeaking till 2.5 and was diagnosed with autism at age four. Today, Kerry travels the country to share his story about autism and to support other autistic kids on their roads through life. Among the topics Kerry discusses are the power of communication, disabilities in the workplace, bullying prevention, the transition to adulthood for those with disabilities, how to succeed in school with a disability, and much more! Recently Kerry has spoken at over 1250 events over the past 12 years, including being one of the first people on the autism spectrum to ever give a ‘Talks at Google.’ He gives talks as part of student assemblies, educator staff development, and professional development, along with keynote and breakout sessions

Today, according to the Center for Disease Control, 1 in 36 children are diagnosed with autism, while more than 700,000 young autistic children will reach adulthood within the next decade. A few years ago, U.S. News & World Report highlighted KFM Making a Difference as one of the only nonprofits to give out scholarships to autistic adults pursuing a post-secondary program in the U.S.

Their next scholarship application will be available in 2024, which you can apply for now here. You can make a tax-deductible donation here to help them continue to give out this scholarship https://kfmmakingadifference.org/donate/. If you are interested in learning more about Kerry’s background or sending him a media/speaker inquiry, you can contact him anytime here. You can purchase a copy of Autistics on Autism here.