OUR TEAM
Kari Bednarczyk– Founder and Executive Director
Kari is a graduate of St Catherine University in Occupational Therapy. After five years as an Applied Behavioral Analyst Therapist (ABA) and twenty three years as a Pediatric Occupational Therapist (OTR) in multiple settings, she felt a desire to more deeply serve families of children with special needs. Her dream and mission is to encourage, support, decrease isolation and foster community in the disability world. This dream and mission resulted in a new non-profit; Granting Respite and Care For the Extraordinary-GRACE Inc. Kari lives in Andover with her husband, Nick and their two sons, Bennett and Andrew..
Angie Coplan -Board Member and Treasurer
Photo coming soon!
Angie has always been passionate about lending a helping hand no matter what the task at hand is. She has seen the need for the respite that Grace provides through some friends with special needs children. She became a stay at home mom after 10 years of working in the field of Ophthalmology as a technician and has been a volunteer treasurer for other non-profits along the way. She loves learning the game of tennis and spending time with her husband and two kids.
Christy Witkowski -Board Member
Christy discovered a passion for occupational therapy (OT) when she witnessed firsthand the positive benefits of OT when her husband received OT services due to a cancer diagnosis. She quickly realized that helping others live their best possible life was the career path she wanted to pursue, as helping others succeed is something she values. Christy is a recent graduate from Anoka Technical College with an A.A.S. in Occupational Therapy Assistant and is now a Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant (COTA). Christy is pursuing a career as a pediatric COTA. Prior to going back to school, Christy was a stay-at-home mother to her daughter and the primary caregiver to her husband throughout his cancer battle. Christy enjoys spending time with her daughter outdoors in nature and has a great passion for watching and playing sports; mostly Summer sports.