Miriam joined Sunshine Cottage in June of 2017 as the Director of Development. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Texas at San Antonio and a Master of Science in Counseling Psychology from Our Lady of the Lake University. Miriam is a Licensed Professional Counselor and has worked in the nonprofit sector for over 16 years, four years as an executive director. She holds Nonprofit Certifications in Leadership and Fundraising through the San Antonio Area Foundation and Our Lady of the Lake University and is a member of the first graduating class of the Tesoro Fellows Leadership Program and trained in Value-Based Leadership. She has been married for 13 years and has two beautiful children. She feels blessed to be a part of the Sunshine Cottage family and is inspired by what Mrs. Dela White has done for our community.

Cindy Escobedo received a Bachelor’s of Arts in Education with a concentration in special education from the University of Texas at San Antonio and later received a Master’s Degree in Deaf Education from the University of the Incarnate Word, both located in San Antonio, Texas. She became a certified Listening and Spoken Language Specialist, LSLS Cert. AVEd, in October 2010. Additionally, Cindy served as an Adjunct Professor for The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UTHSCSA), 2013 - 2018, mentoring 1st year teachers working with deaf and hard of hearing students. Cindy has 25+ years of teaching experience in both public and private school settings. She has been employed at Sunshine Cottage School for Deaf Children in San Antonio, Texas, since 1995. During her tenure at Sunshine Cottage, Cindy has served as a Parent Infant Advisor, early childhood teacher and elementary teacher. She has also served as a lead grade level instructor for the preschool department and has served as the early childhood department chair. She has been a mentor to graduate students and novice educators. Currently, Cindy is the Director of Academics and Educational Resources working with professionals at Sunshine Cottage and across the United States. Cindy is a frequent exhibitor and presenter at state and national workshops sharing her knowledge and implementation of the Cottage Acquisition Scales for Listening, Language, and Speech (CASLLS).

Sarah Carpenter received a Bachelor's of Science degree in Special Education from the University of Texas San Antonio followed by a Master's Degree in Deaf Education and Hearing Sciences from the University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio. She has 12 years of teaching experience in early childhood at Sunshine Cottage School for Deaf Children in San Antonio, Texas.  Sarah is a certified Listening and Spoken Language Specialist (LSLS). Sarah has co-presented for numerous workshops and webinars, ranging in content from the Cottage Acquisition Scales for Listening, Language, and Speech (CASLLS), early childhood, literacy, interactive books and reading chapter books to Pre-Schoolers. Additionally, Sarah shares her knowledge enhancing educational products on behalf of Sunshine Cottage School for Deaf Children. This is Sarah's third year as Director of Human Resources. Sarah and her husband, Clay, have four daughters who have all attended Sunshine Cottage (one who currently does) and one son who hopefully will when he is old enough! 

Leslie Walter is experienced in community outreach to medical staff including pediatricians, otolaryngologists and pediatric nurses as well as educating parents and professionals in current trends of hearing loss through health fairs and program tours. She has a demonstrated history of working in the non-profit organization management industry. Ms. Walter’s outreach efforts demonstrate strong communication skills including speaking to audiences, event planning, budgeting, nonprofit management, and strategic planning. She promotes involvement of the Sunshine Cottage Alumni Association through fundraising efforts to benefit the school by providing a student scholarship.Ms. Walter participates as a member in various professional organizations such as the Alexander Graham Bell Association, VP of Texas Chapter since 2006 and Chairman of the Texas AG Bell statewide conference “Advocacy: Planning for the Future” in 2008. Ms. Walter became a member of the Texas Deaf and Hard of Hearing Leadership Council: Birth to Three in 2010 and has been chairman of the PIFS sub-committee for the past five years. Ms. Walter was Membership Chair and Silent Auction Chair of The Association for Women in Communications 2015-16 and Silent Auction Chair, 2016-17.Leslie Walter has been employed at Sunshine Cottage School for Deaf Children for 26 years as a teacher, parent infant advisor and currently is Community Outreach and Alumni Relations. Ms. Walter was the Executive Director of Desert Voices, Phoenix , AZ from 1997-2000. She received a Masters of Science degree in Speech and Hearing from Washington University and a Bachelors of Art degree from Southern Methodist University.

Chris graduated from Otis College of Art and Design in Los Angeles, CA with a BFA in Digital Media. He began his career in the video game industry where he worked on titles for the Wii and Playstation 2 gaming consoles. While working for <a href="http://collisionstudios.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Collision Studios</a>, Chris helped produce two shipped titles, <strong>Ultimate Duck Hunting</strong>‚ and <strong>Jumper: Griffin‚ Story</strong>. He then moved on to work for <em>Professor Brainstorm</em> and helped produce <strong>World of Brainstorm</strong>, an online MMORG (<em>Massive Multi-player Online Role-playing Game</em>).Chris moved back to San Antonio in 2011 and came to Sunshine Cottage in the spring of 2014 where he maintains the classroom technology and the Sunshine Cottage online presence. He has a passion for technology and all things sci-fi.<a href="http://collisionstudios.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><br></a>