Angela Kutz
Program Director, Home Places
I started at Pressley Ridge at the age of 24 after finishing my master’s degree from Duquesne University. I have pretty much grown up in the Home Places program, starting as a T/C working in home with a young 12-year-old boy and his family. Bernie Fabry, the Director at the time, hired me and was a great resource and mentor for working with kids and families with autism.
I lived in residential homes for a while working a 4-on/3-off shift and working as a TSS with an 11-year-old girl in the local elementary school. I became a supervisor during the time when we merged with the PRISM program and eventually progressed to become a program coordinator and, finally, program director.
Over the past 30 years I’ve had 14 supervisors. Each and every one made a difference in my ability to be the best employee I could be and helped me evolve into the person I am today.
There are two main reasons I have stayed at Pressley Ridge. #1 is the kids. I can’t say enough about the population of kids we work with at Home Places. I love them. They can be trying at times but each and every one of them bring joy into my life and anyone else they have contact with. To see them make progress, even a small step over a length of several years, is overwhelming.
#2 is the staff. From my current teammates to my peers and supervisors and the staff I have supervised and supported over the years, their encouragement and can-do attitude have helped me love where I work for 30 years.