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The Cottage
Foundation, Inc

Developing Cottage Home Neighborhoods
for Adults with Intellectual, Developmental
and Acquired Disabilities

Our Purpose

We foster the development of accessible
neighborhoods for adults with intellectual,
developmental and acquired disabilities.
We also act as a catalyst and resource for
the creation of like communities by others.

The Problem

The movement away from institutional housing created new problems in the long-term care of adults with disabilities. Now, government-supported group homes and individually-designed living arrangements tend to isolate people within a larger community.

What’s more...
They often cannot choose their roommates.
They are captive to rent increases.
They are dependent on the competence and goodwill of facility owners and third party service providers.
Quality housing is scarce and waiting lists are common, so moving to a better living situation is rarely a realistic option.

These all become even more significant issues after parents are gone.

A Better Solution

The Cottage Foundation fosters the development
of pocket neighborhoods specifically intended
for adults with intellectual, developmental and
acquired disabilities, where families hold title to
their child’s home.

No other option provides this long term security and permanent solution.

Here, adults with disabilities live safely and permanently with their peers, near family, friends, recreation and community services.

Families arrange the unique in-home services required for their family member, but the homeowners together share the planning and

costs of community services like overnight staffing, transportation assistance and recreational activities.

The homes in our urban communities are owned outright, with fee simple title granted to the family (or families) who purchase them.

How we use donations

The Cottage Foundation explores low-interest financing options
to facilitate the development of urban cottage neighborhoods
for adults with disabilities. Loans are repaid
when homes are sold so we can fund development of
additional neighborhoods, indefinitely, throughout the US.


Board of Directors

Arian Colachis Ms. Colachis has over 30 years of public, private and in-house legal experience in the financial services industry. She began her career at the US Securities and Exchange Commission in the regulatory and enforcement divisions followed by another six years of regulatory enforcement at various securities regulators here and abroad. Thereafter she worked in private practice, in- house as compliance counsel for a multi-billion-dollar asset management office and as General Counsel of two public companies, a large Pacific Northwest bank and late-stage life science public company. Since then, Ms. Colachis has continued to assist clients with corporate governance and proxy filing

Bob Glah Bob Glah has 32 years of investment management experience. He has provided financial advice to high net worth clients in Aspen for 20 years while employed by Ryan Investments, Fig Partners, LLC. and Wells Fargo/Norwest Banks. Prior to moving to Aspen in 1999, he lived in Minneapolis where he worked in various capacities at Norwest. Between 1985 and 1991, he started his investment services career with Merrill Lynch (New York) and Kidder Peabody & Co. (San Francisco).

More recently, Bob has served as a fiduciary in roles as a court appointed conservator and independent trustee for affluent families in Colorado, California, and Florida. In 2015, 2020, and 2021 he was named as a court appointed conservator, successor personal representative, and successor trustee by Pitkin County Court serving in a wide arrange of estate management duties. He views his role in these capacities as a mediator, who brings a wealth of financial, organization, and communication skills to difficult situations involving transitions or trauma. He is an advocate for leadership and financial education within his extended family and in the community.

Bob earned his B.A. in Political Science from Northwestern University in 1982. He currently serves on the Financial Advisory Boards of Valley Settlement and the Town of Snowmass VIllage. He has served 6 years on the Aspen School District RE-1 Board of Education; 5 years as Chairman of the Board of Sedgwick Street Fund LP, a private investment fund; 6 years as a member of the Aspen Chapel investment committee; and 8 years as board member of the Meadowwood Homeowners Association. He and his wife Carolyn raised their two children in Aspen and they have recently semi retired to Snowmass Village. He was raised in the Netherlands, Japan, and the United States and has extensive travel experience in Europe and Asia. He is an avid yachtsman, cyclist and skier.

Deborah Sinclair Deb is an RN who lives at Luna Azul with her daughter. She has worked as a Board Certified Psychiatric Nurse in various settings in New England, Illinois and Arizona, with a focus on Forensic Psych. She has coached Special Olympics, been the nurse for various group homes for the disabled, and was President of KidsRKids, a 501c dedicated to the education and support of the disabled in Central Illinois. She is currently the RN on call for the Luna Azul Community to provide care, support and education to residents and family members.

Ed Smith Ed is a semi-retired senior executive having worked with several national homebuilders responsible for numerous areas such as asset management, home construction, land acquisition, entitlement and development. Ed is presently a consultant working with several smaller homebuilders in the Greater Phoenix Area.

Elizabeth Freeburg Elizabeth Freeburg works as a Senior Investment Strategist for Wells Fargo Private Bank.  She has worked at Wells Fargo for over 25 years and has worked in the financial industry for over 35 years. She has a Master of Business Administration from ASU and a Bachelor of Science in Finance from Illinois State University.

Jeffrey Miller, LL.M. CLCS Jeff owns and operates an Insurance agency specializing in commercial, professional and cyber insurance nationwide. He also currently owns and operates a Mediation and Dispute Resolution firm. He is a retired non-profit CEO after working 20 years in multiple cities and states. Prior to his non-profit work he was involved in multiple business ventures and start-ups. He has a Law Degree from the University of Liverpool with a Technology and Intellectual Property specialty.

Jill Mapstead Jill is a semi-retired consultant specializing in non-profit capacity building and sustainability with a focus on organizational lifecycles, governance, CEO-Board partnerships, and long-term collaborations.  She began her career in Special Education, followed by a Masters degree in Industrial Psychology which led to a consulting career in technology instructional design, technical writing, organizational development, and process re-engineering.  As a parent of a child with disabilities, Jill is an active advocate for their daughter and other families in Arizona, serving on boards of directors of organizations who provide services for the adult disabilities community.

Jodalee Tevault Jodalee Tevault has been in home lending for 25 years and has a passion for helping people to achieve their dreams of homeownership.  She has been the preferred lender for Luna Azul since the beginning of the project and understands the need for this special community.  She has also served on many boards including Southwest Human Developments board and Phoenix Children's Leadership Board.

Kate Comtois Kate Comtois, PhD, MPH is a professor and clinical psychologist in the University of Washington Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and director of the UW Center for Suicide Prevention and Recovery and the Suicide Care Research Center – an NIMH-funded practice- based research center. Dr. Comtois’ career is dedicated to promoting the recovery of individuals experiencing suicidal thoughts and behavior and the effectiveness and resilience of the clinical staff and families who care for them.  This is the focus of her clinical work and training as well as her health services, treatment development, clinical trials, and implementation research.

Mark Roth Mr. Roth began practicing at a boutique corporate/securities law firm before becoming General Counsel to a publicly traded and diversified financial services company.  Later he co-founded a registered investment adviser, helping grow it from $0 to over $1B in assets under management.  Mr. Roth left his practice to shepherd the financing, design and construction of neighborhoods housing adults with disabilities.

Pam Blanton Pam is the Founder and CEO of Partners4Housing.  She spent more than 30 years working in housing and services for people with IDD.  Pam started Partners4Housing to help families take the lead in creating housing solutions that meet the unique needs of their loved ones, offering, among other things, a Benefits and Planning Review to ensure that loved ones with IDD have all the benefits they are eligible for, including Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers.  Partners4Housing also offers an online Roommate Matching Pool where families can search for compatible roommates and likeminded families with whom to partner to create a Shared Living Home.  Pam’s group offers Shared Living Development services to lead families through the steps to set up a shared home, and consulting services too.  To date Partners4Housing has helped families set up 55 Shared Living Homes serving 127 people with disabilities in the Puget Sound area.

Scott Boras Scott is a Broker Associate at Fathom Realty with more than 25 years of business and real estate experience. He has served as a senior financial executive at two real estate organizations, overseeing acquisitions, development, underwriting, capital sourcing, financial management, and operations. Scott spent several years in banking in New York and Los Angeles and began his career as a corporate lawyer at Latham & Watkins. Scott holds an MBA from The Wharton School, a law degree from the Pepperdine School of Law, and a BBA from Simon Fraser University in Canada.

Will Humble Will Humble is a long-time public health enthusiast and is currently the Executive Director for the Arizona Public Health Association (AzPHA). His 40 years in public health include more than 2 decades at the Arizona Department of Health Services, where he served in various roles including as the Director from 2009 to 2015.  He continues it be involved in health policy in his role as the Executive Director for the AZPHA.   Will is a believer in using evidence-based health policy to improve health outcomes and in leading and managing with emotional intelligence. Follow him on Twitter @willhumble_az

With your help

We have the opportunity to help empower and
provide a new quality of life. With your help
we’ll be building dream homes with your
donations year after year.

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