MANDI
RICKELMAN

​​Mandi has spent over two decades working in various roles serving the ASD community, including administrator, trainer, and teacher. After completing her Master’s in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Colorado at Boulder, her career began at the Cleveland Clinic Center for Autism’s Lerner School, where she worked closely with children and families in the ASD community.

Following this, Mandi spent 17 years with the Monarch Center for Autism, first as a classroom teacher and later as the Director of Early Childhood Services, where she trained educators, parents, and professionals, built strong relationships with local school districts, and provided practical strategies for classrooms and home settings. During this time, she worked with hundreds of students, from early childhood to adulthood, and their families, observing challenges in communication, sensory overload, and transitions between environments like home to school, or school to the community.

These experiences led Mandi to ask, 'How can we better prepare and teach self-advocacy skills to students for success in an inclusive world? How can we create systems and environments that serve every student and patron from the start, rather than making adjustments later?' This question inspired her to develop Welcoming Spaces, where she uses her expertise to educate community institutions and design accessible environments that promote inclusivity.​