Leadership Team
The Positivity Spectrum Center is led by Sarah Kovit Hanna, Melissa Baker, and Jennifer Blankenship, three women united by a shared commitment to creating a better educational and community experience for autistic children and their families. Together, they bring complementary perspectives, professional expertise, lived experience, and a deep understanding of the needs of neurodivergent learners. Their leadership is grounded in collaboration, compassion, innovation, and the belief that every child deserves to be understood, respected, and given the opportunity to thrive.
Together, Sarah, Melissa, and Jennifer are building more than just a place to learn—they are creating a community where autistic individuals and their families can find belonging, connection, and genuine support.
Sarah Kovit Hanna, Esq.
Sarah Kovit Hanna is an attorney, education leader, autism advocate, and passionate champion for neurodivergent children and families. She serves as General Counsel at Riverside Insights,an education technology company dedicated to growing the potential in every student. Through her work in the education and legal fields, Sarah has developed a deep understanding of the systems that shape educational opportunities for children—and a strong belief that those systems can and should work better for neurodivergent learners.
Sarah is also the Founder and Executive Director of The Positivity Spectrum, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 2024. Through her work with The Positivity Spectrum Center, her professional expertise and personal experience come together in a mission to reimagine education and community for autistic children and their families. As an autistic autism mom, Sarah brings both lived experience and professional perspective to her advocacy. Her journey has given her a firsthand understanding of the challenges families face when traditional educational environments fail to recognize the unique ways autistic children communicate, learn, regulate, and connect.
That experience fuels Sarah’s commitment to building spaces rooted in compassion over compliance, connection before correction, and genuine belonging. She advocates for educational environments that recognize autistic children not as problems to be fixed, but as whole individuals with strengths, interests, identities, and enormous potential.
Through The Positivity Spectrum Center, Sarah is working to create more than an innovative educational program. She is building a community where autistic children and their families can feel understood, supported, celebrated, and at home—and where every child has the opportunity to learn, grow, and thrive exactly as they are.
Melissa Baker, M.S., CCC-SLP
Melissa Baker is a nationally recognized speech-language pathologist and co-owner of Bright Futures Therapeutic Services, LLC, with more than 25 years of pediatric experience in Massachusetts and Ohio. As an ASHA-certified speech-language pathologist, Melissa has dedicated her career to supporting children and adolescents with complex communication needs, particularly autistic individuals and those with articulation and language disorders.
Melissa’s approach to speech and language therapy is grounded in neurodiversity-affirming care, recognizing and celebrating each individual’s unique strengths, communication style, and potential. She is passionate about helping children develop the communication skills, confidence, and connections they need to thrive.
Before co-founding Bright Futures, Melissa served as Speech Therapy Department Supervisor at Monarch Center for Autism in Shaker Heights, Ohio, where she led a team of up to 20 speech-language pathologists and collaborated with colleagues from Boston Children’s Hospital. She has also served as an Adjunct Instructor in the Department of Psychological Sciences at Case Western Reserve University.
Melissa’s expertise has been featured in professional publications including Autism Spectrum Quarterly, Advance, and eHearsay, and she has presented nationally at conferences including ASHA, OCALI, Milestones, ASA Orlando, and OSLHA.
As a leader at The Positivity Spectrum Center, Melissa brings decades of clinical expertise, a deep commitment to neurodiversity, and an unwavering belief in every child’s ability to communicate, connect, and reach their fullest potential.
Jennifer Blankenship, LISW-S, BCBA
Jennifer Blankenship is a Licensed Independent Social Worker and Board-Certified Behavior Analyst with more than 20 years of experience supporting children and families across a variety of settings. She is also the co-owner of Bright Futures Therapeutic Services, LLC, where she brings a compassionate, family-centered approach to helping children and their families thrive.
Jennifer believes that every family is unique and that meaningful support begins with truly getting to know the people behind the services—their routines, traditions, strengths, challenges, and what makes their family special. She finds genuine joy in connecting with children, discovering their individual personalities, and becoming a trusted partner for both children and parents.
Her work is grounded in the belief that every child deserves a safe, nurturing, and supportive environment, and she is passionate about empowering parents to create that environment at home. As a mother of three, including a neurodivergent child, Jennifer brings both professional expertise and personal experience to her work. She understands firsthand the joys, challenges, uncertainty, and constant learning that come with parenting.
At The Positivity Spectrum Center, Jennifer brings a unique combination of clinical knowledge, behavioral expertise, and lived experience. Her leadership is rooted in empathy, connection, and the belief that children and families flourish when they feel genuinely understood, supported, and accepted for who they are.