Winona Zelenka (Chair and Treasurer, Board of Directors) had the idea of a social group for women with mild intellectual disabilities after her daughter Kathryn attended the highschool for girls Heydon Park SS, in downtown Toronto. Such lasting friendships were formed there and sisterly support was found, that when highschool ended and the dearth of programming and opportunities as well as socialization in even the biggest city in Canada became apparent, she dreamt of a way to make things better for her daughter and young women like her. This is how Sisters in the Six formed in December of 2022, only becoming a reality because of the enthusiastic support of Melissa Ray, the founder and leader of Concord in the City.

Winona is a cellist who has played professionally for over thirty-five years, twenty-two of them as a member of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. Her experience of being involved in a non-profit charitable organization comes from her chamber music group Trio Arkel, now in its eleventh year of presenting concerts; but her greatest lessons have come from being a Mom to a uniquely gifted and extraordinary child, now a young woman finding purpose and connection in the world.

As a family physician for 25 years, Christie MacCallum (Secretary, Board of Directors) saw families struggling to meet the challenges of supporting neuro-diverse children. However, as a close family friend of Winona and Kathryn over 23 years, her appreciation of these challenges became much more personal and heartfelt.

Over these years, she witnessed an amazing transformation. -far more than ever dreamed- due to supportive social programming in the schools and of course, phenomenal parenting.

Then came the abrupt cut off of all public programming at age 21. As a result, the parents of Sisters in the Six have been heroically forging their own supportive network to allow their offspring to function successfully as adults. Christie is here as a backstop to cheer them on.

Debbie Petrushchak (Board Member) has 3 adult children, 2 of them on the autism spectrum. Deb first met Winona while their daughters attended Heydon Park Secondary School together. During COVID, a few of the girls from Heydon Park organized a weekly zoom meeting to “hangout” and support each other; those girls became the inaugural members of the Sisters in the Six. When Winona asked Deb if she wanted to be a part of the leadership of this exceptional group, her response was “When do I start?”

The Sisters create special bonds and come to learn each others’ strengths and weaknesses through the weekly sessions. They are patient and are each others’ cheerleaders, working hard to achieve their goals and the goals that we as parents want for them.

Deb works part time in the TDSB after a long hiatus home raising and supporting her children. She believes there is no race to the finish line for people to reach their goals. She will never stop advocating for and supporting people to reach their full potential. With respect to the founders and parents of the Sisters in the Six, Deb likes to quote the late Freddie Mercury: “We are the champions, my friends and we'll keep on fighting till the end. We are the champions.”

Chloe Rampersaud has an educational background in Developmental Service Work (DSW). She currently supports individuals at Concord in the City, a day program for adults with cognitive and intellectual disabilities, and she thoroughly enjoys being one of the leaders at Sisters in the Six. She feels very lucky that her job allows her to lead individuals in some of her favourite hobbies like baking and art. Outside of her profession, snuggles with her cats and online shopping take up Chloe’s leisure and downtime!