Our Team
Cobblestone staff members are all highly trained, uniquely talented, and wonderfully passionate about what they do. At Cobblestone, we pride ourselves on being experts in play-based approaches, and each team member brings their own spark to this proven method.
Michelle Secunda
Neurodivergent herself, Michelle finds a tremendous amount of joy in the work she does with youth at Cobblestone. She founded the organization after nearly ten years in the after-school field. She’s been on the site leadership team of a large community-based organization, an out-of-school time manager at a specialized after-school for neurodivergent youth, and ran arts mentorship programs for youth in family shelters and transitional housing.
She is a licensed master of social work and graduated from a social work program specifically for nonprofit leadership and social impact. She loves arts and crafts and reading and thinks being silly is a superpower. She can also wiggle her ears, which everyone can agree is incredibly impressive.
Founder / Executive Director
Lauren has seven years of experience working with neurodivergent youth. She spent five of those years working at a school that utilizes a play and relationship-based model. While working there, Lauren also became a certified practitioner of DIRFloortime. She has a master’s degree in childhood special education and in social work.
Through her work at Cobblestone Lauren is able to engage with many of her passions! Lauren enjoys combining her skills as she utilizes a play-based approach to support youth in building their SEL skills. She also loves sharing knowledge about working with neurodivergent youth with Cobblestone’s community-based partners.
Program Lead
Lauren Kawulicz
Destinee is a Youth Development Specialist dedicated to empowering young people through positive, inclusive, and evidence-based programming. She earned her Master of Arts in Sport-Based Youth Development from Adelphi University in May 2026 and has experience supporting social-emotional learning, academic engagement, and positive youth development outcomes.
Skilled in applying Teaching Personal and Social Responsibility (TPSR) principles, she creates supportive, trauma-informed environments that foster resilience, personal growth, and a sense of belonging among diverse youth populations. Her professional experience includes program implementation, data collection and evaluation, and cross-functional collaboration to strengthen youth programs and outcomes.
Destinee is particularly passionate about working with underserved and neurodivergent youth, creating inclusive spaces where young people feel valued, supported, and empowered to learn, play, and grow. Through her work, she is committed to helping youth build confidence, develop essential life skills, and reach their full potential.
Program Facilitator
Destinee Candello
Vanne-Paige Padgett is a cultural anthropologist, cultural curator, and creative practitioner designing and facilitating transformative initiatives, programs, and experiences rooted in culture, community, healing, and liberation.
For more than a decade, VP has partnered with individuals, organizations, brands, and cultural institutions to create immersive, culturally grounded work that activates audiences and deepens community connection. Working at the intersection of history, art, and cultural education, VP’s work transforms people, communities, and movements.
Program Facilitator
Vanne-Paige Padgett
Jennifer A. Quintanilla
Jenn Q devotes her time as a Community Arts Producer and facilitator across NYC, specializing in community-wellbeing, narrative change, and storytelling for good. Her work centers on how the arts can nurture marginalized groups and serve as an outlet to unearth solutions about culturally responsive practices rooted in social healing & human-forward approaches.
Jenn is trained in arts in health programming, social-emotional learning, and universal design principles for youth and young adults. Her deep empathy helps her to meet folks where they are in both their joy and grief. When she’s not working you can find Jenn exploring in nature, meditating or cooking a cozy meal.
Program Facilitator