Cindy Semark

Cindy Semark is a retired K-12 art educator who helped raise her son with autism, an intellectual disability, and bipolar disorder. Through his struggles, she learned not only the challenges of parenting a child with special needs but also the realities of parenting an adult who has aged out of special education and is no longer in school. The lack of appropriate adult programming for her son Jeremiah ignited her passion to give him a life of purpose. This led to connections with other parents like her and exploring solutions together. She is the co-founder of AACORN, Inc, a nonprofit farm in Kalamazoo County, Michigan, and has served on its board of directors since its inception in 2011. In addition to writing, Cindy enjoys choral singing, creating art, walking, and reading. Despite Jeremiah’s death in 2022, she remains dedicated to creating positive outcomes for adults with intellectual and developmental differences. She has two surviving grown children and lives in Portage, Michigan.