Connie is a licensed physical therapist in Maryland and Washington, DC. She has a M.Ed. in Human Development a D.Sc. in physical therapy and is a registered yoga teacher. She has been a pediatric physical therapist for 28 years. Connie has worked primarily in urban areas with families of diverse cultures, ethnicities and socio-economic conditions. What she finds most rewarding about her job is helping children and their families reach their potential.

She joined the Foundation’s Board in 2011. Connie became involved with the Bokamoso youth as a host family when her family’s oldest son was a senior at St. Andrew’ s Episcopal School. Being a host family was such a wonderful experience, they have hosted youth every year since 2008. Her family hosted the first Bokamoso youth member to receive an internship in the United States. The intern lived with the Sullivans for six months while working in the DC Mayor’s Office. He is now employed at the African Bank in South Africa. That young man credits the internship in the Mayor’s Office and the Bokamoso Scholarship Program (which funded his college education) with making it possible for him to obtain his position with the bank in South Africa.

The Sullivan family finds hosting to be a way of establishing lasting, close relationships with the youth, and to be fun as well as rewarding. Connie has introduced the Bokamoso youth to pizza making, ice-skating, and hiking along the Potomac River. She cemented her commitment to the work of the Foundation when she traveled to Winterveldt with the St. Andrew’s students as a parent chaperone. Connie has described how inspiring it was to see for herself how hard the young people work to overcome obstacles, pursue better education and achieve their dreams.

Connie has been a leader in the Foundation’s fundraising efforts. She has co-coordinated the Bokamoso Dream Breakfast and initiated the Bokamoso Downtown Reception to increase the Foundation’s visibility and donor base in the Washington business community. Supporting young people’s efforts to build a better future for themselves is important to the Sullivan family. Connie says she feels privileged to serve as a member of the Board working to provide assistance to the Bokamoso youth.