Rick Guidotti: Founder and Director

About Rick

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Liz Matejka-Grossman: Executive Director

Liz Matejka-Grossman currently serves as the Executive Director of Positive Exposure.

In the years prior to joining Positive Exposure, Liz established and directed Literacy AmeriCorps South Florida, in collaboration with the Palm Beach County Literacy Coalition and the Corporation for National and Community Service, where it is estimated that 1 out of 7 adults in Palm Beach County lack basic literacy skills which include reading a bus schedule, filling out a job application, or understanding the information found in books, newspapers, magazines, and manuals.

Liz also served as the Southeast Coordinator for the Chromosome 18 Registry & Research Society and worked as a journalist, researcher, educational consultant, and grant writer. But some of her most fulfilling moments were spent in the classroom as a High School English Teacher for New York City’s Department of Education and where she was also instrumental in creating after school corporate mentoring, academic tutoring, performing/visual arts and community services programs.

A professional ballet dancer, Liz trained at England’s Royal Ballet School before receiving her BA from the University of Michigan and graduate degrees from Teachers College, Columbia University and Harvard Graduate School of Education — which also included a year of study at Harvard Graduate School of  Arts and Sciences in Comparative Literature and Germanic Studies. Liz loves to learn — and adores teaching and working together with others. It takes a village!

In 2005, Liz co-founded Sharing the Arts, a 501 (c) 3 organization which enhances the lives of children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities through inclusive classes, workshops and stage productions in the performing arts. She is the mother of three children. Her eldest is living with the chromosomal anomaly, 18q- Syndrome. Liz continues to teach and be involved with the dance community internationally, and has been actively volunteering with Special Olympics since 1987, serving in such capacities as head coach, coach, volunteer recruiter and parent.

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Lisa Johnson: Director of Development

As Founder and President of Johnson Media Relations and Development (JMR&D) Lisa Johnson contributed to the development and promotion of many for-profit and nonprofit organizations for over 20 years. Being a passionate champion, visionary and development expert provided a unique combination of skills for refining, expanding and then shouting from the rooftops the work and mission of her clients.

After studying Business Management in College, she combined an already acquired hairstyling license and went on to manage luxury hair salons. Lisa also worked in fashion hair and make-up for several years in New York City and Milan, Italy. Over time her innate love for development and helping people fulfill their dreams was the impetus for starting her own consulting firm which became JMR&D. Over the years, the work she is most proud of, and found the most meaningful, was her work with nonprofits. She championed the underfunded and often unrepresented and has always been an advocate for equity and inclusion.

When the opportunity came about to join Positive Exposure in 2019 there was not a moments’ hesitation. Having followed the outstanding and life-changing work Rick Guidotti and Positive Exposure produced globally for so many years Lisa was completely honored to become part of the team.

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Kathleen Cail: Chairman of the Board

Kathleen spent years in the for-profit arena, working for Nielsen and Kraft Foods.  After having a daughter, born with a neuromuscular disease, Kathleen switched paths and began utilizing her skills and experience to advocate for true inclusion in schools and communities.  From 2013-2015, she co-chaired the Cincinnati ReelAbilities Film Festival. Kathleen consults with organizations on accessibility and is co-founder of ACCESS Cincinnati. Kathleen brought Positive Exposure to Cincinnati, OH in 2011, securing a 3 month exhibition at Cincinnati Museum Center. She created programming around the city including a “cafe conversation” on inclusion within the exhibition,  POSITIVE EXPOSURE grand rounds at Cincinnati Children’s, “Photography Tips for the Clinician, by Rick Guidotti,” a POSITIVE EXPOSURE presentation to medical and allied health students at University of Cincinnati, and a photo shoot. This was the beginning of POSITIVE EXPOSURE’s community based exhibitions and programming.  Kathleen is also Vice President of the Board for Starfire Cincinnati.

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Seth Grossman: Treasurer

Seth Grossman, whose daughter was born with a mosaic deletion of her 18^th Chromosome, has been involved with Positive Exposure since 2000.  Seth currently serves as the CFO of PF Atlantic Holdings, LLC (Planet Fitness). Prior to joining PF Atlantic, he served as the COO and CFO of WORTH New York/The Worth Collection, an LCatterton Partners portfolio company and was the CFO/CSO of publicly traded radio and television operator, Paxson Communications Corp (c/k/a ION Television Network) after building on a banking background at Houlihan, Lokey, Howard & Zukin. In addition to serving on the board of Positive Exposure, Seth is a year-round coach at Manhattan Special Olympics and has been involved with Special Olympics since 1987.  Seth is a graduate of the University of Michigan and the Harvard Business School.

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Bieke kreps, DDS, MSc: Director of Positive Exposure Europe/ Belgium

Dr. Bieke kreps is a Belgian pediatric dentist with her own hospital based referral practice in Belgium (AZ Delta, Roeselare), focused on treating children who are facing particular needs and/or challenges. She is also a scientific researcher (University of Leuven, Belgium), teacher and an adjunct associate professor in the Department of Pediatric Dentistry at NYU College of Dentistry. Bieke has overcome challenges of her own, growing up with a facial difference and, later in life, contracting invisible differences. Despite it all, Bieke has never stopped working for a cause close to her heart — acceptance and inclusion of all people, regardless of their differences. She began using her own experiences and skills in her lectures for students and professionals, striving for inclusive medicine and dentistry.

In 2015, Bieke got involved with Positive Exposure after reaching out to Rick Guidotti to start an ongoing global project about facial differences. As a passionate advocate, she co-founded POSITIVE EXPOSURE BELGIUM/EUROPE in 2017 and brought Rick Guidotti to Belgium for the launch with POSITIVE EXPOSURE’S first digital exhibition at BNP Paribas Fortis Flagship office in Ghent.

As the director of POSITIVE EXPOSURE BELGIUM/EUROPE, Dr. Bieke kreps furthers POSITIVE EXPOSURE’S mission in Europe and around the globe.

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Suzanne Manning: VP of Programs / Social Media and Community Outreach

Suzanne is the Executive Director of the Greenville County Medical Society and serves on the Board of Directors of The American Medical Association Alliance. Suzanne is a Registered Nurse

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ADVISORY BOARD: (Stay tuned for Photos)

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Rachel Adams: Author, Director, Center for the Study of Social Difference, Professor, Department of English, Columbia University

Anita Altman, Founder, ReelAbilities Film Festival

Joseph Boggess: Make-Up Artist, Photographer

Christine Bruno: Actor, Teaching Artist, Disability Inclusion Consultant

Lawrence Carter Long: Communications Director, Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund

Wendy Cole: Gender Transition Mentor and Transgender Heath advocate

Becky Curran Kekula: Disability Equality Index (DEI) Director at Disability:IN. TEDx Speaker and Disability Inclusion Advocate

Ian Falconer: Artist, Author, Illustrator

Edward Friedman: Policy/ Intergovernmental Affairs Coordinator NYC Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities

Faye Ginsburg: David B. Kriser Professor of Anthropology, New York University/ Director, NYU Center for Media, Culture and History/ Co-Director, NYU Center for Disability Studies/ President, Dysautonomia Foundation

Judith Heumann: International Disability Rights Advocate, Author

Xian Horn: Changeblazer, Teacher, Speaker, Beauty Advocate, Blogger

Roger Kilmartin: SVP Group Creative Director, McCann Erickson/ L’Oreal

Emily Ladau: Writer, Disability Activist, Communications Consultant

Janet LeBreck: Former Commissioner for the Blind, MA / National Rehabilitation Services Administration

Carr Massi: Disability Rights Pioneer / Advocate, NYC

Mem Nahdr: Activist, Composer, Performer, Writer, Producer, Star

Ralph Rucci: Artist, Couturier, Author

Michael Stein: Executive Director, Harvard Law School Project on Disability