PROGRAM LEADERSHIP

Executive Director

Andy Strutynskyj, LSW, PHR

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Andy is the Executive Director of Quest Autism Programs. A Licensed Social Worker who has been working with children, adolescents and adults with special needs for over 20 years, he received his Master’s degree in Social Work from Kean University, and has held positions in both for-profit and non-profit programs in New York and New Jersey. In the Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities field, he has worked with a variety of different populations. As part of the New Jersey deinstitutionalization project, he helped successfully transitioned over 100 individuals from institutions into community-based settings. Over the course of his career, Andy has maintained a strong commitment to quality-based programming, which has led to growth and stability for all the organizations he has been associated with.

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Program Manager                                              

Ralph Auriemma

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Ralph is a graduate of Kean University with a Bachelor’s degree in History.  Ralph has been working with children through adults with disabilities for 19 years and has been working at Quest for since 2013.  He has had various roles including job coach, senior job coach and lead administrative coach and has taken more of an administrative position though budgeting and billing.  Ralph works closely with support coordinators through the year to maximize participant budgets and provide participants with the services and programming they need.  Ralph is also a Handle with Care Instructor and provides training to staff of Quest Autism Programs.   

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Clinical Manager                                              

Melissa Packowski

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Melissa is the Lead Clinical Job Coach and has been with Quest since 2013.  She holds a BS in Education from St. Thomas Aquinas College. Her undergraduate studies included a dual major in elementary and special education with a concentration in English.  Currently, she is pursuing an MA in Professional Behavior Analysis from the Florida Institute of Technology that focuses on applied behavior analysis and organizational behavior management.  She has worked with children with developmental disabilities in the public school system for five years prior to joining the team at Quest.  At Quest, she is responsible for creating and monitoring ABA programs, scheduling and managing ongoing staff trainings in ABA and DDD specific requirements.

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Business Manager

Amber Harris

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Amber joined Quest Autism Programs as our Business Manager in 2018.  She received a BFA from the School of Visual Arts in 2007.  Her career took a more administrative path when she began as a business manager for her family’s document management company.   Since starting at Quest, Amber has learned much about autism and adults with disabilities.  In addition to her daily roles of managing the building, bookkeeping and billing for participants in the program, she provides Community Based Supports to several participants after hours and has become more involved in fundraising with QAP & QAF.  She works hand in hand with the development director of Quest Autism Foundation on all fundraising events and is instrumental in coordinating and updating our donor base as well as website duties.