Board of Advisors

Erin Spaulding is the current President of the Achilles Connecticut Chapter.  Starting as a volunteer leader, she began working for Achilles International as part-time regional director in 2014.

Erin first joined Achilles in 2012 as an athlete, following a traumatic brain, neck and shoulder injury she sustained in 2010. A life-long athlete, Erin was an avid runner and triathlete at the time of her accident. She used her determination as an athlete in her recovery at Gaylord Hospital, re-learning how to coordinate her walking-and later running. Joining Gaylord’s Adaptive Sports Association and Achilles gave her back that piece of her life which she thought was gone forever. She became the President of the Connecticut Chapter to pay it forward to other individuals facing similar adversity.

Her story and accomplishments with Achilles International have been featured in local media here in CT, in the Cigna GO YOU! campaign (The Road Home), and Runner’s World Magazine (June 2013). In 2015 she was named to the Aiello Inspiration Team for the Eversource Hartford Marathon.  Erin was also a finalist in Nike’s ‘Nominate Your Nike’, and a recipient of the Frederick DeLuca Community Service award.

A graduate of Boston College (BA) and Boston University’s Wheelock College (MS), Erin worked professionally as a child life specialist in hospitals in Boston and Connecticut for prior to joining Achilles International. She is active in her community, and volunteers her time and professional expertise with various boards and organizations.

Evan G. Vourazeris plays “Tuck” on Netflix’s hit series ‘Ozark’. He began his acting career in 2017 on Jason Bateman’s widely well received show and has been a recurring character for it’s first 2 seasons. His love of acting came from watching movies with his father and the well placed suggestion from a friend that he should put his talent to good use. He immersed himself in the local film world and in spite of various obstacles never gave up on his dream to be on a film production with speaking lines. The experience on Ozark fueled his confidence and his engaging manner and ability to relate to people sparked a new desire to reach out and inspire others.Since 2013 Evan has visited schools, churches, and sports events throughout Texas and has spoken to over 500,000 kids and families about bullying, cyberbullying and other subjects that empower.

Evan is regularly invited to speak on radio talk shows, promoting not only his role as Tuck but his view that everyone is important and has a God given talent and that with hard work, regardless of the obstacles or disabilities, anyone can make a difference in the world.

“My message is simple, stay strong, never give up and go for your dream!” -Evan

Delphine Andrews is a communications professional who has spent the bulk of her career working in the non-profit sector. As someone with a disability, she has a lifetime of lived experience in diversity, inclusion, equity and access. She recently launched a blog entitled Driving Toward Thriving to reflect on her own personal journey with a physical disability, anxiety and depression. It is about accepting and loving herself through all the challenges and triumphs and doing so in an often inaccessible world. She has a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism with a concentration in Visual Communications/Graphic Design, Minor in Creative Writing, from UNC-Chapel Hill and a Master of Arts with a concentration in Strategic Communications from UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media. As her voice and message continue to grow and evolve, she looks forward to more broadly speaking her truth and working toward change.

Deborah Dorfman brings almost thirty years of disability rights legal advocacy to her role as Executive Director at Disability Rights Connecticut.  Immediately prior to coming to Connecticut, she served as a managing attorney at the Northwest Justice Project, headquartered in Seattle, Washington, where she and her colleagues established a statewide, free special education legal clinic for low-income families with students with disabilities. There she also provided legal representation to individuals with disabilities on issues concerning housing discrimination and access to Medicaid-covered services.  Before working at NJP she was a senior attorney at the Center for Public Representation (CPR) in Northampton, Massachusetts. There she provided technical legal assistance to the national Protection and Advocacy network. Along with her colleagues at CPR, she also co-counseled class action litigation with Disability Rights Texas and a private firm in partnership with the U.S. Department of Justice to advocate for community services for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) in, or at risk of admission to, Texas’ nursing facilities.  

Cassandra Jeyaram is director of resource assessments and eligibility at United Cerebral Palsy of Georgia and South Carolina. She was previously a principal in Liquid Media Consulting, which provided clients with marketing services, including communication strategies and campaigns. She was also social marketing and promotions manager at IHG, where she built its global social media program. Jeyayam has also been vice president of eBusiness for SunTrust Banks and internet marketing administrator for SouthTrust Bank. She holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Alabama and a PhD in communication law from the University of North Carolina.

Richard Ramsey is an innovator and product developer at Nike. He is responsible for the creation of new technologies revolving around ease of entry, ease of securing, and adaptation. He actively participates in meetings with Product Creation during all phases of the development process and execute the decision-making process that leads to on-time product confirmation, under budget product and on-time delivery. He helps plan and execute development according to critical dates and I ensure manufacturability of product concepts and utilize footwear knowledge and tools to effectively and appropriately achieve project objectives. Ramsey has been at Nike since May 2012. He holds a bachelor’s degree in kinesiology from Arizona State University.