Empowered Family Futures is a specialized coaching practice dedicated to supporting family members of individuals with disabilities. Empowered Family Futures helps families navigate the complex emotional and relational transitions of caregiving, while honoring the autonomy and self-determination of every family member.
About Joan Cornachio:
Joan Cornachio, M.S.Ed., is an educator, disability rights advocate, and parent of a 35-year-old adult with Williams syndrome. She is the founder of Empowered Family Futures a specialized coaching practice that supports families of individuals with disabilities as they navigate the complex emotional and relational challenges of caregiving.
Joan previously served as Associate Director of Supported Decision-Making New York (SDMNY), a decade-long human rights initiative at Hunter College/CUNY. The initiative advances the right of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) to make their own decisions with support from trusted individuals while retaining all their legal and civil rights.
She co-developed and taught supported decision-making curricula at the Cooke School in New York City and through CUNY’s Inclusive Postsecondary Education Program at Hostos Community College and Borough of Manhattan Community College. Joan holds an advanced certificate in Disability Studies and a master’s degree in education from Syracuse University. She also serves as a volunteer mediator with the New York Peace Institute.
Families Like Ours: Navigating Sustainable, Loving Futures
Families Like Ours is a 6-week virtual cohort for families with Williams syndrome who are ready to move beyond pressure, uncertainty, and the feeling of having to “doing it all.”
Through guided conversation, reflection, and practical tools, participants will build greater clarity, strengthen family relationships, and create more sustainable systems of support. The program centers self-determination, supported decision-making, dignity of risk, and interdependence—so every family member can grow, contribute, and thrive.
Please Note: Though it is not required to attend all workshops, each session builds upon the previous one, allowing us to learn and workshop together. To gain the greatest benefit and support one another’s experience, please make every effort to attend all six sessions. These are interactive workshops where the attendee will be actively participating.
As these workshops will be discussing personal and potentially sensitive topics, they will not be recorded.
By the end of the program, participants will be able to:
- Identify family strengths, concerns, hopes, and recurring patterns.
- Recognize where they are overextended and clarify which responsibilities they want to continue, change, or share.
- Apply the principles of self-determination to themselves and their loved ones.
- Shift from making decisions for a loved one to making decisions with them.
- Support voice, choice, growth, and dignity while thoughtfully navigating risk and uncertainty.
- Create a practical network of family, friends, professionals, and community allies.
- Define concrete next steps for building a more balanced and sustainable future.
To learn more about Empowered Family Futures, visit empoweredfamilyfutures.com.