Meet Mandy.
Mandy Staehler, MBA, MA-SPED, PEERS® Certified
Always ready for an adventure, I have lived in Oklahoma, Colorado, Florida, New York City, California, and back to Colorado. After earning my BS in Business and Marketing at Colorado State University and my MBA in Marketing and International Business at the University of Miami (FL), my various learning experiences included marketing, business management, and human resources. After another round of education at California State University-LA, I earned my Special Education teaching credentials in multiple areas, and a Master's degree in special education. I began my teaching career in Los Angeles, concurrently working as a social companion for a few neurodiverse individuals. After nine awesome years in LA, it was time to move back home to Colorado. In Denver, I’ve worked in special education for area school districts as well as with neurodiverse adults in their quest for social support. I also facilitate support groups with the Autism Society of Colorado.
Supporting students was amazing, but ultimately, my passion is supporting adults in an area that is personal to me. I’ve spent most of my adult life in the dating arena (mostly online, and I’ve tried about every social activity out there to meet people). I finally met my husband on match.com (long distance for over a year), but it was a long, zig zag road to get there. Even our own courtship wasn’t easy! Having applied what I’d learned from personal training and social experiences of my own as well as the neurodivergent community, Dating With Autism was born.
As a PEERS® Certified Instructor, I facilitate in-person relationship skills groups. Through my first couple of groups, it became obvious there’s a huge lack of social activities readily available for the neurodivergent community; I co-founded Neurodiverse Connections to promote and create events with optional social coaching before and after events. Check out more about PEERS® Social Skills Groups HERE.