Catherine Huskey is the Athens  program manager of esp Inc., formerly Extra Special People, Inc., a nonprofit membership organization that creates a supportive community for people with special needs and disabilities. 

Q: Why is being a part of esp special to you and what made you realize that is this what you wanted to do?

A: I have an older brother who has cerebral palsy. He’s 11 years older than me, so he is obviously grown now, but he was in the first few years of esp. He was a participant here in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s. And then when I met my husband, when we were dating, he started volunteering here as a buddy in the afternoons, and we started attending Big Hearts, which is our big fundraiser talent show. But we also have a 7½ -year-old daughter who has autism. So our first-born child is a participant of esp.

Q: Does having a daughter with autism give you a different kind of connection with the members of esp?

A: Yeah, especially when it comes to supporting families. It allows me to have a perspective that people, that other people that work here don’t have because they’re not a parent to a child with special needs. 

Q: What is the mission of esp?

A: To create transformative experiences for children and adults with disabilities and to change communities for the better. 

Q: Are there plans for esp to expand outside of Georgia? 

A: The short answer is yes, and that’s the only information I have. So expansion is a huge project of our headquarters. So obviously, we’re site-based here in Athens, and so we don’t necessarily oversee that. We do get information passed on to us when it’s a need-to-know, but we are in an expansion model as an organization now. 

Q: How does esp impact its members and volunteers?

A: They get to become friends with people that, outside of esp, they may not normally mix, which is wonderful for them. I mean, it’s kind of the most inclusive blueprint you could come up with. It’s usually a one-to-one, sometimes it’s a two-to-one, but everyone is hanging out with what you might call a neurotypical person. And you can’t experience our participants without having a transformation yourself, whether it be you’ve never experienced children or adults with disabilities or some people learn to communicate in a way they hadn’t before. 

Q: And what is your favorite memory working at esp?

A: I would say Big Hearts is probably one of my favorite things. It’s a talent show where our participants get to shine on stage and show everybody what they can do. And I got to see my daughter do that at the age of 4. I cried through the whole thing. 

Comments trimmed for length and clarity.