Our Alumni Graduate from University

There are three compelling reasons for American society to better educate the neurodiverse so that they have the opportunity to reach their full learning potential and lead dignified, meaningful, and productive lives. First, we have a need for diverse points of view to solve difficult, even intractable problems. These vexing issues might be social or economic, such as entrenched racism or endemic poverty. Or, it might be a complex environmental quandary that defies a quick fix like climate change. Then there a range of diseases and medical challenges that defy simple resolutions. Sometimes we see progress in one area create new challenges in another. For example, Americans now live longer than previous generations, but living into ones 80s, 90s or even past 100 gives rise to new quality of life issues. Problems such as these are extraordinarily complex in their origin. Their solutions will likely be intricate and nuanced in their implementation. In the social and political realms, simple slogans offering facile solutions will not likely be sufficient. If the fixes were easy, we’d have them by now! Differing perspectives on an issue are a good thing and often lead to breakthroughs that would otherwise elude us. Simply put, we need people who think differently to reveal our own “neurotypical” blind spots and biases. Someone who thinks differently and, therefore, approaches complex problems in a unique way may just find a cure for some disease or invent a medical device that could save your life or mine! We cannot afford to leave intellectual capital on the table and unused. To borrow a term from economics, we could call this “lost opportunity cost.” I would argue that there is a serious and harmful cost to society for not providing the opportunity for the neurodiverse to address these issues. Imagine the possibility of dying from a disease that someone, perhaps on the autism spectrum, could have found a cure. Imagine what marvelous safety devices might go “uninvented.” Imagine the works of art that might never be created.  Speaking of economics, there is another compelling economic case to make for robust spending for the neurodiverse as a future investment. If the neurodiverse do not receive the education and opportunities necessary for independent, meaningful lives working in the careers to which they aspire, then these citizens will end up living on public assistance. No only will our society lose the rich contributions they would otherwise make - scientific, social, artistic, etc. - we will also lose their direct economic contribution. If our neurodiverse citizens are unable to engage in successful careers that allow them to become taxpayers, save for retirement, and become economic producers and consumers, then neurotypical taxpayers will instead be responsible for addressing the resulting poverty. Over a lifetime, that financial burden is significant! Third, it’s simply the right thing to do. The neurodiverse are our fellow citizens - our neighbors. Loving your neighbor as yourself is partly foundational to the Jewish Torah. Doing unto others as we would have them do unto us is the Golden Rule of Christianity. Muslims know that the Quran speaks directly to the importance of charity and helping others. Most of the world’s major religious traditions and secular ethical systems espouse caring for and empowering others who are in need or disadvantaged. Finally, I would ask the neurotypical reader, consider the following mental exercise: Imagine a world in which the overwhelming majority of people were on the autism spectrum and you were in the minority. Imagine society - especially education and employment opportunities - organized solely around what the majority preferred and found comfortable. Imagine being labeled as “different” merely because of the way your brain functioned. Imagine being denied opportunities based on the fact that you process information and think differently!

Potentia Academy was one of three beneficiaries at the event on November 17.

Renowned Author and Consumer Products Executive Brings Wealth of Corporate Knowledge and Passion for Non-Profit Organizations GREENACRES, FL – Connie Shepherd, renowned author, consumer products executive and non-profit consultant, has joined the Board of Directors at Potentia Academy, a private, not-for-profit school serving middle and high school students in Palm Beach County who struggle in traditional learning environments, it was announced today. Shepherd holds an impressive brand pedigree with some of the world’s top consumer and retail companies, including Procter & Gamble, Starbucks, Kellogg, and Hershey. She has been recruited from one to the next among these industry leaders, due to her ability to consistently exceed revenue, profit, market share and organization development objectives across 28 of the largest consumer product categories and through over 19 different distribution channels. “Connie brings a tremendous amount of energy and knowledge to our Board and Potentia Academy,” said J. Duane Meeks, Ph.D., President and CEO of the school. “She is extremely adept at governance, board management and strategic planning. Above all, she has a tremendous heart for helping others.” Shepherd currently serves as the Senior Vice President of Strategy and Commercialization for the Bumble Bee Seafood Company, where she is responsible for accelerating profitable brand and share growth of the billion-dollar global seafood business. Her accountabilities include innovation, marketing, revenue management, and sales, as well as building a world-class commercial organization with new capabilities required for success in a post-pandemic world. Prior to joining Bumble Bee, Shepherd was the President and CEO of Cooper Consulting, where she created and founded a consulting practice to address unmet market needs for large scale corporate and non-profit organizations, such as building innovative infrastructures for growth, assessing financial and business models for productivity and profitability, and developing innovative commercialization approaches for new markets. Microsoft, Teva Pharmaceuticals (GLG), Special Olympics, Palm Beach Atlantic University, Vee Pack and Clarkston Consulting were just a few of her clients. Prior to Bumble Bee, Shepherd served in various high-level positions, including Senior Vice President of North America Channel Business Development for the Starbucks Company, Vice President of the Food Channel for The Hershey Company, Vice President of Western Region Sales for the Morning Foods Division of Kellogg’s and a Sales and Marketing manager at Procter & Gamble (P&G). Shepherd holds a bachelor’s degree from Florida State University. For more information about Potentia Academy and its expansion plans, please contact Dr. Duane Meeks at 561.512.5242 or dmeeks@potentiaacademy.org. ABOUT POTENTIA ACADEMY: Potentia Academy is an education alternative for unique learners where every student has the right to achieve his or her full learning potential. The private school located in Greenacres is designed exclusively to serve students in grades 5 through 12 who struggle in traditional learning environments, particularly in their mastery of math and reading skills. Highly qualified and caring teachers combine specialized curricula, unique teaching methods, appropriate accommodations, and small class sizes in a safe and nurturing environment to help students believe in themselves and in the future that awaits them.

GREENACRES, FL – J. Duane Meeks, Ph.D., has been named President and Chief Executive Officer of Potentia Academy, a private, not-for-profit school serving middle and high school students in Palm Beach County who struggle in traditional learning environments. Dr. Meeks and his wife, Janice Meeks, founded Potentia Academy in 2009 as an education alternative for unique learners in middle and high school. Dr. Meeks served pro bono as Chair of the Board of Directors from its inception until his recent transition to day-to-day leadership of the school. As President and CEO of Potentia Academy, Dr. Meeks will be responsible for increasing fundraising, enrollment and awareness, overseeing the expansion of the school’s facilities and programs and creating functional strategic and transition plans. Before transitioning to Potentia, Dr. Meeks enjoyed a long and distinguished career in higher education and in media production. His most recent academic appointment was at Palm Beach Atlantic University, which he joined in 2002 as associate professor of mass media. From 2006 to 2020 Dr. Meeks was the Interim Dean and then Dean of the School of Communication and Media after having served as the founding coordinator of the School’s Cinema-Television program. Under his leadership, the school launched programs in Cinema, Public Relations, Sports Broadcasting, Digital Storytelling, and Gaming & Interactive Design, as well as a robust internship program. His final administrative role at PBAU was as Associate Provost for Strategic Innovation during which time he was instrumental in developing a Bachelor of Science in Engineering and a Master of Medical Science in Physician Associate Studies. At his retirement from the university, Dr. Meeks held the academic rank of Professor of Mass Media and was granted the title of Dean Emeritus in recognition of his long record of distinguished service to the institution. In recent years Dr. Meeks collegiate course offerings have been in the areas of screenwriting, motion picture editing, international cinema, and redemptive storytelling. He is an expert on the Communist infiltration in the motion picture industry in the 1930s and 1940s, and the resulting blacklist. In 2010, his dissertation on the subject won the Margaret A. Blanchard Doctoral Dissertation Prize from the American Journalism Historians Association. Dr. Meeks’ current research interests include redemptive storytelling, new media technologies, and the ethics of artificial intelligence. His many creative accomplishments include writing, producing, and directing numerous television commercials, corporate videos, music videos, television shows, and screenplays. He has served as executive producer and faculty advisor to scores of student films over the last thirty years. Projects that he has supervised or in which he has significantly participated have won numerous awards, including Academy and Cine Awards, and have screened at film festivals around the world and aired on national cable networks. Dr. Meeks is a member or a past-member of the Learning Disabilities Association, National Association of Broadcasters, Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, the University Film and Video Association, the Broadcast Education Association, the American Journalism Historians Association, the Society of Professional Journalists, the National Communication Association, and the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication. Before arriving at Palm Beach Atlantic University in 2002, Dr. Meeks taught graduate courses in cinema and television studies at Regent University for fourteen years, where he served for a season as the Chair of the School of Cinema-Television and Theatre Arts within the College of Communication and the Arts. Dr. Meeks holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Toronto, a Master of Arts from Regent University, and a Ph.D. from the University of Maryland. Dr. Meeks and his wife Janice have three adult children: Joshua, a property manager in Tampa; Jeremiah, a sheriff’s deputy in Escambia County; and Zechariah, a reserve firefighter-EMT in Palm Beach County. They are the proud grandparents of Jenna, Jack, Riley, Maverick, and Isaiah. For more information about Potentia Academy and its expansion plans, please contact Dr. Duane Meeks at 561.512.5242 or dmeeks@potentiaacademy.org. ABOUT POTENTIA ACADEMY: Potentia Academy is an education alternative for unique learners where every student has the right to achieve his or her full learning potential. The private school located in Greenacres is designed exclusively to serve students in grades 5 through 12 who struggle in traditional learning environments, particularly in their mastery of math and reading skills. Highly qualified and caring teachers combine specialized curricula, unique teaching methods, appropriate accommodations, and small class sizes in a safe and nurturing environment to help students believe in themselves and in the future that awaits them.

Join Potentia Academy in welcoming our new Board Chair, Pat Rooney, Jr.! Mr. Rooney is president of the Palm Beach Kennel Club, a former state representative, and a founding member of the school’s board. He also serves as a director for the Autism Project of Palm Beach County ; a director and co-chair for Rooney’s Golf Foundation, Inc. , a nonprofit that raises money for local charities through various events; and a board member of the Children’s Healthcare Charity, Inc. “I’m thrilled to take on the next chapter in my life as board chair for Potentia Academy,” Mr. Rooney says. “Being involved with this school since the beginning, having a child graduate from there and knowing what dedicated people Janice and Duane Meeks are made the decision to help very easy. I look forward to working with a great board to help Potentia go to the next level.”

Congratulations to Zach and Brianna! We are very proud of you! We wish you all the best as you begin this new journey in life. You will be missed greatly by everyone.