Ruth Kartalis, President
Ruth has extensive experience in both education and technology. At Nike she was a key developer and the project leader for RepNet, a Sales Force Management system that was one of the first of its kind. In education, she held several positions including teacher, High School House Principal, Assistant Director of Special Education and Assistant Director of Technology. Ruth received a BS degree from the University at Albany, majoring in Mathematics and Computer Science. She also has two Master’s Degrees in Education and Leadership from Canisius College and St. Bonaventure University.
Ruth and her husband Nick live in East Aurora and have two daughters, Krista and Kathryn, and one son, Michael. Michael’s diagnosis is Pervasive Developmental Delay and he is on the Autism Spectrum. Mike hopes to someday live in his own apartment among his peers.
Deborah Flynn, Vice President
Deborah is currently the Director of Gourmet Specialty at The Cookware Company. Deborah was a founding director of Home of My Own of WNY and was its President until September, 2022. She helped bring Lose the Training Wheels to WNY, now known as I can Shine Bike riding camp, helping hundreds of local kids with I/DD learn to ride a two wheel bike. She was actively involved and was Board President for Bornhava, an early childhood center for children with developmental disabilities. Deb has worked in the Housewares Industry for over 25 years. She has an MA in Interpersonal and Public Communication from Bowling Green State University.
Deb and her husband Mike live in East Aurora, NY, and have two daughters, Courtney and Kaleigh. Kaleigh has Down Syndrome and fuels the passion for this project.
Nicholas Kartalis, Treasurer
Nick has extensive experience in business and education. He was a Senior Vice President of the Nike Corporation, President of the Danskin brand and Vice President of Dick’s Sporting Goods along with other corporate management positions. Nick also spearheaded two major corporate acquisitions in both the wholesale and retail trades. Nick is a graduate of Springfield College and is a permanently certified Health and Physical Education teacher. While in the Master’s program for Guidance and Personnel Services at the University of Albany, Nick worked as a graduate assistant initiating the football program there.
“As parents of a young adult with Down Syndrome, the biggest thing that keeps us up at night is what happens to our daughter when we are gone. It is our mission to create appropriate housing for her where she can live and thrive. She is independent and able to navigate with just a little bit of help, so our vision is to create this type of community for her and others like her, that does not exist in our community today.”
Deborah and Michael Flynn, Universal Possibilities Founders
“A good friend of our family says that raising a child is a 20-year experiment because you don’t know the result until they leave the nest. For special needs families, it is a much longer experiment. Mike feels ready to test his wings; he has been taking lessons for cooking and other activities of daily living. By creating our apartment community, we hope to give him the best new nest possible.”
Nick and Ruth Kartalis, Universal Possibilities Founders
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