Angie Leonard
Angie Leonard is the Founder and former Executive Director of SVH Services’ Blue Ridge Autism and Achievement Center in Roanoke, Virginia. She is married to Alan and the mother of three children; one who has autism. She began working in the autism field in 1998 with The Autism Program of Virginia, now knows as Commonwealth Autism Services (CAS), where she provided training and consultations.
Formerly a public school teacher, her passion began as a mother to fully educate her son. She quickly transitioned her passion into a drive to help other families and educators, who had very little knowledge or training. In 2002, she opened the Blue Ridge Autism Center and in 2009 merged the center with The Achievement Center, to further develop the role of the organization into serving those with Learning Disabilities.
In 2014, Angie began creating licensed programs to serve families and adults, which now includes: Achieve Employment Services, SVH Family Services (including In-home), and The Hub. In 2019, she merged Katie’s Place Community Day Program under SVH Services, serving Roanoke and Lynchburg, VA. All programs now exist under the non-profit, St. Vincent’s Home.
Angie has participated in international trips to provide the under-served with training in special needs education/autism, including Africa, Haiti, Central America, Kazakhstan, Cyprus and the Middle East. Angie previously served on the Virginia Autism Council, as a board member for Katie’s Place Farm and the Disabilities Resource Network, where she was founding board member for GTO – Growth through Opportunity Program with the Roanoke City Police Department. She currently serves on the Advisory Board for the Virginia Tech Center for Autism Research, as Chair of Diamonds in the Ruff of VA Board, and as a member of The Employment First Advisory Group of VA.
She was appointed by Governors McDonnell and McAuliffe to serve on the Virginia Interagency Coordinating Council, and by Governor Northam to serve on the State Rehabilitation Council.
In her free time, she enjoys traveling, reading and spending time with her children and husband.