Tamra Mariott
Associate Director

Tamra Mariott brings over 20 years of experience in the non-profit sector to Circle of Friends, specializing in management, strategic and organizational development, fundraising, event planning and public relations.  For over 7 years she worked in a number of roles for the American Heart Association, including Executive Director of the Westside Los Angeles office for the Western States Affiliate.

As Associate Director, Tamra partners with the Executive Director and Board to strategically plan and organizationally develop CoF, manage the staff and interns, and oversee the organization’s budget, human resources and fundraising campaigns and events.  Her commitment and passion for improving the lives of young people with autism and other disabilities make her a perfect match for CoF.

Ruth Punt
Program Facilitator

Ruth Punt has been a Speech/Language Pathologist for over 30 years.  After her retirement from the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District, she has stayed involved in speech pathology as a consultant for school districts, as a part-time lecturer at CA State University of Los Angeles, and as a Program Facilitator for Circle of Friends.

Ruth has helped establish CoF chapters in San Diego, Valencia, and Simi Valley. She is currently consulting with our UCLA chapter as well as schools in northern California, New Jersey and Connecticut.  She enjoys making a difference in the lives of students with and without disabilities by partnering with school staff to bring inclusion to their sites.

Ellen Goren
Program Facilitator

Ellen (Ellie) Goren has been a Speech/Language Pathologist for 20 years.  She worked for San Diego Unified School District, piloting Circle of Friends at Patrick Henry High School. She established a highly successful model for the district and was asked to serve as a Trainer-of-Trainers for other SLPs in the district, working for the past four years with over 30 schools at both the middle and high school level. 

Ellie is proud of the growth in the CoF program in the second largest school district in California and the promotion of this program as a best practice for working with students with a variety of challenges.  She retired from SDUSD in June 2011 and is now consulting with schools in New Mexico and California.