Kory Stradinger named new ED of Sweetwater Spectrum

Kory Stradinger, formerly of Becoming Independent, to start May 16.|

Former Becoming Independent (BI) chief operating officer Kory Stradinger will take the reins as Sweetwater Spectrum’s new executive director on May 16. Interim executive director Carol Patterson and Carolyn Klebanoff, board president, will work closely with Stradinger to assure a smooth transition.

In his three years at BI, Stradinger focused on making functional improvements. Becoming Independent serves more than 1,000 developmentally disabled adults in Sonoma, Napa and Solano counties. Stradinger helped launch BI’s Autism Center and was a champion for the possibilities of this new service, according to Klebanoff. Prior to joining BI, he spent more than a decade in marketing and operations for corporate and start-up organizations in the San Francisco Bay Area, Paris, France and Sonoma.

“I’m really excited about the job,” said Stradinger. “One of my top priorities is increasing Sweetwater’s integration into the Sonoma Valley community, whether that is through more of our residents volunteering and working in town or increasing opportunities for community members to volunteer at Sweetwater.” He also mentioned that for the first time this year, Sweetwater residents will have a stall at each Tuesday night farmers market with produce grown on its one-acre farm. Originally from a small town in Iowa, Stradinger moved to California in his teens. For the past four years, he has lived in Sonoma, walking distance from Sweetwater’s residences. He has a bachelor’s degree from CalState Chico and an MBA from UC Davis. “I look forward to applying my entrepreneurial mindset to new opportunities for Sweetwater residents and to further partnering with Extraordinary Ventures,” he said. Extraordinary Ventures is a new business, founded by two of the founders of Sweetwater, that employs autisic adults to provide dog walking and laundry services in Sonoma Valley.

“Kory brings to Sweetwater exceptional interpersonal, financial and strategic planning skills and we are very excited to have him as our leader,” said Klebanoff. “He looks forward to getting to know each of the residents and their families, collaborating organizations, and community leaders who are the crucial link to providing a life with purpose.”

Sweetwater Spectrum is a nonprofit organization that has developed and now manages a supported living community for adults with autism at Fifth West and West Spain streets in Sonoma.

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