Michael and CCM Laurie
Michael and his “Walls of Fame”
For nearly two decades, Michael Szabelski and Care Coordination Manager Supervisor Laurie Goodspeed have built a partnership with support, trust, and understanding. Together, they have celebrated many milestones from running 5K Marathons together to helping Michael find his voice.
Michael has been receiving Springbrook services since he was four years old, and has been a member of Southern Tier Connect since its inception. Today, Michael lives independently in an apartment, a milestone that reflects years of hard work and support from Laurie and his parents, Pete and Kathy Jo. When reflecting on his journey with Springbrook, Kathy Jo shares, “I think that without the opportunities that were provided by Springbrook and Southern Tier Connect through his management, which is provided by Laurie, he wouldn’t have been able to be as independent and confident as he is because he wouldn’t have had the opportunity to show that.”
While independence is one measure of success, Michael’s accomplishments extend far beyond his apartment walls. Michael excels in sports, and enjoys physical fitness activities such as CrossFit, martial arts, swimming, cross-country running and Alpine Skiing. Since 2009, Michael has collected medals from Special Olympics New York: basketball, soccer, volleyball, bocce ball, track, cross country, skiing, bowling, swimming, and his personal favorite, downhill skiing.
His athletic achievements have provided more opportunities such as his involvement in the Special Olympics organization. Earlier this year, Michael was inducted into the Central and Southern Tier Athlete Leadership Council for Special Olympics New York, a position which he uses to engage with the organization and mentor fellow athletes.
Only ten athletes receive this title each cycle, and Michael and his parents are so excited he was selected. And Laurie has become a major supporter throughout all of Michael’s endeavors. Kathy Jo even remarked, “We’ve been lucky to have Laurie all of this time because she knew him and she knew what his needs were.”
Beyond his outstanding athletic contributions, Michael also has a desire to share his passion with others and understands the importance of giving back to the organizations that have supported him. Michael continues to help his community through volunteer fundraising initiatives such as participating in 5K Marathons, and helping organize Polar Plunges. More recently, however, Michael has begun to advocate for his community locally, regionally, and statewide.
In August 2026, Michael met with representatives from New York State Senator Lea Webb’s office to discuss the importance of organizations like Southern Tier Connect, and contributions from people like Laurie. Michael shared, “I feel like there are so many people who can benefit like I have from Springbrook and Southern Tier Connect.” He continued, “As far as I’m concerned, there’s no greater gift than helping as many people as you can.”
When asked what representing Springbrook and Southern Tier Connect means to him, Michael reflected on the opportunities he has received and the message he hopes to share with others, “It means that there can be more people that can get benefits that I’ve had. This apartment was thought by a lot of people to be impossible for me. It shows that just because you’re autistic or whatever other disability that you may have, there are still the ways you can succeed in life.”
His advocacy has also inspired those closest to him. “His commitment to all of the things that he does, like Special Olympics, Springbrook, Southern Tier Connect, his commitment to those programs is unwavering.” Kathy Jo said, “It has shown us that one family, one person, can make a difference for five families or five people, and not to give up just because you aren’t in the front.”
With Laurie’s support, Michael has excelled in his advocacy journey through providing a judgement-free environment as his cheerleader which continues to build the trust between them.
Despite Michael’s many accomplishments, Laurie is quick to redirect the praise back to him.
“I don’t attribute any of his success, necessarily to anything that I’ve ever done.” Laurie expressed, “Michael is very internally driven to be successful, to be a good human being, to do the right thing, and just be a polite and nice contributing member of society. He’s internally driven to do all those things.”
While Michael sees the partnership differently, he shares that without Laurie’s support and the opportunities created through Springbrook and Southern Tier Connect, he believes many of the milestones he has achieved would not have been possible.
“Without your paperwork and your people, I would never have had these opportunities.” Michael told her, “Drive doesn’t really work unless you have the opportunity to use your drive.”
The impact of Michael and Laurie’s relationship reaches far beyond the two of them. They have inspired each other to use his milestones to encourage others, and push for lasting change.