Meet Our Team
Angela Walden (CEO , Founder)
CEO Angela Walden founded Autism Wings in 2019. Her son, Regent, has autism. She understands the experience of living with and caring for someone with autism. Her parenting insights coupled with her education and work experience helped her create Autism Wings. For the last ten years, Ms. Walden has been pondering various business ideas that would make the lives of children on the autism spectrum, and their caregivers, a little easier, and she is excited to finally see a concept become a reality. Angela founded Autism Wings Inc, in the winter of 2019, and she is eager to offer her services through a unique, mobile business model that aims to provide for clients in the most convenient manner possible. It is Angela’s belief that while it is important to provide support for the child on the spectrum, it is equally as important to, whenever possible, relieve their caregivers of some of the exhaustion that frequently comes along with caring for a child with autism. Angela has been working in the field of social services and education since graduating from college with a BA in psychology. When her son Regent, now age (17), was 3 years old, she quickly came to realize that he was on the autism spectrum and, although Angela has always been an advocate for children, this discovery made her even more dedicated to ensuring the well-being of all children, specifically those with special needs. In addition to Regent, Angela has three children: Emerald (28), Justice (26), and Essence (23), all of whom are college graduates and will be active in the development and service delivery of Autism Wings. Angela is currently employed by a local school district working primarily with students who receive special education services, serves on a variety of committees with her son’s school district, is an active member of Bethlehem Baptist church, and currently resides in Plymouth Meeting, PA.
Ishmell Bradley
Ishmell Bradley has more than 19 years of educational technology expertise. He currently serves as Director of Technology for the Wissahickon Charter School, a K-8 Charter School with two campuses in Philadelphia serving just under 1000 students. Ishmell has over 8 years of teaching experience and also teaches technology classes to elementary students at Wissahickon.
Before moving to Wissahickon Charter School in 2003, Ishmell served as the classroom technology manager at the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Nursing. While at Penn, Ishmell led the support and management of the nursing school’s endpoint technologies.
Ishmell is a member of the Alpha Epsilon Lambda National Honor Society. He holds a BA from Penn State University and a MS Ed from Saint Joseph’s University.
Jamila Sefiane
Jamila Sefiane is a graduate of Temple University with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree, with a focus in accounting. Jamila has over 15 years of experience in auditing and general accounting. She has worked in various industries and currently her role is an Internal Audit Manager for Tokio Marine North America Services
Emrald Walden
Emerald Walden graduated from Villanova University in 2015 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology and ran for the women’s track and field team. After graduating Villanova, she coached track at Springside Chestnut Hill Academy. She is currently employed by Adelphi Research, where she conducts market research for pharmaceutical companies. Emerald is an active member of Bethlehem Baptist Church and serves on the Advisory Team. Emerald has developed a keen interest in learning more about the autism disorder since her younger brother was diagnosed as a toddler. Her experience coaching youth allowed her to develop a skillset on how to modify the workouts to meet the needs of each athlete. She knows that you cannot teach and educate children with a “one size fits all” mindset, because every kid learns differently and requires their own accommodations. She understands that autism is now very prevalent and is excited to help not only those with autism, but also their families. She’s aware that it “takes a village” and wants to do everything she can to be of assistance to those in need.
Essence Walden
Essence is a recent graduate of St. John’s University in Queens, New York. During her time there, she majored in Public Relations and minored in Business Administration as well as International Studies. Essence is currently an Account Coordinator at Tierney Communications, a public relations and advertising agency located in Philadelphia. At Tierney, she provides support to several accounts through public relations and administrative assistance, social media maintenance, and the coordination of various projects. Essence also serves as an alumna on the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) committee at her high school, Springside Chestnut Hill Academy. This committee focuses on implementing practices and policy issues related to establishing a safe, fair, and just school community for all students. Essence has two older siblings and a younger brother Regent, age 17, who is on the autism spectrum. She knows first-hand the importance of providing children and young adults with autism the proper assistance and resources that they need to flourish as individuals and serve as active members in society.
Debbi Weidman
Debbi, together with her husband Peter, founded Weidman Law, LLC, a, full-service law firm in Plymouth Meeting. She specializes in special education law, representing parents and guardians of children whose unique needs are not being met by their schools. She has worked to secure appropriate educational services for Pennsylvania students including academic, emotional, physical, and behavioral supports. She works closely with parents, psychologists, and learning professionals to ensure that special needs students are in the best position to develop and make progress in the appropriate environment. Debbi is from Cheltenham, PA, and is magna cum laude graduate of Lehigh University and received her JD from Columbia Law School. She has three daughters and three grandchildren.
Justice Walden
Justice, who resides in Conshohocken, PA, attended West Chester University and graduated with a degree in communications in 2017. He is a licensed real estate agent and is currently employed by Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Fox & Roach, Realtors. Prior to that, Justice worked as a youth camp counselor and a laborer for a local excavation company. He also works as a server for a national restaurant chain, where he enjoys interacting with the public and helping to meet the needs of his customers while providing an enjoyable dining experience. Justice, who also has two sisters, strives to be a good role model for his brother Regent, age 17, who is on the autism spectrum
Meena Padhye
Meena Padhye is a senior at Springside Chestnut Hill Academy. She is passionate about sustainable and ethical business practices and creative work. In addition to taking an entrepreneurship class at school, she runs a small non-profit organization called Sonas to America. She is editor-in-chief of her school’s literary magazine, co-leader of the Asian Student Association, and works part-time at Starbucks. She has been working with Autism Wings since May of 2021 and enjoys helping non-profits grow and meet their goals