Meet the Team

Christine Hugh is the Assistant Program Director for LAUNCH. Christine oversees the day to day operations of the Employment Services program. Christine received her MS degree in Child and Adolescent Behavioral Health from USF. She’s spent her career working in the field of disabilities with a focus on employment. Prior to joining TLA in 2014, Christine provided person-centered case management, job coaching, career counseling, placement, and retention services to adults with disabilities and histories of incarceration. Christine is committed to offering opportunities for gaining employment, learning, and community capacity building with the goal of enriching the lives of persons with autism and other disabilities.

Christine Nammour is the Clinical Director at MacDonald Training Center, where she is part of a team of professionals bringing both global and national certifications to individuals whose vocational goals are to be competitive in Florida’s fastest growing fields of technology, manufacturing, hospitality, and health care. She received her Bachelor in Education and a Masters in Special Education from the University of Florida. Christine completed her Applied Behavioral Analysis course sequence through Clemson University and is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst. Christine is excited for the launch of Tech2Work and will assist clients and families as they navigate the application and assessment process. Christine works closely with students as they navigate the soft skills (social/communication skills) in preparing for employment.

Sharon N. Foster is the School Administrator of the eMerge Career Education Program at MacDonald Training Center (MTC) in Tampa, Florida. She is part of a team of professionals instructing and guiding individuals with disabilities in preparing them for employment in some of our nation’s fastest growing fields of technology, manufacturing, and environmental services.

Ms. Foster has over 40 years of teaching, administration, and special education management experience. She has taught and worked in numerous school districts throughout the United States and in Lisbon, Portugal. Ms. Foster has had vast experience supervising school psychologists, behavioral consultants, principals, teachers, and child study teams. She was the first Transition Specialist for Chesapeake Virginia Public Schools and developed programs for on-the-job training experiences for high school students with disabilities.

Prior to joining MTC, Ms. Foster was employed by Hillsborough County Schools (HCPS) as an Exceptional Student Education Supervisor. While working for HCPS, Ms. Foster supported up to 32 schools, to ensure students with disabilities were receiving appropriate special education services.
Special Education teacher recruitment and retention has always been a passion for Ms. Foster. She has recruited teachers from as far away as Michigan and Pennsylvania and understands that student success is dependent on the effectiveness of a teacher!

Ms. Foster is a proud graduate of Keene State College and The George Washington University. She enjoys cooking, reading, and following the Bucs and Rays!

Scott Fontechia is a University of South Florida alumnus, receiving his Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology and Master of Science degree in Applied Behavior Analysis. He works as a Program Coordinator for LAUNCH at USF, where he manages technology programming, instructs robotic process automation (RPA) and data analytics certification courses, and oversees the Tech2Work Program. Scott also provides direct services to job seekers, conducts job development, trains businesses and professionals on autism and other diversity topics, is an adviser to LAUNCH Academy transition students, is a published author and researcher, and is an invited speaker and presenter on autism-related topics. Scott has worked alongside the autistic community across a range of ages and settings since 2010. LAUNCH features a 2-semester transition program, specialized technology training, is an employment service vendor through the Department of Vocational Rehabilitation, and is the sister program of the Center for Autism and Related Disabilities (CARD-USF).