Today we’d like to introduce you to Altisha Glaster.
Hi Altisha, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
My journey has really been about growth, purpose, and following where my passion for helping others has led me. I actually earned my Master of Public Administration from Fairleigh Dickinson University first, along with certificates in Human Resources Management and Administrative Science. At the time, I knew I wanted to lead, serve, and make a difference, but I didn’t necessarily know exactly what that journey would look like.
As my career evolved, I realized how passionate I was about working directly with children and families, which led me to earn my Master of Social Work from Rutgers University. I eventually found my place in education as a school social worker and special education case manager. That experience changed so much for me. I saw firsthand how overwhelming it can be for families to navigate school systems, special education, services, evaluations, meetings, and simply figuring out what their child needs.
Over the years, I continued growing professionally and eventually stepped into school leadership. Today, I work in Special Services administration, where I have the opportunity to support not only students and families, but also educators and other professionals. I also became an adjunct professor, which has allowed me to share what I have learned throughout my career with students preparing for their own professional journeys.
But my story is also personal. Being a mother has given me another perspective on advocacy. There is a difference between supporting families professionally and sitting on the other side of the table advocating for your own child. Experiencing both has shaped the way I lead, communicate, and support families.
That combination of professional experience and personal experience ultimately led me to create Kaynas Group LLC. I wanted to build something that could help bridge the gap between families, schools, and organizations. Kaynas Group allows me to bring together so many parts of who I am, social worker, educator, administrator, advocate, consultant, and mother, to help others navigate systems with greater confidence and support.
I have also been fortunate to serve in leadership roles within professional organizations and on boards that align with my commitment to children, families, education, and social work.
When I look back, my career was never one perfectly planned path. Each experience prepared me for the next one, even when I didn’t realize it at the time. I’m still growing and evolving, but the common thread has always been service, advocacy, and creating meaningful change. I think that is what has brought me to where I am today.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It definitely has not always been a smooth road. Like many people, I have experienced seasons where I questioned myself, had to adjust my plans, and learned that growth does not always happen on the timeline we expect.
One of my biggest challenges has been balancing all of the different roles I carry. I am a mother, wife, educator, social worker, administrator, entrepreneur, and community leader. I am passionate about each of those roles, but balancing them can be difficult. There have been times when I have had to remind myself that I cannot pour into everything and everyone at the same time.
Professionally, I have also had to navigate career transitions and learn how to advocate for myself just as strongly as I advocate for others. Moving from public administration into social work, then education and leadership, was not a perfectly straight path. There have been opportunities I had to work harder for, moments when I felt overlooked or underestimated, and times when I had to decide whether an environment still aligned with where I was trying to grow.
On a personal level, advocating for my own children while building my career has probably taught me some of my greatest lessons. Managing appointments, school meetings, services, work responsibilities, and family life can be exhausting. At the same time, those experiences have given me a perspective I could never have gained from a textbook or professional title. They have made me a stronger advocate and have deeply influenced the work I do through Kaynas Group.
I have also learned that success does not mean you never experience setbacks, disappointment, grief, or self-doubt. Some of my hardest seasons have happened alongside some of my greatest accomplishments. I have had to learn to give myself grace, keep going when things did not work out the first time, and recognize that changing direction does not mean you have failed.
The road has not been smooth, but every challenge has added something to my story. It has taught me resilience, patience, confidence, and the importance of knowing my own value. Most importantly, it has reminded me why I started: to serve, advocate, create opportunities, and hopefully make the road a little easier for the people coming behind me.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Kaynas Group LLC?
Kaynas Group LLC was created from both professional experience and personal purpose. At its core, we are focused on helping families, schools, and organizations navigate systems, strengthen programs, and create better outcomes for children and the people who support them.
Our services include family consultation, special education navigation, school and organizational consulting, professional development, program development, parent coaching, and speaking engagements. A major area of our work is helping families better understand the special education process. I know how overwhelming IEPs, evaluations, services, meetings, and educational terminology can feel, especially when a parent is simply trying to make sure their child receives the support they need.
We also work with schools and organizations to strengthen their practices and programming. That can include consultation, staff professional development, program development, special education support, inclusion initiatives, and helping teams think more intentionally about how they serve children and families.
What sets Kaynas Group apart is the perspective behind the work. My experience spans public administration, social work, education, special education, school leadership, higher education, and, most importantly, being a parent who has had to navigate many of these systems personally. I understand what it is like to sit at the table as a professional, but I also understand what it feels like to sit on the other side of that table as a parent. That dual perspective influences everything we do.
One of the things I am most proud of is that Kaynas Group continues to grow beyond traditional consulting. We created **Kaynas Connect**, our online community and resource hub, to extend that support beyond an individual consultation or meeting. Kaynas Connect gives families and professionals a place to access practical resources, educational tools, guides, and information related to special education, advocacy, school success, and family support.
The vision for Kaynas Connect is to create a community where people do not feel like they have to figure everything out on their own. Families can have questions long after an IEP meeting ends, and professionals are constantly looking for resources they can actually use. Through Kaynas Connect, we are building a growing library of tools and resources that people can return to when they need guidance, including resources such as our school-year kits and other materials designed to make complicated processes easier to understand and navigate.
I am especially proud of Kaynas Connect because it represents where I see the brand going. Kaynas Group provides the consultation, expertise, training, and direct support, while Kaynas Connect allows us to build an ongoing community around that work. It gives us an opportunity to reach and support more families and professionals while continuing to develop resources based on the real needs we see every day.
I want our entire brand to feel approachable, practical, and supportive. People should be able to leave an interaction with us, or log into Kaynas Connect and feel more informed, more prepared, and more confident about what to do next.
Ultimately, I want readers to know that Kaynas Group is about connection, education, advocacy, and empowerment. Whether we are supporting a parent preparing for an IEP meeting, consulting with a school, developing a program, training professionals, speaking to an organization, or providing resources through Kaynas Connect, our goal remains the same: to make complicated systems easier to understand and help people feel equipped to advocate, lead, and move forward with confidence.
What were you like growing up?
Growing up, I was actually a very shy child. I was sensitive and would cry easily, and it sometimes took me a while to come out of my shell. One of the turning points for me was getting involved in cheerleading. Cheerleading helped build my confidence, pushed me to become more comfortable around others, and really started to bring out a different side of my personality.
By the time I reached high school, I had grown tremendously. I became a student-athlete and, at one point, was playing three sports. Being involved in athletics taught me discipline, teamwork, commitment, and how to push myself even when things were difficult. Looking back, I believe that is where many of my leadership skills really started to develop. I became more confident, more independent, and much more of a go-getter.
I was also someone who always had a plan. Even when I was younger, I thought about the future and how the decisions I made today could impact what happened next. I have always had a tendency to think several steps ahead and consider how things might play out. That mindset has followed me throughout my life and career.
It is interesting because the shy little girl I once was is still part of my story, but so is the athlete who learned to step outside of her comfort zone, find her voice, and lead. Those early experiences helped shape the person I am today, someone who sets goals, thinks ahead, takes initiative, and is not afraid to go after what she wants.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.kaynas-family-flow.net/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kaynasllc/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/altisha-byrd-glaster-mpa-msw-715836b1/
- Other: https://linktr.ee/kaynasllc
