See a need, fill a need. Lori Sanders has dedicated her life to making life better for those with different disorders on the autism spectrum.
This comes from instances in her own life where she felt as though she did not see adequate help available for those suffering from autism in her life. “I had a lot of personal experience with seeing problems that weren’t being solved," said iSolveFounder Mrs. Sanders. "I saw, for example, autism in our family and I saw the rise of autism in society. I was not seeing solutions for people graduating from high school, and I also have friends who have children with autism that are twenty to thirty years old. They are not employed, they are not going to be employed, and there are no services for them in society."
It was then that she decided to found iSolve. “We wanted to do something with housing, and so we founded the nonprofit and began to solve problems that way" said Mrs. Sanders. "That was how iSolve was founded, by seeing problems and wanting to be part of the solution."
“The idea is probably five years old, but the actual nonprofit started two years ago and since then we have put together an advisory board, with members from all over the country,” Mrs. Sanders said. Having had some difficulty getting off the ground initially, iSolve is now gaining ground as a visionary organization.
“We’ve seen really great skills in project management for developing projects and we decided on where we wanted to start the first pilot project in the first year. I told the board it needed to be in Chattanooga, and they argued a little bit until they came to the city and then agreed that it was the right place to start,” Mrs. Sanders said.
When Mrs. Sanders first saw this area, she saw something in it that they did not until they came here themselves to see it. “Chattanooga has a great community feeling, and what I mean by that is that people care about each other, they have a great desire to get involved and they also take great care about food and where it comes from. So this type of project is perfect for this area,” she said.
She hopes that Chattanooga can help iSolve in creating these communities by way of showing that same spirit. “We want to instill that sense of neighborhood and community in the housing communities that we develop,” Mrs. Sanders said.
That sense of community has always been important to Mrs. Sanders, noting the close feelings she had while growing up in Hawaii.
“I grew up in Hawaii, and some of my favorite memories involve the Catholic elementary school that I went to as a child. In Hawaii I also had a sort of extended family with people I wasn’t related but called my aunts and uncles and grandmas and so on. That is how I feel it is in iSolve; I feel as though we are all one extended family,” she said.
Before working to better the lives of those with autism, Mrs. Sanders was working in the technology field. “I was a consultant in the information technology field. I worked with Microsoft servers under Project Management for Fortune 500 companies. I put in systems and things like that,” Mrs. Sanders said. Since then she has put that same drive into this organization so close to her heart.
When she gets free time, which is not often, Mrs. Sanders has a myriad of interests to keep her busy. “I do woodworking, some Hawaiian quilting, ceramics, and I’m learning to paint. I also draw and write. I am also an herbalist. I do a lot of work with herbal medicines and things. I grow lavender, rosemary, eucalyptus, and I have an organic farm so I have grown a lot of things over the years,” she said.
Although this nonprofit is young, it seems to have a bright future as it continues to grow both in size and influence. “I really hope that iSolve becomes a solution that fills a gap for people, that it solves the problems it is meant to, and that people are able to work and live more successfully because of the project,” Mrs. Sanders said.
Mrs. Sanders has begun a great work, which will hopefully have a large positive impact on many American communities.