Renee Sluzalis Regional Director
Hi my name is Renee Sluzalis; I am the proud mother of three beautiful girls. I have a personal lifelong experience living with people with disabilities, as both my father and my oldest daughter both had/have disabilities. It is from those experiences that I derive my passion to help remove barriers and advance the rights/services for all people with disabilities.
The past 16 years of my career have been spent working for a Center for Independent Living. (CIL) I first began my CIL career in Williamsport, PA as an Independent Living Specialist. Through the years I advanced within the agency, ultimately becoming the CEO of Roads to Freedom Center for Independent Living of North Central PA.
After my divorce, I decided to relocate to a sunny, warm, state and was blessed to find a job opening here at the Center for Independent Living Gulf Coast. I am excited to be a part of this new CIL family and look forward to meeting and serving those individuals out there, who are looking to increase their independence. If you’re in our neighborhood, please stop by and visit our staff. We would welcome the opportunity to help you reach your personal goal of independence.
Hi my name is Renee Sluzalis; I am the proud mother of three beautiful girls. I have a personal lifelong experience living with people with disabilities, as both my father and my oldest daughter both had/have disabilities. It is from those experiences that I derive my passion to help remove barriers and advance the rights/services for all people with disabilities.
The past 16 years of my career have been spent working for a Center for Independent Living. (CIL) I first began my CIL career in Williamsport, PA as an Independent Living Specialist. Through the years I advanced within the agency, ultimately becoming the CEO of Roads to Freedom Center for Independent Living of North Central PA.
After my divorce, I decided to relocate to a sunny, warm, state and was blessed to find a job opening here at the Center for Independent Living Gulf Coast. I am excited to be a part of this new CIL family and look forward to meeting and serving those individuals out there, who are looking to increase their independence. If you’re in our neighborhood, please stop by and visit our staff. We would welcome the opportunity to help you reach your personal goal of independence.
Debbie Billiard
Office Manager
Hi, my name is Debbie Billiard and I am the proud mother of two wonderful boys that I am so very proud of and the wife of almost 47 years to a wonderful husband! I am also the proud grandmother of a grandson and a granddaughter! Having worked in Direct Sales while my boys were growing up and really enjoying it, but the drawback was that I had to work at night. Once the boys were off to college I changed my profession to working with the school district in PA as a Teaching Assistant and was “one on one” with a student with Cerebral Palsy. After working there for 6 years, my husband and I decided to head to warmer weather and chose to move to Florida.
After two years of doing other things in Florida, I was lucky enough to find my way to the (CIL) Center for Independent Living and was hired as their Receptionist in 2006. It will be 12 years in July that I have been with the CIL and am now the Office Manager. I am also responsible for the FTRI (amplified phones) Program, FAAST (Loan Locker) Program and the Volunteer Program with-in the office, but it is a team effort by everyone to keep the office running as smoothly as possible. I greatly enjoy working with our consumers and staff!
Office Manager
Hi, my name is Debbie Billiard and I am the proud mother of two wonderful boys that I am so very proud of and the wife of almost 47 years to a wonderful husband! I am also the proud grandmother of a grandson and a granddaughter! Having worked in Direct Sales while my boys were growing up and really enjoying it, but the drawback was that I had to work at night. Once the boys were off to college I changed my profession to working with the school district in PA as a Teaching Assistant and was “one on one” with a student with Cerebral Palsy. After working there for 6 years, my husband and I decided to head to warmer weather and chose to move to Florida.
After two years of doing other things in Florida, I was lucky enough to find my way to the (CIL) Center for Independent Living and was hired as their Receptionist in 2006. It will be 12 years in July that I have been with the CIL and am now the Office Manager. I am also responsible for the FTRI (amplified phones) Program, FAAST (Loan Locker) Program and the Volunteer Program with-in the office, but it is a team effort by everyone to keep the office running as smoothly as possible. I greatly enjoy working with our consumers and staff!
MIKE DAILEY
Employment Specialist
Hi, my name is Michael Dailey. I am the Father of three children and a husband. Growing up with an older sister with autism has been a major influence for my passion for working with people with disabilities.
After I graduated from high School I became a full time student at Quinsigamund Community College. I continued to work part time as a respite provider for the Seven Hills Foundation and a fitness instructor at the YMCA.
My first Full time job was working with The Center of Hope Foundation. I worked there for 8 years as a job coach. I also coached and participated in unified Special Olympics through this organization. I then got my CDL and it didn’t take long for me to realize I was in the wrong line of work. I spent my next 3 years working for the Dudley school district with post-graduate students as a job coach in the classroom and onsite training.
After spending the majority of our lives in Massachusetts, my family and I decided we have had enough of the cold and it was time to relocate to Florida. So here I am, as of April 20th, 2016 I am delighted to be a part of the team at the Center of Independent Living Gulf Coast.
MICHAEL PIERCE
ADA Advocate and Independent Living Specialist
My name is Michael Pierce and I am the ADA Advocate for the CIL Gulf Coast and an Independent Living Specialist. I was born 64 years ago in Dayton, Ohio and graduated from Beavercreek High School (no, really!) in 1969. While in high school, I began playing drums in 1964 and joined my first band at 15, and after graduation, I went on the road and played all over America in a group called Crosstown Traffic.
I came home in 1979 to attend Wright State University in Dayton, one of the very first fully adapted campuses in the US, and majored in Mass Communications and Political Science. While working at our college radio station as an on air personality and Training Director, I was offered a job on a radio station in Charlotte Harbor in 1986, which is how I came to Southwest Florida.
As a visually impaired person, I’ve always been a strong and focused self advocate for my own disability issues, so when a job opening came about at the old Center for Independent Living on Winkler, I applied and was hired a week later on April 23rd, 2007. I then was hired at our new CIL Gulf Coast in October, 2011, and even though I will turn 65 this year, I love my job advocating for our consumers and others, and cannot see myself retiring from this work for a long, long time!
ADA Advocate and Independent Living Specialist
My name is Michael Pierce and I am the ADA Advocate for the CIL Gulf Coast and an Independent Living Specialist. I was born 64 years ago in Dayton, Ohio and graduated from Beavercreek High School (no, really!) in 1969. While in high school, I began playing drums in 1964 and joined my first band at 15, and after graduation, I went on the road and played all over America in a group called Crosstown Traffic.
I came home in 1979 to attend Wright State University in Dayton, one of the very first fully adapted campuses in the US, and majored in Mass Communications and Political Science. While working at our college radio station as an on air personality and Training Director, I was offered a job on a radio station in Charlotte Harbor in 1986, which is how I came to Southwest Florida.
As a visually impaired person, I’ve always been a strong and focused self advocate for my own disability issues, so when a job opening came about at the old Center for Independent Living on Winkler, I applied and was hired a week later on April 23rd, 2007. I then was hired at our new CIL Gulf Coast in October, 2011, and even though I will turn 65 this year, I love my job advocating for our consumers and others, and cannot see myself retiring from this work for a long, long time!
Gamy Espino
Employment Specialist
Hello, my name is Gamy Espino and I am an Employment Specialist here at the CIL. I am a married father of 2 beautiful children, 1 girl and 1 boy. Before relocating to Florida in 2014 I had spent the previous 10 years working with special needs adults at The Center of Hope in Southbridge, MA. While working there I realized this was my calling. After dealing with the cold all of our lives, my family and I decided to pack up and head down south to sunny Florida.
I began working for T-Mobile for almost 3 years as a Sales Associate and Associate Manager, when my old friend from up north Michael Dailey referred me to the CIL for employment with him. It has been fantastic to get back to my roots and helping others achieve their goals and I look forward to many more years of doing so.
I am currently the Skills Trainer for the Lee County Project SEARCH at Golisano Children's Hospital in Fort Myers. This is where Lee County School District students with disabilities come onsite and do 3 ten week internships during the school year to learn job skills.
Employment Specialist
Hello, my name is Gamy Espino and I am an Employment Specialist here at the CIL. I am a married father of 2 beautiful children, 1 girl and 1 boy. Before relocating to Florida in 2014 I had spent the previous 10 years working with special needs adults at The Center of Hope in Southbridge, MA. While working there I realized this was my calling. After dealing with the cold all of our lives, my family and I decided to pack up and head down south to sunny Florida.
I began working for T-Mobile for almost 3 years as a Sales Associate and Associate Manager, when my old friend from up north Michael Dailey referred me to the CIL for employment with him. It has been fantastic to get back to my roots and helping others achieve their goals and I look forward to many more years of doing so.
I am currently the Skills Trainer for the Lee County Project SEARCH at Golisano Children's Hospital in Fort Myers. This is where Lee County School District students with disabilities come onsite and do 3 ten week internships during the school year to learn job skills.
Jennifer Burr
Employment Consultant
Center for Independent Living Gulf Coast
Hi, my name is Jennifer Burr. I am a mother of two and a wife of 20+ years. One day in 1999 my family and I left to go on a two week road trip to visit family. About two hours into the trip we were in a car accident, which left my husband paralyzed (C5). I spent almost 6 months in the hospital with him while he learned new ways to take care of himself and how I could help him in preparation for our new life.
Fast-forward a couple years; I decided to obtain a bachelor’s degree in Psychology so I could help others in my community. While working on my bachelor’s degree I was required to complete 40 volunteer hours. I found the Center for Independent Living Gulf Coast (CILGC) and completed them all at the center. It was a very moving experience.
After graduation I continued to volunteer at CILGC, and within a couple of months they offered me a position as an Independent Living Specialist. I jumped the opportunity and loved every minute in that position, which I held for a year and a half. I am now the new Employment Consultant for the Center. My job is to help our consumers gain employment and become as independent as possible. I feel this position is going to be even more rewarding than the last, and I cannot wait to see how far we can take the consumers here at CILGC!
My motto: “ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE WITH HARD WORD AND DETERMINATION!”
Harry Vazquez
IL Specialist/Outreach Coordinator
Center for Independent Living Gulf Coast
Hello my name is Harry Vazquez, I am a proud husband and father to two amazing sons. I have experienced life in so many ways. I was involved in two severe Car accidents,one was in 2003 where I was almost ejected through the rear windshield of my truck but the seat belt saved my life. The second one was in 2008 which ended my career in aviation and placed me at bed rest for 7 years because I was unable to walk from the back injuries. During these 7 years, due to pain medication, I did not feel my Gaul bladder rupture and had developed a gangrenous infection in my abdomen and was rushed to the emergency room and underwent surgery for 8.5 hours. This in turn saved my life.
Although through these 7 years of unemployment and hardly any finances the only thing our family had was each other. During these seven years I was able to achieve an Associates in Science degree in Business Administration and a Bachelor’s degree in Supervision and Management from Florida Southwestern State college, which was known as Edison state College. These I would add on to my Airframe and Power Plant Degree from Spartan College of Aeronautics and Technologies located in Tulsa Oklahoma.
After hurricane Irma I had privilege to meet Renee at a shelter that my family and I were living in for a little over a month. When I was told that Hendry and Glades were two under served counties, I jumped at the opportunity. I volunteered my first 90 days and after this I earned my first official job in almost a decade. The first thing I was able to do was buy my sons a brand new pair of shoes.
If anything I can say is this, “although I am disabled, it doesn’t mean I am unable. I can do everything I set my mind to because I am more than just a label.” (HAV) This is something that I have begun to live by and I tell all of my consumers.
My motto is “I can’t only exist to prevent you from success.” (HAV)
IL Specialist/Outreach Coordinator
Center for Independent Living Gulf Coast
Hello my name is Harry Vazquez, I am a proud husband and father to two amazing sons. I have experienced life in so many ways. I was involved in two severe Car accidents,one was in 2003 where I was almost ejected through the rear windshield of my truck but the seat belt saved my life. The second one was in 2008 which ended my career in aviation and placed me at bed rest for 7 years because I was unable to walk from the back injuries. During these 7 years, due to pain medication, I did not feel my Gaul bladder rupture and had developed a gangrenous infection in my abdomen and was rushed to the emergency room and underwent surgery for 8.5 hours. This in turn saved my life.
Although through these 7 years of unemployment and hardly any finances the only thing our family had was each other. During these seven years I was able to achieve an Associates in Science degree in Business Administration and a Bachelor’s degree in Supervision and Management from Florida Southwestern State college, which was known as Edison state College. These I would add on to my Airframe and Power Plant Degree from Spartan College of Aeronautics and Technologies located in Tulsa Oklahoma.
After hurricane Irma I had privilege to meet Renee at a shelter that my family and I were living in for a little over a month. When I was told that Hendry and Glades were two under served counties, I jumped at the opportunity. I volunteered my first 90 days and after this I earned my first official job in almost a decade. The first thing I was able to do was buy my sons a brand new pair of shoes.
If anything I can say is this, “although I am disabled, it doesn’t mean I am unable. I can do everything I set my mind to because I am more than just a label.” (HAV) This is something that I have begun to live by and I tell all of my consumers.
My motto is “I can’t only exist to prevent you from success.” (HAV)