Meet Shantel Sansone, ACP’s Talent Supervisor! Shantel is a passionate advocate for the Autism community, and throughout her career and personal life, she’s always prioritized the ethical care of children.
Hear what factors influence Shantel’s work within the recruiting space and how her team helps shape the present and future of ACP! If you’re feeling inspired, start a conversation with our Talent team at Recruiting@AutismCarePartners.com!
Tell us a little bit about you.
My name is Shantel. I am the Talent Supervisor here at ACP, and I’m also a mom to two really, really great kids, younger than 10, which is really great and exciting in my life. Some of the things that keep me busy outside of work would be gardening or hanging out with my kids outside. I’m a very outdoorsy mom.
Tell us about your evolution with ACP. This is not the role that you started with, correct?
I started as a Behavior Technician right before COVID started. Once everything opened up, we opened our first center, and I was one of the first BTs there. It was really life changing, truly.
It was really different to see how engaged the kiddos were in the centers and how much I was able to do with instruction to really see those changes happen a little bit sooner in the center-based environment. I did that role for a total of three years. In my third year, I had my daughter and transferred to the Fall River center to be closer to home.
Then this Junior Recruiter opportunity kind of landed in my lap. Cameron Shalkowski referred me to the position, because he knew that I wanted something a little bit more here at ACP. I just needed a little break from going from kids at work to kids at home.
The Recruiting position was really new for me. I’ve never recruited, but I love to talk and really like engaging with new people. I thought it would be a career that I’d like. Stepping into the role for the first time, I was shocked at how much I picked up on it and how quickly it became something I really loved. I did the Junior Recruiter role for a little bit before I quickly grew to a Senior Recruiter. I was able to showcase a lot more of my own talents here on the Talent team, but then also be there for support for other people on my team. That evolved into a Talent Supervisor position.
What are three things that are most critical when you’re hiring?
First, passion and compassion in combination. We are here to serve a purpose. We need candidates here that truly care about the work that they’re doing, because it’s going to transfer over to caring for the clients that we’re serving here. I really want to hear deeper about their why, their personal experiences, their experiences in the field, client stories, how they’ve handled situations…
Also, someone that has a growth mindset. It’s different when people say, I want to gain experience. I want to grow into a senior-level BCBA, then a Clinical Director, and then get into leadership. When they come with that growth mindset, it’s internal motivation to do a great job.
Finally, I look for somebody that’s aligned with our values. Our values embody the type of clinician that you need to be in this field. Especially here at ACP where we’re doing things more play-based, naturalistic, and really keeping the environments motivating and fun for the kids and the staff. It’s important they are looking to collaborate amongst the team and that they are ethical in their care. When they are aligned with our values, they truly believe our mission, and they want to keep doing the work that they want to do. It again comes back to that internal motivation and growth mindset.
What keeps you motivated after all this time?
Taking off my Supervisor hat, when I stepped into Recruiting, my self-mission was to maintain the mentality that every hire matters. Behind every offer you have a family. You have somebody that is doing a career change. You have a child that’s seeking a Therapist. Then the center is more supported. We’re not stretching people thin. It circles right back to the kiddos here.
I’m very passionate about serving populations that have more challenges and barriers. It really does matter who you’re hiring further than just filling a need. That’s what keeps me going. It’s on a sticky note on my wall. Every hire matters.
I’m trying to find somebody equally as passionate as myself. So if that means going deeper, getting a couple more No’s, then I will.
What do you think has been your most impactful moment over your time here?
I don’t know if I can pinpoint one exact moment, but I think as someone in the Talent space who has really grown from hiring just Behavior Technicians to now hiring Clinical Directors or leadership in the corporate world, my favorite moments are watching these Behavior Technicians that I hired from the very beginning … Some of them are now BCBAs, and so that’s really cool to be able to see.
Why did you originally pursue this work?
My career started always with children. I’ve always worked in either a customer service-type field or with children in some capacity. I’ve worked in residential programs, school-based programs, daycares … Before applying to ACP, I was a full-time nanny to two little guys. It was really cool to see their growth for the year and a half that I worked with that family. When they decided to go into a center-based program with their kiddos, I wanted something more intimate. I couldn’t see myself going back into a classroom. I couldn’t see myself going back to residential programs where I wouldn’t be able to have that same impact as I did with the boys that I worked with.
When I was looking for the next thing, I was looking for exactly that. I stumbled upon ABA. I wanted more experience with the Autism community. I had like very slight exposure throughout my years in childcare. I worked in a Special Education classroom, but nothing just specific to an Autism diagnosis.
I really just wanted to hone-in on the Autism community.
I saw that ABA was working one-to-one, working off a treatment plan, and helping with behavior support. It was the opportunity that I was looking for at the time.
What is most important to you?
Can I just say people? [Smiles]
You can say whatever you want!
At the end of the day, really building those relationships with people—working on building those relationships. In my career as a Recruiter, I have seen firsthand how building a relationship three years ago can be really beneficial three years later. I work really hard to go deeper than just being a robot over here on the other side of the screen. I really try to get to know people. Half the time I know how many kids and animals they have and what kind of dogs people have. Working on that relationship building is really important.
It sets that precedent of who we are at ACP, because I’m not the only one that cares about building relationships here.
Do you have any last things you wanted to share?
I’m just grateful to be here ACP. My time here has never made me feel like I need to fit into a certain mold to be successful. I’ve been able to grow just by being who I am. That’s something I really want to continue to pour into or create for the talent team, but also every candidate that I talk to.
We really are building a whole community, building a whole support system.
ACP just cares, right down to our Family Partner, another position that was just created to support our families. I’m just grateful to be part of ACP, truly.
Find your passion with ACP! You can join compassionate people, like Shantel, on Team ACP! Want to explore our open roles? Explore https://autismcarepartners.com/careers/ today!
