Management Team

Cathleen Collins, Chief Executive Officer
 
As a Senior Development Executive for several non-profit institutions in industries ranging from education and public affairs to healthcare and medicine, Ms. Collins has earned a reputation for strategic thinking and fostering exemplary revenue growth. She brings with her not only extensive fundraising expertise, but an intricate medical knowledge of neuro-developmental conditions such as cerebral palsy.

In her prior role at CHOC Children's, Ms. Collins worked with neurologists and neurosurgeons at the cutting edge of their fields, and as a result developed an understanding of the practical applications of neuroscience for children with disabilities. This knowledge, combined with her diverse non-profit background and her personal experience as a mother of a child with developmental disabilities, makes her the ideal choice to direct UCP-OC's efforts in the coming years.

Lauren Miller Beeler, Director of Therapy Services

Lauren Miller Beeler brings to UCP-OC a breadth of expertise earned from almost three decades as a clinician, educator and owner of a multi-disciplinary, pediatric out-patient practice.  
Beeler is an American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) Board Certified Pediatric Clinical Specialist (PCS) backed by diverse pediatrics experience with families with infants and toddlers through Regional Centers/ Early Start, and with school-aged children through educational model and medical models of service delivery. She has been a Neuro-Developmental Treatment Association Coordinator Instructor for The Neuro-Developmental Treatment/Bobath Certificate Course titled: “The Treatment and Management of Children with Cerebral Palsy and other Neuromotor Disorders” for almost two decades.

Beeler serves as adjunct faculty for pediatric specialty courses in physical therapy programs at Loma Linda University and Azusa Pacific University. She is currently pursuing her Doctor of Sciences degree in Pediatrics, focusing on evidence-based practice and participating in clinical research. 

Grant Dunning, Chief Operations Officer
 
Having a daughter with cerebral palsy, Dunning was motivated to join the UCP-OC board of directors, on which he has served from 2001 - 2008. His passion for UCP-OC’s mission inspired his decision to join the UCP-OC management team in 2008.

Prior to his affiliation with UCP-OC, Dunning operated a successful marketing company in Southern California. He also was an active member of the International CEO Group, Vistage International, for more than 14 years.

A resident of Newport Beach, Dunning earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Business from University of Southern California and continued his education with Executive Management Programs at both USC and the Wharton Business School at the University of Pennsylvania.

Kathleen McFarlin, M.A.Ed, Director of Program Quality & Development

Kathleen McFarlin has been an important part of the UCP-OC team for more than 16 years. During that time, she has been pivotal in the development of many of UCP-OC’s programs and services.

McFarlin has worked as a special education preschool teacher and is the mother of a son with significant disabilities. She currently chairs The Inclusion Collaborative, a subcommittee of the OC Child Care & Development Planning Council. McFarlin also serves on the Leadership Council of United Way’s Success By 6. In addition, she is a member of the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).

Earning her Master’s degree in Early Childhood Special Education from George Washington University, she obtained her Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology at University of California, Los Angeles, and holds a California Teaching Credential.

Chris Varesi, Marketing and Events Manager

Chris Varesi is also a new addition to the UCP-OC team, bringing with him an array of creative and technical talents from event management to web design to database administration.  Although Chris began his marketing career after earning his BA in English from UC Berkeley in 2004, by that time he'd already accumulated almost a decade's worth of experience in graphic design, web development and project management.

Prior to joining UCP-OC, Chris was Marketing Specialist at the Impac Companies, Graphic Designer and Network Administrator at The Smith Guide Commercial Real Estate Listing Services and even did a stint at Peter Walker & Partners, the landscape architecture firm commissioned to design the World Trade Center Memorial in New York City to honor the victims of September 11, 2001.